Tag: Logan Couture

Sharks Fall to Blues 5-3; St Louis scores 3 goals in second period

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

St Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer stopped 23 shots in his first NHL game against the San Jose Sharks on Thu Nov 4, 2021 at SAP Center (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks lost 5-3 to the St. Louis Blues Thursday. Blues goals came from Brandon Saad (2), Pavel Buchnevich, James Neal and Robert Thomas. Joel Hofer, in his first NHL game, made 23 saves for the win. Sharks goals came from Brent Burns, Logan Couture and Nick Merkley. Adin Hill made 23 saves in the loss.

After the game, Assistant Coach John MacLean was asked whether the Sharks let a win slip away here. He said: “No game’s a given here in the NHL. I mean, yeah we had some opportunities and we let a couple of opportunities slip away.” He summarized the loss as “just one of those games. We can’t forget that St. Louis is a pretty good hockey club and when they got the lead they shut’er down pretty good, they didn’t give us a lot after that.”

The Sharks scored a power play goal at 7:13 of the first. The teams were playing 5 on 3 due to several overlapping penalties. Burns’s one-timer went by three skaters and under Joel Hofer. Assists went to Tomas Hertl and Alexander Barabanov.

Brandon Saad tied it up with a short-handed goal as the Sharks power play was winding down. Tyler Bozak carried the puck into the zone along the boards and made a pass across the ice to Saad on the other side of the ice, avoiding two Sharks defenders. Saad’s quick shot went by Hill on the far side.

Logan Couture got the lead back for the Sharks with his own short-handed goal at 17:16. Couture stole the puck from [x]Faulk in the neutral zone before making a run into the o-zone. His wrist shot snuck under Hofer. Rudolfs Balcers got an assist.

The Sharks out-shot the Blues 12-7 in the first. Their power plays got seven shots on goal and their penalty kill gave up one shot. They also did well in the face-off circle, winning 56% of the draws.

The Blues tied it again at 4:20 of the second. Ivan Barbashev intercepted the puck in the o-zone and found Pavel Buchnevich by the face-off dot with a quick pass. Buchnevich shot it right in and beat Hill over the glove. Assists went to Barbashev and Klim Kostin.

Nick Merkley put the Sharks ahead again less than 30 seconds later. Merkley tipped Mario Ferraro’s shot, sending the puck between Jake Walman’s skates and under Hofer for his first of the season. Assists went to Ferraro and Burns.

Saad tied it again with his second of the night at 8:09. A slick wrist shot from the face-off dot went off the post and in on the far side. Assists went to Robert Thomas and David Perron.

James Neal gave the Blues their first lead of the night at 11:42. Hill stopped Walman’s shot from the point but Neal picked up the rebound and swept it around the Sharks’s goaltender. Assists went to Walman and Tyler Bozak.

The Blues edged the Sharks in the face-off circle in the second period, 10 wins to 9. They also out-shot the Sharks 12-8. Their power play got three shots on goal.

Midway through the third period, Nikko Mikkola sent Logan Couture into the boards. Couture got up slowly and walked into the tunnel but he returned to the bench instead of going to the dressing room. After the game he said he was fine.

Robert Thomas scored an empty-netter with a minute left. Assists went to Colton Parayko and Hofer.

In the final tally, the Sharks won 58% of the face-offs. The Blues outshot the Sharks 28-26. The Sharks had nine shots on the power play and the Blues had four.

Thursday’s game was William Eklund’s ninth game. If he plays another with the Sharks, he cannot be sent down without triggering his entry level contract.

Due to the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol, the Sharks are still without forwards Keving Labanc, Timo Meier, and Matt Nieto, and defensemen Erik Karlsson, Jake Middleton, Radim Simek and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Head Coach Bob Boughner, Head Trainer Ray Tufts and Equipment Manager Mike Aldrich are also out.

Of the Sharks’ young defensemen, John MacLean said: “One of the hardest positions to break into the National Hockey League is playing defense… the experiences they get, they played out of necessity, and you don’t jump on them because they gave a good solid effort.”

Logan Couture also talked about how the inexperienced players are doing:

“The guys that have stepped in and played their second or third NHL games have played well and they’ve given it all they have. The veterans, we can do a better job protecting those guys, playing out of our end and in their end a little bit more.”

