Tag: Jack Eichel

Sharks Fall to Golden Knights 4-3 in Season Opener

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Vegas Golden Knights center Brett Howden (21) collides with San Jose Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (33) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost their season opener 4-3 to the Vegas Golden Knights Thursday. Brett Howden, Pavel Dorofeyev, Jack Eichel and Reilly Smith scored for the Golden Knights. Akira Schmid made 20 saves for the win. Jeff Skinner, Alexander Wennberg and Phillip Kurashev scored for the Sharks. Alex Nedeljkovic made 27 saves in the loss.

The Sharks scored first, a goal from Jeff Skinner at 5:31. Skinner batted the puck in off of a high rebound that he created with a shot off the goalie’s pad. Assists went to Ty Dellandrea and Shakir Mukhamadullin.

Vegas tied it at 8:09 with a wrist shot from Brett Howden. Howden picked up the puck near the blue line, off of a failed clear by the Sharks. Howden carried the puck in through traffic and across in front of the blue paint before taking his shot. Assists went to Keegan Kolesar and Ben Hutton.

Mukhamadullin took the only penalty of the first period, high-sticking against Jack Eichel. The Sharks killed that off. The shots were 10-9 Vegas after the first period.

Alexander Wennberg gave the Sharks a 2-1 during a five-on-three power play at 6:59 of the second period. Wennberg caught a rebound from William Eklund’s shot. An assist also went to John Klingberg.

Vegas responded with their own power play goal at 14:22. Pavel Dorofeyev caught a pass that came across the ice from Mark Stone. Jack Eichel got the secondary assist.

The second period shot count was 11-6 Vegas. The Golden Knights took three penalties in the period and the Sharks took two.

Phillip Kurashev scored for the Sharks to make it 3-2 at 2:59 of the third. Kurashev tipped a shot from Dmitry Orlov. Mukhamadullin picked up the secondary assist, his second of the night.

William Eklund missed two shots on an empty net. Moments later, Jack Eichel’s shot from the blue line slipped by Nedeljkovic’s right skate and tied the game with 94 seconds left in regulation.

The teams each took one penalty in the third period. The shots were also even at 8-8.

The game winner came off of Reilly Smith’s stick after Nedeljkovic came all the way out of the net to play the puck but did not do execute his plan well. It was particularly disappointing because the Sharks goaltender had just made a great stop on a two-on-none. An assist went to Shea Theodore.

The Sharks had no shots in overtime.

The Sharks next play on Saturday against the visiting Anaheim Ducks at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Lose 7-3 to Golden Knights, Losing Streak at 9

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Vegas Golden Knights celebrate a first period goal as the San Jose Sharks Mikael Granlund (64) foreground skates off. The Sharks once again surrender three goals in the first period this time at T Mobile Center in Las Vegas at Sat Oct 26, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 7-3 to the Vegas Golden Knights, bringing their season-opening losing streak to nine. Tanner Pearson, Jack Eichel, Brett Howden, Pavel Dorofayev and Mark Stone scored for Vegas. Ilya Samsonov made 23 saves for the win. Mikael Granlund, Nico Sturm and Luke Kunin scored for San Jose. Vitek Vanacek made 35 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro talked about the team’s slow starts:

“We gotta find a way to weather the storm in energetic buildings. LA, it’s their home opener, same thing kinda happened. We’re chasing the game far too much right now. I think there’s a lot more areas that are not good enough but that’s definitely something that’s not helping our case.”

Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky described the team’s state of mind: “I don’t think anyone’s happy by any means. There’s a lot of emotion in that locker room. Frustration, anger. It’s tough. It’s tough right now.”

Tanner Pearson scored the first goal of the night with the first shot of the game at 1:54. William Karlsson set up the slap shot with a quick backhand pass off the boards. A secondary assist went to Alexander Holtz.

Jack Eichel made it 2-0 less than two minutes later. Mark Stone moved up to the right point before passing the puck to Eichel in the left faceoff circle. Alex Pietrangelo also got an assist.

Brett Howden made it 3-0 late in the period. Tomas Hertl carried the puck in and then made a pass to Howden who was skating to the net. Howden scored with a wrist shot on Vanacek’s stick side. Pavel Dorofeyev got the secondary assist.

The Sharks were outshot 22-4 in the first period.

Mikael Granlund got one back for the Sharks midway through the second period. Granlund tried a wrap-around and when that did not work he got the puck right back and pushed it over the line. William Eklund and Mario Ferraro got the assists.

