Tag: Joe Thornton

Sharks Pulled Down By Predators 4-2

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks lost 4-2 to the Nashville Predators at SAP Center Saturday. The loss was the second home game in a row in which the Sharks failed to clinch their 2019 playoff spot. The Predators got goals from Viktor Arvidsson (2), Filip Forsberg and Colton Sissons. Juuse Saros made 24 saves in the win, while Martin Jones made 26 saves in the Sharks loss. Sharks goals came from Joe Thornton and Timo Meier.

Nashville scored first and early, just 1:07 into the game. Craig Smith, Colton Sissons and Calle Jarnkrok went into the Sharks zone 3-on-2, with Smith was well away on the right wing and the Sharks defense focussed on Sissons and Jarnkrok. Jarnkrok pulled up at the blue line and made a pass to Smith. Smith carried the puck in and took a shot but it came back out and Sissons had to clean it up.

No one reviewed or challenged the goal, but after his shot Smith did skate into the blue paint and fall backwards over Martin Jones. Jones was certainly prevented from doing anything to stop the Sissons shot.

Micheal Haley and Wayne Simmonds fought at 5:59. The cause of the dispute was unclear, though the invitation came from Haley. Barclay Goodrow took a roughing penalty at the same time, putting the Predators on a power play. That power play did not last long as Ryan Johansen was called for slashing Joe Pavelski less than 20 seconds into it. No goals came from any of that.

The Sharks spent the last couple of minutes of the first evicting the Predators from their territory, but Team Teal did not muster much in the way of offense. An exception was a shift from Logan Couture and Timo Meier that did lead to some shots on Saros.

By the end of the period, the Predators were outshooting the Sharks 14-11. In the face-off circle, the Sharks had improved through the period from winning just 25% early to winning 53% by the first intermission.

The Sharks tied it briefly at 4:09 of the second. Logan Couture made a short backhand pass to Joakim Ryan on the blue line. With Couture slightly screening the shot, Ryan sent it in. Saros stopped it but kicked a rebound out for Joe Pavelski. Pavelski took the shot, which Saros stopped as well, but Meier was there on the other side of the goal mouth to put that rebound away. Assists went ot Pavelski and Ryan.

That tie lasted all of 24 seconds, before Viktor Arvidsson gave Nashville the lead again. Filip Forsberg got an assist.

The Sharks had a power play at 7:09 after Sissons went for slashing Hertl. That power play generated a couple of good chances but no goal for San Jose.

The teams played 4-on-4 after Colton Sissons and Joe Thornton exchanged cross-checks at 12:59 of the second. they played 4-on-4 against at 16:36 after Roman Josi was called for interference against Timo Meier and Meier was called for unsportsmanlike conduct (embellishment?).

During that 4-on-4, Brent Burns joined the rush and received a subtle little pass from Thornton. Burns bulled his way into the zone, but instead of shooting, he veered off at the last and dropped a pass to Thornton, who was in front of the blue paint. Thornton touched the pass just enough to put the puck over Saro’s pad and in the net. The assists went to Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

At the end of the second, with the score tied, the Sharks had taken a small lead in shots 21-20. They slipped a little on the face-off dot, down to 49% after two periods.

7:04 into the third, Filip Forsberg gave the lead back to the Predators. His wrap-around shot went off of Tim Heed’s stick as Heed tried to stop the shot. Martin Jones was a slow getting back across the net after losing his balance on a stop moments before. Assists went to Matt Irwin and Ryan Johansen.

Shortly after the 10-minute mark, Logan Couture and Timo Meier collided and hit each other up high. Couture went to the bench but neither player left the game. Kevin Labanc cross-checked Roman Josi at 11:00, giving the Predators a power play. The Sharks killed that off.

The Sharks pulled Jones for the extra skater with a little more than one minute left in regulation. Nick Bonino quickly intercepted a pass and sent it out. Viktor Arvidsson skated after it to score into that empty net.

