Tag: Joe Thornton

Sharks Finish Off Preds With 5 Goal Shutout

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By Mary Walsh

AP photo: San Jose Sharks Joe Pavelski scores first goal of the game in the first period against the Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne and Shea Weber at SAP Center Thursday night

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks came up with a resounding Game Seven win against the Nashville Predators on Thursday. The 5-0 victory means that the Sharks will advance to face the St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference Finals. It is somewhat surprising that both of the NHL’s 2016 Western Conference finalists won their second round series in Game Sevens by a margin of five goals. After the Blues defeated Dallas on Wednesday 6-1, the odds had to be long against the Sharks accomplishing a similar feat a day later. But they did.

It has been a while since the Sharks went to the Conference Final. The Sharks’ Logan Couture offered an insight into how he is approaching the next step:

My first two years we made it to Conference Finals, you think it’s easy. You think it’s going to come every year and it doesn’t. So I think it makes you realize that you’ve really got to take advantage of the chances that you do. When you get there you have a very good team, you’ve got to take advantage of it.

A 5-0 victory was not what anyone expected between San Jose and Nashville in Game 7. The teams were pretty well matched through six games, and had fought their way to a third overtime period once. Martin Jones played well, but only faced 20 shots, 12 of those coming in the third period. Nashville’s Pekka Rinne was relieved half way through the third period. The Sharks’ best players were their best players, while Nashville’s were not. Sharks goals came from five different players and the power play to boot. Logan Couture set a new franchise record for points in a playoff series with his eleventh on Thursday.

After the game, Joe Thornton pointed to the Sharks’ depth as key to the win and the series success:

We roll four lines, we roll 16. I think we have so much trust with each other that whoever goes over that board we just have confidence will do the job. You saw it tonight.

A quick look at the game stats reveals a comparatively flat ice time distribution for the Sharks forwards. Thornton saw the most ice time at 17:04, while Dainius Zubrus had the least at 12:58. The confidence and trust that Thornton describes seems to be well placed. None of the lines looked particularly vulnerable against the Predators on Thursday.

It was hard to reconcile the Sharks team we saw Thursday with the one seen in Nashville on Monday, when the Predators came away with the overtime win in Game 6. Logan Couture explained:

I think guys just wanted to get out there and put that game six behind us and move on and we were saying just establish the forecheck, get it in on their D. Make this building tough to play in like it’s been in the past and that’s what we did.

Tommy Wingels was back in the lineup after sitting out two games. He had a nice breakaway early in the first. His shot bounced out of Rinne’s glove for an enticing rebound, but no one was there to take advantage of it for the Sharks. That was slightly anomalous for the first five minutes of the game, as the Sharks outshot the Predators 6-1. The teams spent the majority of that time in the Nashville zone.

The Sharks got their first power play at 8:22 of the period, at which time the Predators still only had one shot on goal. It was a cruel but bloodless penalty for the Predators: Viktor Arvidsson went to the box for sending the puck over the glass. The Sharks had a hard time getting their power play rolling. In the first 12 seconds, they struggled to keep the puck in, then the Predators sent it onto the bench and they just could not get things going.

25 or so seconds later, Thornton made a pass from the half wall to Marlowe on the goal line. Marlowe made a quick pass back up to Pavelski in front of the net and Pavelski put it home on the far top corner. It was Pavelski’s ninth goal of the playoffs. Assists went to Marlowe and Thornton.

The Predators took their second shot some time in the tenth minute of the period. They still had not taken a third when Marc-Edouard Vlasic knocked the puck off a Nashville stick. Melker Karlsson picked it up and sent Joel Ward in on a breakaway. Ward skated around defender Roman Jossi, then delayed long enough to draw Rinne out of the crease, and put the puck behind the goalie to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead. There were just over three minutes remaining in the first. Assists went to Melker Karlsson. It was Ward’s second goal of the playoffs.

With 1:38 remining in the first, Nashville’s Shea Weber went to the box for interference against Dainius Zubrus, giving the Sharks a second power play. The Sharks did not score, leaving just 22 seconds on the power play to start the second period.

At the end of the first, the shots were 17-3 San Jose. In the faceoff circle, the Sharks imnproved significantly over previous games in this series, winning 67% of the draws.

The Sharks did not score during those last 22 seconds of power play time, but 14 seconds later Logan Couture picked up a misplayed puck and skated in to score his seventh of the playoffs.

The Sharks followed that up with a tremendous couple of minutes, capped by an attack from San Jose’s fourth line that had Pekka Rinne all out of sorts. A couple of chances found Rinne out of his net but the puck bounced over the cross bar each time.

Five minutes into the second period, the Sharks were leading by three goals and 13 shots. Twelve minutes in and the Predators were looking completely overmatched. The Sharks did not exactly ressemble the Globetrotters but they were moving the puck around the Nashville zone without much resistance at all. Nashville blocked their shots and kept them away from rebounds, but that seemed to be all they could do.

At the end of the second period, Mattias Ekholm was called for cross-checking Tommy Wingels, so the Sharks started the third on another power play.

32 seconds into that power play, the Sharks entered the zone four on one. Logan Couture had a chance to carry the puck into the slot and take a shot. The puck hit Rinne’s pads and stalled just outside the goal line, and Joe Thornton was right there to touch it in the rest of the way. It was Thornton’s third of the post season, and Couture received the only assist.

If a three goal lead is dangerous, then you could say that Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture put the game back into the safe zone fifth goal at 3:54 of the third. A quick pass up ice from Joonas Donskoi sent Marleau and Couture away on a two on one. The Sharks skaters played the puck back and forth and got Rinne sliding across. Marleau put the puck over him for his fourth of the playoffs.

Carter Hutton came in to replace Rinne after that.

With 5:26 to go in the game, Sharks defenseman Justin Braun was called for interference, giving the Predators their first power play, but it did not change the outcome.

The Sharks will start their series against the Blues on Sunday in St. Louis at 5:00 PT.

Sharks Hang On To Beat Predators 3-2, Take 2-0 Series Lead

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By Mary Walsh

USA Today photo: San Jose Sharks Martin Jones stops a shot by the Nashville Predators in game two at SAP Center on Sunday

SAN JOSE–The San Jose Sharks took a 2-0 series lead with a 3-2 victory against the Nashville Predators. Four of the goals were scored in the second half of the third, three of those in the final three minutes. It was not the Sharks’ best game, defensively or offensively, but it got the job done. After the game, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said as much:

We won and in the playoffs you’ve got to win all kinds of different ways. I really liked our first period. I thought their desperation level was just a little bit higher than ours in the second and third. I think that’s what you saw, and rightfully so. You got a team that is facing going down two game and no one wants to lose the first two game of a series. We knew their desperation level was going to be high and we found a way to weather it and Jonesy was fantastic and the important this is we won.