William Karlsson scored short-handed less than a minute later. Vanacek took a chance and came well out of the net to poke the puck away but Karlsson got it back and evaded the discombobulated Sharks defense. Pietrangelo got an assist.

Pavel Dorofeyev made it 5-1 with a power play goal in the last minute of the second period. Assists went to Shea Theodore and Mark Stone.

Nico Sturm scored the Sharks’ second goal a few seconds later with a wrist shot into the top corner from the faceoff circle.

The Sharks came closer in shots during the second period, mustering 11 to Vegas’ 15.

Mark Stone made it 6-2 at 11:10 of the third period. Eichel carried the puck towards the net and then found Stone with a drop pass. Assists went to Eichel and Barbashev.

Luke Kunin scored the Sharks’ third goal from a scrum in front of the net at 13:29. An assist went to Fabian Zetterlund.

Brett Howden scored his second of the night at 17:07. Assists went to Dorofeyev and Hertl.

The Sharks only allowed five shots in the third period and got credit for 11.

The Sharks next play on Monday at 6:00 PM PT in Salt Lake City against the Utah Hockey Club.

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Thornton to have No.19 jersey retired by Sharks; Blackhawks-Sabres move game to Thursday due to heavy snow; plus more NHL news

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Former San Jose Sharks Joe Thornton is jubilant after scoring a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights in game 2 in the first period in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on Fri Apr 19, 2019 at SAP Center in San Jose. The Sharks announced that Thornton will have his No.19 sweater raised to the rafters at SAP Center sometime next season. (AP file photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 San Jose Sharks announced that they will retire the No.19 uniform jersey of former Shark Joe Thornton. The tribute will be held sometime during next season. Thornton will be the second player in Sharks history to have his number retired the first was Patrick Marleau and his number 12. Thornton played in the NHL for 24 seasons. Thornton finished his NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2021-22.

#2 Len, Buffalo has gone through some rugged weather condition and with blizzard like conditions the Blackhawks-Sabres game had been postponed on Thursday night. The city of Buffalo also has imposed travel restrictions. Heavy snow conditions have made it difficult for fans to get to the Sabres game with two feet of snow.

#3 Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois made it very clear on Tuesday that forward and team captain Steven Stamkos will not be traded. Stamkos has 41 points, 28 goals and 23 assists, in 41 games this season. Stamkos is one of the crucial pieces for the Lightning.

#4 Right winger Kasperi Kapanen of the St Louis Blues will be out at least four weeks with a lower body injury. Kaspanen was injured when he tried to block the shot of the Philadelphia Flyers Nick Seeler at 7:25 in the third period on Monday night. The Blues lost the game to the Flyers 4-2. Kapanen is on the injured reserve list and will be reevaluated in four weeks.

#5 The Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel will be out due to a lower body injury. Eichel missed the last two games due to an injury and is listed day to day. Eichel leads the Knights with 19 goals and is tied with Mark Stone in points with 44 assists in 42 games this year.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Eichel gets OT goal in Vegas’ 2-1 over Dallas; Quick stops 32 shots for 1-0 shutout for Rangers; plus more

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The Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) celebrates with teammates after scoring the game winning goal against the Dallas Stars in overtime at Dallas on Wed Nov 22, 2023

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Jack Eichel got the game winning goal in overtime for the Vegas Golden Knights at 1:57 in the overtime stanza to defeat the Dallas Stars 2-1.

#2 Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger as quick as he could stop the shot watched go past for the game winner by Eichel. Oettinger was sprawled out to the right of the net and Eichel was able to score the game winner.

#3 New York Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick stopped 32 shots and picked up his 60th career shutout. The Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh 1-0.

#4 Short handed goals are tough to find your down a man and going up ice with a four on five and not only did St Louis Blues pulled off scoring two short handed goals. At 4:13 left in the game Kevin Hayes scored the game winning goal and helped the Blues catch up on the Arizona Coyotes for the win 6-5.

#5 The Nashville Predators continue to find ways to win as they defeated Calgary Flames. It was the third straight win for the Predators. Juuse Saros stopped 24 shots in the 4-2 win against the Calgary Flames at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Fall 4-1 to Golden Knights; Sixth consecutive loss suffered by San Jose

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San Jose Sharks center Lane Pederson (18) foreground, and goaltender James Reimer (47) collide inside the net against the Vegas Golden Knights at the SAP Center in San Jose on Sun Feb 20, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks fell 4-1 to the Vegas Golden Knights Sunday. Keegan Kolesar, Jack Eichel, Max Pacioretty, and Chandler Stephenson scored for Vegas. Logan Thompson made 35 saves for the win. Nick Bonino scored for San Jose and James Reimer made 31 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner described the game as: “Another first period where we’re chasing and we’re down two-nothing, it’s a couple, I would say, soft kind of goals on us and it’s no recipe for success.”