The Sharks next play on Saturday at home, against the New Jersey Devils at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Beat Sabres 5-3; Seven Sharks sit for Covid protocols still get second straight win

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl celebrates scoring his fifth goal of the season on this third period goal at 6:02 against the Buffalo Sabres at SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Nov 2, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-3 Tuesday night in San Jose. Sharks goals came from Tomas Hertl (2), Jonathan Dahlen, Ryan Merkley and Mario Ferraro. James Reimer made 25 saves for the win. Sabres goals came from Jeff Skinner (2) and Drake Caggiula. Craig Anderson made 22 saves in the loss.

The Sharks roster is still in a state of flux due to COVID-19 protocols. Jonathan Dahlen was back, as was Andrew Cogliano, but Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc were out. Erik Karlsson, Jake Middleton, Matt Nieto, Radim Simek and Marc-Edouard Vlasic remained out. Logan Couture returned after missing the last game, though not for COVID-19.

After the game, Couture said: “It was chaotic but proud of the effort again. I mean, found a way. Went down to five D early in that second period, or maybe even half way through that second period. Credit to those guys back there, they found a way. I mean, it wasn’t pretty, the whole game, but, found a way.”

Jonathan Dahlen scored first for the Sharks, at 7:25 of the first period. Brent Burns sent a shot from the blue line right down the middle and into a swarm of bodies at the net. The puck evaded Anderson and sliped back into open ice where Dahlen lifted it into the net. Assists went to William Eklund and Burns.

A little over a minute later, Buffalo’s Jeff Skinner tied the game during a delayed penalty. His shot zipped through traffic in the slot and past Reimer. Assists went to Vinnie Hinostroza and Robert Hagg.

Ryan Merkley made it 2-1 Sharks at 12:49. After holding the puck patiently at the blue line, he took a shot that went off of a couple Sabres in front of the net before landing behind Anderson. Assists went to Alexander Barabanov and Tomas Hertl.

Hertl made it 3-1 Sharks early in the second period. Rudolfs Balcers picked up a turnover in the Sabres zone and carried it almost to the goal line before passing it back to the Hertl at the top of the slot. Hertl carried the puck around traffic down to the net and put it past Anderson at 6:13.

Drake Caggiula cut the Sharks lead down a bit at 13:33. Hinostroza brought the puck across the line and then passed it to Caggiula on the boards. Caggiula took a hard shot that went by Reimer on the far side. Assists went to Hinostroza and Dylan Cozens.

Early in the third, Mario Ferraro scored his first of the season with a one-timer from the blue line, off a pass from Nick Merkley. Assists went to Merkley and Jasper Weatherby.
Tomas Hertl added another at 11:46 to make it 5-2. He got the puck from Balcers just as he entered the zone, then wove his way through traffic right down the slot before taking the shot. Assists went to Balcers and Ferraro.

Jeff Skinner scored his second of the game at 18:13. Just as the puck jumped off of Reimer’s glove, Skinner tapped it out of the air. It bounced off the back of Reimer’s helmet and landed over the line. Assists went to Tage Thompson and Rasmus Asplund.

A littl emore than half way through the second period, Sharks defenseman Santeri Hatakka left the game with an upper body injury. He did not return and the team did not have any updates after the game.

The Sharks made an excellent showing in the face-off circle, winning 64% of the draws. The shot count was consistently close through the three periods, ending up 28-27 Sabres. There were few penalties in the game, and fewer power play shots. The Sharks power play had one shot on goal, the Sabres power play had none.

The Sharks next play on Thursday, at home against the St. Louis Blues at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Defeat Maple Leafs 5-3; Sharks undefeated at 4-0

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

The San Jose Sharks Logan Couture goes for the victory skate in front of the Sharks bench after scoring a second period goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Fri Oct 22, 2021 (Canadian Press photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won their fourth in a row, beating the Maple Leafs 5-3 in Toronto. Sharks goals came from Timo Meier, Erik Karlsson and Jonathan Dahlen and two from Logan Couture. Adin Hill made 30 saves for the win. Jason Spezza, Ondrej Kase, and John Tavares scored for Toronto. Michael Hutchinson made 26 saves in the loss.

In a scoreless first period, the teams were tied in shots at 11 each. They each had one single-shot power play.

Logan Couture got the scoring started at 2:31 of the second period. He was the beneficiary of a dogged play by Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Off the face-off, Vlasic skated down and took a shot. The shot rebounded but he was already there to collect it, carry it behind the net to try for a wrap-around. That needed a little help and Couture was there to finish it off.