The win was significant also for being a home game. Not only have the Sharks been better on the road, but the Nashville Predators have too, at least in the first round of these playoffs. The Sharks were out shot and out hit on Sunday but they won where it mattered. Goals were scored by Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, and a game winner from Joe Thornton. Martin Jones made 37 saves for the win. Mattias Eckholm and Ryan Johansen scored for Nashville, and Pekka Rinne made 22 saves.

Craig Smith was back in the Nashville lineup after missing Game 1. The first period did not look anything like the first period of the first game. This time, both teams started fast and earned chances early. They were slim chances, with no one having much room to choose a shot or get in position to make a play.

The Sharks were the beneficiary of that speedy play, in the form of an early power play. Roman Josi was called for cross-checking Chris Tierney at 6:24. The Sharks’ power play started out very well, with the Predators giving San Jose plenty of room to get set up. A rather cavalier behind-the-back pass from Joe Thornton to Logan Couture exemplified how composed the Sharks were with the man advantage. Yet that excess of time and space did not benefit the Sharks in the most practical sense: they did not score.

At even strength, the fourth line was very effective, making the Nashvile defense burn a lot of defensive fuel and block shots.

The Sharks went on the penalty kill at 13:38 when Joel Ward was called for tripping. Karlsson got the first clear, Couture the second, Dillon a third. The Predators got three shots through to Jones but he stopped them.

As the first ended, the Predators led the Sharks in shots by 10-7. That count did not include the ten shots that Nashville blocked. The Sharks had blocked five.

The Sharks started the second mostly trapped in their own zone. When they finally escaped, they came out with their best chance to that point. Couture and Donskoi went fast down the left wing and Couture managed to get a shot off. Rinne kicked out a rebound but Donskoi could not elevate it enough to beat Rinne’s right pad.

As the second period wore on, the Predators dominated on the shot clock and continued to block shots. By the 13 minute mark, Nashville had 11 shots to the Sharks’ 4.

At 15:16, the Sharks were penalized for too many men on the ice. The penalty kill started out fairly chaotic, with a snarl of bodies just in front of the blue paint. Finally they got untangled, with broken sticks sliding around and no one really able to control the puck. From that helter-skelter start, the Sharks pulled off another kill that ended with a short handed chance. Matt Nieto and Marc-Edouard Vlasic made a nice play but Rinne stopped them.

The Predators took their own too many men penalty shortly thereafter. Trying to avoid the call, Roman Josi tried to get off the ice by climbing over the wall in front of the Sharks bench. That did not pass muster. After the game, DeBoer was asked about the incident: “I’ve never seen that before. 25-30 years of hockey, and I’ve never seen that situation before. I don’t know, it’s a good question. I’m assuming it’s a rule, that they’re not allowed to change into our bench.”

32 seconds into that power play, a Brent Burns shot produced a rebound for Logan Couture to put away. Couture had been lurking around behind the net, making an inconspicious pass or two, then moving in front of the net just as the puck made its way to Burns. Burns did not have to wait long after receiving the puck from Thornton before taking his shot. Pavelski deflected the shot which created a rebound for Couture, who had an open net. It was Couture’s fourth goal of the playoffs. Assists went to Pavelski and Burns.

At the end of the second period, the Sharks led 1-0, despite their shot deficit of 16-25 for the game. The Sharks had blocked ten shots in the second, while the Predators had blocked twelve.

The Sharks found themselves short handed again 6:34 into the third. Brenden Dillon was called for roughing. He Just 23 seconds into the kill, Marc-Edouard Vlasic was hit in the head by a Shea Weber shot. He stayed down for a spell before returning to the bench. He did not go to the room.

At 12:56 of the third, Nashville tied it up. Mattias Eckholm took a shot from the blue line, just as three skaters converged in front of Martin Jones. The shot went just wide of Jones’ glove.

The Sharks got it back at 17:23. Thornton skated into the slot and passed the puck to Matt Nieto on the wing. Nieto waited until the last moment to take a shot. Rinne stopped the shot but it bounced off of a Nashville skater and landed in front of Joe Pavelski. He put it where it belonged. It was an unlocky bounce for Nashville, especially coming so late in the game. Assists went to Nieto and Thornton.

The Predators responded by pulling Rinne with more than two minutes to go. They sustained pressure for about a minute before a puck went over the glass and Nashville used their time out. When play resumed with a defensive zone draw for the Sharks, Pavelski controlled the puck and passed it out of the zone. Joe Thornton was on his way through the neutral zone when Pavelski’s pass found him. Thornton took his time and put the puck in the empty net.

Nashville responded with a furious attack on the Sharks’ net. With just 1.6 seconds to go, Ryan Johansen scored, making Thornton’s empty net goal the game winner.

The series now moves to Nashville for Game Three on Tuesday at 6:00 PT.

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In case you missed the black cat tale from Game 1, you can read the updated version with video at NHL.com here: Sharks working to find home for ‘Joe Paw-velski’

Sharks v. Predators: NHL Playoffs 2nd Round Preview

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By Mary Walsh

SB Nation photo: Nashville Predators come calling at SAP Center in San Jose against hosts the Sharks in game one of second round

“Sharks versus Predators” sounds a little bit like a made for tv monster movie, but the San Jose Sharks will face the Nashville Predators to start the second round of the NHL Playoffs on Friday.

The Predators came out of the Central Division as a wild card, so the Sharks did not see as much of them in the regular season as they saw of their first round Pacific Division opponent, the Los Angeles Kings. Nashville’s wild card status also gives San Jose home ice. The Sharks will have to do without their road advantage to win this series.

Probably the most important information to glean from the first round is the most obvious: the Predators played seven games, while the Sharks played only five. The Predators spent more travel time going between Nashville and Anaheim, while the Sharks traveled back and forth to Los Angeles. Round One put more mileage on the Predators than the Sharks by a big margin.

Another question would be about goaltending. Pekka Rinne has long been considered one of the league’s top goaltenders, despite his team’s conspicuous lack of playoff success. Martin Jones has performed admirably so far, despite this being his first time as a playoff starter. Neither goalie has been perfect but they have both been crucial to their team’s success.

Pekka Rinne gave up 17 goals through seven games, with a save percentage of .915. Martin Jones gave up 11 goals through five games, with a save percentage of .912. Martin Jones’ 2.18 GAA ranks fifth among playoff goalies, while Rinne’s 2.85 ranks ninth. Their save percentages are seventh and eighth in the same field.

