Tag: Logan Couture

Sharks Beat Canucks 3-2, Erik Karlsson Returns

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 Saturday. The win matches Calgary’s Saturday win to keep the Sharks tied in points with the Western Conference leaders to the North. Sharks goals came from Timo Meier, Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski, who happened to be playing on the same line. Martin Jones made 32 saves for the win. Vancouver got goals from Antoine Roussel and Brock Boeser, while Jacob Markstrom made 23 saves in the loss. Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson made his return from injury with an assist and 24:44 time on ice.

Timo Meier put the first goal on the board at 3:45 of the first on a power play. The second power play unit of Meier, Evander Kane, Joe Thornton, Erik Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic moved the puck well all around the offensive zone for some time before Karlsson found Meier in front of the net. Assists went to Karlsson and Evander Kane.

Antoine Roussel tied it up for Vancouver 57 seconds later, when the Sharks lost track of him in the neutral zone and Alex Biega found him with a good pass. He broke away ahead of the Sharks defense and beat Martin Jones before anyone could catch up with him.

At the end of the first period, the Sharks had scored on one of two power plays, while Vancouver had not scored on either of their power play chances. The shot count was 11-8 for the Sharks and the Sharks had won 52% of the faceoffs.

The score remained 1-1 until Logan Couture scored for the Sharks 11:08 into the second period. the play developed after Erik Karlsson broke up a Canucks rush across the Sharks blue line. After breaking up the pass, he sent the puck the other way for Burns to move it through the neutral zone. He sent it to Pavelski, who got it across the blue line line and handed it off to Couture. Couture carried it to the net, waited for his shot and took it.

That goal was followed up by a fight between Barclay Goodrow and MacEwen at 11:10.

The Canucks out shot the Sharks in the second period 18-6. The Sharks killed almost two penalties, the second being cut short by a high sticking penalty to Vancouver. That 90-second power play for San Jose was the only penalty Vancouver had to kill in the second period. The Sharks faceoff win percentage improved to 58% by the end of the second.

The Canucks tied it up again at 4:31 of the third. Brock Boeser bought the puck out from behind the Sharks net and paused as if to make a pass. This lured Martin Jones into moving forward and away from his post. As no one prevented it, Boeser put the puck between Jones and the post. Assists went to Elias Pettersson and Derrick Pouliot.

The Sharks took the lead back with a goal from Joe Pavelski at 13:06. Timo Meier took a shot as he moved across in front of the net but Markstrom kicked that back out. Pavelski was in Meier’s wake and that rebound came right to him for the shot. Assists went to Meier and Logan Couture.

The Canucks pulled Markstrom for the extra skater with just under two minutes left in regulation. Final score, 3-2 Sharks. The Sharks won the faceoff battle 61% of the time, with Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl responsible for most of those.

Marcus Sorensen had to leave the ice for a spell after taking a stick to the face in the final five minutes of the second period. He returned to play for the start of the third period.

The Sharks next play on Monday in San Jose against the visiting Boston Bruins at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Come Back for 7-6 OT Win Over Capitals in Washington

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks ended a three-game losing streak with a 7-6 overtime win against the Washington Capitals Tuesday night at the Capital One Arena. Sharks goals came from Tomas Hertl (3), Evander Kane (2), Joe Pavelski, and Logan Couture. It was Hertl’s third career hat trick, and the first in Sharks history to include an overtime goal. Capitals goals came from Alex Ovechkin (3), Andre Burakovsky, T. J. Oshie, and Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Sharks’ power play went 2-6 while the Capitals scored one power play goal in three tries. Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 33 saves on 39 shots, while the Capitals’ Braden Holtby made 36 saves on 43 shots.

After the game, Sharks forward Logan Couture talked about their defensive lapses: “We shouldn’t have checked out defensively like we did tonight. We weren’t there in our own end, leaving our goaltender out to dry on many occasions and in overtime there he made some big time saves for us to win that game.”

Asked about the team’s ability to bounce back despite all that, he said: “We’re in a difficult spot here. You’re in the third period, you’re down a few goals on the back to back on a long travel day. All the guys in here could have easily looked forward to tomorrow and our break, but we decided to play hard for the third and found a way to tie it up and win it.”