Jason Spezza tied it up with a quick shot from the slot at 3:27. The Sharks stopped several shots and attempts before Spezza’s got through. Wayne Simmonds got the assist.

Timo Meier gave the Sharks another lead less than 20 seconds later. His shot from the wall zipped through before Hutchinson could even see it.

Those three goals were scored in the space of just one minute and 13 seconds.

Ondrej Kase tied the game again at 10:44. After a flurry of activity in the Maple Leafs’ zone, Kase broke away for a clear shot at Hill. A little fake before a backhand shot tricked Hill and the puck went past the prone goaltender. The Sharks looked outmatched in the face-off circle, winning just 35% of the draws.

Erik Karlsson scored a little over a minute later to give the Sharks their lead back. Karlsson took the shot from the blue line and it went by a few bodies before sneaking into the short side top corner. An assist went to Middleton, who kept the puck in after Karlsson’s first shot and then got the puck back to Karlsson for the scoring shot.

The teams were tied in shots again in the second period, this time 12-12. In face-offs, the Sharks improved a bit, to a win percentage of 47. There were no penalties in the period.

25 seconds into the third period, Logan Couture passed the puck back from the goal line to the front of the net for Jonathan Dahlen. Dahlen put the puck in the net for San Jose’s fourth of the night. Assists went to Couture and Meier.

John Tavares got one back for Toronto at 13:39. William Nylander’s shot hit Adin Hill up high and spun into the air. It landed and hit Tavares’ skate before bouncing off of Middleton and into the net. Assists went to Nylander and Jake Muzzin.

Logan Couture scored into the empty net with 40 seconds left in the period. Andrew Cogliano got the assist.

The third period was by far the Sharks’ best in the face-off circle. They won 61% of those draws for a game total of 48%. Their power play got three shots on goal and their penalty kill gave up three shots. The final shot count for the game was 33-31 Toronto.

The Sharks next play on Sunday in Boston against the Bruins at 10:00 AM PT.

Sharks Beat Senators 2-1; SJ improves record to 3-0

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

The San Jose Sharks Logan Couture (39) scores a second period goal on the Ottawa Senators goaltender Matt Murray (30) one of two goals enough for the Sharks to win it at the Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa on Thu Oct 21, 2021 (Canadian Press news photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won their third in a row, winning 2-1 against the Senators in Ottawa. Logan Couture and Kevin Labanc scored for San Jose, and James Reimer made 30 saves for the win. Drake Batherson scored for Ottawa and Matt Murray made 22 saves in the loss. For Sharks defenseman Brent Burns, Thursday’s contest was his 600th consecutive game. He earned an assist and skated for 25:56.

Sharks Captain Logan Couture said that the key to this win was work:

“We didn’t have our best legs tonight. We didn’t have our best, we turned too many pucks over throughout that game. [Reimer] made some big saves, especially early in that third, but we just worked. Blocked shots at the ends, Reims stepped up huge, stuck together as a team.”

Sharks defenseman and ex-Senator, Erik Karlsson, said:

“This was a great win for us. I don’t think that we played good at all. This was our sloppy game. I feel like you could tell that they had a little bit more energy, they got a little bit more bounces, they were a little bit hungrier. But we thought we might win, that’s the most important thing.”

The Senators’ Drake Batherson scored the only first period goal, at 10:06. A Sharks three-on-two turned into a Senators two-on-one as Sharks scrambled to get back. Batherson opted to shoot instead of passing to Josh Norris and squeezed the puck under Reimer’s arm for his first of the season. Assists went to Brady Tkachuk and Artem Zub.

Midway through the period, the teams took almost simultaneous penalties and played most of two minutes four-on-four. During that time, Kevin Labanc put the puck in the net but the Senators challenged it for off-side and got it called back. Both Brent Burns and Nick Bonino had their skates in the zone before the puck crossed the line. While Burns was legal, since he had control of the puck, that exception did not extend to Bonino.

The Senators were short one forward as Shane Pinto sustained a shoulder injury during his first shift of the first period. He attempted to return for the second but left again after just one shift.

Shots were almost even at 8-7 Senators for the first period. Face-offs were also close, with the Sharks holding a slight edge at 58%. Both teams took penalties in the final minute of the period, so that the Senators had part of a power play to start the second period.

The Sharks killed that penalty off and tied the game with a goal from Logan Couture at 1:58. Brent Burns’ pass from the point found Couture right above the blue paint. Couture tapped the puck into an open net, as Murray was on the wrong side of the crease. Burns and Timo Meier got assists.

