Tag: Joe Pavelski

Sharks give up lead to Oilers, but storm back to win 6-4

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Photo credit: nhl.com/sharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks took a three-goal lead, gave it up and fell behind and then came back to beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-4 at the SAP Center on Saturday night.

In a topsy-turvy contest, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski earned four points, while defenseman Joakim Ryan scored his first two NHL goals, including the game-winner late in the third period. Tomas Hertl and Barclay Goodrow rounded out the Sharks goal-scoring and goalie Aaron Dell made 27 saves for the win.

Zack Kassian scored two goals for the Oilers. The other two coming from Leon Draisaitl and Brandon Davidson. Goalie Al Montoya made 24 saves.

Ryan had waited some time for those goals.

“It took me about 45 games to get a goal so definitely nice to get that first one and then getting that second one is even better,” Ryan said after the game.

Of Ryan, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said:

I was really happy for him. He shows up every day, doesn’t say much, just works hard. You know, we’ve been asking our defensemen all year all of them to get up in the play and help us create offense. You know, playing with Burnzie it’s easy to kind of sit there and just watch him go. It was nice to see Jok take advantage of that. I mean Todd and that staff know Burnzie, you know they really key on him when we play them and tonight Jok recognized that and jumped into a few holes at the right moment and showed a lot of maturity.

The Sharks had an impressive first period. They outshot the Oilers 14-9. Despite taking one penalty, they outdid their opponent in every respect from hits to takeaways.

Joakim Ryan opened the scoring with his first NHL goal just 1:15 in. Joonas Donskoi, deep in the offensive zone, turned quickly and made a pass back to Ryan on the blue line. Ryan’s quick wrist shot was partially screened by Oilers defenders moving in front of their goalie. Assists went to Donskoi and Pavelski.

Pavelski added another at 7:21. Pavelski’s goal was listed as unassisted, but it did get a little help from an official. E88’s pass to E25 seemed to deflect off the official’s skate, making 25 reach to catch it. Then when 25 tried to pass it back to 88, the puck again changed direction in the vicinity of the official’s skate, causing it to go into the side of the net, where Pavelski picked it up and put it in the net.

The Sharks also started the second period well. Jannik Hansen forced a turnover near the Sharks blue line, which allowed Barclay Goodrow to pick up the puck in the neutral zone. He skated into the Oilers’ zone and took his shot from the top of the faceoff circle at 2:30 of the second. It was Goodrow’s fifth goal of the season. Hansen got the lone assist.

At 11:11 of the second period, Chris Tierney and Mikkel Boedker flubbed a two-on-one in the Edmonton zone. The puck ended up in neutral ice and was picked up by Zack Kassian for a breakaway. His goal was unassisted.

After the game, Boedker said: “I tried to make aplay up towards our bench for the guys jumping on. And I missed and unfortunately it ended up in our net. The same with Tierns, he was trying to make a play. Those things happen but we’ve got to limit those mistakes.”

The Sharks got their only power play of the game at 9:46. The Edmonton penalty kill was effective, just like it has always been on the road so far this season.

Aaron Dell faced a Connor McDavid breakaway a couple of minutes after that penalty expired, as he escaped the Sharks in the neutral zone and was almost at the Sharks’ net before anyone caught up to him. Dell was able to get in front of the shot and the rebound was picked up by his defenseman.

The Sharks goaltender was less successful when faced with another breakaway at 14:20. Kassian broke away during a poorly executed change on defense and scored a second goal. Assists went to Yohann Auvitu and Kris Russell.

By 18:02 of the period, the Sharks’ game seemed to be coming entirely unraveled. They had only taken four shots by the time Leon Draisaitl scored Edmonton’s third goal. An assist went to Oscar Klefbom.

The Sharks ended up getting credit for five shots in the second period, while the Oilers had nine, just like they did in the first period.

Just 1:21 into the third period, a Draisaitl pass across the goal mouth found defenseman Brandon Davidson and his shot gave the Oilers their first lead of the game. Assists went to Draisaitl and Michael Cammalleri.

Tomas Hertl responded at 3:41. He scored his 15th of the season with a backhand shot that tied the game. Assists went to Logan Couture and Kevin Labanc.

The Oilers had another chance on the power play at x, when Couture was called for goaltender interference. They had almost killed that off when Brent Burns lost part of his stick and did not seem to realize it. He was called for playing with a broken stick, giving the Oilers a seven second five-on-three.

By the time the Sharks killed those penalties off, there was just under four minutes left in regulation.

With under three minutes left, Ryan scored again. He skated down the slot and took a shot. That one did not go in, but it generated a perfect rebound for his to put home. Assists went to Pavelski and Timo Meier.