Joe Pavelski started the scoring just 12 seconds into the game Tuesday. An early icing call gave the Sharks an offensive zone draw, which Pavelski won, getting the puck up to Burns at the point. Burns shot the puck, it bounced off of Timo Meier in front of the net, and landed in front of an open net for Pavelski to knock it in. Meier and Burns got the assists.

The Capitals tied it up at 10:41 of the period with a power play goal. Tim Heed was in the box for hooking. Martin Jones made two stops before the puck trickled out to the side of the net, where Alex Ovechkin was tracking it down. He popped the puck in before Jones could get back for the stop. Assists went to Nicklas Backstrom and TJ Oshie.

Andre Burakovzky gave the Capitals the lead less than two minutes later, at 12:11. Burakovsky took a shot off the rush, beating Jones on the glove side through some traffic. Assists went to Chandler Stephenson and Travis Boyd.

Tomas Hertl tied the game back up with a power play goal at 14:27, while T.J. Oshie was in the box for tripping Timo Meier. The Sharks gave up a short-handed chance early in the power play but, once back in the Capitals’ zone, executed a nice tic-tac-toe play. Hertl found Thornton at the mid boards, Thornton passed to Pavelski below the goal line, and Pavelski sent it back to Hertl, who was low in the slot. Hertl’s one-timer went right over Braden Holtby’s shoulder. It was Hertl’s 20th goal of the season, with the assists going to Pavelski and Thornton.

T.J. Oshie exited the box and in less than a minute got the lead back for Washington. Ovechkin carried the puck into the zone and then fed Oshie with a pass that escaped the pursuing Sharks. Oshie drew Jones to the left, then shot to the right side of the net. Assists went to Ovechkin and John Carlson.

Less than a minute into the second period, Evander Kane tied the game again. Timo Meier retrieved the puck behind the net, then reversed direction and got the puck to Kane on the left side of the net. Kane’s first shot did not go in, but by the time the puck bounced up and across the goal mouth, Kane was in position to shoot it back in. Assists went to Meier and Brent Burns.

Washington grabbed the lead back again at 2:53. Martin Jones had just stopped a shot from Jakub Vrana, but the rebound went to the goal line where Evgeny Kuznetsov pulled it in and shot it past Jones. The Sharks defense was not very helpful for Jones on that goal. Assists went to Vrana and Tom Wilson.

Alex Ovechkin extended the lead to 5-3 at 5:41. Backstrom made a drop pass to Ovechkin at the top of the faceoff circle, while drawing Justin Braun away and creating a moving screen. Ovechkin’s shot went by Jones’ glove side. Assists went to Backstrom and Oshie.

Logan Couture got one back at 14:39. The Sharks had just killed a penalty when Logan Couture followed a puck through John Carlson at the Sharks blue line. He headed through the neutral zone with Tomas Hertl and Brent Burns trailing him, three on none. Couture slipped the puck under Holtby with a backhand shot for his 19th goal of the season.

The teams traded penalties to start the third period, before Ovechkin completed his hat trick at 5:52. The Capitals drove through the neutral zone, ending up 4-on-2, then 4-on-3 against the Sharks’ defenders. Kuznetsov passed the puck to Vrana on the right, who passed it back across the ice to the trailing Ovechkin. He took the shot from the slot for his 36th of the season. Vrana and Kuznetsov got the assists.

Tomas Hertl scored his second, another power play goal, at 10:02 of the third. John Carlson was in the box for holding Joonas Donskoi. This play was like Hertl’s first goal, in that Couture’s pass found Pavelski below the goal line, and Pavelski found Hertl open for the shot in the slot. It looked a little faster than the first one, but very similar. Assists went to Pavelski and Couture.

Evander Kane sent the teams to overtime with his second of the game at 19:59. Martin Jones left the net with just over 1:30 left, giving the Sharks a sixth skater. The Capitals cleared the puck three times, but did not hit the empty net. Pavelski took a shot from the boards, it slowed down when it hit Hertl’s stick, then bounced in front of Kane and an open net.

Hertl completed his hat trick with the overtime game winner 1:48 into the extra period. Hertl carried the puck through the neutral zone and then gave it to Couture at center. Couture hesitated a moment, then gave it back to Hertl, who took the shot from just below the hash marks.

