Tag: hockey

Senators Hand Sharks 8th Home Loss

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- A 4-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators was not the game the Sharks were looking for. Home is where the heart is, or maybe it’s just where they have to let you in when you come knocking. In any case, home has not been a very lucky place for the Sharks. After seven straight losses, the Sharks were looking for their first home win in February. They finished the month with not one home win.

Sharks goals were scored by Tommy Wingels and Patrick Marleau. Wingels is the only Shark to have faced Senators’ goalie Andrew Hammond before Saturday, as they played against each other in college. Ottawa goals were scored by Mike Hoffman (2), Mark Stone and Erik Karlsson. The loss left the Sharks still two spots and three points out of a wild card playoff position, with just 19 games left to play. Eight of those will be played at home, for better or worse.

The game started auspiciously for the Sharks. Matt Irwin battled his way past one Senator then eluded three more to put the put in the vicinity of the blue paint. From there, James Sheppard and Tommy Wingels took over to push the puck past Ottawa goaltender Hammond. Coming off of back to back shutouts, it ended his streak at 122:27. Assists on the goal went to Matt Irwin and Matt Nieto.

The Sharks continued to assert themselves through the rest of the first period. The shot gap was as high as 9-2 at one point, which did not accurately reflect how disorderly the Senators were. Their best chance came during the final minute of the period, when a couple of shots and rebounds made Niemi work in the Sharks’ net. The Senators buzzed but the Sharks pushed them back out.

The first ended with the score 1-0 Sharks and the shots 12-10 Sharks.

A couple of minutes into the second period, Tommy Wingels was called for hooking. It was the first penalty of the game. The Sharks handled the penalty kill well, and a couple of minutes later Brent Burns was called for interference after taking Colin Geening into the boards a little bit late.

The Senators’ power pay had a good chance early when Mika Zibanejad got around the Sharks defenders. He skated in close enough to push Niemi back a little but the Sharks netminder gloved the puck anyway.  It took the Sens another try to tie the game. A shot from the point came off the back boards to Erik Karlsson. Karlsson put the puck under Niemi’s pads for his 15th of the seaosn. Kyle Turris was given the assist.

The teams were also tied on the shot clock near the midpoint of the game, with 17 shots each.

To balance things further, each team sent a player to the box at 9:10: Logan Couture for tripping and Mark Stone for cross-checking. The game did remain pretty even for a while, with the teams trading shots and not scoring.

The Sharks got their first power play with 7:03 left in the second period, when Colin Greening went to the box for boarding. It took the Sharks 22 seconds to sort out their power play. A shot from Brent Burns at the blue line hit Pavelski in front of the net and bounced to Marleau on the side. Marleau put it past Hammond for his 14th of the season. Assists went to Pavelski and Burns.

The calls kept coming. With 5:42 left in the second, Kyle Turris went to the box for holding. The Senators started their penalty kill better this time, making the Sharks chase them around the ice for a bit. The Sharks got control of the puck with almost a minute gone in the power play, and then they were called for icing. Their next attempt produced a shot but did not hold the zone for long.

The second power play was a mess but the shift after it ended was good. Barclay Goodrow made a legitimate nuisance of himself for the Sens, at both ends of the ice. The fourth line seemed to lead the way back for the Sharks, as the Thornton-Pavelski-Hertl line came back with a better shift than they had had in some minutes.

The Senators had a good last minute of the second period, as they had in the first, but they only gained ground on the shot clock, not the score board. The second ended with the Sharks still ahead in both categories, 23-22 in shots and 2-1 on the scoreboard.

The Senators tied the game up again when Antti Niemi could not corral a rebound, leaving a gap for Mark Stone to shoot through. The goal came at 3:52. The assist went to Kyle Turris.

Brendan Dillon went to the box for tripping, a reasonable penalty to take as he was stopping a dangerous-looking breakaway. The gamble did not pay off, as the Senators took the lead during the ensuing power play. A shot from the point went close by the outside of one post, came off the backboards perfectly for the Senators’ leading scorer Mike Hoffman. The assists to Mika Zibanejad and Erik Karlsson.

There were moments in the latter part of the third period that looked like a mirror image of the first period, with the Sharks struggling to get through the neutral zone and the Senators stopping them at every turn. The Sens crept ahead on the shot clock and held fast to their 3-2 lead.

In the last five minutes, the Sharks did show more composure, minimizing turnovers and throwing the puck away less. But the Senators had their game in order and the lead made them steadfast. When the Sharks pulled Niemi for the extra skater, it did not take long for the Sens to take the puck off of them. It was Mike Hoffman who scored in the empty net.

Line changes: Tye McGinn was inserted on a line with Andrew Desjardins and Barclay Goodrow. Matt Nieto moved to a line with Tommy Wingels and James Sheppard. Tomas Hertl got another shot at the top line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. That left Melker Karlsson on a line with Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau.

Joe Pavelski led the Sharks in hits with five, and in shots with four. Marc-Edouard Vlasic blocked four shots and Brent Burns led in ice time at 25:17. Antti Niemi made 27 saves on 30 shots.

Six Senatoers had three shots apiece, while only four had no shots. Mark Borowiecki led the Sens in hits with six and Erik Karlsson was their ice time leader at 28:22. Andrew Hammond made 28 saves on 30 shots for the win.

The Sharks next play on Monday against the Montreal Canadiens.

With the trade deadline looming, Sharks fans may have no more than trade envy to look forward to. To that end, the Blackhawks have acquired pending UFA Antoine Vermette from the Arizona Coyotes, in exchange for defenseman Klas Dahlbeck and a 2015 first round pick. They also added Kimmo Timonen from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for conditional picks.

The Anaheim Ducks acquired Tomas Fleischmann from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Dany Heatley and a third round pick.

The Panthers added Jaromir Jagr to their lineup in exchange for picks to the New Jersey Devils. With the Dany Heatley addition they must have felt a need for some veteran playoff experience to guide their thriving young group forward. They got it.

The LA Kings acquired defenseman Andrej Sekera from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a prospect and a first round pick. The Winnipeg Jets acquired Jiri Tlusty from the Hurricanes, in exchange for a 2016 third round pick and a 2015 conditional sixth round pick.

Out of the conference but still worth noting for Sharks fans: Daniel Winnik has been traded from the Maple Leafs and has joined the Pittsburgh Penguins for the playoff run.