The Sharks will next play on Monday, in San Jose, against the Vegas Golden Knights at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Beat Blues 3-2 in OT, Move to 1st in West

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Photo credit: @fntsyhky

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks defeated the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in overtime at SAP Center Saturday. The win nudged the Sharks up to first place in the Pacific Division and the Western Conference. Two goals came from Timo Meier and the overtime winner came from Kevin Labanc. St. Louis goals came from Pat Maroon and Brayden Schenn. The Sharks’ Martin Jones made 17 saves, while the Blues’ Jake Allen made 30 saves in the loss. Joe Thornton tied Stan Mikita on the NHL’s all time points list with his assist on Timo Meier’s first goal of the game. Meier also set a record for the most NHL goals in a season by a Swiss-born player.

After the game, Meier said:

It took us 60 minutes and some extra to win this game but our team, full four lines, all the guys showed up today. It was a tough battle, you know, they didn’t give us a lot of room out there. They’re a good forecheck team so it took our full lineup tonight and our best game to win this one.

Speaking of how the team has been performing, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said:

It’s that time of year, there’s 15 games left or less, we’re trying to catch Calgary, we’re trying to win the division and important games. I think everyone has adversity, we’ve had some flu, and some injuries and things but guys have taken it as a challenge and really stepped up. I think we’ve had some gutsy wins here.

Both teams were missing significant pieces from their lineups. The Sharks were still without Erik Karlsson and Evander Kane, while the Blues were missing their leading goal scorer Vladimir Tarasenko.

The Blues scored first with a power play goal. Pat Maroon was in the right place to take advantage of a puck that came off the glass and landed by the goal post. It was his fifth of the season. Assists went to Colton Parayko and Vince Dunn.

The Sharks answered with their own power play goal at 16:23. With the power play winding down, Meier caught a pass from Joe Thornton and took a shot behind him. The puck went under goalie Jake Allen for Meier’s 25th of the season. Thornton and Tim Heed got the assists.

Meier added another in the final minute of the first period at 19:33. Logan Couture was in the corner when he made a backhand pass to Meier right in front of the net. Meier found an opening and put it away. Assists went to Couture and Tomas Hertl.

The Sharks led in shots in the first 10-8. Each team scored on a power play and each team killed one penalty. The Sharks had the edge in the face off circle as well, winning 53% of the time.

The second period was almost uneventful, up to the final two minutes. The Blues got a power play when Tomas Hertl was called for hooking. They tied the game at 19:57 of the period. Barclay Goodrow had the puck on his stick and was about to move it away from the goal mouth. Instead, Brayden Schenn came in and knocked it off of Goodrow’s stick and into the net. It was Schenn’s 13th of the season.

The Sharks lost their edge in face offs in the second. The Blues won an impressive 73% of them. The teams were even with six shots each.

Neither team scored in the third, but the Sharks outshot the Blues 15-4. The Blues won 60% of the face offs. The Blues continued to win those face offs in overtime.

Kevin Labanc scored the overtime winner with the team’s second shot of the period. Tomas Hertl gave him the puck in the neutral zone and, after carrying it across the line, Labanc passed it to Couture on the left wing. Couture gave it back quickly, just as Allen moved to block a shot from Couture. Labanc was able to get the shot off before Allen could move back across. The assists went to Couture and Hertl.

The Sharks next play on Monday in St. Paul, Minnesota against the Wild at 5:00 PM PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks start four-game roadie with Pittsburgh tonight

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sfchronicle.com photo: The Boston Bruins Charlie McAvoy (73) is jubilant after scoring go ahead goal against the San Jose Sharks on Monday night at SAP Center

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Sharks Joe Thornton scored a hat trick against his old team the Boston Bruins on Monday night at SAP Center the Bruins no easy customer

#2 The Bruins despite Thornton’s hat trick got a game winning goal from extra skater Charlie McAvoy with 1:01 left for the 6-5 win