Noteworthy in the rankings of 2016 playoff goaltenders is that two of the top three goalies in save statistics played for teams that have been eliminated. Maybe goaltending statistics do not tell you much about how a series will go.

Both Rinne and Jones finished all of their first round games, so the quality of their backups has not been an issue. If it were, I would give the edge to the Sharks’ James Reimer over the Predators’ Carter Hutton.

On paper, the Sharks have a better record in most categories than the Predators, in both the regular season and the first round. The Sharks scored more against a Pacific Division team than the Predators. But the Predators have not been and still are not an offense-first team. Much of their success comes from stingy defense. The Predators are a completely different kind of opponent than the Kings were.

In the few meetings between San Jose and Nashville this season, the Sharks lost the series 2-1. Their one win was in a shootout, and they lost one game 6-2. The Sharks have not fared well against the Predators. There is a glimmer of hope in that record, that the shootout win was the most recent game, played just 26 days ago. It caught the Sharks on the upswing, which is where they started these playoffs. It is reasonable to put more stock in the April 4th game than in the February 6th game, but those six goals have to be in the back of the Sharks’ minds. While the Kings are generally considered a more offensively loaded team than the Predators, the Kings that the Sharks played were not as they were a couple of seasons ago.

Colin Wilson and Shea Weber led the Preds in the first round with five points each. Goal scoring was pretty spread out, with Wilson, Weber, James Neal and Mattias Ekholm each scoring two goals. Six other skaters, including Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen scored goals against the Ducks. Forsberg and Johansen were both scoring at a good clip during the regular season so they bear watching. Defenseman Roman Josi was second in points during the regular season and he had three against the Ducks.

Craig Smith also scored a goal for the Predators, but missed two games and most of a third with an injury. The Predators did not win the games he missed. He was third on the team in goals scored with 21 in the regular season. He played the last two games in the Ducks series without much of a drop in minutes, so the Sharks can probably expect to see him on Friday.

The Sharks had more points as a group, though they played two fewer games than Nashville did. Brent Burns had eight points in the first round, with Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture collecting six apiece. Patrick Marleau and Joel Ward each had four and Joonas Donskoi and Joe Thornton each had three. That last one is a surprise, and Nashville will probably pay as much attention to Thornton as the Kings did to keep his numbers low.

Donskoi could also be considered a surprise, but a happy one for Sharks fans. His playoff performance might be attributed to a couple of things.Donskoi was a consistent points producer all season, and his time in the Finnish league cannot be overlooked. It could not have been assumed that his MVP performance in the Finnish playoffs would translate to success in the NHL playoffs, but it was a strong possibility.

Another factor that benefitted Donskoi is the fact that the Kings did not have the depth to match the Sharks. Do the Predators? Can they keep Joe Thornton in check and also stay on top of Donskoi, and for that matter, the likes of Chris Tierney, Melker Karlsson and Matt Nieto? Those three scored goals against the Kings. I don’t believe the Predators will have an easy time of it keeping all of the Sharks shooters off the board.

How successful will they be against the Sharks defense? The Sharks gave up almost as many goals as they scored in the first round. In total, they scored 16 and gave up 11, which does not seem that close unless you look at it in goals per game, where there is a difference of just one: 3.2 goals for and 2.2 goals against. One goal is enough to win the game but it leaves little margin for error.

The Sharks’ power play was pretty good against the Kings, at 23.8%. Their penalty kill was nothing special, with a 78.6% success rate. Nashville’s power play success was tiny, at 3.8%, but their penalty kill chugged along at 84% against the Ducks’ formidable power play.

The Predators scored a miniscule 0.13 more goals than they gave up in the regular season. In the first round, their numbers dipped into the negative as they scored 14 goals but gave up 18.

This is the challenge for the Sharks, to ignore what happened in the first round. The team with the most goals wins, but somehow the Predators turned that rule on its head. Obviously, the numbers are explained by a couple of bad losses that skewed the averages. That would be the second and third games where they lost by three goals both times. They also won one by 3-0, and then, like the Sharks, usually won by a single goal.

I think the Sharks’ offensive depth will again be their best asset. That is always a safe bet, but with a stifling defensive opponent like the Predators, nothing is certain.

Sharks Lose Game Three to Kings

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By Mary Walsh

AP photo: LA Kings Tanner Pearson (bottom) celebrates his game winning goal in overtime as the Kings take game three 2-1

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks lost the third game of the Western Conference Quarter Finals to the Los Angeles Kings by a score of 2-1 in overtime. The Sharks still lead the series by 2-1. The game followed a peculiar statistic for the NHL playoff games Monday: all three games saw a goal scored in the first minute of the game, by the losing team.

In San Jose, that goal was scored by Joe Thornton. Anze Kopitar scored the tying goal for Los Angeles, and Tanner Pearson scored the overtime winner. Jonathan Quick made 29 saves for Los Angeles, and Martin Jones made 22 saves for San Jose.

Monday’s game was a grueling affair for both teams, with all the regulation scoring coming early in the first period. After that, it was a push-me-pull-you match up and down the ice for more than 40 minutes. The Sharks did a very good job of limiting the Kings’ chances, but they could not take advantage of the chances they had to score. They outshot the Kings 30-24, and in the third period by 9-3.

After the game, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said:

Over the second and third, I thought we grabbed it back, did a lot of good stuff tonight. Reality is, they’re a very good team. They’ve got multiple Stanley Cup winners over there.

We knew this wasn’t going to be a sweep. We’re in a good spot, I think we could have won the game tonight too, need to keep rolling out the same kind of game.

Through much of the game, the Sharks played well defensively but were less sharp in the offensive zone. Their power play stood out as being especially ineffective. It went 0-5 while Los Angeles went 1-3. Joe Thornton talked about the fifth power play after the game:

The last one especially, it felt like we were going to get it. The crowd was into it, we were into it, they broke a stick, we got a lot of shots and it felt like it was right there. But unfortunately it just didn’t happen.

Pete DeBoer is not overly concerned about the lack of results on the power play:

We had a lot of good looks, we had a lot of zone time. Because we don’t score doesn’t mean we’re not doing the right thing. That’s how the NHL goes. You’re not going to score on your power play every time. If we weren’t getting in and getting set up and getting looks, I’d be worried.

Did the Kings change their game much after losing two in Los Angeles? Shark goaltender Martin Jones did not think so:

Not really. They have their game plan, it’s crash the net, put pucks to the net. I thought we’ve done a really good job keeping them to the outside. But, yeah, I don’t think too much changed for them.