At 18:48, Pavelski put the puck in the empty net to give the Sharks a 6-4 lead. Assists went to Tierney and Melker Karlsson.

Jannik Hansen, after sitting out for seven games, drew into the lineup after Joel Ward was sidelined in Thursday’s game against the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Ward’s injury is described as day-to-day and, from the look of the hit, is in the shoulder region.

Up Next: The Sharks next play on Sunday in Anaheim against the Ducks at 5:00 pm PT.

Forgotten defense returns to vintage form, Sharks beat Hurricanes 3-1

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Photo credit: nhl.com/sharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won their second game in a row, 3-1, against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena Sunday afternoon.

The Sharks’ goals came from Brent Burns, Timo Meier and Chris Tierney.

Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell made 29 saves, while Hurricanes goaltender Came Ward made 23 saves in a losing effort. Sebastian Aho scored the lone goal for the Hurricanes.

This second win was big for a road trip that started with losses in Pittsburgh and Detroit.

Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said this improvement is due to a commitment to defense:

Real big commitment, I think right from Pittsburgh, it’s been there. Didn’t get the result in the first couple games, but the effort by the goalies and the team defense it’s created offense for us, created a little bit of momentum. You know, everyone’s buying in, which is important, especially when you’re playing on the road.

Sharks forward Chris Tierney said that consistent defense is part of the team’s identity: “I think we just stuck to our game plan. That’s our identity, being able to win those tight games, tight checking and play well in the third and shut teams down. Just sticking to our game plan and working hard is what we do.”

Aaron Dell described what he saw from his team through the game: “We had lots of support tonight, guys were coming in and giving the other guys options and I think it really showed. We didn’t really give up a whole lot and we got out of our zone pretty easily all night.”

While Dell may have forgotten that the game was played early in the day, he did show up ready to play.

The Sharks opened the scoring just 4:06 into the first period. Timo Meier took a quick pass from Joonas Donskoi just above the goal line. Meier had been trailing the play after Donskoi, Burns and Logan Couture initiated the attack. Meier’s shot beat Cam Ward on the glove side. Assists went to Joonas Donskoi and Brent Burns.

The Hurricanes tied it up at one apiece with 2:02 left in the period. Danny O’Regan was just above the Sharks goal line when he turned the puck over to Jordan Staal. Staal’s pass to Danny Aho set him up perfectly to beat Dell.

The Sharks were not done with the period and regained the lead in the final minute. Melker Karlsson’s pass from the corner found Chris Tierney right in front of the net. He wasted no time and put it away. Assists went to Karlsson and Mikkel Boedker.

San Jose repeated that good start in the second period, but cut it almost in half. Just 2:03 into the middle frame, Brent Burns chased the puck down along the blue line and took a hasty, hard shot at the net. Cam Ward may have been somewhat screened by Barclay Goodrow and Brett Pesce battling in front of him. Assists went to Joel Ward and Joakim Ryan.

Brock McGinn and Brenden Dillon fought at 7:32, which started after a cross-check from Dillon. They went to their respective boxes, and Dillon was joined by Kevin Labanc, serving Dillon’s cross-checking penalty. That was the only penalty of the game, but it did not change the score.

Carolina made a good push at the start of the third, outshooting the Sharks 5-1 in the first six minutes. The Sharks put an end to that with a long shift at the other end, wearing the Hurricane defense down with an unrelenting assault. the Hurricanes broke out of that with a two-on-one but could not turn that into a goal.

Carolina pulled Cam Ward from the net with just over two minutes left in the period but the final score remained 3-1.

The Sharks will finish up this road trip on Tuesday in Denver against the Avalanche at 6:00 pm PT.

Donskoi scores two goals, Sharks beat Coyotes 6-5 in wild overtime game

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks defeated the Arizona Coyotes 6-5 in overtime at SAP Center Saturday.

It was the Sharks’ first game back after their mid-season break that started last Monday. The Sharks’ goals came from Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and two from Joonas Donskoi. The Coyotes’ goals came from Derek Stepan, Alex Goligoski, Christian Fischer, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Josh Archibald. Sharks’ backup goaltender

Sharks’ backup goaltender Aaron Dell made 13 saves on 14 shots after coming in to relieve Martin Jones en route to a thrilling victory. Coyotes goaltender Scott Wedgewood made 38 saves on 44 shots in a losing effort.

After the game, Dell said: “It wasn’t too bad. We were playing pretty well, I think the bounces just weren’t really going our way. I guess they weren’t really going anyone’s was. Kind of a weird night all around.”