Kevin Labanc got his goal back on the power play at 14:36, giving the Sharks a 2-1 lead. Erik Karlsson sent the puck to Labanc at the top of the face-off circle for a quick shot through traffic. Jasper Weatherby created a good screen in front of the goaltender. Assists went to Karlsson and William Eklund.

Shots were even closer in the second, 13-12 Senators. Ottawa took two penalties in the second period, and the Sharks power play tallied four shots. The Senators power play had two shots. The Senators bounced back in the face-off circle, winning 71% of the draws.

In the third period, the Sharks rebounded in the face-off circle, winning 60% of the draws. The shots were very uneven in the final frame, at 11-4 Senators. The Sharks penalty kill gave up just one shot.

The Sharks next play on Friday in Toronto against the Maple Leafs at 3:00 PM PT.

Sharks Preseason: Sharks Fall to Ducks 3-2 in Shoot-Out Loss

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks’ Adam Raska (57) battles the Anaheim Ducks’ Greg Pateryn (29) for the puck against the boards in the first period during pre season action on Mon Oct 4, 2021 at the SAP Center in San Jose. (Bay Area News Group photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 3-2 to the Anaheim Ducks in a shoot-out Monday in San Jose. Mason McTavish and Trevor Zegras scored for Anaheim. John Gibson made 42 saves for for the win. Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl scored for San Jose. James Reimer made 23 saves for the Sharks.

Mason McTavish gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead in the first, scoring the only goal of the period. Assists went to Vinni Lettieri and Kevin Shattenkirk.

The goal came in the middle of a period that saw a slew of fighting and misconduct penalties in the first minute. Sam Carrick and Jeffrey Viel received matching penalties for fighting and unsportsmanlike conduct just five seconds in. Jacob Middleton and Nicolas Deslauriers took fighting majors 29 seconds in.

A few minutes after the goal, Jacob Larsson and Jasper Weatherby received matching roughing penalties. Seconds later, Jamie Drysdale went to the box for holding, giving the Sharks their first power play of the game.

A few minutes later, Vinni Lettieri took his second penalty of the period and gave the Sharks a brief power play, which ended when Jasper Weatherby went to the box again, for slashing John Gibson.

The Sharks had seven shots on the power play and 15 shots for the period. The Ducks had seven shots and none during their abbreviated power play. The Sharks won 67% of the face-offs.

The penalties continued in the second period, starting just 2:57 in with Greg Pateryn’s cross-check to Rudolfs Balcers. The Sharks could not capitalize on that and, at 11:30 of the period, found themselves on the penalty kill when Timo Meier went to the box for cross-checking Hampus Lindholm.

At 12:50, the Sharks were down two skaters because Erik Karlsson was in the box for closing his hand on the puck. The Sharks made it through the 5 on three but before the second penalty expired, Trevor Zegras scored for Anaheim. Assists went to Jamie Drysdale and Sonny Milano.

During the final penalty of the period, Logan Couture scored a power play goal for San Jose. Anaheim’s Isac Lundestrom was in the box for high-sticking Timo Meier. Assists went to Meier and Jonathan Dahlen.

The Sharks outshot the Ducks in the second, 18-7. The Sharks’ power play generated six shots to the Ducks’ one. The Sharks won 57% of the face-offs.

The third period went penalty-free until 9:30 when Timo Meier and Max Jones went to their respective boxes for roughing.

Tomas Hertl tied the game at 15:03 with assists from Rudolfs Balcers and William Eklund.

The Sharks led the shot count 11-7 in the third, and won 74% of the face-offs.

30 seconds into overtime, Erik Karlsson was called for slashing, giving the Ducks a 4-on-3 power play. The Ducks got three shots on that power play but the Sharks killed the penalty. In all, the Ducks managed four shots during overtime and the Sharks had none. The Sharks did, however, win both face-offs.

Gibson stopped shots from Alexander Barabanov and Jonathan Dahlen, and Rudolfs Balcers missed the net.

Reimer stopped shots from Max Comtois, but Trevor Zegras scored.

While the Sharks in general did well in the face-off circle, Nick Bonino came away with a noteworthy 82% win percentage. Alexander Barabanov led the team in shots with seven, while Erik Karlsson and William Eklund added five each.

The Sharks will not play again until Saturday when they host the Vegas Golden Knights at 5:00 PM PT in San Jose.