#3 The Bruins swept all three California teams on this last road trip Kings, Ducks and Sharks

#4 Joe Pavelski had three points and Logan Couture picked up two in the loss. Neither San Jose’s Martin Jones (14 saves)

#5 The Sharks have lost two out of their last three games and open a four game road trip tonight in Pittsburgh Mary talks about how she sees this game

Mary Lisa does the Sharks podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Thornton’s Historic Night Leads Sharks to 7-2 Win

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By: Joe Lami and Marko Ukalovic

VANCOUVER, BC–Jumbo Joe Thornton made history on Monday night passing Gordie Howe for ninth all-time in assists notching the 1,050th of his career in Vancouver as part of San Jose’s 7-2 blowout of the Vancouver Canucks.

The record-breaking pass came at 17:30 of the second period, as Thornton led a 2-on-1 breakaway finding Kevin Labanc, who slapped it past rookie goaltender Mike DiPietro making it 6-1. On the play, Jumbo Joe also tied Teemu Selanne for 15th in all-time points in the same game he moved into 15th all-time in games played with 1,540.

“There’s no words to describe being in a dressing room with a guy that’s ahead of Gordie Howe now. It’s pretty crazy, he’s a special player” said Logan Couture.

“When you pass Gordie Howe on any list, I don’t care what list it is, that’s the story of the night. It’s an unbelievable accomplishment, unbelievable career and that’s something that should be celebrated, and our whole group is excited to be here to witness it” added Peter DeBoer.

The pair of Thornton and Labanc has been incredible of late as the two have connected for three of Labanc’s four goals in the last two games.

With the win, the Sharks have swept Western Canada and have extended their win streak to six games jumping into first place in the Pacific Division.

The Sharks dominance of Western Canada continued early, as they quickly went up 3-0 on Vancouver before the Canucks could even get a shot on net halfway through the first period.

Timo Meier welcomed DiPietro to the NHL by scoring on the first shot he would see for his 20th goal of the season. Meier became the fifth Shark to hit 20 goals this season, making San Jose the only team in the NHL to have five 20-goal scorers. In just their 57th game of the year, it’s the fastest San Jose has reached the mark in franchise history.

“Tonight, we knew they were in a tough spot starting [DiPietro] and we wanted to jump on him early. We scored on the first couple of shifts and were in control all night” mentioned Couture.

The Sharks continued their dominance with Evander Kane and Melker Karlsson finding the back of the net before the halfway mark. Kane’s 25th of the season came on a fluttering puck from the right point off the backhand that hit Ben Hutton before going in. Karlsson tipped a Brent Burns wrist shot at 8:48 to make it 3-0.

Vancouver finally got their legs going late in the first and registered their first shot at the 12:24 mark. They made it 3-1 right before the final buzzer thanks to a fantastic play by rookie sensation Elias Pettersson who gained the zone and threw a no-look pass to the top of the right circle finding Bo Horvat for an easy one-timer goal with six seconds remaining in the period. Horvat slapped his 20th of the season to the top right corner of the net.

The Sharks didn’t let the late first period goal come back to bite them as they completely dominated the rest of the way. With no backup available for Vancouver, they continued to pound the puck past the 19-year old with Kane scoring his second, Tomas Hertl, Labanc, and Joe Pavelski all jumping in on the scoring.

Vancouver jumped on the board once again in the third to make it 6-2, as Derek Pulliot slotted his third goal of the season thanks to a beautiful pass from Zack MacEwen, recording his first point in his first NHL game.

Pavelski netted his 30th of the season on a deflection play late in the third to make it 7-2. It’s the fifth time in his career Pavelski has hit 30 goals, as the captain continues his career pace.

Most impressively, the Sharks saw all four lines get on the scoring sheet as they dominated five-on-five. Their powerplay was the one weak spot going 0-for-3 and only generating three shots.