Sharks’ head coach Pete DeBoer said:

It looked like the first game back after a five day break. I thought we had great energy, great legs. We were making some really good plays, I thought a little loose in some situations defensively. But you know, we found away. It was one of those games where there were some strange bounces and the chances they got they ended up sticking in the net, so we had to show some resiliency and we did.

The first period exploded with six goals scored. Every time the Sharks took a lead, the Coyotes tied it up. Joe Thornton scored at 5:53, off a sneaky behind the net pass from Pavelski. Stepan scored a few minutes later, with a shot from the faceoff circle that touched Jones’ left sleeve and went in. Assists went to Brendan Perlini and Richard Panik.

Joe Pavelski scored a power play goal at 10:59. Pavelski’s shot initially seemed to go off of Tomas Hertl’s stick, but in fact, it went off of Coyotes defenseman Jason Demers’ stick. Assists went to Thornton and Brent Burns. 1:17 after that goal, Alex Goligoski scored off a faceoff win by Stepan.

Logan Couture answered that with a goal about a minute and a half later. The Coyotes were breaking out of their zone when Burns sent a pass back the other way. Donskoi caught it and fought his way to the net under pursuit. He managed to get a shot off and it rebounded gently to Couture as he came down on the other side of the ice. Scott Wedgewood could not get back across and Couture had an open net. Assists went to Burns and Donskoi.

Christian Fischer tied it up a third time less than 30 seconds later. His backhand beat on a breakaway after a Sharks miscue at the Coyotes’ blue line. An assist went to Kevin Connauton.

That was the third goal given up on six shots for Jones. Dell came in to replace him.

The second period was predictably more sedate. Donskoi got lucky with a breakaway, set up by his goaltender and Mikkel Boedker. He was even luckier when, as Wedgewood came out to poke the puck away, his stick collided with Wedgewood and the puck popped out of the collision and then bounced over the goalie and into the net. Assists went to Boedker and Dell.

Going into the third period, the Sharks had taken over 50 attempted shots for their 4-3 lead, while the Coyotes had fewer than 30.

The Coyotes tied the game at four apiece when Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s shot from the blue line went off of Tim Heed in front of the net. The Coyotes took their first lead at 6:22. Archibald’s shot, again from up near the blue line, got through with the help of some traffic in front of Dell. DeBoer issued a challenge on the bass of goaltender interference.  The goal stood up.

The Sharks pulled Dell with 2:17 left in regulation. They used almost every remaining second and Donskoi scored with just 15.8 seconds left. Burns had taken a shot from the blue line that was stopped by Demers’ skate. The puck trickled under Wedgewood and Donskoi was there to tuck it across the line. Assists went to Burns and Chris Tierney.

The Coyotes started overtime with possession, but a miscue at center ice gave Chris Tierney a breakaway. He took the shot, but was also able to get the puck back after the rebound. The Sharks held the puck almost exclusively after that until Pavelski’s shot caused some chaos at the Coyotes net. Marc-Edouard Vlasic followed Dvorak into the net. The puck went into the net off Dvorak’s skate, though, Vlasic’s stick seemed to touch it as well. The NHL situation room challenged it for goaltender interference, but the goal held up. Assists went to Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton.

Up Next: The Sharks next play the Kings on Monday in Los Angeles at 1:00 pm PT.

Merry Little Shutout: Sharks Beat Kings 2-0, Jones Picks Up 100th NHL Win

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Photo credit: @PR_NHL

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks shutout the Los Angeles Kings 2-0 at SAP Center Saturday night. It was Martin Jones’ 100th NHL win and the first time the Sharks shutout the Kings in San Jose in over a decade. Sharks goals were scored by Marcus Sorensen and Joe Pavelski. Jones made 28 saves for the win, while Jonathan Quick made 31 saves in a losing effort for the Kings. Pavelski’s power play goal extended the Sharks’ power play success to an eight-game streak.

After the game, Sharks assistant coach Rob Zettler said:

I thought that was one of our best games of the year so far, against a division team, obviously and able to gain two points on those guys. Defensively we’ve been good all year, we’ve been starting to put the puck in the back of the net the last few games, last couple of weeks so it’s a good feeling.

Over those last couple of weeks, the Sharks have had to lean on their top lines for scoring. With Logan Couture injured, the team needs even more from the bottom six than before. That was the difference Saturday, said Zettler:

Tonight specifically I thought we got some quality minutes from our fourth line: Ward, Boedker, Sorensen, obviously scored the goal. I thought that was a major difference, being able to put those guys out in key times, key moments, and keep our big guys’ minutes down a little bit.