It took 30 seconds for the Sharks to score their only goal of the game. After pushing the puck out of their own zone, and touching it through the neutral zone with a pass or two, the Sharks’ top line made a couple of moves in the corner and suddenly Joe Thornton was skating behind the net and picking up the puck. He looked for a pass but did not see one so he carried it into the slot and took a shot. The puck went under Jonathan Quick without any fuss. The shot was so subtle that no one reacted for a beat. An assist went to Tomas Hertl.

The Sharks did not convert on their first power play of the game, at 5:33, but the Kings did score on their first, at 7:50. While Tommy Wingels sat in the box for hooking, Anze Kopitar picked up the rebound off of a Milan Lucic shot. A second assist went to Jake Muzzin.

At the half way point of the first period, things were not looking great for the Sharks. The score was tied, the shots were tied, but the Sharks had blocked more shots and the Kings had won 73% of the faceoffs. The Kings were bearing down.

At 11:50, Nick Spaling was called for tripping Rob Scuderi, putting the Sharks on their second penalty kill of the period. The Sharks did kill it off, but Los Angeles managed some good chances during the power play.
By the end of the period, Los Angeles had outshot San Jose by 13-7 but the score was still knotted at 1.

The Sharks started the second period with some energy, and had an early power play when [] went off for []. The Kings’ penalty kill was formidable. They not only prevented the Sharks from taking any shots, they kept most of the play outside their zone.

For the middle half of the period, the Sharks had trouble getting far beyond the Kings’ blue line. Any attempt to dump it in or carry it in was met with fiercely efficient resistance.

The Sharks had another power play at 13:01, after an interference call against Marian Gaborik. This power play was a lot more effective, but still did not score. The Kings still played well in front of their goaltender, blocking shots and crowding any skater that came near the blue paint.

Chris Tierney had a good chance near the 16 minute mark, a point blank shot on Jonathan Quick. Tierney caught a pass as he skated through the slot and tried a reverse shot, but Quick got his body in the way.

In general the second period was a frustrating one, with many missed calls and failed chances. The Sharks gained ground on the shot clock, but saw their power play fall to 0-3. With 2:19 left in the period, the Kings had still only taken two shots to the Sharks’ ten.

With 1:23 left in the period, Chris Tierney was called for playing the puck with his hand. The resulting Kings power play was fairly good, keeping the Sharks on their toes. The Sharks weathered the last seconds of the period and finished the second still tied at 1.

The Kings had six shots during the second period, to the Sharks 11.

The Sharks killed off the last seconds of the Tierney penalty and jumped out to a good start in the third. They put a couple of good shots on net in the first 90 seconds.

The period ground along after that, with neither team making any progress to speak of. At 9:40, Milan Lucic was called for slashing and the Sharks power play had another chance. The first 1:50 of the penalty was all Sharks, with the Kings’ penalty killers unable to change or get control of the puck at all. But the Sharks did not score.

With 5:56 left in regulation, the Kings’ Tanner Pearson put the puck over the glass in the defensive zone. The Sharks had only allowed the Kings one shot in the period to that point, and had taken five. Their power play, however, still could not produce a goal.

Peter DeBoer used his timeout with just under four minutes left, after an icing trapped some tired Sharks on the ice.

With 53.8 left in regulation, Tomas Hertl and Dustin Brown received roughing minors. They went to their respective rooms and the teams finished the period 4-on-4.

Heading into overtime, the shots were 27-22 San Jose.

3:47 into overtime, Tanner Pearson ended it after a miscue on the Sharks blue line by Brenden Dillon. Dustin Brown knocked Joonas Donskoi off the puck and Dillon tried to do the same to Brown. The puck escaped and Pearson picked it up behind Dillon and re-entered the Sharks zone two on one with Vincent LeCavalier. Neither Couture, Wingels, nor Hertl could catch him and Roman Polak could not block his shot. Assists went to Dustin Brown and Vincent LeCavalier.

Game Four will be Wednesday at 7:30 PT at SAP center.

Sharks Win Last Game Before Playoffs

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

AP photo: Arizona Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith stops a shot from the San Jose Sharks Tomas Hertl (48) during the first period at SAP Center Saturday

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks defeated the Arizona Coyotes to win their final game of the 2015-16 regular season. The lone goal of the game was scored by Joe Pavelski in a third period power play. Martin Jones made 20 saves for the shutout. It took the Sharks 32 shots to get one by Arizona’s Mike Smith.

In Los Angeles, meantime, the Kings fell in a shootout to the Winnipeg Jets. As a result, the Anaheim Ducks have a chance to supplant the Kings at the top of the Pacific Division on Sunday. The Sharks, therefore, do not know yet who they will play to start the first round of the playoffs.

Paul Martin did not play on Saturday, and Mirco Mueller got the call to fill in. Mueller started the game with Justin Braun, while Dylan DeMelo was paired with Brent Burns. Dainius Zubrus was back in the lineup after missing Thursday’s game, on a line with Tommy Wingels and Chris Tierney.

The Sharks were on the penalty kill early in the first, after a boarding call to Roman Polak. Arizona did not do much with that, and not long after the penalty expired, the Sharks had their first power play. With Connor Murphy in the box for two minutes, the Sharks did not even manage a shot on goal.

The teams were almost half way through the first when Polak dropped the gloves with Shane Doan. That sprouted from some bumping and pushing in the Sharks’ zone that also involved Joe Pavelski. Polak went to the box for his five minutes, but the Sharks wound up with a four minute power play, as Shane Doan received two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct, two minutes for instigating a fight, five minutes for fighting, and a ten minute misconduct. Anthony Duclair served the four minutes for Doan.

The Sharks power play still did not produce. Better chances came back at even strength, where the Sharks kept the pressure on the Arizona defense.

The Sharks had a third power play in the first period, when Oliver Ekman-Larsson went to the box for hooking. The Sharks went 0-3 on the power play in the first period.

To start the second period, coach DeBoer switched his defensive pairs around, putting Justin Braun with Brent Burns, and Mueller with DeMelo. Arizona came out with some grit, trapping the Sharks in their own zone for a couple of minutes, but that seemed unrelated to the line adjustments, as Polak and Dillon were on the blue line for that unhappy spell.

The Coyotes had their second power play at 5:20 of the second, a cross checking call to Joel Ward. The Sharks’ penalty kill was a little fast and loose but it was effective and showed the Sharks to advantage. That was the only penalty for the second period, and by the end of forty minutes the game was still scoreless.