Sharks Prepare For the Unexpected in Outdoor Game

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By Mary Walsh

SANTA CLARA– Saturday, it may be a good thing that California, North or South, is not generally considered a traditional hockey market. There will be no blizzard, no high winds, no unexpected glare, no ice storms, no life-threatening and ice-tilting weather conditions to contend with. After a successful outdoor game last season in the southern part of the state, the Levi’s Stadium game might put the nail in the coffin of the old stereotype: the one that says bad weather is hockey weather. Maybe good weather is hockey weather too, and bad weather is just bad weather.

Friday, some of the Sharks talked with the media about several aspects of the upcoming game. For fans, the event is the main thing. For the Sharks, the game has to be front and center, a game against a divisional rival. How long will it take the Sharks to get into the game, to forget the football stadium and the audience of 69,000 in the stands? Justin Braun said they should be in the game “right away. I think by the time warmups kicks in and you’re going and you’re in that zone, you don’t even think about that. Maybe the anthem, you give a quick look around and you’re ready to go.”

Scott Hannan has played outside before, in the NHL Winter Classic, when he was a member of the Washington Capitals. Of his prior experience outdoors, he said:

“The conditions are always a little bit different. You gotta be expecting a bad bounce, the puck to bounce a little bit more or maybe to stick. You gotta expect the unexpected out there. Sometimes it’s a tough bounce that make or break it in the game.”

Does Hannan feel the Sharks are missing out on something to not be facing extreme weather? Outdoor games in more traditional hockey markets feature wind, rain and extreme cold. Is that an important part of the outdoor game experience? Hannan answered:

When I talk about experience, experience is the day, the buildup, the coming into the rink and seeing the fans tailgating. That’s just not something you get to experience every day. Yeah the experience of a blizzard, sure that would be great. I mean rain wasn’t too great in Pittsburgh. But getting to play outside, getting a change of scenery as far as just going to the next arena, waking up at the hotel doing the same routine. I mean it’s something different, I think it’s something different for the fans.

Obviously having a big game against LA. Everybody knows the standings and the series so it’s a big game in that respect.

In the buildup to this very big event on an extra large stage, Sharks’ rookie Tomas Hertl has been finding his way slowly back onto the scoresheet, but more slowly than anyone had expected in his (almost) second NHL season. After his first season was cut short by injury, he has struggled to play with the confidence and sharpness of his first partial NHL season. Has he felt extra pressure to score, from the team or from himself? “I don’t know, it’s a little bit, maybe both. I have 15 goals last season after 35 games. Now I have just 10, it’s making me say ‘what is wrong? I have just ten goals after almost 60 games.'”

He described his approach to the game now as trying to just play, and play hard. He recognizes that the team badly needs every player to chip in for the wins they need. He has also adjusted to playing on the left wing. Before coming to North America, Hertl had played primarily as a center, and had a little experience as a right winger. He does prefer to play as a center but he says it is not a game breaker: “I start left or right, I just go play.”

Hertl and his team will be playing in a once in a lifetime kind of game Saturday. After practice Friday, Sharks forward Chris Tierney described what he expects from tomorrow night’s game:

It’ll definitely be a chip and chase game, you know the ice probably won’t be as good as it is in a normal rink. But I think everyone will be excited so I think it will be a good experience and I’m sure everyone’s adrenaline will be pumping.

Playing in a football stadium has a very different feel for hockey players. There will be no fans along the glass, and the space outside the rink gives the stage a very different feel from an indoor arena. Tierney played in an outdoor game once before, at the junior level. It was not an event of the same magnitude as this one, but it gave him a scale for comparing the venues:

Last time I thought it was kind of far away and you couldn’t really hear the crowd that much. But when you come out here and see the stadium here, it looks like the stands are pretty close to the rink. So I think with this many people it will be loud and it will be a cool experience.

2015 NHL Stadium Series: This Will Be a Big Game

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By Mary Walsh

Saturday’s NHL Stadium Series game will be more than a spectacle, it will be an important game in terms of playoff standings. As of Wednesday night, the Kings, who were on the verge of being written out of the playoffs, have supplanted the fast-falling Sharks for the last wild card spot. The Sharks have one more game to play before Saturday, but it is clear that these teams both need a win Saturday.

Make no mistake, the first outdoor NHL game to be played in Northern California will be a unique spectacle. Performances from Melissa Etheridge, John Fogerty, Kris Allen and Symphony Silicon Valley are scheduled for the pregame show and intermissions.  Those performances will include a special cell phone show that will rely on audience participation. The NHL described it as follows:

During the pre-game show and intermission, fans will be asked to use their mobile device to activate a special section of the Levi’s® Stadium App that will connect everyone’s phone. Once connected, the phones will blanket the stadium with a  synchronized, multi-colored visualization of the live musical entertainment on the field. During the first intermission, there will be a special laser light show accompanying Fogerty’s performance.

The pregame show will feature a tribute to California hockey and former Sharks players. The tribute will include over 100 youth hockey players from the Bay Area. The former Sharks expected at the celebration are: Jamie Baker, Murray Craven, Jeff Friesen, Igor Larionov, Rick Lessard, David Maley, Bryan Marchment, Kyle McLaren, Owen Nolan, Tom Pederson, Mike Rathje, Mike Ricci, Steve Shields, Mark Smith, Marco Sturm and Scott Thornton. Additionally, the NHL press release noted that the Sharks are forming their first formal alumni association for their 25th season next year.

The NHL recently announced that tickets to the Levi’s Stadium game are sold out. Of course, tickets are probably still available through resale. Last season, the NHL scheduled six outdoor games, including the Winter Classic in Michigan, and two games in New York. Without saying that six was too many, the NHL scheduled just this one outdoor game and the Winter Classic this season. They have already announced two stadium games and a Winter Classic next season, so perhaps the NHL is experimenting with how many games the market can stand.

The game at Levi’s Stadium will not present the challenges that the Winter Classic in Michigan did. There will be no blinding blizzard, no strong winds to tilt the ice. There may be ice problems if it is too humid, and it will probably be warmer than players are used to working in. Glare has been a problem for some fair weather games but since this will be an evening event, it should be a good showcase for how hockey can work, indoors and out, in warmer climates.

It is a local but unfamiliar setting for the Sharks. The Kings played Anaheim last season in their outdoor game, the Sharks have not done it before. To call it a home game for the Sharks seems a little bit unfair. Odd games like this one, and strong competition like the Kings is exactly why those bad losses to not very strong teams hurt so much earlier in the season. Those games were bound to come back to bite the Sharks, and here they are.