Martin Jones was steady in net for the Sharks stopping 25 of the 27 shots sent his way. He continues to lead all goaltenders since the start of December with a record of 18-5-1 and has allowed two goals or less in ten of his last 15 starts.

San Jose returns home as one of the hottest teams scoring at least five goals in the last three games, including four of the previous six. They host the Washington Capitals on Thursday to kick off a three-game homestand.

Sharks Win 5-2 in Edmonton, Thornton Ties Howe

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Oilers 5-2 win in Edmonton Saturday while adding a couple of milestones. Joe Thornton earned his 1,048th and 1,049th assists to tie Gordie Howe for ninth in the NHL. That last point came on Kevin Labanc’s third goal of the game for his first NHL hat trick. Two more Sharks goals came from Evander Kane and Tomas Hertl. Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell made 21 saves on 23 shots. Edmonton got goals from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zack Kassian, while goaltender Cam Talbot made 26 saves on 31 shots.

Of their success in Edmonton this season, and of Labanc’s hat trick, Sharks Captain Joe Pavelski said:

Yeah, first one, that’s awesome, they were nice goals too. He shot the puck really well tonight, you know, quick, accurate, hard. He made some good plays out there. It was big for us. That’s what I was talking about, up and down the lineup, when we’ve come in here we’ve had guys step up and have big nights and, you know, Kevin had a good one for us tonight.

Kevin Labanc gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead 10:39 into the first. Catching a pass from Joe Thornton as he came into the zone at a good clip, Labanc took a quick shot that went off of an Edmonton skate and into the net. Assists went to Thornton and Marcus Sorensen.

Evander Kane added to that lead at 12:15. Tomas Hertl carried the puck over the blue line, then made a backwards pass to Joonas Donskoi who had just entered the zone behind him. Donskoi found Kane as he arrived in front of the net, undefended. Kane did not hesitate and put the puck by Talbot on the near side. Assists went to Donskoi and Hertl.

The teams skated four-on-four after Barclasy Goodrow and Leon Draisaitl exchanged penalties, crossing-checking for Goodrow and interference for Draisaitl. Neither team scored.

At the end of the first period, the Sharks led 2-0 and 12-5 in shots.

The Sharks had an early power play in the second period, when Zack Kassian went to the box for tripping Evander Kane. With 22 seconds left in that penalty, Adam Larsson was called for delay of game after the puck went out of play.

The two man advantage had expired before the Sharks scored again. Evander Kane moved as if to carry the puck behind the net but instead sent the puck to the front. Timo Meier was there but he could not get his stick on it. The puck went off of his skate and out to Labanc who was at the edge of the faceoff circle. He dragged the puck closer to the slot, encouraging the goalie to move off the post. As Talbot started to move across, Labanc took the shot. Assists went to Meier and Kane.

The Sharks got another chance at 9:06 with Oscar Klefbom in the box for interference against Tomas Hertl, but that was cut short by half a minute when Timo Meier was called for tripping Brandon Manning. The Sharks penalty had 28 seconds left in it when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored for Edmonton. Aaron Dell had fought off a couple of shots and was down when the puck popped out to Nugent-Hopkins away from the net crowd. Nugent-Hopkins took the shot and it went through traffic and in at 12:00 of the second. An assist went to Alex Chiasson.

At the end of the second period, the Sharks led 3-1. Despite the power play time for San Jose, Edmonton still had 13 shots to the Sharks’ 7 for the period. Whatever accounted for that imbalance, it did not go unnoticed by the Sharks during intermission. They came out with renewed energy to start the third period.

Kevin Labanc completed his hat trick just 1:36 into the final frame. Much like his first goal of the game, he took a pass from Joe Thornton off the rush and his shot went through traffic. This time, it did not hit anything and went into the net clean as a whistle. Assists went to Thornton and Brenden Dillon.

Tomas Hertl made it 5-1 at 4:24 of the third. He carried the puck into the zone, looked away like he was going to pass across the ice, snatched the puck away from an Edmonton stick, then shot it through the short side. Talbot was unable to predict that.