It was on the Sharks’ fourth power play of the game that they finally scored. The Sharks had a two man advantage at 6:33 of the third period, after Boyd Gordon was called for hi-sticking and Oliver Ekman-Larsson was called for unsportsmanlike conduct simultaneously. A little under a minute into the power play, Joe Pavelski scored his 38th of the season. Assists went to Joe Thornton and Brent Burns.

The NHL Playoffs start on Wednesday and a more specific schedule is expected late Sunday.

The Sharks presented their end of season awards during and after the game. Joe Thornton received the Sharks Foundation Player of the Year Award, as voted on by members of the media. Joe Pavelski won the Xactly Inspired Performance Three Stars of the Year Award, for the number of times he was named as one of the stars of the game. Joonas Donskoi took home the Rookie of the Year Award presented by SAP, also voted on by members of the media. Brent Burns won the Fan Favorite Award presented by Enterprise Exotic Car Collection. This was tabulated by fan votes on social media.

Saturday’s game was the 300th NHL game for Tommy Wingels and 200th for Tomas Hertl.

Sharks Come Back in Third to Beat Predators

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By Mary Walsh

AP photo: San Jose Sharks Tomas Hertl celebrates his third period goal against the Nashville Predators on Saturday night

Thanks to two goals from Tomas Hertl and a shootout winner from Logan Couture, the San Jose Sharks came back in the third period to defeat the Nashville Predators 3-2. The win puts the Sharks just three points out of first in the Pacific, but with only three games remaining, the chances are slim that they will catch Los Angeles or Anaheim.

After the game, Sharks goaltender James Reimer talked about how the win bodes well for the playoffs:

It’s good to see. Obviously, sometimes things aren’t going to go your way in the playoffs and so …I’m sure they’ve been doing it all year, but to have the confidence that you can come back from being down two goals in the last twenty, it’s nice to see and another good building block leading up to the playoffs.

With their 27th road win this season, the Sharks tied a franchise record. The last time the Sharks won 27 road games in a season was 2007-08. The Sharks have just one more chance to break the record, on Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild.

The third period comeback featured a 13-4 shot disparity in favor of the Sharks. San Jose also made an impressive showing in the faceoff circle, winning 71% of the draws in the game.

The first goal came 8:07 into the first period, after a neutral zone turnover from Chris Tierney that ended up on Roman Josi’s stick. His pass found Mike Ribeiro near the far boards. He waited for Weber to cross the blue line and set him up for one of his phenomenal slap shots.

Before the first period ended, Ryan Johansen seemed to score a power play goal for the Predators, but officials determined that time had run out before the puck crossed the line. The difference was razor thin.

The second Nashville goal came early in the second period. Johansen took the puck into the zone and held onto it long enough to find James Neal in the slot. Neal took a shot that bounced off of Jarnkrok’s skate and into the net. Brenden Dillon had Jarnkrok tied up but he could not control the puck’s trajectory as it went through their skates.

Just over two minutes into the third period, Joe Thornton gained control of the puck just below the Nashville blue line and made a quick pass to Joe Pavelski as he bore down on the net. Pavelski’s shot came back out in a rebound but Hertl was there to pick it up and put it back in for his 20th of the season.

Just past the ten minute mark of the third, Hertl tipped a slap shot from the blue line courtesy of Brent Burns. The play before that was fairly dazzling, as Thornton and Paul Martin moved the puck up and down the boards before Thornton found Burns with a quick pass.

The Sharks could not end it in overtime despite a power play 50 seconds in. A broken stick for Pavelski certainly had something to do with that. The Sharks managed five shots in overtime, while only allowing one to the Predators.

In the shootout, Logan Couture shot first for San Jose and scored with a quick release that went under Hutton’s pad. Joonas Donskoi shot second for the Sharks but missed. James Reimer stopped shots from Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen and Craig Smith to win it.

Penalty kills were perfect for both teams, as the Sharks power play went 0-3 and the Predators power play went 0-2.

The Sharks next play in Minneapolis against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday at 5:00 PT.

Sharks Sink Rangers 4-1

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

AP photo: San Jose Sharks Joe Pavelski is congratulated by Joe Thornton and Tomas Hertl after scoring third period goal vs. the NY Rangers on Saturday afternoon

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks overwhelmed the New York Rangers in a 4-1 win Saturday. It has been a while since the Sharks passed the 50 shot mark in a game, but they did so Saturday. They pummeled Henrik Lundqvist with 47 before he left the game, and Antti Ranta faced five more, for a total of 52 shots. At the other end, Martin Jones faced 25 shots and stopped 24. Two San Jose goals were scored by Joel Ward, one by Joe Thornton and another by Joe Pavelski. Tomas Hertl picked up three assists in the game, while Patrick Marleau picked up an assist in his 1400th career NHL game. The lone Rangers goal was scored by Dan Boyle.

Three of the Sharks goals came in the third period, after a hard-fought two periods. After the game, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said: “I liked our game through 40 minutes. I thought that if we stuck with it, kept pushing and kept pushing, eventually we would find a crack and I think that’s what happened.”

Missing from the Sharks lineup were Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Matt Nieto, both injured in Thursday’s game against Arizona. Neither injury is expected to be long-term and the team anticipates they will both be back in time for playoffs. Dylan DeMelo was in for Vlasic, while Tommy Wingels returned from injury to fill out the forward lines. He was slotted in on the fourth line, while Chris Tierney moved up to play with Marleau and Ward. That was where Tierney had finished Thursday’s game as well.

After the game, Tommy Wingels talked about how the team should be able to handle the absence of key players:

Guys earn each other’s confidence. When you can show your linemates that you can contribute, you can show your teammates that you can be relied on, the depth shines. To go far in this league you need guys, you need a full team of guys who can do that. I think in this last stretch here, these past 25 games, we’ve really shown each other that any guy can stand up at any moment and that’s what you need.

3:16 into the first period, the Sharks were on the penalty kill. Just back from injury, Tommy Wingels was called for closing his hand on the puck. The Sharks killed the penalty off and followed up with a fairly amazing shift in the Rangers’ zone, complete with last-ditch keep-ins, falling pass interceptions and a couple of good shots. The team looked ready to play.

The Rangers responded with some strong shifts in the Sharks’ zone and the first period went back and forth that way without a goal. At the first intermission, the Sharks held slight leads in faceoffs and shots, and had half as many giveaways as the Rangers. The Rangers had blocked nine shots to the Sharks’ three.

Wingels went to the box to start the second period as well, taking Tanner Glass with him at 2:14. Wingels went for tripping Mats Zuccarello, Glass for roughing Wingels. No harm was done, but no benefit gained either as the four on four elapsed with the game still scoreless. The Sharks had their first power play at 6:01 of the second, for too many men on the ice. J.T. Miller did the time for the Rangers.