The Sharks will resume after the All-Star Game on February 2 against the Arizona Coyotes in San Jose. Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns will join the other All-Stars in San Jose, starting Thursday. Erik Karlsson’s participation is less certain.

Sharks Ground Lightning with 5-2 Win

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — With a 5-2 win, the San Jose Sharks handed the Tampa Bay Lightning their first regulation loss in 16 games at SAP Center Saturday night. Evander Kane scored his 199th and 200th NHL goals in the game, while Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski and Lukas Radil also added goals for the Sharks. Lightning goals came from Victor Hedman and Mikhail Sergachev. Martin Jones made 17 saves for the Sharks, while Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves for the Lightning.

After the game, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said: “I thought it was a solid sixty minutes for us. I thought we got big contributions, I thought our big guys were really good, especially Karlsson and Burns and Brenden Dillon on defense. Jonesy made some saves when he had to. Special teams were good and I thought all four lines contributed. You know, when you’re playing the best team in the league, we knew we needed that kind of effort and we got it.”

San Jose had some lineup challenges to overcome before the game. With three of their regular defensemen (Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Justin Braun and Radim Simek) out with injuries, the blue line included regular seventh defensmen Tim Heed and Joakim Ryan. Playing in his first NHL game, Jacob Middleton filled out the blue line six. Ryan played with Brent Burns while Heed and Middleton made up a third pair.

After the game, DeBoer talked briefly about the blue line adjustments: “It’s hard to take three defensemen out of your line up and survive and it’s a credit to the young guys who came in. I thought Middleton came in, gave us some good minutes. I thought Joakim Ryan played a real good game and so did Heeder.”

The Sharks opened the scoring at 9:27 of the first. Erik Karlsson’s pass found Timo Meier on his way through the neutral zone. As he crossed the blue line, Meier got a pass to Logan Couture just above the faceoff circle. Couture took the shot as he passed the hash marks and beat Andrei Vasilevskiy. Meier and Karlsson got the assists.

Moments later, at 10:01, Joe Pavelski added one with an impressive turning (and falling) shot right in front of the blue paint. Brent Burns got the assist for finding Pavelski with the pass.

Victor Hedman got one back for the Sharks during an ill-tied line change from the Sharks. Steve Stamkos found him flying up the slot and the Sharks were not quite ready for Hedman to be in position so quickly. Assists went to Stamkos and Ondrej Palat.

The Lightning outshot the Sharks 8-4, but the Sharks won 63% of the faceoffs in the first.

Those faceoff wins helped Evander Kane and the Sharks power play retake a two goal lead early in the second period. Pavelski won an offensive zone faceoff, getting the puck to Erik Karlsson at the point. Karlsson sent it across the ice to Brent Burns, who bumped it back across to Kane. Kane was not far below the blue line and Joe Pavelski had moved to the net, where he screened Vasilevskiy’s view of the shot. Assists went to Burns and Karlsson.

Just seconds later, Mathieu Joseph got by Tim Heed on his way into the Sharks zone. He caught Mikhail Sergachev streaking to the net with a pass and trimmed the Sharks lead to one again. A second assist went to Ryan Callahan.

The second period saw two more penalties killed, one for each team. The Sharks out shot the Lightning in the second period 12-9 but their faceoff win percentage slipped to 56%.

The Sharks got an early power play in the third period, but could not score on it. About half way through that power play, Tomas Hertl sustained an injury during an inadvertent collision. He did not leave the game.

The Sharks did score at 5:18. Evander Kane carried the puck across the blue line, moving past Stralman. Joonas Donskoi kept stride with Kane, staying between him and Stralman as Kane skated below the hash marks and took the shot to give the Sharks a 4-2 lead. An assist went to Brenden Dillon.

Kane went to the box a couple of minutes later for high-sticking Nikita Kucherov, but the Sharks killed the penalty off.

Lukas Radil extended the Sharks lead to 5-2 at 12:20, after Timo Meier tipped a Brent Burns shot. The tip bounced behind Vasilevskiy and out of the blue paint, landing just in front of Radil by the post. Radil lifted it neatly into the net. Assists went to Meier and Burns.

By the end of the game, the faceoff win percentage was dead even between the teams.

The Sharks next play on Monday at 7:30 PM PT against the visiting Los Angeles Kings.