Sharks Preseason: Sharks Win in Vegas 4-2

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

The Vegas Golden Knights right wing Evgenii Dadonov (63) moves the puck against the San Jose Sharks Gannon Laroque (28) at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas on Sun Sep 26, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won 4-2 in a preseason match against the Vegas Golden Knights. The split squad that went to Vegas on Sunday was led by Logan Couture. Sharks goals were scored by Alexander Chmelevski, Jasper Weatherby, Adam Raska and Logan Couture. Sharks goalie Adin Hill made 21 saves for the win. Vegas goals were scored by Paul Cotter and Max Pacioretty. Vegas goalie Logan Thompson made 24 saves for Vegas. More than 17,000 people came to watch the game at T-Mobile Arena.

Alexander Chmelevski scored the only goal in the first period, on the power play at 15:29. Scott Reedy’s pass from the corner found Chmelevski right as he arrved in front of the net. Assists went to Reedy and William Eklund.

The Sharks out-shot the Golden Knights 9-6 in the first period. They had two power plays but scored on just one. They took no penalties. Vegas captain Mark Stone took a puck to the ear in the first and did not return.

Just over a minute into the second period, Vegas’ Peyton Krebs misjudged the situation along the boards and swept the puck into the slot where San Jose’s Jasper Weatherby was ready to take a quick shot. 2-0 Sharks.

At the three-minute mark, Vegas scored with a goal from Paul Cotter. He and Jack Dugan rushed into the zone two-on-one against Santeri Hatakka. Dugan and Brett Howden got assists.

The Sharks extended their lead at 7:31 with a goal from Adam Raska. Jeffrey Viel intercepted a pass off the wall and found Raska with a quick pass. Raska carried the puck to the net and snapped it past the goalie.

The Sharks out-shot the Golden Knights 11-6 in the second period. They took one penalty but killed it.

The Golden Knights closed the gap again, 34 seconds into the third period, on the power play. Max Pacioretty found the puck in a scrum at the net and shot it over the Sharks’ prone goaltender. Assists went to Nolan Patrick and Chandler Stephenson.

Logan Couture padded the Sharks lead with a power play goal at 15:56. Six seconds into the power play, Couture caught a rebound from a Burns shot and slipped the puck behind the Vegas goalie. Assists went to Weatherby and Burns.

In the third period, the Sharks took two penalties and killed just one. They had one power play and scored on that. The third period shots were even at eight each.

In the post-game shoot-out, Thompson stopped William Eklund’s shot but Jonathan Dahlen and Timo Meier both scored. Hill stopped Evgenii Dadonov’s shot, Noel Patrick hit the post, and Chandler Stephenson scored.

The Sharks play again on Tuesday, against the Kings at 7:00 PM PT in San Jose.

Sharks Fall 4-3 to Avalanche, Kane scores 500th Point

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

The San Jose get swept in the two game set with the Colorado Avalanche losing on Thursday 3-0 and on Sat May 1, 2021, 4-3 in Denver (@Avalanche photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost their final road game of the season to the Colorado Avalanche by a score of 4-3. Nathan MacKinnon, Andre Burakovsky, Patrik Nemeth and Mikko Rantanen scored for Colorado. Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves for the win. Alexander Brabanov, Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl scored for San Jose. Josef Korenar made 39 saves in the loss. Evander Kane scored his 500th NHL point in the third period with an assist on Logan Couture’s short-handed goal.

Josef Korenar made 39 saves on 43 shots Saturday. After the game, Sharks captain Logan Couture talked about the goaltender:

“I thought he kept us in the game. He was probably our best player for the majority of the night. I thought it could have been a lot more than the four that they got. So, he battled for us. We made it a game at the end there but wish we’d helped him out a little bit more throughout the game.”

The first period ended scoreless, with Colorado leading in shots 15-10. There was just one penalty, taken by the Sharks. The Avalanche power play got one shot on goal.

The Sharks scored the first goal of the game, on a power play at 4:25 of the second period. It was their first power play goal in 28 power plays. Barabanov caught a rebound out in the face-off circle and shot it by Dubnyk on the blocker side. Assists went to Tomas Hertl and Erik Karlsson.

Nathan MacKinnon tied the game at 13:08 of the second. The teams were playing four-on-four with Brent Burns and Dan Renouf in the box for penalties taken less than 20 seconds apart. Conor Timmins made a pass across the ice to MacKinnon who was closing fast on the net without anyone in his way. Assists went to Timmins and Mikko Rantanen.