The game started with a strange sequence of penalties. First, Justin Braun was called for tripping Marian Gaborik, and it was a questionable call at best. 42 seconds into the Kings power play, Oscar Fantenberg was called for delay of game by concealing the puck. Depending on your bias, he either fell or threw himself down to the ice, momentarily concealing the puck. The puck was visible and moving almost immediately, so if it was an attempt to freeze the puck it was not a successful one.

Apart from penalties, it was a very rough-and-tumble game. Brenden Dillon and Timo Meier stood out, but it was a skirmish-laden event for almost everyone on the ice.

“It was fun to be on the bench, the physical part was fun. You know, Timo and Dillon and Burnsie’s hit against good players, really fun to be a part of,” said Zettler after the game. “You could feel the energy, not only in the building but you could feel it on the bench.”

The second period started with more penalties. First, Jonny Brodzinski hit Timo Meier, who responded by holding on and being dragged away from the boards. Brodzinski then threw Meier to the ice and got four minutes for roughing. Meier got two minutes for holding. During the ensuing four-on-four, the Kings were called for too many men on the ice, giving the Sharks about a minute of four-on-three action. With three penalty killers and then with four, the Kings killed off all of that.

One second past the midpoint of the game, Sorensen put the Sharks on the board. Key to his goal was that Quick was too far out of his net as the Sharks entered the zone. Sorensen changed direction abruptly right in front of Quick and was able to put the puck in with a backhand. Assists went to Mikkel Boedker and Dylan DeMelo.

The second goal came in the third period, on the Sharks’ fifth power play of the night. Tomas Hertl was in moving in front of the net, with Pavelski a little ways up in the slot. Burns took the shot from the blue line and Pavelski redirected it in. Burns took that shot right off a faceoff win by Pavelski, just six seconds into the power play.

The Sharks return to action Thursday when they host the Calgary Flames at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Score Five Again, Shut Out Slumping Sens 5-0

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

by M. Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks handed the Ottawa Senators a resounding defeat to the tune of 5-0 at SAP Center on Saturday night. The win followed up a surprising 5-4 overtime win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night, when the Sharks led a furious comeback after trailing by three goals. Saturday’s goals came from Logan Couture, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Melker Karlsson, Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl. Couture, Pavelski, Brent Burns and Kevin Labanc all had multi-point games and back-up goaltender Aaron Dell made 25 saves for the Sharks’ shutout win. At the other end of the ice, Craig Anderson made 45 saves on 50 shots in a losing effort for the Senators.

Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said that San Jose’s goal was to start fast against Ottawa, avoiding the slow start that marked their previous game: “I liked our game. Compared to the game against Carolina, I thought we were really sharp and really carried over the way we played in the third period against them into tonight.”

The Sharks checked a lot of boxes in Saturday’s game, killing four of four penalties and scoring on two of seven power plays. Tim Heed returned after dealing with an upper body injury, and Paul Martin is scheduled to start a conditioning stint with the Barracuda. So much rosy news begs the question of whether the Sharks have reached a turning point in the season.

DeBoer would not say that it is a turning point, but he did say that the goals are important for more than the score: “It was nice to score some goals, nice to get some power play goals. Guys have been working awful hard, we generate a lot of chances and we haven’t finished enough this year. So it was nice to have a night like that. Whether we can do that again tomorrow night I don’t know. But confidence is a big part of scoring and there was a lot of guys feeling good about themselves tonight.”

Logan Couture opened the scoring near the midpoint of the first period. The Sharks had outshot the Sens 10-0 at the 12-minute mark. Dell had just fought off the Senators’ first couple of shots in a flurry of activity on the edge of his crease. After Hertl won a defensive zone faceoff, the Sharks went the other way fast, with Labanc making a lovely pass so Couture could beat Anderson as he moved across. Assists went to Labanc and Justin Braun.

At the end of the first period, the shot count was 16-6 San Jose.

Early in the second period, the Sharks had just come off of a power play when Vlasic blasted a shot past Anderson. Tim Heed caught a pass from Kevin Labanc from behind the net, and sent the puck across the ice to the waiting Vlasic.

The Senators were keeping pace at least in shots past the midpoint of the period, but the Sharks did not let up. Joe Thornton passed the puck backward behind the net to a trailing Pavelski, who quickly sent it back up above the goal line for Melker Karlsson to pop into the net.

The Sharks’ power play came to life in the third period with two goals, one early and one late. The first third period power play resulted from a fight between Marcus Sorensen and Ryan Dzingel, when Dzingel was given an extra minor for roughing. Pavelski tipped a quick Couture shot from high in the slot. A second assist went to Brent Burns.