Zack Kassian got one back for Edmonton at 4:03 of the third. His shot from the blue line bounced off of a skate and went up in their over Dell before landing across the line. Adam Larsson got an assist.

In the end, the Sharks got one power play goal in five chances, and the Oilers scored on their only power play of the game. The Sharks won 60% of the faceoffs.

At 4:57 of the first period, San Jose’s Melker Karlsson carried the puck into the zone and attempted to protect it against Milan Lucic and Kevin Gravel behind the Edmonton net. Gravel pushed Karlsson into the boards and he started to loose his footing. As he started to fall, Gravel pushed him again and Karlsson went down with what appeared to be a shoulder injury. Karlsson left the game.

In the final seconds of the first period, Edmonton’s Ty Rattie blocked a Tim Heed shot with his ankle and he left the ice with assistance. He did not return.

The Sharks next play on Monday in Vancouver against the Canucks at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks’ Win Streak at 6, Beat Senators 4-1

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Photo credit: @NBCSSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks extended their win streak to six games with a 4-1 win against the Ottawa Senators Saturday. The game was scoreless through almost two periods, but starting with a goal at the end of the second, the Sharks found their scoring touch. Sharks goals came from Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns, Joe Thornton and Melker Karlsson. Martin Jones made 27 saves in the win. Ryan Dzingle scored the lone goal for Ottawa, while goalie Anders Nilsson made 28 saves.

Sharks defenseman Justin Braun was back in the lineup after missing a few games due to injury. With Radim Simek also back recently, only Marc-Edouard Vlasic is still out from the Sharks’ blue line. Early in the first period Saturday, though, forward Joonas Donskoi was injured. Donskoi did not return after a collision with Mark Borowiecki. After the game, their was little news about the injury apart from the fact that it was an upper body one.

All these lineup adjustments have not slowed the Sharks down as they made their way through this winning streak. After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski credited the team’s structure for their resilience: “We’ve got a good structure. I think the group understands what we’re trying to do. Guys are able to slot in, just playing hard, doing things the right way. You need that, for a stretch like this right now, against some good teams.”

The game was scoreless for most of two periods Saturday. The Sharks took and killed two tripping penalties in the first two periods but that was it for the score sheet until late in the second.

The Sharks scored the first goal with just over two minutes left in the second period. Joe Pavelski caught a pass a little awkwardly as he skated into the zone. As soon as he had the puck settled, he took the shot and beat Anders Nilsson with a shot to the top corner. Assists went to Tomas Hertl and Brenden Dillon.

The Sharks scored again at 6:17 of the third period. Brent Burns took a shot from the boards and it went off of Nilsson and then Christian Jaros and in. Kevin Labanc and Justin Braun got assists on the goal.

The Senators got one back 21 seconds later from Ryan Dzingle. The Senators intercepted a clearing attempt by the Sharks and Bobby Ryan found Dzingle on his way across the slot. His shot got past Jones’s glove and went in. Assists went to Bobby Ryan and Zach Smith.

The Sharks had another penalty to kill at 9:44 of the third. Joe Pavelski was called for slashing Chris Tierney after Pavelski’s stick got tangled up in Tierney’s legs. Painful as the result was for Tierney, it did look closer to another trip than a slash.

The Sharks got their first power play at 13:26 of the third, a holding penalty to Jaros. The Sharks did not score on the power play but they did score just after it expired. A blue line shot from Timo Meier hit an Ottawa defender and then went under Nilsson’s pad and in. Joe Thornton helped the puck make its way in for his ninth goal of the season. Assists went to Timo Meier and Brent Burns.

Melker Karlsson added an empty-net goal at 18:39.

The shot count was close throughout the game, and in the end the Sharks held a small edge at 32-28. In the face off circle, the Sharks prevailed 65% of the time.