Andre Burakovsky gave the Avalanche the leads at 16:06. Burakovsky caught the puck out of an offensive zone face-off, skated toward the slot and took the shot through some traffic to score. An assist went to JT Compher.

The Sharks killed one penalty in the second period, but were out-shot 12-4 in the period. The Colorado power play had four shots in the second. The Sharks power play had the one shot.

Patrik Nemeth made it 3-1 for Colorado at 9:05 of the third period. His slap shot from the blue line zipped through traffic and into the net. Assists went to Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon.

Logan Couture cut the lead by one with a short-handed goal at 9:55. Evander Kane snatched up a fumbled puck at the blue line and skated away from Makar to get a shot on goal. Logan Couture followed in a hurry and put the rebound away.

The Avalanche challenged the goal for goaltender interference. Kane did make contact with Dubnyk without actually entering the blue paint. The NHL did not consider it enough to call back the goal.

Colorado took back their two-goal lead with 4:26 left in the period. Mikko Rantanen’s shot from the blue line went through a lot of traffic and in. Assists went to Devon Toews and Conor Timmins.

With the Sharks net empty, Brent Burns took a quick shot from the blue line at 17:47. The puck went off of Tomas Hertl for his 16th of the season. Assists went to Burns and Barabanov.

The Sharks made a good final push at the end but it was not enough. The Sharks finally won the shot battle for the period, 11-8. The Sharks had one power play and a bit in the third, which added two shots to their tally. Colorado had just one shot on their power play before Couture scored and the unsuccessful challenge ended the power play. The Sharks won just 41% of the face-offs in the game.

The Sharks next play on Monday, in San Jose. They will face the Avalanche again at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Lose 6-3 to Wild; Skid extends to 8 games

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Minnesota Wild left wing Marcus Foligno (17) puts the puck past San Jose Sharks goaltender Martin Jones (31) in the first period at SAP Center in San Jose (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks celebrated Patrick Marleau’s new record in NHL games played Saturday. It was the team’s first game at home since Marleau played his 1768th NHL game, surpassing Gordie Howe’s record, in Las Vegas last Monday. Family members were able to attend the game for the occasion. The Sharks all wore Marleau Jerseys for warm-ups. A pantheon of Sharks and NHL players and alumni spoke in a video presentation before the game. The only thing missing was an arena full of fans.

The Minnesota Wild won the game 6-3. Ryan Suter, Marcus Foligno, Jared Spurgeon, Kevin Fiala, Kirill Kaprizov and Nick Bonino all scored for the Wild. Kaapo Kahkonen made 27 saves for the win. Logan Couture, Evander Kane and Joachim Blichfeld scored for San Jose. It was Blichfeld’s first NHL goal. Josef Korenar made 15 saves during the second two periods, while Martin Jones made five in the first period. The win clinched a spot in the playoffs for the Wild. The loss was San Jose’s eighth in a row.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said: “The start was a disaster, right from the first shift, the first goal.” Boughner pointed out that there were several “new guys” in the lineup and this may have accounted for missed coverage and other errors during the game. He went on to say: “It’s no secret, you know, look at their lineup, look at our lineup, and, you know, we’re missing a little depth there. And you know, it got us early, let’s be honest, you know, second and third goal, that’s where it got us.”

The Sharks did have some unfamiliar faces on the bench Saturday. Greg Pateryn joined the defense in the absence of injured Radim Simek. It was his first game in teal since coming over from the Colorado Avalanche. He was on the ice for one goal against and one goal for the Sharks. Joachim Blichfeld was in the lineup for his sixth NHL game. He was also on the ice for one goal against and one goal for, which he scored. Neither player seemed to have an out-sized impact on the game. There were plenty of errors to go around.

As Boughner mentioned, the game did not start well for San Jose. Just 19 seconds in, Ryan Suter scored his second goal of the year, on the first shot of the game. Suter skated in with the puck and took a shot from the face-off circle. It whizzed by Martin Jones’s shoulder. An assist went to Jordan Greenway.

Moments later, Timo Meier collided with Kirill Kaprizov, Meier went to the bench but returned to play without missing much time.

Marcus Foligno added another 12 minutes into the first. Joel Eriksson-Ek carried the puck in in a two-on-one with Foligno. Eriksson-Ek made a pass at the last moment for Foligno the take the shot.

Jared Spurgeon made it 3-0 at 17:43 of the first. Spurgeon got by the Sharks defense and took a shot into the far corner. Ryan Hartman and Mats Zuccarello got the assists.