The Sharks power play was a bit unsteady at first, but found traction with the second unit. With 11 seconds left, Joonas Donskoi controlled the puck as it came around behind the Rangers net, and sent a quick reverse pass to Joel Ward in the slot. He wasted no time taking the shot for his 19th of the season. Assists went to Donskoi and Hertl.

Dan Boyle tied the game with 2:28 left in the second. Derrick Brassard and Dan Boyle surprised the Sharks with a two on one. Brenden Dillon went down to block Brassard’s pass to Boyle, but the puck got around him. It looked like Jones would stay with Boyle and stop the shot but Boyle waited him out and put the puck in with a nifty backhand. Assists went to Brassard and Marc Staal.

At the end of the second, the Sharks held a 37-18 shot lead.

Five seconds into the third, Marc Staal went to the box for delay of game. The Sharks power play started more quickly this time around but did not score. The Sharks had a series of good chances almost five minutes in, with as many as three tries in fewer seconds but Lundqvist stopped all of them.

Just past the five minute mark, though, the Sharks took the lead back. Tomas Hertl carried the puck over the line and fought his way around the Rangers defense. He carried the puck through a tight turn and to the front of the blue paint. Lundqvist stopped his shot but as Hertl was being taken down to the side of the net, Joe Thornton arrived in front to pick up the rebound and put it away. Assists went to Hertl and Joe Pavelski.

1:49 later, Marleau, Ward and Tierney skated in three on two. Instead of passing, Ward scored his 20th with a shot from the left circle. Assists went to Marleau and Paul Martin. The floodgates were open. Joe Pavelski scored his 33rd of the season in a two on none breakaway at 9:05. Tomas Hertl picked his third assist of the game, and Antti Ranta came in to relieve Lundqvist in goal. At that time, the Sharks held a shot lead of 47-21.

The Sharks took another penalty at 10:32, but not to Wingels. This time it was Dainius Zubrus, for tripping Ryan McDonagh. The Sharks killed the penalty handily, throwing in a couple of short-handed chances to boot. The Rangers looked deflated after that. They managed few shots, and took one more penalty with 1:07 left in the game. The penalty was to Dominic Moore, for boarding Dylan DeMelo. The Sharks made a modest effort to do something with the power play, but Paul Martin ended by holding the puck behind the Sharks net for the last several seconds of the game. It was a reasonable choice.

The Sharks next play on at 7:00 PT Sunday at SAP against the Arizona Coyotes.

Sharks Take Washington 5-2

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

AP photo: The San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones stops one of 23 shots against by the Washington Caps on Saturday night

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks defeated the visiting Washington Capitals by a score of 5-2 on Saturday. A wide variety of goals came from Joe Pavelski, Patrick Marleau, Brenden Dillon, Brent Burns and Joe Thornton. A power play goal, a short-handed goal, two even strength goals and an empty netter, combined with a strong defensive game showed the Sharks to advantage against the best team in the NHL. One more win will clinch a playoff berth for the Capitals, but they would not get it Saturday.

Goaltender Martin Jones made 23 saves for the Sharks, and some of those saves were more harrowing than others. He stopped a shot from a two-on-none breakaway in the second period. He stopped a penalty shot. He stopped a couple of shots that looked fairly unstoppable. He stopped almost everything the Caps threw at him. At the other end, Philipp Grubauer also made 23 saves, but the Sharks took more shots.

Tomas Hertl drew the first penalty of the game, a slashing penalty to Jason Chimera at 5:02. The Sharks power play was not systemically weak, but they seemed to have a lot of trouble handling the puck, as if it were bouncing or sticking unexpectedly. The Capitals did not have the same problem, so one could assume the problem was the opponent and not the ice. The Sharks had two shots on goal in the power play, but no goal.

The Sharks did score first, during some confusion at the Washington end of the ice. Joe Thornton was not confused, nor was Brenden Dillon, who sent the puck to the net and created a rebound for Thornton to pick up. Assists went to Dillon and Tomas Hertl.

The Capitals responded with several good chances of their own, but the Sharks minimized their time and space. On one play, a Shark lost his footing at the Caps blue line, allowing Ovechkin to escape through the neutral zone. Some good hustle from the Sharks defense got in his way before he could get a shot off.

Despite the pressure from the Caps, the Sharks maintained a small 11-9 lead on the shot clock as the first period wound to a close. With 14 seconds left in the period, Nick Spaling was called for a high stick against Jason Chimera.

The Sharks started the second period on the penalty kill and added a second penalty just 20 seconds in, a delay of game to Brent Burns. The three defenders for the Sharks were Joel Ward, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun. They stopped a couple of shots but eventually the skilled Washington power play was too much and TJ Oshie tied the game. Assists to Niklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin.

The Sharks went back on the penalty kill at 3:39, a boarding call against Joe Thornton. Couture, Martin, Burns and Karlsson started the kill, cleared the puck, and made way for a second unit of Vlasic, Braun, Marleau and Ward. The latter two broke away in the final 30 seconds of the kill for a two on one and a short-handed goal. The goal was Marleau’s, due to a last-second pass from Ward. A second assist went to Vlasic. It was Marleau’s 476th goal, putting him in 51st place among NHL all-time goal scorers.

The Caps had another excellent breakaway chance, with two skaters crossing the Sharks blue line without an escort. Sharks defenders got back in time to give the puck carrier a little grief, but he got a pass away to Matt Niskanen, who had time to take a shot. Martin Jones handled the shot cleanly and held on to the puck.

The Caps tied the game again just past the midway point. After a series of fumbles by the Sharks, from overskating the puck to drop-passing it to no one, the Caps launched a brief attack that ended with the puck taking an odd bounce off a skater in front of the net, and over Martin Jones’ pads. The goal went to Justin Williams, with assists to Evgeni Kuznetsov and Andrei Burakovsky.

The Sharks finished up the period with a power play, a hooking penalty to Kuznestov, drawn by Joonas Donskoi. The Sharks power play was interrupted when Jay Beagle earned a penalty shot when Burns slashed him during a short-handed breakaway. Jones stopped the shot and the Sharks power play carried over to the third period.

Joe Pavelski was not having a particularly good game, but 49 seconds into the third period he scored a power play goal. A fairly straight-forward play started with a pass from Brent Burns to Joe Thornton. Pavelski caught the pass from Thornton and backhanded it past Grubauer for the Sharks’ third lead of the game.

