Tag: Filip Hronek

Sharks Defeat Canucks 4-3, Granlund Scores Highlight Goal

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks center Mikael Granlund (64) is congratulated by defenseman Mike Ferraro (38) and left wing Fabian Zetterlund (20) and defenseman Calen Addison (33) after scoring against the Vancouver Canucks in the third period at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Nov 25, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 at SAP Center on Saturday. Ty Emberson, Fabian Zetterlund, Mikael Granlund and Mike Hoffman scored for the Sharks and Kaapo Kahkonen made 32 saves for the win. Filip Hronek and Brock Boeser scored for the Canucks and Casey DeSmith made 18 saves in the loss.

It was the Sharks’ fourth win of the season. After the game, Sharks defenseman Calen Addison said: “Obviously we played a real complete game tonight, I think we should have won last night too. So, obviously it’s huge for our group and a win is huge for confidence.”

The Sharks and their goaltender, Kaapo Kahkonen did not give up a goal at even strength Saturday. With their defense firmed up, their offense took on new life. Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said: “We’re looking different, right? We’re looking more cohesive, we’re playing faster, moving pucks, but, spending time in the o-zone feels good.”

Early in the first, Vancouver’s Sam Lafferty put the puck in the net but the goal was called back for goaltender interference. Lafferty’s skate connected with Kahkonen’s as the goaltender rushed back into the blue paint after playing the puck behind the net. As a result, Kahkonen fell before he could get in position.

After that close call, Ty Emberson scored the first goal of the game at 9:58. His slapshot off a Hertl pass was his first in the NHL and the first goal from a Sharks defenseman this season. Assists went to Hertl and Mike Hoffman.

Filip Hronek tied the game at 15:37 with a power play goal. The Canucks’ fourth-ranked power play held the zone and the puck for the full minute that it took them to score. Hronek’s shot went under Kahkonen off a cross-ice pass. Assists went to J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes.

Fabian Zetterlund made it 2-1 Sharks at 14:05 of the second period with a slap shot from the top of the faceoff circle. Tomas Hertl found him with a quick pass from below the goal line after carrying the puck behind the net.

Brock Boeser tied it up again with a power play goal in the final seconds of the period. A rebound from Miller’s shot went right to Boeser for a shot over the goaltender. Assists went to Miller and Hronek.

The Sharks took the lead back with their first shot of the third period just 22 seconds in. The teams were skating four-on-four during a penalty carry-over from the second period. Mikael Granlund carried the puck end-to-end, right up the middle of the ice, weaving his way through the Vancouver defense. He made it to the net for a move worthy of a shoot-out. It was his first goal as a Shark. Assists went to Calen Addison and Mario Ferraro.

Mike Hoffman padded the lead with a power play goal at 1:48. The teams were playing four-on-three. Granlund shot the puck to the net for a deflection. The deflection did not work but Hoffman swept it in with a second try. Assists went to Granlund and Addison.

With 3:11 left in the third, the Canucks pulled their goaltender for an extra skater. Brock Boeser was able to score with a quick shot through traffic. Assists went to Miller (his third of the game) and Elias Pettersson.

In the final minutes of the game, Nico Sturm blocked a shot, had some trouble getting off the ice (though he managed a shot at the empty net on his way) and had to go to the dressing room.

The shots were close in the first period, 10-9 Sharks, but tilted to Vancouver thereafter, ending at 34-22 Canucks. The Sharks had just one power play to the Canucks’ four. Their penalty kill went 2/4 against the proficient Vancouver power play.

The Sharks next play on Monday at 7:30 PM PT at home against the visiting Washington Capitals.

Sharks Lose 2-0 to Red Wings, First Shut Out of Season

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

sfgate.com photo: San Jose Sharks right wing Timo Meier (28), of Switzerland, looses his footing against Detroit Red Wings defenseman Madison Bowey (74) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019, in Detroit.

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 2-0 to the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday, ending 2019 much the way they started this season. In December, they had two wins and 11 losses. The 2-0 loss to the NHL’s last ranked Red Wings had some disappointing firsts in it, for Sharks fans.

It was Detroit’s first shut out of the season and also the Sharks’ first time being shut out. It also ended a nearly three year stretch during which the Sharks got points in games where they allowed two or fewer goals. The goals were scored by Tyler Bertuzzi and Filip Hronek. Jonathan Bernier made 34 saves in the win while Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 21 saves for the Sharks.

If there is anything good to take away from this game, it might be that the team only gave up two goals. That is an improvement over some of San Jose’s more spectacular losses this season. They also did fairly well in the face-off circle, winning 52% of them.

Those facts are not very encouraging, though, considering the opponent in Tuesday’s match. The Red Wings are not the worst face-off team in the NHL, just the ninth worst. They are the worst in the goal scoring department.

Sharks captain Logan Couture was asked to find some positives in the game: “Well, Joner was great, that’s a positive. Um, I’m trying to think of other things we can take from this one. But Joner played well, PK had some stops, power play needs to be better, offensively we need to be better. I thought for the most part, five on five we didn’t give them too much.”

Sharks interim head coach Bob Boughner also identified the goaltender as one of the only good parts of the game:

There were some bright spots to our game. I think the maybe power play generating a goal would have been nice. I think that Jonesy played well. It’s one of those games, we didn’t give up much on the road. Defensively we’ve been tightening it up in that area. You know, we just didn’t get our bounce early and the longer the game went I thought Bernier looked more comfortable. I thought we could’ve got more bodies in front of him. But, you know, we just didn’t capitalize, didn’t execute offensively.

The first goal came at 3:15 of the second period. Tyler Bertuzzi deflected Madison Bowey’s shot from the point, after bringing the puck into the zone, then rushing into position in front of the Sharks net. A second assist went to Dylan Larkin. It was Bertuzzi’s 15th of the season.

The second goal went into an empty net at 19:11 of the third period. Brent Burns’ shot was blocked and then went to Filip Hronek, who shot it all the way down the ice into the net. An assist went to Luke Glendening.

The Sharks had three power play chances to the Red Wings’ two. No power play goals were scored. The Sharks out-shot the Red Wings in the game and 14-4 in the third period.

The Sharks next play on Thursday in Pittsburgh against the Penguins at 4:00 PM PT.