Sharks Win 7-4 Over Oilers: Two Karlssons score three goals

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Edmonton Oilers 7-4 at the Rogers Place Saturday. Sharks goals came from Joonas Donskoi, Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture (2), Erik Karlsson and Melker Karlsson (2). Erik Karlsson, returning from his two game suspension, garnered four points in Saturday’s game. San Jose’s Martin Jones made 22 saves for the win. For the Oilers, goals came from Connor McDavid (2), Caleb Jones and Leon Draisaitl. Cam Talbot made 33 saves for Edmonton.

After the game, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said: “It was a good game for us, I think we took advantage of a team with some depth issues on defense and some young guys playing in key spots there. But, to our credit, we showed up and took advantage of what we needed to take advantage of. I thought we did a good job of playing in their end and putting some pressure on them.”

The Oilers scored first in Saturday’s game. It was a strange play, involving an early signal from the official, a review by the NHL, and a goal that came after the official had signaled a goal. At 6:26 of the first period, Ty Rattie took a shot that Martin Jones just barely stopped. While the official was waving a goal there and the goal horn was blaring, Connor McDavid knocked the puck in around Jones. The NHL reviewed the first shot to determine that it was not a goal but said nothing about the official’s gesturing before the whistle. Assists went to Ty Rattie and Leon Draisaitl. Time of the goal was 6:28.

Down 1-0, the Sharks carried on to score at 6:44. Joonas Donskoi went into the Oilers zone three on one with Erik Karlsson and Tomas Hertl. The three exchanges passes until Donskoi was almost at the goal line, when he took the shot and beat Cam Talbot over the pad. Assists went to Karlsson and Hertl.

The Sharks took the lead at 10:13 with a goal from Tomas Hertl. Hertl caught the pass from Burns, spun around in front of the net, looking like he might backhand it and drawing Talbot to the left side of the net. Instead, he kept turning and shot into the other side. Assists went to Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson.

The Sharks added to the lead at 6:39 of the third period. Logan Couture pulled the puck off the boards away from McDavid, who was tangled up with a prone and sliding Joe Pavelski. He found Joe Thornton behind the net with a pass. Thornton held the puck there until Couture was in a good shooting position above the goal line. Couture’s shot slipped under Talbot and trickled over the line after a short delay. Assists went to Thornton and Pavelski.

Erik Karlsson added another goal and his third point of the game at 18:45 of the second. The Sharks had just completed a distinctly lackluster power play and the Sharks were having a heck of a time holding the zone. They pulled themselves back together after disorderly spell. Joonas Donskoi was in the offensive zone with Barclay Goodrow and Marcus Sorensen. The trio caused some havoc around the net and Goodrow got the puck to Karlsson at the point. Donskoi was battling with Caleb Jones in front of the goalie, creating a good screen for Karlsson’s shot. Assists went to Goodrow and Donskoi.

Melker Karlsson scored the Sharks’ fifth goal at 2:41 of the third period. He tipped a Brent Burns shot from the point, with Goodrow creating a screen in front of Talbot. Assists went to Burns and Kevin Labanc.

Couture added a sixth goal, this one short-handed, at 8:25. Timo Meier was in the box for high-sticking. Evander Kane beat the Oilers defense to the puck and took it away from the goalie, who was up at the half-boards. Kane carried the puck around behind the net (tended by Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse) and found Couture coming to the net. Couture’s shot went under Talbot as he was getting back into position.

The Oilers got one back as Caleb Jones scored his first NHL goal at 10:40. Ty Rattie made a pass around a sliding Brenden Dillon to get the puck in front of the net, where Jones was ready to take the shot. He put the puck past Martin Jones as he slid across to follow the pass. Assists went to Rattie and Drake Caggiula.

Melker Karlsson scored a second time at 14:09. Erik Karlsson took the puck off the faceoff and carried it at high speed behind the net. Instead of going around the net, he made a last-second pass to the front of the net, where Melker Karlsson was waiting to knock it in. Assists went to Karlsson and Goodrow.

Leon Draisaitl scored the Oilers’ third goal at 16:53. Draisaitl carried the puck through the neutral zone, skating around Justin Braun and beating Martin Jones over the shoulder. An assist went to Milan Lucic.