The Sharks will next play on Tuesday against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins at 7:00 PM PT.

Jones Saves 39, Sharks Top Canes 5-1; That’s two straight wins for Sharks

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

photo from nhl.nbcsports.com: San Jose’s Joe Pavelski goes for the victory skate in front of the Sharks bench after scoring his season’s 18th goal as the Sharks defeated the Carolina Hurricanes at SAP Center on Wednesday night

By Matthew Harrington

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks won on the road for the second-straight game, shelling the Carolina Hurricanes 5-1 at SAP Center on Wednesday night. Well, not quite. Despite the Sharks wearing the road whites and feeling the parts of weary travelers, they were actually the home team.

Joe Thornton and Timo Meier each had three points for San Jose, Martin Jones made 39 saves and Radim Simek picked up his first career NHL point in just his second game. Joe Pavelski scored his team-leading 18th goal and Meier, Marcus Sorensen, Tomas Hertl and Barclay Goodrow all scored for Team Teal. Lucas Wallmark scored the lone goal for the Canes.

The Sharks returned from a six-game road swing Sunday night, playing their first home game since November 23rd, but their bags really never had a chance to be unpacked, with San Jose off to Dallas for a Friday night contest before a trip to the Desert for a Saturday showdown with the Coyotes.

Both teams entered play 1-2 in high-danger scoring chances, so offensive fireworks were expected. The fact that they were completely one-sided came as a bit of a surprise though. Goodrow opened the scoring taking a Kevin Labanc feed and going top shelf just 3:44 into the game for his fourth goal of the year. Tomas Hertl scored a power play strike after Logan Couture’s cross-ice pass to Labanc pulled NHL journeyman Curtis McElhinney to his left. Labanc connected with Hertl just to the right of the netminder in the crease for the easy redirect and a 2-0 lead halfway through the first period. The Canes would pepper Jones with 17 shots in the frame but he stood tall to hold down the shutout after 20 minutes.

Timo Meier continued to blossom as San Jose’s best power forward since Owen Nolan, buzzing McElhinney right as Simek ripped a point shot. The naked eye gave Simek his first career goal, but by the grace of video review, Timo Meier was awarded his 14th goal. Simek had to settle for an assist for his first NHL point and a 3-0 Sharks lead 8:42 into the second. Thornton would pick up his first of three assists, notching the secondary helper on the final three San Jose goals.

Joe Pavelski scored what has to be the most fortuitous goal of his season, attempting to flip a puck on McElhinney that looked like it would be harmless. Instead the puck glanced off Jordan Staal and redirected into the Canes net for a 4-0 Sharks edge.

Carolina would finally crack Jones in the waning minute and a half of the middle stanza with Wallmark beating Jones glove side on the power play to score on the Hurricanes 26th shot of the contest. Marcus Sorensen got the goal pack after Meier threaded a pack hand pass that allowed the Swede to rip a shot past McElhinney with just 4:17 left in regulation.

San Jose has now collected a point in three-straight home games and is on a two-game win streak after a five-game skid. They’re off to the Big D for a showdown with Tyler Seguin and the Stars next.

Senators Sink Sharks 6-2 in Ottawa

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks gave up six goals for the second time on this road trip. The Ottawa Senators got goals from Ryan Dzingel, Ben Harpur, Mikkel Boedker, Mark Stone, Magnus Paajarvi and Bobby Ryan. Sharks goals came from Joe Thornton and Barclay Goodrow. It is worth noting that Mikkel Boedker earned four points in the game. Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson made 36 saves for the win and Martin Jones made 21 saves for San Jose.

It was not an ideal first game back in Ottawa for Erik Karlsson (he had nine shots on goal but was still a minus 2), but he was grateful for the tribute before the game. He also talked about how the Sharks are struggling: “At the end of the day it’s up to us in that room to figure that out and find a way to get back to the team that we know we can be. As of right now it’s going to be tough to do that but we’re going to do everything we can to figure that out and we’re going to sort this thing out for tomorrow’s game against Montreal.”