As the Sharks plummet out of the Pacific Division top three, the Kings are making a late climb in the standings. Such behavior is not uncommon for Los Angeles, it has almost become a habit for them to claw their way into the playoffs and then go on a deep run. With two games in hand on the Sharks, a win on Wednesday put the Kings in the Sharks’ wild card position and bump the Sharks out.

The Kings are 6-4-0 in their last ten games and as of Wednesday night are on a six game winning streak. The Kings’ leading goal scorer is Tyler Toffoli (19g), with their points leader Jeff Carter (18g, 45p) right behind him. But they are pretty evenly balanced as Marion Gaborik, Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams are tightly packed in the goal-scoring count. The Kings have not been their formidable defensive selves this season and are ranked 10th in the league in goals against. The Sharks, on the other hand, are down at 23rd in that category.

The Sharks are 3-5-2 in their last ten games and, going into Thursday’s game against Dallas, have lost their last two. The onus really is on the Sharks to pull their game together. Joe Pavelski leads the team in points and goals, and here the gap between best and next best is a little greater than with the Kings. Pavelski has 31 goals, while Logan Couture is second with 21. On the plus side, the Sharks points leaders have better numbers than their Los Angeles counterparts, with Pavelski at 53, Couture and Joe Thornton both at 51. Yes, the Sharks can score, the question remains: can they remember how to defend?

In goal, the Kings’ Jonathan Quick has been raising his game with his team. He made 44 saves in Denver Wednesday. One has to wonder about the Sharks’ Antti Niemi. When the Sharks went down 3-1, in Nashville, one would have expected head coach Todd McLellan to replace his goaltender with Niemi, no matter whose fault the goals were. Changing goalie is a classic way to shake a team up. Instead, Stalock finished the 5-1 loss. Niemi’s last game was Sunday’s 5-2 loss to Tampa Bay. In short, neither San Jose goaltender is on a roll right now.

The Kings will be coming off a two day layoff, after a dominant win over the struggling Colorado Avalanche. The Sharks lost Tuesday to the top-ranked team in the NHL. What they do in Dallas could give us a clue to their state of mind, but as we have seen, the Sharks are unpredictable.

With some of their best players returned to the lineup (Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Justin Braun and Tommy Wingels have all made their way back from injury), the Sharks are clean out of excuses, real or imaginary. San Jose has reached a new level of inconsistency this season. Their good games have been really good, while their bad games have been shocking. Is it time for a new coach? Are they just not good enough? Are those wins against top teams just their opponents playing down to them, as they do to weaker teams? Have they just found a new level of underperforming?

Sharks Struck Down By Lightning

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday, by a score of 5-2. The loss was badly timed, right in the middle of a tight divisional race . But as losses go this season, it was not one of the Sharks’ worst. Brent Burns and Logan Couture scored the Sharks’ two goals. The game winner was scored by Tampa Bay’ Ondrej Palat, a back breaker of a goal only ten seconds into the third period. Antti Niemi made 28 saves on 32 shots for the Sharks while Tampa Bay’s Ben Bishop made 33 saves on 35 shots for the win.

Tampa Bay came into San Jose ranked second in the Atlantic Division, with Detroit just two points behind them with a couple of games in hand. The Sharks were second in the Pacific Division, with Vancouver just one point behind with a couple of games in hand. It was a game that was set up to be close and in some ways it was, but not on the score sheet.

Logan Couture expressed how frustrating losses like this are for the Sharks:

The mistakes we’re making are things that we work on, things that we do in practice, things that we watch on video. I mean nobody’s going to be perfect in a hockey game but when you’re constantly making the same mistakes every single night that’s when you need to take a look in the mirror, you know, wonder what you’re bringing, if you’re mentally prepared every night, if you know what you’re supposed to do.

Todd McLellan had a more layered assessment of the team’s performance:

We thought we did some good things tonight, but not enough of them. That’s probably what Cooch is talking about. There were moments where details got away from us and you don’t beat first place teams like that. You have to be alert all the time. A couple of the goals were, in particular the third one, a bounce off skates but we win a draw and seven seconds later it’s in the net. That’s a tough pill to swallow.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic was back in the lineup. That good news merited a front page mention in the game preview at NHL.com. After the game, the media spoke with both Vlasic and Burns, but neither had such harsh words as Couture shared with us.

Vlasic saw some positives in the Sharks’ game, while acknowledging that they cannot give up five goals and expect a win: “Even in the third we had some good looks too. The first two periods were really good, it’s too bad we didn’t come out with the lead.”

Burns said: “It’s the game of hockey. There’s mistakes on every goal. I think we played pretty hard. I think it’s going to happen, it’s a game of mistakes.”

The Sharks were not very sharp to start the game. It showed in little bounces, just-missed passes, a sign that their timing and focus was off by just enough to thwart clean zone entries or exits. Plagued as they were by such miscues, it was like a boon when Joe Pavelski finally caught a puck in his skates at the Tampa Bay blue line. Instead of getting a scoring chance, he was hauled away from the puck and Ryan Callahan went to the box for hooking.

The Sharks power play was as frustrating as their even strength play. One shot seemed to rim around the net opening, as if touching all three bars before bouncing back out. The Sharks did not look like a team that was not trying. If anything, they looked like a team trying too hard and playing tense.

Past the half way mark of the period, this puck luck seemed to change. The change was signaled when Joe Thornton won an offensive zone faceoff, then made a clean pass across the ice, though his stick was outstretched in one hand. It looked so awkward but was so precise. Sharks passes started connecting, they started intercepting Tampa Bay passes and getting a little lucky with bounces.

None of this resulted in a goal for the Sharks. On the contrary, Steven Stamkos scored at 19:44 of the period to give the Lightning the lead. During a delayed penalty, his shot deflected off of Tommy Wingels’ stick. Assists went to Anton Stralman and Valtteri Filppula. By the end of the first, the teams were almost tied on the shot clock with the count 12-11 Sharks.

At 7:12 of the second, another fit of failure to control the puck left the Sharks trapped in their own zone. Marleau, Couture and Nieto, with Hannan and Dillon, could not clear the puck and Tampa Bay made them pay. The goal was scored by Andrew Killorn from the slot, where he had a moment to pick a corner and beat Niemi. Assists went to Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman.

The forward line of Chris Tierney, Tommy Wingels and Tomas Hertl came out after the goal and had a couple of good shots but could not score. A couple of line changes later, the Couture line came out and cut the lead in half. From below the goal line, Matt Nieto found Couture high in the slot and wide open.

At 10:57 Patrick Marleau went to the box for delay of game. The Sharks penalty kill was so effective that one could only complain that they could not get a good short-handed rush going.