The Senators appeared to have scored at 5:12, in a power play that followed soon after the Sharks’ fourth goal. Braun was in the box for slashing. Matt Duchene took a shot from the face off dot and Bobby Ryan pushed it in. The official waved it off and did not even stop play. On later review, the NHL concluded that the puck had not crossed the line before Vlasic swept the puck back out.

The final power play of the game came when Alex Burrows used the butt end of his stick to bloody Dylan DeMelo’s face. Burrows was ejected with a fighting major and a roughing minor. DeMelo received roughing minor as he went to the dressing room to be patched up. Tomas Hertl scored after catching a bouncing puck off of Erik Karlsson’s hand. Assists went to Brent Burns and Logan Couture.

The Sharks next play on Sunday at 6:00 pm PT against the Minnesota Wild.

Sharks Win 2-1, Pavelski Scores 300

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

by M. Walsh

San Jose Sharks captain Joe Pavelski scored his 300th career NHL goal Friday, in a 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers at BB&T Center. Goaltender Aaron Dell won his second in a row with 39 saves, and Chris Tierney scored his seventh of the year with the game winner. For the Panthers, Colton Sceviour scored the only goal in the first period, and goaltender Roberto Luongo made 30 saves on 32 shots in a losing effort for Florida.

Joe Pavelski’s goal was his first since November 1st, after an eleven game dry spell. That 300th tally proved elusive for the Sharks captain. Of the milestone, Pavelksi said: “Guess I’m proud of that number, a lot of hard work. But we’ve seen so many great milestones recently, last year too, with Patty and Jumbo. It’s one of those things, it’s a good number but I believe there’s, you know, so much more hockey out there and I’ll keep trying to score some goals.”

Pavelski’s goal was challenged by Florida coach Bob Boughner, the first challenge that went the Sharks way for the first time in a while. The second Sharks goal was also subjected to review, after being called no goal on the ice. Ironically, the last time the Sharks played the Panthers, on November 16 at SAP Center, the Sharks had two goals called back on review, and they lost that game 2-0. It may be that the Sharks’ streak of bad luck with goal reviews has ended.

Of finally having a challenge go their way, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said: “Well, yeah, first one of this year, at least it feels like it. You know, I think, we felt it was a goal, so glad to get it. We’ve had enough of those go the other way, and it’s cost us some points. So it all evens out.”

The Sharks went into the game without Joonas Donskoi, injured in Monday’s game in Philadelphia. Donskoi joined the list of injured players that currently includes forwards Tim Heed and Barclay Goodrow, and defenseman veteran Paul Martin. Melker Karlsson was back in the lineup after missing time due to injury, and he left Friday’s game during the third period. Goaltender Martin Jones was dressed as the backup after missing Monday’s game, indicating that he may be ready to play Saturday.

Of the team’s spate of injuries, DeBoer said: “We’re asking other guys to jump in. You know, Tierns makes a play, the big guys are scoring some goals for us lately, Jumbo and Pav, you know Couture’s line’s been good all year. Every injury, every guy that goes down, obviously it’s testing your depth and we don’t have a lot of margin of error. There are a lot of two-on-one games, but we’re getting comfortable in those games so that’s a good thing.”

The Sharks started the game a little slowly, but picked up the pace by the middle of the first period. Nevertheless, they still gave up the first goal in the final two minutes of the period. Dell made the first save, but juggled the puck when it came back on the rebound. The goal initially was given to Panthers captain Derek MacKenzie, but would up being Colton Sceviour’s. Assists went to Alex Petrovic and Micheal Haley.

Joe Pavelski’s tying goal came 11:20 into the second period. Joe Thornton’s pass from behind the net went off of Florida’s Aleksander Barkov and reversed direction. It went right to Pavelski, where he was set up at the corner of the net. As he gained control of the puck, his skate made contact with Luongo’s skate, which was the basis of the coach’s challenge. Luongo was looking in the other direction, which makes sense since Thornton had passed the puck in that direction. Assists on the goal went to Thornton and Timo Meier.

The game winner came 7:13 into the third period. Melker Karlsson’s backhand shot went off of Luongo and to Chris Tierney below the goal line. Tierney shot it back in, bouncing it off of Luongo’s back and into the net. The goal was initially not called as such, but after video review, the NHL made the correction. Assists went to Karlsson and Brent Burns. It was Tierney’s third goal in his last four games.

The Sharks did not get a chance on the power play, but their penalty kill went 2-0 in the game.  Marc-Edouard Vlasic led the team in shots on goal with four.

The Sharks next play on Saturday, against the Tampa Bay Lightning at 4 pm PT.

Sharks Fall to Bruins 3-1, Power Play Struggles

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

By M. Walsh

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks fell to the Boston Bruins 3-1 on Saturday. Boston goals came from Peter Cehlarik, Jake DeBrusk, and Danton Heinen. Bruins goaltender Anton Khudobin made 36 saves for the win, while Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell made 17 saves. The lone Sharks goal came from Timo Meier.