He was asked about the experience of returning to Ottawa for the first time since being traded to San Jose, and whther he was glad to have this game behind him. He said:

I was happy to be able to play this game, yes. It’s not a lie that we’ve all known when it was coming up. There’s been a lot of talk and I’ve been trying to stay focused on the games that we had before that and I think I did a good job at that. I was happy and this was a great experience I had a lot of fun out there even though this was not a great game at all and I’m not happy by any means. But it’s going to be nice to move on now here. I’m excited to be able to play tomorrow in Montreal and hopefully sort this mess out.

Sharks captain Joe Pavelski was with the team when they played their first game against Ottawa after Dany Heatley came to San Jose. After Saturday’s loss, he said: “Yeah, yeah very disappointing. You know, you come back in this situation, I remember when we came back when Heater was with us, you know, and winning that night. It always feels good that you can support a guy in an emotional night. We came out, we had a good first I think, we were right there, it felt like we were on top of them. We just didn’t sustain it.”

After a scoreless first period, the Senators got a power play just a few minutes into the second period. While Marcus Sorensen and Justin Falk were in the box with fighting majors, Evander Kane tripped Bobby Ryan. In the second minute of that power play, Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s stick broke in the Senators’ end, inspiring an odd-man rush for the Senators. Justin Braun and Martin Jones handled that well, with Vlasic doing what he could without a stick.

Once the power play had ended, though, Ottawa took the lead at 7:30. A shot from Thomas Chabot on the blue line got through to Jones, who kicked the puck out. But two Senators were right in front of him and Ryan Dzingel got to the rebound before Brent Burns could. It was Dzingel’s 11th goal of the season, with assists to Chabot and Matt Duchene.

The Sharks got a power play not much later when Cody Ceci hooked Joe Pavelski. That turned into a five-on-three for under a minute when Tom Pyatt tripped Evander Kane. Two seconds after the five-on-three expired, Joe Thornton tied the game off a tic-tac-toe play from Burns to Pavelski by the goal line. Pavelski’s pass went through the crease to Thornton. The play had Anderson moving from post to post and that left Thornton an open net to shoot at. It was Thornton’s fourth of the year with assists to Pavelski and Burns.

Ryan Dzingel almost had another goal at 11:17 when he broke away and took a shot that hit the the crossbar.

The Senators did score the next goal at 12:56. Ben Harpur received a pass from Zack Smith in the neutral zone, then took a shot off the rush for his first NHL goal. Assists went to Smith and Magnus Paajarvi.

Less than a minute later, two former Sharks combined to give the Sens a two-goal lead. Bobby Ryan’s pass found Chris Tierney on the Sharks’ blue line. Tierney sent the puck ahead of Mikkel Boedker, who was flying to the Sharks net. Boedker put the puck under Martin Jones with a last-moment backhand. It was Boedker’s third goal of the season, with assists to Tierney and Ryan.

The third period was more of the same, with Ottawa not letting up at all. A power play goal came at 4:03, off a three-on-one created when Vlasic was tied up briefly in the offensive zone. It was Mark Stone’s goal, with assists to Boedker and Chabot.

Pete DeBoer opted to pull Martin Jones with over five minutes left in the game. That lasted only seconds after the next faceoff, as Magnus Paajarvi’s shot went all the way down the ice and into the empty net.

Barclay Goodrow got one back for the Sharks with two minutes left. Goodrow deflected Brenden Dillon’s hard shot from the blue line for his third of the season. Assists went to Dillon and Joakim Ryan.

Bobby Ryan was able to restore the four-goal lead in the final minute, deflecting Boedker’s shot from above the faceoff circle. Assists went to Boedker (his fourth point of the night) and Cody Ceci.