The Sharks held their own for the rest of the period and in the last minute they hurled the puck at the net at least half a dozen times in a row but could not make any more progress on the scoreboard.

The third period started less well. Right off the faceoff, Tampa Bay pushed into the Sharks’ zone and made a beeline for the net. Ondrej Palat added to the Lightning lead only ten seconds into the period.

To their credit, the Sharks went the other way after the next faceoff and spent a good long shift attacking the Tampa Bay net. It took the Lightning over a minute to get back in the Sharks zone.

Melker Karlsson drew an interference penalty, being sent head first into his own net at by Jonathan Drouin at 3:36. The Sharks power play was not as formidable as their penalty kill had been and it ended without a San Jose shot on goal.

They had another chance on the power play at 10:26, a high-sticking call on Nikita Kucherov. The Sharks’ third power play started better than their second. They held the zone nicely, were just ejected the one time by a tired crew of penalty killers. On their second tour in the offensive zone, the Sharks looked almost trapped along the left wall with three of them playing catch around Lightning defenders. Finally, Patrick Marleau shot the puck hard at the net and found the stick of Brent Burns for a deflection. The Sharks were back within one.

It did not last long. Cedric Paquette and Valtteri Filppula outmaneuvered the Sharks at their blue line and Paquette took a quick shot from the top of the circle. The puck went over Niemi’s shoulder and in to give the Lightning their two goal lead back.

McLellan pulled Niemi for an extra skater almost immediately, with over three minutes left in the game. It did not take long for Callahan to take advantage of that and give the Lightning a three goal lead. The Sharks spent the rest of the period mostly in their own zone. A brief scuffle in front of the net sent Jonathan Drouin and Marc-Edouard Vlasic to the box for roughing at 19:19.

Brent Burns led the Sharks in shots with seven (though Marleau was right behind him with six.) Tommy Wingels led the team in hits with six.

The Sharks play their next game on the road in Nashville against the league-leading Nashville Predators on Tuesday. Their next home game will be a home game in name only, as it will be played Saturday at Levi’s Stadium.

Sharks Lose 5-4 to Hurricanes

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AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– Saturday, the San Jose Sharks fell to yet another non-playoff team. This time they lost 5-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes who came into San Jose 18 points out of a playoff spot. They left San Jose a little closer, but still out of the running. This after the Sharks defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-1 just last Thursday. The game winner was scored in the final two minutes of the third period, by Victor Rask. Carolina netminder Cam Ward made 23 saves on 27 shots for the win.

Why do the Sharks have so much trouble beating teams they should beat? Logan Couture tried to answer it, not for the first time:

We’re an inconsistent team. That comes with youth I think, although tonight our younger players played very well. We’re an inconsistent team this year. We’re going to need to fix that going forward.

As Couture said in a previous postgame interview, if they knew why they do that, they might stop doing it.

Tomas Hertl scored two of the Sharks’ four goals. His resurgence and a very good game from Chris Tierney might not have been expected by all but were no surprise to Couture and teammates:

They’re good players, you expect them to go out and score. So it’s really not a surprise when they go out and score. That’s what they’re expected to do as well. For us to be successful, we’re going to need everyone to go out and produce offense on different nights. So we weren’t surprised by seeing them score.

The Sharks lineup faced a few challenges Saturday night. Not only were they facing a non-playoff team (their Achilles heel this season) but they were also missing a season high of key players: Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Justin Braun and Tommy Wingels. Braun and Wingels are both on IR, while Vlasic was a last-minute scratch with what the team has called an upper body injury. Of all these, the low ranking of the Sharks’ opponent was probably the biggest hurdle to overcome.

Carolina came out swinging for the net and had three shots on goal in the first two minutes. In the third minute, the Hurricanes’ Ron Hainsey took a hooking penalty. The Sharks’ power play featured a few good chances for the Sharks, and a very good shift for Tomas Hertl. He looked more confident and assertive than he has looked in a while, both in front of the net and along the boards.

Most of the Sharks’ power play shots were blocked by Hurricanes, and after five minutes the shots were 6-2 Carolina. Niemi was facing a lot of good chances. Six and a half minutes in, Matt Tennyson went to the box for high-sticking. The Sharks killed the penalty off and during the second half of the first they gained some ground on the shot clock.

Just as the announcer was calling out “One minute left to play,” a wide shot from Jiri Tlusty came off the boards for Eric Staal to push in behind Niemi’s skate blade before the Sharks goaltender could close the gap. Assists went to Tlusty and Jordan Staal.

The Hurricanes finished the period ahead by one goal and five shots.

Where the first goal was a little fluky, the second goal of the game was not. It was the product of a very nice pass from Alex Semin to Andrej Nestrasil, and some inattention from the Sharks. Nestrasil skated between Hertl and Sheppard before he shot the puck over Niemi’s right shoulder. Assists went to Semin and Andrej Sekera. The 23 year old Czech was claimed by the Hurricanes on November 20 after the Detroit Red Wings waived him. It was his second goal of his NHL career.

The Sharks finally got on the board when Chris Tierney chased the puck around behind the net and sent it back out in front to Hertl. Hertl put the puck past Cam Ward without hesitation. Assists went to Tierney and Andrew Desjardins.

The Sharks went from that goal to killing a hooking penalty to Matt Nieto. The Carolina power play did not last long. Justin Faulk deked at the blue line to put Pavelksi out of position, then gave the puck to Elias Lindholm, who shot through a screen of Mirco Mueller and Jiri Tlusty to make it 3-1.

At 12:53, Tomas Hertl went to the box to serve a too many men on the ice penalty to the Sharks. The Sharks killed that off but seconds later were back on the penalty kill when Barclay Goodrow went to the box for roughing against

This time the Sharks showed more creativity with their penalty kill, challenging the Hurricanes and keeping them from getting set up as they had several times before.

The first really good attack from the Sharks came from the line of Tierney, Hertl and Sheppard in the last minute of the period. They mustered several shots and maintained possession in the offensive zone for a good long shift.

The Sharks came out for the third with some grit. It took them a couple of minutes but after a couple of shots and a lot of tenacity, the Tierney-Hertl combination paid off again. This time it came by way of a Scott Hannan shot from the blue line, caught and shot in by Hertl. Assists went to Hannan and Tierney, bringing the Sharks back within one goal.

The tying goal came from a quick spin shot by Logan Couture off a pass from Matt Tennyson, just 82 seconds after Hertl’s second goal.

Melker Karlsson was hit by a puck and went to the dressing room. He was back before the period ended but was gone long enough to give fans a scare.