Sharks Captain Logan Couture talked about how frustration mounts for players as the losses pile up:

“Guys are trying to bear down. Everyone in there wants to score. You don’t come to the rink and say ‘oh, I can’t wait to get a chance tonight and then miss.’ You know, you’re trying the best you can. It’s deflating, obviously, guys get frustrated, disappointed. You know, you go one long streaks without scoring, trying to keep positive.

You know, it’s so easy to say ‘well I’m getting chances, it’s gonna go in, it’s gonna go in.’ Until you actually see the puck go in the net, you don’t feel that relief. I’m sure there’s a lot of guys in there who feel like there’s an extra ten, twenty pounds on their shoulders right now, the puck’s not going in.”

The first goal came at 10:14, shortly after a successful four-minute penalty kill from the Sharks. The penalty was on Rudolfs Balcers, and though the damage was done with the injured players’ own stick, it was aided by a stick lift from Balcers. Then, after the Sharks killed that off, Keegan Kolesar’s shot went in, off of Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s stick. It was Kolesar’s fifth of the season, assists went to Bret Howden and Shea Theodore.

The second Vegas goal came at 14:34, on the power play, off of Jack Eichel’s stick. It was Eichel’s first goal as a Golden Knight. Assists went to Chandler Stephenson and Alex Pietrangelo.

The Sharks were outshot 16-8 in the first period. Their penalty kill allowed six shots and mustered three short-handed shots. The Sharks won just 39% of the face-offs.

The third Vegas goal came early in the second period, a truly strange bouncer that crossed the line then bounced back out and required video review to be confirmed. That goal went ot Max Pacioretty, with assists to Theodore and Eichel.

The Sharks out-shot the Golden Knights 14-9 and improved a little in the face-off circle, wining 45% of the draws. There was only one penalty in the second period, and it went to Vegas. The Sharks power play got two shots on goal.

The Sharks finally got on the board midway through the third period. Nick Bonino scored the goal after Andrew Cogliano centered the puck from below the goal line. Assists went to Cogliano and Jake Middleton.

Chandler Stephenson scored into an empty net with 33 seconds left in the game. Assists went to Pacioretty and Nicolas Roy.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in Anaheim against the Ducks at 7:00 PM PT.

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Eichel expected back from surgery by Feb; Blackhawks win 3 in a row under new coach

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Vegas Golden Knight Jack Eichel underwent successful disk surgery the Knights announced everything went as planned and expect Eichel to make his Knights debut by Feb 2022 (photo from nhl.com)

On the NHL podcast with Matt Harrington:

#1 The Vegas Golden Knights announced that Jack Eichel to make his Vegas debut by mid Feb 2022 Eichel wanted to have disk surgery when played for the Buffalo Sabers but the Sabers wanted Eichel have a fusion procedure. Eichel elected to come to Vegas and get the surgery he was requesting the disk surgery that turned out to be a success.

#2 The Chicago Blackhawks (4-9-2) who had their share of problems with the David Aldrich sex scandal and the team had previously lost 11 out of 12 games now have won three straight games under new head coach Derek King. The Blackhawks since King has taken over are feeling good and much better about themselves and hoping their situation since the scandal can improve.

#3 Washington Capitals (8-2-4) star Alexander Ovechkin continues to set records scoring his 742nd goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets (8-4-0) on Friday night in the first period at 10:19 passing Brett Hull on the all time goals list moving into third place.

#4 Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames had doubts that he would be a stand out All Star hockey player when he first join the NHL back in 1999-98 but Iginla who won two Olympic medals will be inducted with five other NHL players into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto on Monday. Iginla scored 625 goals and has 675 assists during his career.

#5 Matt, Brandon Coburn has announced his retirement after 16 NHL seasons. Coburn last played for the Ottawa Senators and New York Islanders this season. Coburn played for the Tampa Bay Lightning and was the third person to lift the Stanley Cup after the Bolts won the Finals. Coburn started with the Atlanta Thrashers in 2003 and finishes with 49 goals and 185 assists.

Join Matt for the NHL podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com