The Sharks next play on Sunday in Montreal against the Canadiens at 4:00 PM PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Hitchcock and Oilers changed game plan on Sharks; Sharks host Vancouver Friday

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 How surprised were you that Edmonton Oilers (10-10-1) head coach Todd McLellan was fired before Tuesday night’s game in San Jose?

#2 McLellan served as head coach for the San Jose Sharks (11-7-1) from 2008-2015. What mistakes did he make with the Oilers?

#3 The Oilers called former NHL coach Ken Hitchcock out of retirement at 66 years old. He led the Oilers to an overtime win past the Sharks 4-3.

#4 Sharks’ Joe Thornton tied former Pittsburgh Penguin Mario Lemieux for 11th in all-time goals at 1,033.

# 5 The Sharks host Vancouver Friday night then go on the road for five games. How tough will the road be for the Sharks?

Mary Lisa does the Sharks podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Thornton Joins Elite Company, Scores Game-Winner 5-4 Over Nashville

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Photo credit: @Sharkfan20

By Jerry Feitelberg

The San Jose Sharks won a seesaw tilt Tuesday night at the SAP Center, seeing a 3-0 lead dissolve into a 4-3 deficit before rallying for a pair goals and 5-4 win. Joe Thornton scored his 400th goal, Joe Pavelski scored twice, Marcus Sorensen had a three point night. Erik Karlsson and Tomas Hertl also notched milestone assists for San Jose’s second win in as many games at home.

The game-winning flurry began with just under seven minutes left oimregulation and the Sharks trailing 4-3. Joe Pavelski netted his second goal of the game and 10th of the year to pull the game even, then Joe Thornton netted the game-winner just 13 seconds later, his 400th NHL goal.

“Jumbo” became just the seventh player to record 400 goals, 1,000 assists and appear in 1,500 games, accomplishing the third feat earlier this season. He joins Jaromir Jagr, Mark Messier, Gordie Howe, Ray Bourque, Ron Francis and Steve Yzerman as the only players to do so. Six of those players are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, with number 19 set to join them when he hangs up his skates.

San Jose led 3-0 after a first period they dominated, out-shooting the Predators 18-5, but the roles were reversed in the second.

Craig Smith scored on a deflection off his skate 4:43 into the period, then a turnover spring Filip Forsberg for a breakaway that he buried just 40 seconds later. Forsberg would beat Jones five-hole with 2:08 left in the period to tie the game heading into the final frame. Nashville pulled closer in the shot differential category after outpacing the Sharks 18-6.

Rocco Grimaldi scored 2:43 into the third period, challenging Joakim Ryan for a Puck at the Predators blue line. The forward picked the puck up and worked Ryan off his back, finishing the play with a back-hand fore-hand deke and his first goal of the year after getting called up in late October to give the Preds a 4-3 edge over a then-lifeless Sharks side.

It looked like San Jose would continue their strong home at and early in the contest after beating the Calgary Flames Sunday. Marcus Sorensen scored 5:09 into the game, outwaiting Predators goalie Juuse Saros, who committed to the butterfly with the forward in the crease. Sorensen was able slide to the side for an open net and his third goal of the year.

Joe Pavelski scored his ninth goal of the year on a power play tip 7:05 into the first, but the assists were the real milestones. Erik Karlsson picked up his 400th career assist, the fifth-most by an active defenseman, and Tomas Hertl’s secondary helper marked his 100th of his career in his second game back from an injury.

Antti Suomela netted his fourth goal on some puck luck thanks to a gaffe from Forsberg. Forsberg went to pass the Puck to a teammate in the defensive end but his rocket hit the boards and bounced dead-center in the slot. Suomela was waiting for it on the forecheck, ripping it over Saros’ glove for a 3-0 edge with just over three minutes left in the first.

The Sharks had their opportunities often, going on five power plays, but only scoring on the one try. Martin Jones made 31 saves in the game. The Sharks continue the homestand Thursday against old friend Patrick Marleau, new enemy John Tavares and the Toronto Maple Leafs.