The Sharks played well in many short bursts, but they could not generate second chances or sustain pressure for very long. After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said:

We’ve got to be a little bit harder around the net. We had some good chances tonight, it’s just we’re one play off, it feels. You come back to the shift and it’s one play, whether it’s in your d-zone or the neutral zone or the o-zone. It just feels like it’s one play right now.

In Saturday’s loss, the Sharks extended their power-play goal drought to 22. Perhaps more improbable, they saw a fourth consecutive coach’s challenge go against them. Brent Burns continues to shoot without scoring. He now leads the Sharks with 75 shots this season.

Just 1:02 in, the Sharks seemed to have ended their 63-minute goalless streak. Joe Thornton held the puck briefly near the goal line and then passed it back in front of the Bruins net. Out of a crush of players in front of the goalie, the puck found its way over the line off of Joonas Donskoi. The Bruins challenged it and won the challenge. Instead of ending their scoring drought, the Sharks now had three consecutive goals disallowed.

Undaunted, the Sharks went back to work and did get a goal at 4:50, this time from Meier. Danny O’Regan wrested control of the puck behind the Bruins net and guided it to Meier across the goal mouth. Khudobin could not get across in time to stop it. A secondary assist went to Joel Ward.

Moments later, the Bruins came back with a goal of their own. The puck went over the line after Boston’s Jake DeBrusk slid into Aaron Dell and pushed him into the net. The Sharks challenged the play for goaltender interference. The goal held up and was credited to Peter Cehlarik. DeBrusk got an assist for his trouble. It was the fourth consecutive challenge to go against the Sharks.

Of the decision, Pavelski said: “I don’t know. They say he was tripped in there. He was already kind of going down, I think.”

The first power play of the game went to the Sharks at 8:43. Riley Nash went to the box for tripping Joe Thornton. The Bruins penalty kill was effective. It was so effective that, just as Dell was tapping his stick to signal the end of the penalty, DeBrusk broke away and scored to give Boston the lead. Assists went to Charlie McAvoy and Sean Kuraly.

By the end of the first period, the score was 2-1 Boston, though the Sharks were outshooting the Bruins 17-5.

Near the midpoint of the second, Joe Thornton was called for tripping David Pastrnak. The Sharks penalty kill started well, with Melker Karlsson and Chris Tierney leading a merry chase at Boston’s end. The Bruins got no shots with that man advantage and really had no opportunity to do so.

The next penalties called were offsetting minors at 10:46, an interference call against Zdneo Chara and an embellishment call against Jannik Hansen. The Sharks dominated the four on four play but did not change the score.

As the period came to a close, the Sharks still trailed 2-1, and still led in shots, now 25-14.

Fans in the third period saw the Sharks start slowly. It was near the midpoint of the period before they had their first shot on goal. Their game picked up after that, but so did Boston’s game. At 14:59, Danton Heinen scored his third of the season against the Sharks, catching a well-timed pass from Kevan Miller for a breakaway. Too many Sharks were too deep in the Boston zone to catch him.

The Sharks had another power play in the last two minutes of regulation, but it didn’t make a difference.

The Sharks will have a chance to repair their game on Monday when they host the Anaheim Ducks at 7:30 pm PT.

Bruins Beat Sharks 2-1, Thornton Climbs to 20th in NHL Points

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

by Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 2-1 to the Boston Bruins on Thursday. Rookie Danton Heinen scored both Boston goals, his first and second NHL goals. It was his fourth NHL game. Joe Thornton scored the lone goal for San Jose. The point moved him up to a tie for 20th place with Jari Kurri among the NHL’s all time points leaders. Boston goaltender Anton Khudobin made 36 saves on 37 shots for the win.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said:

I think we worked pretty hard. The ice was not great out there. We had opportunities, we just didn’t find a way to stick them in net. I think when we came out of our end we played down there. They’re a good strong team, they’re big and heavy. I think they stuck their nose in, wanted this one. You know, you get those opportunities on the power play, we’ve got to cash in there.

The game was a reversal of Monday’s game in New York, when the Sharks had to kill six penalties to the Ranger’s 1. In Boston, the Sharks only took two penalties to the Bruins’ six. The loss drops the Sharks to a 4-5-0 record this season, and 2-2-0 for this five game road trip.

Martin Jones made 31 save son 33 shots for the Sharks. Joel Ward was again in the lineup, while Barclay Goodrow was replaced by Timo Meier. Otherwise, the lineup remained the same as on Monday. Ward got credit for one hit and had 9:40 in ice time. In 11:49 of ice time, Meier had a hit and two shots on goal.