Connor McDavid added a fourth goal for the Oilers at 19:54. McDavid tipped a shot from Chris Wideman and it bounced up in a high arc over Martin Jones. Assists went to Wideman and Rattie.

During the second period, Marcus Sorensen took a high hit that went unnoticed by the officials, even though he was pushed into one official in the process. He left the game for a time but did return. He sat during the final five minutes of the game as well, for precautionary reasons per Coach DeBoer.

The Sharks will next play on Monday, New Year’s Eve, in Calgary against the Flames at 6:00 PM PT.

In Division ranking, the Sharks are currently tied at 49 points with first-place Calgary, but the Flames have two games in hand. Those 49 points are good for third in the Western Conference right now, behind Calgary and Winnipeg.

Sharks Beat Blackhawks 7-3 in Chicago

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 7-3 Sunday in a much-needed road win at the United Center. After a shaky first few minutes, the Sharks took over with goals from Melker Karlsson, Marcus Sorensen, Evander Kane, Barclay Goodrow, Kevin Labanc, Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl. In all, 13 Sharks earned points in the game, six of them earning more than one. For Chicago, goals came from Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini.

Both teams used both of their goalies, with San Jose’s Martin Jones being replaced after giving up three goals on four shots in the first period, and Chicago’s Corey Crawford leaving the game after an injury in the first period. Sharks’ Aaron Dell did not give up a goal on 16 shots, while Blackhawks’ Cam Ward made 30 saves on 35 shots. San Jose’s special teams were perfect with four penalty kills and two goals on two power plays.

After the game, Sharks forward Logan Couture commented on how the team has improved lately:

We’re playing the right way now. There’s less cheating, less chances being taken in bad areas of the ice. Defensively I think we’ve played some very strong hockey, and when we do that, it may be hard to realize but it always leads to offense. You’re always going to score more goals when you’re defending well. It’s just the way this game works, you don’t think it when you’re on the ice, but that’s the way it works.

Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer talked about his fourth line of Melker Karlsson, Barclay Goodrow and Lukas Radil after the game: “Melker consistently gives me the same game. You know, his production maybe isn’t there all the time but I think you know what you’re getting from him every time he puts his uniform on and he’s going to do whatever he can to help you win a game. You know, that fourth line has some chemistry and they’re making a difference in games. That’s the first time we’ve had that in a while so it feels good.”

The Blackhawks scored first and last in a goal-laden first period. In the first four minutes, Chicago scored twice. First, Alex DeBrincat got his 14th of the season at 2:34. The Sharks were on a change as Erik Gustafsson carried the puck into the neutral zone. He made a pass to the Sharks blue line where DeBrincat waited and DeBrincat took the shot from just over that blue line. The puck trickled through Martin Jones. Less than one  minute later, Dylan Strome defelcted a shot from Connor Murphy that came from above the faceoff circle. Assists went to Murphy and Patrick Kane.

The Sharks got one back, courtesy of Melker Karlsson at 9:58. Lukas Radil and Barclay Goodrow caused a turnover in the neutral zone, allowing Brent Burns to take the puck and send it away from the Sharks zone to Radil near the Chicago blue line. Radil made a quick cross-ice pass to Karlsson. Karlsson took the shot from inside the faceoff circle and beat Corey Crawford over the pad. It was Karlsson’s third of the season, with assists to Radil and Burns.

The Sharks tied it up with their next shot less than a minute later. Joe Thornton stole the puck in the neutral zone and gave it back to Justin Braun. Braun moved the puck quickly to Kevin Labanc, who sent it cross-ice to Thornton. Thornton found Marcus Sorensen in front of the net. Sorensen used a backhand to sneak the puck under Crawford fr his sixth of the season. Assists went to Thornton and Labanc.

Chicago retook the lead at 12:54 of the period. Brendan Perlini scored off of an ugly play that started with a breakaway by Dylan Sikura. Sikura got tangled up with Justin Braun and fell on his way to the net, but he continued to drive the puck forward. Meanwhile, Perlini won a race against Marc-Edouard Vlasic and tapped the loose puck around Jones’ skate. Assists went to Sikura and Brent Seabrook.

The Sharks switched goalies at this point, putting Aaron Dell in net.