That first period saw the Wild out-shoot the Sharks 8-4. There was just one penalty called, a too many men on the ice call against San Jose. The Sharks penalty kill gave up no shots.

Josef Korenar was in the Sharks net to start the second period.

The score did not change again until the final minute of the middle frame. Marcus Johansson took a shot from the boards and created a rebound. Kevin Fiala was at the net to knock the bouncing puck in. Assists went to Johansson and Jared Spurgeon.

There were no penalties in the second period, and the Sharks led in shots 13-7.

Logan Couture got the Sharks on the board 1:19 into the third period. Couture passed the puck to Timo Meier as the skated to the net. Just as his pass got away, Couture was knocked down. As he slid, face-first, to the net, Meier’s rebound landed in front of him. He swept it into the net. Assists went to Meier and Rudolfs Balcers.

Kirill Kaprizov scored a power play goal to make it 5-1 at 4:28. Fiala swept the puck off the boards to the slot, where Kaprizov was ready for the shot. Assists went to Fiala and Nick Bonino.

Evander Kane scored for the Sharks at 4:47, when Nikolai Knyzhov took a shot from the blue line. Tomas Hertl knocked it out of the air and Kane cleaned it up for his 18th of the season.

Joachim Blichfeld scored his first NHL goal at 6:06. He took the shot from below the face-off dot. The puck went over Kahkonen’s glove and into the top corner.

Nick Bonino scored into an empty net at 19:38. An assist went to Ian Cole.

The Sharks took two penalties in the third period. The Wild’s power play got one shot on net during the period.

The Sharks next play on Monday against the Arizona Coyotes in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Fall to Wild 3-2

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

The Minnesota Wild Nick Bonino (3) goes for victory skate after scoring a goal in the first period against the San Jose Sharks at the Target Center in St Paul on Fri Apr 16, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh.

The San Jose Sharks lost 3-2 to the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center Friday. Nick Bonino, Mats Zuccarello and Zach Parise scored for Minnesota, and goaltender Cam Talbot made 20 saves for the win. Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane scored for the Sharks and Martin Jones made 15 saves in the loss.

The Sharks did not play a terrible game, but a loss at this point in the season is disheartening. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said: “Tough to break down that game and say that we didn’t come out, we didn’t respond and we didn’t play well. I thought all those things happened.”

Sharks captain Logan Couture said:

I thought defensively we were pretty good. We didn’t give up much but there wasn’t much out there offensively. But we gotta find a way to do more. We only scored two, three goals over the last two games, or three games, so we need to find some more offense.

Evander Kane had a penalty-free game as well as a goal, despite several tense scrums throughout the night. After the game, Boughner said, of Kane:

“He plays hard, he kills penalties, he’s on the power play, he’s playing against the top lines, he’s been a good player for us all year. He’s still involved, he’s still trash-talking a little bit, he’s still throwing the body around but he’s staying within himself and I think that’s helped his five-on-five game for sure.”

The Sharks were on the board first, at 3:32. Tomas Hertl skated through the neutral zone and in the Wild zone, with some help from a stick lift by Patrick Marleau near the blue line. Hertl took the shot from the face-off dot and beat Talbot on the short side. Assists went to Radim Simek and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Nick Bonino tied it up at 9:30. A turnover right in the slot gave him a clear line to the net and he took it. It was unassisted.

The first period was penalty-free. The Sharks outshot the Wild 8-4 but won just 33% of the face-offs.

The Wild took the lead 2:15 into the second period with Mats Zuccarello’s goal. Right off an offensive-zone face-off, Zuccarello shot it under Jones. Viktor Rask got the assist.

Zach Parise scored what would be the game-winner just over a minute later. Matt Dumba made a pass across the slot to a waiting Parise at the net corner. Assists went to Matt Dumba and Nick Bonino.

The Wild outshot the Sharks 7-4 in the second. Each team had a power play. The Wild had three shots on theirs and the Sharks had one. The Sharks won just 31% of the second period face-offs.

Evander Kane scored a short-handed goal at 13:43 of the third period, bringing the Sharks to withing one. Kane knocked the puck free from Kevin Fiala at the point, then chased it down and shot it by Talbot on the glove side.

The Sharks had two penalties to kill in the third period, and out-shot the Wild 10-7. The Sharks penalty kill had two shots on goal and the Wild power play had two as well. The Sharks improved in the face-off circle to 50% for the third.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 5:00 PM PT against the Wild, again in Minnesota.