Carolina’s fourth goal went in off of Brenden Dillon’s skate. Niemi stopped the initial shot, but the rebound hit Dillon. The goal was given to Justin Faulk.

The Sharks pulled Niemi with just under two minutes left. It took the Hurricanes two tries but they managed to put the puck in the empty net.

The Sharks got one back in the final minute, with the goalie pulled. Patrick Marleau’s wrist shot fond its way through, with assists going to Joe Thornton and Tomas Hertl. That made for an exciting last minute, but the game ended 5-4 Carolina.

Couture summed up the game fairly well, talking about that fourth Carolina goal:

It’s tough, I mean, I don’t know if we deserved to be in it at that point in the game, but we found a way to get back. It’s tough to get a bounce like that with four minutes left. You kind of get what you deserve though, it’s kind of the way this game works.

Scott Hannan led the Sharks in shots with five, and in shots blocked with four. According to the stat sheet, Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau were the only Sharks with more than one hit, and they only had two each. Brent Burns led the team in ice time by a hefty margin, at 25:25. Antti Niemi made 25 saves on 29 shots faced.

Eric Staal led the Hurricanes in shots with five. Tim Gleason led the team in hits with five. Justin Faulk led in blocked shots (3) and ice time (23:06). Cam Ward made 23 saves on 27 shots faced.

The Sharks next play at home against the Calgary Flames, on Monday at 7:30 PT.

Sharks Shut Out Blackhawks 2-0

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– In a 2-0 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Sharks’ number 31 made 31 saves for the 31st shutout of his career, on January 31. In glaring obstruction of symmetry, it was not Antti Niemi’s 31st birthday, but he is 31. He was facing another goalie named Antti, Antti Raanta of the Chicago Blackhawks. Niemi faced nearly twice as many shots as Raanta did. Niemi was certainly the player of the game. Did Niemi feel like it was one of his best? “Not only having shutout, but the way I felt, patient and calm and relaxed, I felt really good,” Niemi said after the game.

Brent Burns praised Niemi’s performance Saturday and in general: “He’s real sturdy back there. We feel good when he’s there, we know he’s there to back us up if they get a good chance. He showed it tonight.”

All things considered, the rest of the team did pretty well despite missing Tommy Wingels and Justin Braun from their lineup. To defeat Chicago with those two out was a feat to be proud of regardless of how they got there.

It wasn’t always pretty but we committed to playing defense for the most part. You look at the shot clock, they lead the league in shots on goal, they shoot from everywhere. We knew we had to have a little bit of composure at times when they would get to roaming around in our end.

No matter who gets the most credit for the win, it was the third in a trio of impressive wins against formidable opponents. Continuing this season’s trend of playing very well against very tough teams, the Sharks don’t have much time to revel in this streak.

Monday, the Edmonton Oilers come to town to test the flip side of the Sharks’ pattern this season: how badly they have played against lower ranked teams. Sharks head coach Todd McLellan did not put it that way, but he did warn against celebrating this victory too much:

We play Edmonton [next] so we’ll see what happens. It’s great to have won games and we’ll enjoy tonight and I’m sure the guys’ll all watch the Superbowl but come Monday it’s right back to work. We’re not in a position to celebrate victories over first place teams. We’re in a position where we have to move on nightly and get better and prepare for the next opponent.

The Sharks took an early lead in a game that was, symbolically at least, very important. Two Chicago defenders tried to stop Melker Karlsson as he pounced on a rebound from a Matt Irwin shot, but he poked it by them and in. Assists went to Irwin and Joe Thornton.

The Blackhawks took the first penalty of the night, when Marion Hossa interfered with Brent Burns sufficiently to make Burns drop his stick. The Sharks did not score and actually had a bit of a scare at their own end when Jonathan Toews jumped on a turnover. Antti Niemi was stick-tapping to signal the end of the power play when he had to drop, mid-tap, to face the incoming Chicago captain.

Andrew Shaw and Joe Thornton received matching slashing penalties in the last minute of the period.

The period ended with the Sharks leading 1-0, and the teams tied on the shot clock with seven apiece.

The teams started the second period four on four, just as they ended the first.

Less than 30 seconds after the four on four expired, Matt Tennyson went to the box for high-sticking. The Blackhawks had the advantage by then in shots, taking the lead 13-7. The Sharks escaped unscathed from that penalty kill, actually showing more aggressiveness than they had four on four. The Blackhawks gave the power play back just after theirs expired, by taking a penalty for too many men on the ice. The Sharks power play held the zone for almost a minute before the vaunted Chicago penalty killers pushed them out. San Jose managed to get back on the attack but only for the final seconds of the penalty.

The Blackhawks added to their penalty lead at 12:58 of the period, when Michael Rozsival went to the box for hooking. Jonathan Toews had a complex short-handed chance, during which two Sharks defenders and Antti Niemi could not seem to get the puck away from him. Niemi, to his credit, stopped his shots repeatedly before the whistle blew. It isn’t clear why the whistle blew, and Toews objected heartily. The Blackhawks killed off the rest of the penalty without further incident.

The second period ended with the Sharks being outshot almost two to one.

The Blackhawks have been outscored badly in third periods lately. That bugaboo reared its head at the start of the third period Saturday, with the Sharks steadily closing the gap on the shot clock. In the last three minutes or so, the Blackhawks could hardly get across the red line without the Sharks stripping them of the puck. Finally, Chicago pulled their goalie. That got the Blackhawks across the red line but only long enough for the Sharks to take the puck away. Melker Karlsson saw Thornton and got the puck to him in the neutral zone. Thornton scored into the empty net to close the game out.

Of Melker Karlsson, Thornton said: “He just works hard every night. He’s a smart player, he made a great play to me, sprawling out. I love playing with him, we think the game the same way and it’s been fun.”

Matt Irwin led the Sharks in shots on goal with 4. John Scott led the team in hits with 6, Marc-Edouard Vlasic led the team in ice time with 24:01.

Jonathan Toews led the Blackhawks in shots with 5, Bryan Bickell led the team in hits with 4. Antti Raanta made 18 saves on 19 shots.

The Sharks next play on Monday night against the Edmonton Oilers.

 

Better Effort Not Enough As Sharks Lose 3-1 to Rangers

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The New York Rangers defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-1 on Saturday. New York goals were scored by Martin St. Louis and Chris Kreider in the first period, and Rick Nash in the third. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 30 of 31 shots for the win. The win completed a sweep of the California NHL teams, as the Rangers beat the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings in back to back games earlier this week.