With 1:30 left in the period, Corey Crawford was bowled over by Dylan Strome after Strome tried to slip between Logan Couture and Evander Kane as they converged on the net. Kane was called for goaltender interference. Strome was called for slashing Couture. Crawford left the game and Cam Ward came in. A tripping penalty 44 seconds later on Timo Meier turned the 4-on-4 into a 4-on-3, which carried over into the second period, but none of the penalties altered the score.

The Sharks tied it back up 4:21 into the second period with a power play goal from Evander Kane. Chicago was short-handed for playing with a broken stick, attributed to David Kampf. Kevin Labanc took a stick to the eye early in the power play. It was not observed by officials but Labanc had to leave for repairs.

With under 30 seconds left in the power play, Brent Burns took a shot from above the faceoff circle. The shot came off of Ward’s pads and went right up the middle to where Kane was waiting to swat it back in. It was Kane’s 10th of the season, with assists to Burns and Erik Karlsson.

Barclay Goodrow gave the Sharks their first lead of the game at 7:36 of the period. After a great shift from the Sharks’ fourth line, Justin Braun took a shot from the blue line that went off of Goodrow who was screening Cam Ward. It was Goodrow’s fifth of the season, with assists to Braun and Melker Karlsson.

Logan Couture stretched the Sharks’ lead out to two with his 11th of the season at 16:16. After a nice keep-in by Joe Pavelski up on the blue line, Evander Kane kept the puck away from two Blackhawks below the goal line before getting the puck up to Brenden Dillon on the blue line. Dillon took the shot and Couture deflected it over Ward’s shoulder. Assists went to Dillon and Kane.

The Sharks scored a second power play goal at 13:03 of the third period, with Chicago’s Patrick Kane in the box for tripping. Tomas Hertl kept the puck in at the corner, then moved it along the blue line to Burns. Burns juggled it a bit, just keeping it on the right side of the line. Burns then moved down the slot, threatening a shot, before passing it to Kevin Labanc. Labanc caught the pass just above the hash marks and beat Ward high on the short side. It was Labanc’s fourth of the season, with assists to Burns and Hertl.

Tomas Hertl got on the board with the Sharks’ seventh of the game at 18:27. The Blackhawks were pushing hard in the last couple of minutes, but Timo Meier broke the puck out and took it down behind the Chicago net. Meier put the puck in front of the net, where it came out to Erik Karlsson for a shot. That one came back out for Meier to shoot, but he broke his stick. It went back below the goal line to Logan Couture, who found Hertl coming in for his shot. Couture got the only assist on that one.

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

Sharks Fall to Stars 3-2

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 3-2 to the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center on Friday. The game was tied 1-1 going into a three-goal third period, with the Sharks scoring first and last. Stars goals came from Mattias Janmark, Miro Heiskanen and Brett Ritchie. Stars goaltender Ben Bishop made 41 saves for the win. Sharks goals came from Evander Kane and Logan Couture, with goalie Martin Jones making 27 saves in the loss.

After the game, Joe Pavelski talked about how the team is improving despite some of the recent losses:

It’s just about lengthening our stretches of playing good hockey, which we’ve been doing little bit in our games. Still going a good direction. We had good energy I thought, you know, up and down the lineup for most of the night. You know, there’s always momentum swings and I think we’be done a better job lately of handling them.

Evander Kane described a factor in the team’s inconsistency: “I think it’s just spells throughout the course of the season where I think we’re just a little too relaxed and we need to ramp up the intensity a little bit on the ice.

Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer considered it a fairly good road game from the Sharks: “It’s a small margin right now. I don’t think they worked harder than us, I thought we played a pretty good road game. You know, we’re just finding the wrong side of that line right now and we’ve got to get on the right side of it.”

The Sharks scored the only goal in the first period, at 9:22. Brenden Dillon carried the puck out of the Sharks zone and through the neutral zone, then passed it to Joonas Donskoi, who was on his way into the offensive zone with Erik Karlsson and Evander Kane. Donskoi passed to Karlsson in the slot, he sent it left to Kane, and Kane took the shot, catching Bishop as he came across. It was Kane’s eighth goal of the season, with assists to Karlsson and Donskoi.