Sharks Fall 5-4 in OT to Golden Knights

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

The Vegas Golden Knights right winger Mark Stone (61), defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (7) celebrate left wing Max Pacioretty (67) overtime goal against the San Jose Sharks on Fri Mar 5, 2021 at SAP Center in San Jose (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 5-4 in overtime to the Vegas Golden Knights Friday in San Jose. Vegas goals came from Max Pacioretty (2), Reilly Smith, Chandler Stephenson and Alex Tuch. Oscar Dansk made 25 saves for the win. Sharks goals came from Brent Burns, Matt Nieto, Logan Couture and Matt Nieto. Devan Dubnyk made 17 saves for the Sharks, after taking over for Martin Jones. Jones made five saves on eight shots in the first 22 minutes.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about how his team reacted to an altercation between Ryan Reeves and Kurtis Gabriel:

“I thought that worked in our favor. I know they scored right after but we had a sense of togetherness on the bench and we never stopped attacking. It didn’t matter that they got that fourth goal. We had nine minutes or whatever that was at that point that we were determined to find a way to tie the game up and to get a point and to try to get two in overtime.”

Vegas scored first at 5:48. William Karlsson carried the puck around behind the net as if to do a wrap around, drawing Martin Jones to the left side of the net. Karlsson then passed the puck through the blue paint to Reilly Smith for a shot into a wide-open net. Assists went to Karlsson and Jonanthan Marchessault.

Vegas doubled their lead at 7:03. Abouncing puck elluded the Sharks defenders and landed just right for Chandler Stephenson to shoot it between Logan Couture’s skates and into the net. Assists went to Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty.

The Sharks outshot the Golden Knights in the first, 9-6. The teams traded power plays, with two apiece. The Golden Knights had two shots on the power play and the Sharks had just one. Vegas won 63% of the face-offs.

Vegas added to their lead just 2:57 in to the second period. Max Pacioretty’s shot from just below the blue line went right under Martin Jones and in. Assists went to Alec Martinex and Ryan Reaves.

The Sharks pulled Jones out and put Devan Dubnyk in net. Dubnyk warmed up in game with a quick glove stop on Pacioretty.

Brent Burns got the Sharks on the board at 6:01 with a power play goal. His shot went in and out so quickly that play continued until the Situation Room interrupted with a goal horn. It had hit camera just under the crossbar. Assists went to Ryan Donato and Timo Meier.

Matt Nieto brought the Sharks within one at 12:43. After knocking down an arial pass from Erik Karlsson in the neutral zone, Nieto carried the puck in two on one with Joel Kellman. Nieto took the shot instead of passing.

The shots were very closein the second, at 12-11 for Vegas. The teams again had two power plays apiece. The Sharks just had one shot in their power plays and that was Burns’ goal. Vegas had four shots through their second period power plays. The Sharks improved in the face-off circle, winning 52% of their draws.

Alex Tuch added a fourth goal to the Vegas tally, 26 seconds into the third period. A defensive attempt to knock the puck off of William Carrier’s stick merely swept it across to Tuch for a quick shot over Dubnyk’s shoulder. Assists went to Carrier and Keegan Kolesar.

Logan Couture trimmed that Vegas lead back down at 6:23. Moments before the goal, Couture intercepted a pass in the Sharks zone and then carried the puck the other way. A few tidy passes later, Couture took a shot right up the slot and past Oscar Dansk. Assists went to Erik Karlsson and Kevin Labanc.

With 7:56 left in the game, Ryan Reeves sustained a skate cut as he took Kurtis Gabriel into the boards. He had to be helped off the ice.

The Sharks had a late power play in the third period, and got two shots in there but did not tie the game until Kevin Labanc scored at 18:53. A long pass to the neutral zone from Brent Burns made its way all the way down before the Dansk tried to swat it away. Nieto was there to knock it in.

Overtime lasted 1:25 and ended with a goal from Max Pacioretty. A backhand pass from Alex Pietrangelo went through the slot to Pacioretty for a quick shot. Dubnyk could not get across in time to stop that one. Assists went to Pietrangelo and Mark Stone.

The teams were tied in shots in both the third and overtime periods, with eight each in the third and one each in overtime. The face-offs overall went to the Golden Knights at 57%.

The Sharks play the Golden Knights again on Saturday at 7:30 PM PT in San Jose.