Joe Thornton returned to the Sharks lineup Saturday in time to face his old teammate Dan Boyle.It was Boyle’s first time playing against the Sharks as a Ranger, since he was out with an injury when the teams first met this season. In Saturday’s game, Boyle had one shot on goal for the Rangers, one hit and one blocked shot in 18:58 of playing time.

Thornton talked about the Sharks loss afterwards: “It was a competitive game, it really was. It felt like we got our chances, they got their chances but our compete level was high, it was a good hockey game.”

If that sounds maddeningly sensible and insufficiently agitated for someone who just lost 3-1 at home, it isn’t. To my eye, the Sharks showed more poise, better effort and energy than they have in a couple of games. All they seemed to lack is confidence. Despite winning two of their last four games, they have had some truly stunning losses. Games like that take time to recover from.

Joe Thornton thought that the way the Sharks played Saturday was a good sign, and Todd McLellan said much the same thing:

The moral victory is the commitment level and the effort went way up. I twas evident. I thought that if we apply ourselves that way most nights, we’ll give ourselves at least an opportunity to win.

Melker Karlsson scored the Sharks’ only goal, extending his scoring streak to five games. It was a little more memorable for the Swedish rookie because he had to beat Henrik Lundqvist to score that goal: “It’s huge. I mean, he’s a big player in Sweden and I was looking forward to this game. And I scored today so it’s, yeah it’s unreal.”

Make no mistake, Karlsson had his priorities in order about the loss. Asked if scoring against Lundqvist took the sting out of losing, he answered: “I don’t know, I want to win. It sucks to lose. So…”

The Rangers took the lead after the ten minute mark had passed, after being outplayed in most regards by the Sharks. Martin St Louis scored off the faceoff, it was his team’s second shot of the game. Assists went to Chris Kreider and Derek Stepan.

Chris Kreider took an interference penalty at 11:34 of the period. The Sharks’ power play was effective at setting up chances but unable to finish them.

With just under five minutes left in the period, Chris Kreider extended the Rangers’ lead, again right off the faceoff.  The Rangers’ push back was in full swing. Assists went to Dan Girardi and Derek Stepan.

Despite dominating in the faceoff circle (winning 74%) and earning good chances in the offensive zone, the Sharks’ finished the period down by two goals and just one shot ahead of the Rangers.

The second period was going very like the first one, with the Sharks starting well and the Rangers coming back late. The big difference was that the Sharks had given up no more goals. With 3:29 left in the period, Matt Tennyson was called for high-sticking and received a four minute penalty. Almost a minute into that, the Sharks drew a penalty to even things out. Martin St Louis went to the box for interference against Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

With no scoring in the second, the teams finished the second period even in shots on goal. The Sharks penalty kill had not given up any shots to the Rangers’ power play so far.

The Sharks completed the penalty kill to start the third period, but the Rangers did not go away. At 4:24 of the third, a Mats Zuccarello shot ended up in Niemi’s glove but the shot was reviewed at length. That the puck crossed the line, in or out of Niemi’s glove, was probable, but Toronto took their time determining that they could not overturn the call. After the long rest and a bit of good luck, the Sharks had every reason to get back in the game.

That opportunity was amplified with a penalty to Dominic Moore for interference at 5:31. The Sharks power play started inauspiciously with a won faceoff, a stray pass that left the zone, followed by a short handed chance for the Rangers. All of that transpired in the first ten seconds of the power play. The Sharks did get set up after that. After a tentative shot or two, the Sharks dug in. A keep in from Matt Tennyson turned into a pass to James Sheppard along the boards. Sheppard and Karlsson converged on the net and Karlsson scored to cut the lead in half.

Logan Couture was called for holding at 11:58. The Rangers again got credit for no shots on their power play, but the Sharks had one short handed shot that ended with Vlasic and St Louis tangled up in Lundqvist’s net.

In the final three minutes, the Rangers used their time out after a very good shift from the Sharks. The Sharks did not get their mojo back after the time out, and after the Sharks pulled Niemi for the extra skater, Rick Nash was able to ellude the Sharks defense to score the game-clincher.

Patrick Marleau, James Sheppard, Tye McGinn and Logan Couture each had four shots on goal, no Shark had more. Tommy Wingels had the most hits with three. Marc-Edouard Vlasic led the team in ice time with 25:18, while Justin Braun blocked five shots. Antti Niemi made 29 saves on 31 shots.

Rick Nash led New York in shots on goal with seven. Dan Girardi and Jesper Fast each had four hits, no Ranger had more. Ryan McDonagh led the team in ice time with 23:54.

The Sharks next play in Arizona against the Coyotes, at 6:00 PT on Tuesday the 13th.

Missing Sharks Don’t Explain 7-2 Loss to Blues

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– It was Joe Pavelski’s 600th NHL game. As an indicator of how the San Jose Sharks play without their not captain Joe Thornton, Saturday’s 7-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues was something of a worst possible scenario.Thornton did not seem to the be only Shark missing, and no one had a sound explanation afterwards.

The game start was eerily similar to the last time these teams played, on December 20th. The Blues came out fast and furious, outshooting the Sharks badly in the first ten minutes. From there the two games diverged sharply. Instead of a turn around for the Sharks, things went from bad to worse as the game wore on.

After the game, Logan Couture summarized the Sharks’ performance:

Right from the first shift, we weren’t even in that game. We were kidding ourselves, if two two was the score at the end of the first period. We were never in that game. It’s very disappointing to do that in any game, especially in your home building, to let a team that played last night come in and dominate you from the very first second of the game.

Every part of our game was bad. Nemo bailed us out, made a lot of big saves in the first period.

Did the Sharks think Thornton’s absence was to blame for their lackluster performance?

Joe Pavelski:

It’s happened before. Seasons are long, there’s guys going in and out. Obviously he’s a great piece of this team, so there’s a little absence but it doesn’t change anything we do as a group, system-wise. There’s no talk about anything. So it’s solely on the guys in here. It probably starts with me out there in the power play. We had chances to get in the game, to get going. We just didn’t do a good enough job.

Logan Couture:

If you can’t win missing one player then you’re not going to go very far. Injuries happen, it’s part of the game. You still have enough players on your team, in your organization to compete at an NHL level and we didn’t compete at an NHL level, I don’t even think we were close.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic:

When you lose anybody, when you lose one of your top guys, every team loses a top guy. You’ve got to find a way to win without him. We’d love to have him, we’d love to have him back next game, but that’s not an excuse.