The first goal of the game was short-handed. The Sharks were having little luck getting set up and in the second half of the power play Boston’s Kevan Miller won a race to the puck and quickly sent it back to David Backes. Backes headed for the neutral zone, with Heinen was a few steps ahead of him. The Sharks had two players back but Backes’s shot got by them and Sharks goalie Martin Jones kicked the rebound out right to Heinen. Assists went to Backes and Miller.

Joe Thornton’s goal came on a power play in the second period. Boston goaltender Anton Khudobin got a piece of Brent Burns’s shot but it rolled over his toe. Thornton had just slipped behind defenders Zdeno Chara and Brandon Carlo. Thornton was able to turn and reach the puck in the blue paint and lift it in the net. Assists went to Burns and Tim Heed.

Heinen’s second goal was also in the second period. This time, the rebound came off the boards behind the net while Jones was still trying to come across. Assists went to Carlo and Tim Schaller.

Late in the third period, the Boston net came off of its moorings and was not called as a delay of game. The Sharks were already on a power play with just 1:17 left in the third period. After the game, Pavelski summarized the third period:

We made a little push trying to get that goal, I think we created some opportunities. It felt good. There was maybe a few plays where we’re trying to make something happen and they turn it over. In those situations, Joner made the saves. It felt good, felt like we were going to get one there at the end. Ran out of time.

The Sharks next play on Saturday in Buffalo at 10:00 AM PT.

Sharks Shut Out Devils 3-0

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

by M. Walsh

The San Jose Sharks started a five-game road trip on Friday, with a 3-0 win in New Jersey. Melker Karlsson scored the first goal of the game, with Joe Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi adding to the score. Martin Jones made 28 saves for the shutout, while Keith Kinkaid made 30 stops for the Devils.

Asked if starting the trip a day early helped prepare the team, Sharks Captain Joe Pavelksi said:

Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. We won, so it helped. Coming off our home stand which wasn’t the best, I think it was good for us to get on the road an extra day and realize it’s a business trip for sure but we’ll have some fun, and it’s a great way to start it tonight.

The New Jersey Devils have had an excellent start to their season, winning six of seven games before the loss to the Sharks. Two of their young stars, forward Nico Hischier and defenseman Will Butcher get some credit for the early season success. In Friday’s game, Butcher led his team with five shots on goal. So far this season, Butcher has nine assists, while Hischier has two goals and five assists. After the game, Martin Jones described the Devils’ game as “They’re quick, they’re really good around the net. They make a lot of quick little plays in and around the net, so they’re definitely a dangerous team.”

The Sharks lineup looked the same as it had in their last game, one of just two wins this season. After the game, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said:

We need our depth, I thought our depth guys were good tonight. I thought all the guys on Tierney and Carpenter’s line were solid and we got good contributions from them. If not offense, then zone time and offensive zone play. So that was a good sign… It was the best that our depth forwards I think have played as a group, which is what we need.

The first goal came in the first period at 14:11. Tim Heed shot the puck in and the Sharks forwards swarmed the net. After Kinkaid made a couple of stops, Hertl made a quick pass from behind the net that found Karlsson right on the edge of the blue paint. From there he was able to put the puck into the far corner. Assists went to Hertl and Heed.

During that sequence, Logan Couture seemed to take the a shot off of his ankle and he left the game for the rest of the period. He did return to play the second period, but then missed some minutes at the start of the third.

The second goal came early in the second period. The Devils had the Sharks stuck in their own zone for a spell, but when the Sharks broke out they moved quickly. Defenseman Justin Braun sent the puck down low to Joe Thornton, who sent it right back as Pavelski got to the net. Braun took the shot from the blue line and Pavelski tipped it in. Assists went to Thornton and Braun. Of the goal, Pavelski said after the game:

I was a little surprised it went in, I was really tight to the goalie at the time. A lot of times they’ll be able to shut those down. Actually, one of my uncles passed yesterday and that was the one thing, you know, from family that they said, get a goal for that. And I don’t think that goal probably should have went in so I’m sure he had a little bit to do with it.

In the final two minutes of the second period, Joonas Donskoi showed off his skill and tenacity with the third goal. He carried the puck over the line, accompanied by his linemates Jannik Hansen and Ryan Carpenter. Donskoi took a shot from the faceoff circle which Kinkaid stopped and kicked back out. Donskoi caught the rebound on his backhand and threw it back in. An assist went to Justin Braun. Of Donskoi’s performance, DeBoer said:

He’s a very good player. Whether he plays with Thornton and Pavelksi or whether he plays with Tierney or Carpenter, he comes to work every game and he’s got to find a way to create offense for us. So I thought he was good tonight, played well. He’s just got to keep building on that.