Another player’s game improved dramatically early in the third: Brenden Dillon’s. Although he already had a point, he did not have a good second period. At 2:51 of the third, however, he picked up Tierney’s pass on the blue line and sent a hard shot at the Washington net. The puck laced its way through traffic and gave Dillon his second goal of the season. Assists went to Tierney and Roman Polak. That was Polak’s first point since joining the Sharks jst before the trade deadline.

Couture had a chance shortly after that, finding himself briefly one on one with Grubauer. Grubauer snatched the puck out of the air and kept the score 4-2 Sharks.

Just past the midway point of the period, Joonas Donskoi blocked a pass with his stick and the puck deflected onto the Sharks bench, hitting Paul Martin. He left the bench with a trainer but returned to the ice during the next commercial break.

With a little over three minutes left, the referees drew the crowd’s ire after Mike Weber spent some time shoving Melker Karlsson’s face into the ice while kneeling on his back. It looked very much out of order but no penalty was called.

An empty net goal from Brent Burns closed it out.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday against the visiting Boston Bruins.

Sharks Fall to Kings in Overtime

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

AP photo: SJ Sharks goaltender Martin Jones gets in front of the puck for a save following a shot from the LA Kings Anze Kopitar Sunday night at SAP Center

SAN JOSE- The Los Angeles Kings defeated the San Jose Sharks in overtime by a score of 3-2. The game was very close, despite periods of dominance by each team. Sharks goals were scored by Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture, with Kings goals from Drew Doughty, Vincent LeCavalier, and the game winner from Marian Gaborik. Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 29 saves on 32 shots, while Kings goalie Jhonas Enroth made 30 saves on 32 shots.

Both the Kings and the Sharks had played on Saturday, but the Kings game was later in the day and on the road, so the Sharks had a small edge in the fatigue department. Milan Lucic was out due to a one game suspension, Jordan Nolan was in. Backup goaltender Jhonas Enroth was in net, possibly due to the back-to-back situation, possibly due to his excellent record against the Sharks. Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer opted to put Martin Jones in, though he had also played the day before.

The first few minutes of the game were harrowing for Sharks fans, as the Kings took shot after shot, only to be stopped by the post. In those first three minutes, the Kings led in shots by 4-1, but a comparison of zone time was even more lop-sided in the Kings’ favor. The Sharks had a couple of one-and-dones while the Kings took their time hammering away in the Sharks’ zone. Past the ten minute mark, the Sharks had spent a little more time in the offensive zone but the shot count still favored the Kings at 7-2.

Just before the 12 minute mark, the Sharks were short-handed as Brenden Dillon went to the box for high-sticking. Compared to their even strength play, the Sharks looked very efficient on the penalty kill, and the Kings chose to dump the puck in instead of carrying it over the line. It was an interesting choice, since Los Angeles opted to carry the puck in five on five.

The Sharks’ first power play came in the final minutes of the first period, with 2:46 remaining. Brayden McNabb went to the box for interference on Melker Karlsson. While the Sharks did not add many shots, their power play was better than it has been lately. They held the zone better and seemed to be adhering to a plan.

The Sharks were back on the penalty kill early in the second period. This time it was Joe Thornton in the box for tripping. The Sharks handled the kill thriftily. The penalty killers had just cleared the puck down the ice as the penalty expired, and Thornton exited the box at full speed. He chased the puck down in the Kings’ zone with Joe Pavelski and Thomas Hertl closing behind. Thornton passed the puck to Hertl in the slot, and Hertl sent it to Pavelski who was on the left side with an open net. He buried it just 14 seconds after the penalty ended. Assists went to Hertl and Thornton.

By the midpoint of the period, the shots were 15-11 Kings, thanks in part to a Sharks power play at 9:04. the Sharks followed that power play up with several good long stays in the offensive zone, closing the gap in shots and keeping the Kings on their heels.

With 3:13 left in the second, Chris Terney was tripped by Brayden McNabb along the boards. McNabb went to the box and Tierney went to the room. The power play did not produce, but the final seconds of the period featured an excellent set of saves by Martin Jones as the Kings attacked. Jones stopped two quick shots from Jeff Carter to keep the Sharks in the lead.

At the end of the second period, the shots were 20-18 Kings, the score still 1-0 Sharks.

The Sharks overtook the Kings in shots before the five minute mark of the third. The Sharks offense was surging and the Kings looked disjointed. At 5:25, the Kings caught a break in the form of roughing penalty to Mike Brown. The Kings took the opportunity for all it was worth and, 1:01 into the penalty, a Drew Doughty shot tied the game. Assists went to Jake Muzzin and Anze Kopitar. It was the Kings’ second shot on that power play.

The Sharks repaired the damage but it took them a little over five minutes. Joonas Donskoi won a puck battle behind the net and made a quick pass up to Couture in the left faceoff circle. Couture’s one-timer blew by Kings goaltender Jhonas Enroth for the second Sharks lead of the game.

The next power play went to the Sharks, with Drew Doughty in the box for slashing. The power play was not going very well, and then 1:11 in, Donskoi was called for interference. The Kings found some energy in the short power play but could not score. The Sharks responded with a very good push and seemed to have the game completely in hand but in the final seconds, the Kings pulled Enroth and scored through a flurry of activity at the Sharks net. The goal was Vincent LeCavalier’s, with assists to Tanner Pearson and Dustin Brown. The time of the goal was 19:47.

Overtime, like the third period, seemed dominated by the Sharks. But the one shot that the Kings had was the game winner. Marian Gaborik escaped his zone, noticed too late by Donskoi. His shot from near the goal line beat Jones at 4:06. An assist went to Tyler Toffoli.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday at 7:00 PT against the visiting Colorado Avalanche.

Couture Returns, Sharks Ground Flyers 4-2

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

photo credit: leadercall.com SJ Sharks Logan Courture

SAN JOSE, Calif. – When the schedule makers at the NBC Sports Network put Wednesday’s San Jose Sharks-Philadelphia Flyers match-up on the channel’s “Rivalry Night” there must have been some clairvoyants in the room. The midweek heavyweight tilt at the SAP Center had the type of snarl usually reserved for the Battle of California or the Keystone State Showdown.

Despite the distant between Silicon Valley and the City of Brotherly Love there was no, well, love lost between the two teams on the ice. San Jose (18-16-2) skated away with a 4-2 win in a heavy contest loaded with 53 hits, 46 penalty minutes and a few goals as well. Joe Thornton and Brent Burns lit the lamp for the Sharks, while Joe Pavelski scored a pair. In total, San Jose scored 3 power play tallies. Logan Couture had a pair of assists in his return to the Sharks lineup.

Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier tallied Philadelphia’s markers. Martin Jones made 17 saves on 19 shots to give the Sharks their 16th win in the last 19 games against Philly since 2002.

“Our special teams was the difference,” said Sharks coach Pete DeBoer. “That was a desperate team that came in here. They tried to be physical to the point of taking some bad penalties and we made them pay for that.”

Ever the cagey veteran, Joe Thornton inserted himself into the fray almost immediately Wednesday. The 36-year-old center was engaged from the drop of the puck, levying a pair of hits and nearly dropping the gloves with Radko Gudas after a heated discussion in the first period.

It was only a matter of time before no. 19 found his way onto the scoresheet, be it by roughing minor, fighting major, his usual assist or a goal. Luckily for Jumbo, it proved to be the latter at the 9:53 mark of the second period after the alternate captain flipped the puck over Mason’s shoulder on a San Jose power play.

“I was just enjoying the game,” said Thornton. “That’s why you play the game, the fun moments.”

Thornton started the play, taking the puck behind the visitors’ net. He swung the puck to Mason’s left, connecting with Patrick Marleau at the faceoff circle. Marleau went back up the wing to Thornton, who had now positioned himself just outside the crease. From there, Thornton slapped the puck up and over Mason’s left shoulder for his 7th goal of the season.

Logan Couture, returning to the ice after missing 7 games with an arterial bleed in his right leg, also assisted on Thornton’s goal. It was Couture’s 3rd point of the season (all assists) in just his 6th game after missing 24 of the first 26 games with a leg injury.

“It’s great,” said Burns when asked how it feels to have Couture back. “It’s tough when you see a guy out for a while. You see how hard he’s working and the bad bounce when he came back. IT’s great to see. IT’s going to be a little while for him to eventually feel comfortable, but it’s good to see him back.

“You could see it in the lineup right away,” added Pavelski. “That’s another big time player. What he brings to the team, the energy he brings and the confidence definitely helps.”

He looked comfortable in his return, playing 15:22 minutes with a -1 rating. He would also assist on Burns’ game-tying strike in the 3rd.

“It was a great crowd,” said Couture. “We need to build on this, but it feels good to come back and win the game.”

In total, Couture saw 5:43 of power play time.

“On the power play I felt comfortable,” said Couture “I had the puck. It was lucky that we had some many power plays. I was able to establish that game, feel the puck, get some chances, build my confidence up that way.”

“It comes naturally to him,” said DeBoer of Couture’s work on the power play. “Those guys have a special chemistry. We just have to keep that up.”

The Flyers (15-14-7) responded with a Claude Giroux score with 4:11 left in the 2nd after the centerman won the faceoff from Thornton and flung the puck into Jones’ midsection. While Jones made the initial save, the puck’s momentum carried it down to the ice and between the netminder’s pads for the Flyers captain’s 12th goal of the campaign.

“I’ve had Claude on a couple teams I coached,” said DeBoer. “I had him on the Canadian team. He’s a special guy. He’s the best in the world at different things. The goal surprised me, but not who did it.”

Philadelphia took the 2-1 lead on a defensive lapse by the Sharks early in the 3rd. Wayne Simmonds and Sean Couturier were sprung on a 2-on-0. Couturier took Simmonds’ feed and put it on his backhand to best Jones for his 6th of the year 4:19 into the 3rd.

Though the Sharks haven’t had many power play opportunities at home (their 44 man advantages entering Wednesday ranks dead last in the NHL), they also haven’t taken advantage of the special teams edge either. They have the 8th worst power play percentage at home this year, a mere 15.9 percent. Despite those figures, San Jose managed to get it down a man up not once, but twice, Wednesday night with Brent Burns finding the equalizer 5:54 into the final period of regulation.

“In the past few games a bounce buried us at times,” said Pavelski. “We got that feeling on the bench tonight where it wasn’t going to get us down. We got a big power play goal from Burns to get us back in there. It felt good.

With RJ Umberger in the sin bin for slashing Brenden Dillon, the Sharks newly potent power play set up in the Flyers’ end. Joe Thornton took the puck from the right faceoff dot and slid it to Couture in the front right crease. Couture’s no-look backhand pass missed Marleau’s stick, but landed on a crashing Burns’ tape in the slot. Burns ripped the shot over Mason’s blocker to knot the contest up 2-2 with just under 14 minutes to play.

“We have certain sets we work on,” said Couture. “Burns’ goal is a set that we’ve had for a while. You have Marleau in the slot and he usually comes down the side which opens the backdoor for Burns.”

The power play nearly was the culprit of the game-winner for San Jose, but a matter of seconds changed the Sharks special teams night. Captain Joe Pavelski netted his 19th of the year just 3 seconds after Shane Gostisbehere exited the box at the 13:45 mark on a cross-ice one-timer from Justin Braun.

Pavelski, who missed Tuesday’s practice with the flu, earned his power play goal almost 5 ½ minutes later to ice the contest. The forward took a pass from Marleau on the boards and ripped a backhander past Mason for his second of the night after Marc-Eduoard Vlasic held the puck in at the blue line.

“You can see his importance to us,” said DeBoer. “All the big guys were great though, Thornton, Vlasic Braun, (Paul) Martin.”

The Sharks ended the night converting half of their power plays, going 3-for-6 with a Flyer in the box.

“Our power play unit does well when we’re moving and reading off each other,” said Burns.

When asked about how it felt for the NHL’s worst home team to get a win in front of a sold-out, the Sharks captain was frank.

“It’s what we expect,” said Pavelski. “Obviously now that’s the template we have to copy and play with. It was a good win tonight. We can’t get ahead of ourselves.”

The Sharks get another stab a wowing the home crowd when they welcome the Winnipeg Jets to the Shark Tank January. After that, they’ll continue the homestand with contests against Eastern Conference foes the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Notes:

Tommy Wingels dropped the gloves twice, once in the second against Chris VandeVelde and again in the 3rd against Jakub Vorachek. Because only a punch or two was thrown, the 2nd altercation was ruled a minor for roughing, not a five minute fighting major. DeBoer on Wingels: “I thought Tommy Wingels had one of his best games all year. He was in the middle of it. He jumped in and fought for a teammate.” …Brent Burns leveled VandeVelde with a hit in the offensive zone that injured the Flyers Forward. Said Burns: “Most of the time I turn around and hit with my butt. I felt pretty strongly that I hit him in the midsection strongly. It’s tough to see someone get hurt. I hit him in the midsection, I don’t know if he hits his head on the ice or what but it’s tough to see.”