So, no, Joe Thornton’s injury does not explain the utter lack of anything good that the Sharks showed Saturday. The above players also agreed that the Sharks did everything wrong, nothing well… except for Niemi, who was pulled in the third period after keeping the team in it for the first.

The first period did not end like it did in the first game. A flurry of scoring from both teams gave the Blues a goal at 11:40 from T.J. Oshie, followed by two quick goals from the Sharks at 17:42 and 18:22, then another from Steen at 19:16. Melker Karlsson, assisted by Barclay Goodrow and Matt Tennyson, scored the first Sharks goal. Joe Pavelski, assisted by Tomas Hertl and Brent Burns scored the second.

Early in the second period, the Blues’ Jori Lehtera went to the box for hooking. The Sharks had some trouble getting through the neutral zone, never mind getting set up for any good power play time. the Sharks did get credit for two shots but never looked dangerous.

A couple of shifts after the power play ended, the Blues took another lead with another goal from TJ Oshie. The Blues looked more confident and in command of the game, making the first period tie seem like a fluke.

As the midpoint of the game approached, the Blues had outshot the Sharks 4-2 in the middle period.

At 10:38, Scott Hannan was called for interference. It was the Blues’ first power play, despite a quartet of penalties called in the first period that had not resulted in a power play for either team. Forty seconds into that, Kevin Shattenkirk was called for high sticking Matt Nieto, who was zipping around the Blues zone short-handed. Four-on-four, it took the Blues a little longer to push in to the Sharks’ zone but they got there and continued their attack.

With the 30 or so seconds they had of power play time, the Sharks started by icing the puck, and could not seem to complete a pass in the neutral zone or anywhere else. San Jose appeared utterly overwhelmed. The only Shark not playing well below par was Antti Niemi.

At the end of the second, the Sharks got another power play as Jaden Schwartz went off for hooking. The Sharks’ third line of James Sheppard, Barclay Goodrow and Melker Karlsson drew that penalty with good forechecking and refusal to be evicted from St. Louis territory.

The Sharks spent much more time outside of their own zone during that power play, but when Brent Burns tripped at the blue line it epitomized the Sharks’ game: inexplicable, hapless. The Sharks ended the period with four shots, and gave up another goal as soon as their power play ended. Jaden Schwartz, after grappling for the puck behind the goal line, passed the puck out front to Kevin Shattenkirk, who was wide open.

After two periods, the shot count was 24-14 Blues, the score 4-2 Blues.

The Sharks started the third period with a spark, making a good early push. Unfortunately, that fizzled to an icing call which became another penalty to Scott Hannan. The resulting St.. Louis power play took only five seconds to score, with a shot from the blue line tipped by Jaden Schwartz. Assists went to Alexander Steen and Kevin Shattenkirk.

The Next Blues goal was the last for Niemi. A long-distance shot from Dmitrij Jaskin ushered Alex Stalock into the Sharks net.

The Blues had another power play at 8:26 when Barclay Goodrow was called for holding. The Blues played it very cautiously, hesitating to shoot. The Sharks did not do much to change that, hanging back on their penalty kill and not challenging the Blues. Finally, TJ Oshie threw the puck in from the goal line and bounced it off of a body in front of the net. That gave him a hat trick, and gave the Blues their seventh goal. Swaths of the sellout crowd started to leave SAP.

It was the first sellout the Sharks had seen in a while.

The Sharks’ last power play of the game saw Wingels, Karlsson, Sheppard, Tennyson and Braun start. That power play only lasted 32 seconds before Wingels was called for holding. The score did not change, ending in a 7-2 final.

With Thornton injured and John Scott suspended, it was all hands on ice Saturday. Tye McGinn started on the fourth line with Desjardins and Micheal Haley, with Tomas Hertl on a line with Joe Pavelski and Matt Nieto. For most of the second and third periods, McLellan swapped McGinn and Hertl, but it did not seem to improve matters. In the last six or seven minutes of the game, they were both back where they started the game.

TJ Oshie and Patrick Berglund led the Blues in shots on goal with five each. Oshie and Ryan Reaves led the Blues in hits with four each. Alex Pietrangelo led the team in time on ice with 20:47. Brian Elliott made 18 saves on 20 shots.

Logan Couture and Tommy Wingels led the Sharks in shots with three each, and Wingels led in hits with five. Brent Burns led the team in ice time with 23:35. Antti Niemi made 21 saves on 27 shots. Alex Stalock made two saves on three shots.

The Sharks hit the road to play the Jets on Monday in Winnipeg at 5:00 pm PT.

Sharks Beat Blues in Final Seconds

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks won a nail-biter of a game Saturday, defeating the St. Louis Blues in overtime 3-2. The game went to the last minute of overtime before a Brent Burns blast from the blue line ended it. Andrew Desjardins and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also scored for the Sharks, while Steve Ott and Patrik Berglund scored for the Blues. It was the Sharks’ fifth win in a row, and eighth home win in a row.

It took the Sharks more than thirteen minutes to get a shot on goal against St. Louis. That shot came off of Barclay Goodrow’s stick. The Sharks saw several shots blocked, but the Blues also kept the Sharks hemmed in their zone for faceoff after faceoff, not allowing the Sharks to make much of the zone time they did get. For all the zone time the Blues had, they did not get all that many shots on net either. They were at four when the Sharks’ first shot registered.

Nonetheless, the Shark saw the Blues take the first penalty of the game at 13:31, for too many men on the ice. The Sharks did not get a shot on goal through the power play. Their second shot came in the last two minutes, from Patrick Marleau.

McLellan must have liked the way the Sharks started the first period, since he put exactly the same guys out to start the second: James Sheppard, Melker Karlsson and Barclay Goodrow up front, with Brent Burns and Brenden Dillon on defense. Whatever the plan was, it looked like an improvement. The Sharks tripled their shot count before three minutes elapsed in the second period.Five minutes in, the Sharks were outshooting the Blues 5-1. Shots came from Goodrow, Tye McGinn, John Scott, Marleau and Logan Couture.

The Blues took a second penalty, at 5:47 of the second. Jori Lehtera went to the box for high sticking. While the Sharks had trouble sustaining an attack, the power play was an improvement over the first period one. They had four shots through the two minutes, and a few very good chances. The Sharks took over the shot lead at the end of the power play.

Still, the teams remained tied 0-0.

Andrew Desjardins changed that at 10:47 of the middle frame. He carried the puck in and shot from a bad angle for his second of the season. Assists went to Justin Braun and Tye McGinn.