The Sharks play again Saturday in Brooklyn against the New York Islanders at 4:00 PM PT.

Islanders, Greiss Defeat Sharks 3-1

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New York Islanders right wing Cal Clutterbuck scores on an open net late in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017, in San Jose, Calif. The Islanders won 3-1. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

by M. Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks lost 3-1 to the New York Islanders Saturday. The game winning goal was scored by Brock Nelson, with additional goals from Anders Lee and Cal Clutterbuck. The Sharks goal came from Kevin Labanc. Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss made 40 stops on 41 shots, while Aaron Dell made 20 stops on 22 shots for the Sharks. After the loss, Sharks forward Joe Thornton said: “You just can’t get frustrated, line after line, just keep going, keep working hard. But our compete level was really high tonight. Just didn’t get the outcome we deserved, I thought.”

Thornton gave Islanders goaltender Thomas Greiss a lot of credit for the game’s outcome. Though the Sharks put 41 shots on net, they only came away with one goal. It is a scenario long familiar to Sharks fans, but Saturday night the goaltender may truly have been the difference. Greiss is perfectly capable of controlling rebounds with a high level of accuracy, and that was certainly contributed to the Sharks’ glaring lack of second chances. The Sharks could have put more traffic in front of the net, but Greiss had a very good game as well.

Joe Pavelski had five shots on goal, and all but two of the Sharks got credit for more than one shot. Their 41 shots loomed over the Islanders’ 23. At times, the Sharks did have the Islanders on their heels, but San Jose’s game still was not consistent enough. In an uncharacteristic show of anger, Joe Pavelski broke his stick after failing to score on a very good chance. He explained that after the game: “Liked my game, like the finish to be a little bit better. You know, something had to give so the stick did.”

Sharks Head Coach Pete DeBoer also addressed the question of frustration with this poor start to the Sharks season:

“I thought tonight was probably our best game of the four we’ve played. I thought the special teams both looked good, you know we did a lot of good things five on five. We’re building our game and if you see frustration, that’s ’cause these guys expect to win every night.”

The Sharks started the game with a very early penalty: an interference call against Justin Braun. They killed that off and several minutes later got a power play of their own, when Calvin de Haan went to the box for slashing Kevin Labanc. On the ensuing power play, Mikkel Boedker’s shot was kicked out and bounced into the faceoff circle, where Labanc was waiting. He took a few steps and shot it. It deflected off of an Islander skater and into the net. Assists went to Boedker and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

The Islanders got on the board after a prolonged spell in the Sharks’ zone. After several bad passes and failed clear attempts, the Sharks gave it up one too many times. Jordan Eberle caught a pass from Adam Pelech and shot it at the far corner of the net. Anders Lee was waiting there to knock it in.

The Sharks followed that with a good shift from the top line. They held the puck in for a good minute or so, taking a few shots and seeing some chance, but not changing the score.

At the end of the first, the shots stood at 12-9 San Jose, with the score knotted at one.

The Sharks were on the penalty kill again, almost as soon as the second period began. Boedker went to the box for slashing at 1:04. 28 contributed a fine short handed attack in the middle of the kill, and the rest of the penalty kill finished the job without too much drama. The Sharks came out of the kill with some energy and sustained several long attacks, but it was the Islanders who scored next.

At 13:48, a Ryan Carpenter hit on Adam Pelech looked likely to lead to a penalty, especially when a couple of skaters started to go after Carpenter, including the alleged victim of the hit. But the whistles never blew and the rest of the players kept playing. Through the disarray, Brock Nelson’s shot went by Dell to give the Islanders the lead. The time of the goal was 6:27, assists went to Joshua Ho-Sang and Calvin de Haan.

The Sharks started the third period well. They dominated in shots and zone time for the first five minutes, but could not beat Greiss or create any second chances. That dominance ended with a defensive zone penalty to Joakim Ryan at 5:27. Jannik Hansen and Chris Tierney had a fine short-handed chance but still they could not beat Greiss. The rest of the penalty kill was very efficient, allowing the Islanders no shots and very little time in the zone.

The period went on and by the final five minutes, the Islanders were sitting on three shots to the Sharks’ 12. Nevertheless, the score was still 2-1 Islanders. After their fourth shot of the period, the score was 3-1. Cal Clutterbuck was the goal scorer after he grabbed the puck in the Islanders’ zone and put it in an empty net. Assists went to Nikolay Kulemin and Casey Cizikas at 18:10.

The Sharks will host the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday at 7:30 PM PT.