It took them several minutes but the Blues answered with a goal from Patrik Berglund at 14:29. The puck came off the back boards pretty hot, and Niemi stopped the resulting shot but he delivered the rebound right to Berglund and could not recover to stop his shot. Assists went to Alex Pietrangelo and Dmitrij Jaskin.

The Blues took the lead with 2:39 left in the period. After some very good pressure form the Sharks, the Blues got out of their zone by way of a breakaway for Steve Ott. His shot went under Niemi and assists went to Ian Cole and Maxim Lapierre.

The Sharks finished the period with some wild chances in the Blues’ zone but could not even the score. They did, however, get credit for 17 shots in the period.

The third period was mired in heavy mud, with the Sharks racking up shots and the Blues stopping them. By the end of the period, the Blues had only added three to their game tally, while the Sharks got credit for nine. In the final minutes, the Sharks were attacking furiously, but it was only in the last 20 seconds that they finally tied the game.  The goal was Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s fourth of the season, with assists to Joe Thornton and Melker Karlsson.

With three minutes gone in the five minute overtime, neither team had recorded a shot on goal. Thirty seconds later, Patrick Marleau took the first, after a spectacular rush up the ice that showcased his exceptional speed.

With 1:03 left in overtime, Alexander Steen was called for hooking, giving the Sharks a man advantage for the final minute. They did not need the full minute. A few touches, several passes, and Brent Burns shot it in from the blue line for the win. Assists went to Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture.

Patrick Marleau led the Sharks in shots with 5. Tommy Wingels led the team in hits with 8, and Brent Burns had the most ice time among San Jose skaters with 26:07. Burns laso led the team in blocked shots with 4. Antti Niemi made 18 saves on 20 shots. The Sharks’ power play went 1/3 and they took no penalties.

David Backes led the Blues in shots with 4, and blocked the same number. Steve Ott led them in hits with 7. Jay Bouwmeester led the Blues in ice time at 26:03. Barret Jackman led his team in blocked shots with 5. Jake Allen made 27 saves on 30 shots.

The three stars of the game went to Brent Burns, Jake Allen and Andrew Desjardins.

The Sharks’ next game is in Anaheim on Monday against the Ducks at 7:00 PT.

Sharks Shut Out Predators 2-0

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AP Photo/Ben Margot

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– Saturday, the San Jose Sharks defeated the Nashville Predators by a score of 2-0. A goal from Tomas Hertl gave the Sharks the lead midway through the first period and they never gave it back. In the final minutes, Joe Thornton added the insurance goal. Antti Niemi made 29 saves for the shutout win. Nashville’s Pekka Rinne made 32 saves on 33 shots to keep his team in the game.

This season’s Predators are a turbo-charged version of the Nashville teams the Sharks have faced for several seasons now. Always defensively formidable, this year’s Preds have just enough extra offense to increase their goal scoring without taking anything away from their defensive play. They are a model for anyone wondering how important defense is to offense.

Saturday, those turbo engines misfired. Not only did the Predators fail to score or take many shots, they also took an uncharacteristic number of penalties, and there were times when the Sharks ran their defense ragged.

The Sharks were in rare form. They blocked almost as many shots as the Predators took, and won 46 of 72 faceoffs. They outshot the Predators 34-29, but through the first two periods that count was 29-11. After the game, Joe Thornton talked about the Sharks’ good start: “You try to get off to a good start every night but just sometimes it happens better than other nights for whatever reason. Tonight was one of those nights when we started fast and it won the game for us probably.”

Oddly, this year’s Predators have a habit of giving up the first goal of the game. It is a peculiar pattern, considering they entered Saturday’s contest second in the very tough Central Division.

They gave up that first goal again Saturday, when Joe Thornton picked up a dump in from Scott Hannan. He passed it to Joe Pavelski, who shot it, creating a rebound that Tomas Hertl could pick up as he came acorss in front of the crease. It was Hertl’s seventh goal of the season.

The Predators are not in the habit of taking penalties. They had the fewest overall in the NHL, before Saturday. Their average penalty minutes per game was 7.1. On Saturday they had 11 penalty minutes before the second period was over. The Sharks had the same number but their average has been higher at 10.5 per game.
The Sharks took the first penalty of the game at 6:04 of the first, a hooking call on Chris Tierney.

By the midpoint of the first period, the shot count was 11-3 Sharks.

The Sharks also took the second penalty, a slashing call to Barclay Goodrow. That call came at 17:13 of the period. Before that was over, Tommy Wingels and James Neal had a bout, which earned each the usual five minutes, with an additional two minutes for Neal for cross-checking.

The period ended with the Sharks up 1-0 and ahead in shots 18-7.

The Sharks started the second period with a little over a minute of power play time. They had a few good passes but they did not register a shot.

The Sharks’ next power play opportunity came at at 7:54 of the second, a hooking call on Nashville defenseman Seth Jones. That power play started very well, with the Predators getting in the way of some good chances for the Sharks, without being able to push the Sharks out of the zone. The second minute of the penalty was less noteworthy, with the second power play unit unable to get set up. The first unit took over again for the last half minute or so but the scrore remained unchanged at 1-0 Sharks.

Mike Fisher took the next penalty for the Predators, two minutes for high sticking. At the same time, James Sheppard was called for holding the stick. The resulting four on four started out in the Sharks’ zone but the Preds were pushed out without getting any shots on net. The Sharks spent their time in the Nashville end a little more productively, getting credit for three shots.

Through the course of the second period, the Predators only got four shots on net to the Sharks’ eleven.

At 4:25 of the third, Justin Braun was called for holding in an encounter that put Ryan Ellis on his posterior right in front of Antti Niemi. Braun was not happy about the call but it did eliminate a scoring chance. The Sharks penalty killers outdid themselves keeping the Predators from ever sustaining pressure on the power play, though they did add a few shots to their count.

At 12:28 of the period, James Sheppard and Shea Webber took turns throwing cross checks. Sheppard cross checked Craig Smith, and Weber cross-checked Sheppard.  They went to their respective boxes for two minutes. Neither team scored.

The Predators could not score with their goalie pulled either, and at 18:26 Joe Thornton took advantage of the absent netminder to score the empty netter.

The period came to a close in a flurry of whistles and penalties. At 19:39, James Neal was called for embellishment, Ryan Ellis was given a 10 minute misconduct, Barclay Goodrow got one of those as well and a two minute slashing penalty.

Joe Pavelski led the Sharks in shots with seven. Tommy Wingels led the team with six hits and Marc-Edouard Vlasic blocked a team high of five shots.

The Sharks next play at 7:30 PT on Thursday the 18th, when they will host the Edmonton Oilers again at SAP Center.