The Sharks outshot the Stars 13-5 in the first period. They had one penalty to kill in the first, and did so without allowing a shot on goal. That was a hooking penalty against Logan Couture. They killed another penalty right at the start of the second period, a delay of game against Marcus Sorensen for sending the puck out of play. The Sharks power play was unsuccessful.

The Sharks lost a goal to an early whistle at 4:09 of the second. The puck trickled across the line after Sorensen took a shot off the rush, but the whistle blew while the puck was still under Bishop.

The Stars tied the game at 14:05 of the second, when Mattias Janmark got a break during a change. Erik Karlsson had flipped the puck down the ice right as most of the Sharks went to change. Tomas Hertl was not able to get control of the puck one on three. It went back the other way, finding Janmark just off the bench and breaking through the zone. He beat Jones on the blocker side. It was Janmark’s second goal of the season with an assist to Roman Polak.

The shot clock evened out in the second period, with the teams almost tied 15-14 Dallas.

The Sharks had an early power play in the third but did not get a shot on goal. After the power play, the Stars brought a lot of pressure and had the Sharks scrambling on defense. That ended about two minutes later, when Miro Heiskanen gave the Stars the lead with a shot from the boards. Assists went to Tyler Pitlick and Radek Faksa.

The Stars extended their lead less than two minutes later. A zone entry went awry for the Sharks when Heiksanen knocked the puck away from Melker Karlsson and Jason Spezza passed the puck to a fast-moving Devin Shore. Shore took the puck into the zone two on one with Brett Ritchie. Shore made the pass and Ritchie put the puck under Martin Jones as he came across. Assists went to Shore and Spezza.

The Sharks got one back very quickly, at 6:59. Erik Karlsson took a blue line pass from Dillon and took the shot. It went off of Couture’s stick as he battled for position in front of Bishop. It was Couture’s ninth of the season with assists to Karlsson and Dillon.

The Sharks pulled Jones from the net with under two minutes to go but could not tie the game back up.

The Sharks next play on Saturday in Glendale against the Arizona Coyotes at 5:00 PM PT. The Sharks will see the Dallas Stars again next week, on the 13th in San Jose.

Sharks Shut Out Blues 4-0, Erik Karlsson Scores

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Photo credit: @nbcbayarea

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — In an unusual twist, the San Jose Sharks defeated the St. Louis Blues 4-0, a mirror image of their loss in St. Louis eight days ago. Joe Pavelski scored twice, with additional goals from Erik Karlsson and Evander Kane. It was Karlsson’s first goal as a Shark. Logan Couture had assists on three of those goals. Aaron Dell, who was also in net on the eighth in St. Louis, made 30 saves for the shutout. Blues goaltender Chad Johnson made 25 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said:

Tonight was kind of classic Shark hockey and that’s good, that’s what we were striving for. No breakaways, that was nice. I don’t know if they had any two on ones, you know there was a couple of breakdowns here and there and Deller was great for us. But we got the offense off of being smart and it comes if you do it right, for the most part. Tonight was a good bounce back game for us.

Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer credited the team’s attention to detail: “I thought our attention to detail was much better. It helped getting the lead and getting a couple goals and playing out in front. I thought Deller made a couple saves at the right time. There were some scrambles there where, you know, if we let one in maybe the game swings a little bit, but I thought overall our attention to detail all over the ice was the best it’s been in probably a week or so.”

The first period was contentious, with the teams exchanging good chances without many whistles. The Blues had a power play very early in the period, a tripping call against Couture 48 seconds in. The Sharks killed that off and had their own power play start in the final seconds of the period. David Perron went to the box for interference at 19:38. The Sharks had the lead in shots 14-9, but overall, the period did not favor either team.

The conclusion of that Sharks’ power play started the second period. San Jose did not score, but the Blues could not clear the puck either. The Sharks did not even get a chance to change units until the penalty expired. Just as it did, Kevin Labanc was tripped, giving the Sharks another power play.

As the final seconds of the second power play wound down, the Sharks gained the zone and a Couture shot rebounded right up the slot for Karlsson. Karlsson picked a corner over Johnson’s shoulder and scored his first goal as a Shark. Assists went to Couture and Kane.

The Blues responded with furious energy in their offense. They got a three on one shortly after the goal, and then spent a long spell in the Sharks zone, thwarting efforts to clear the puck. They did not, however, get many shots on goal. It was the Sharks who scored next.

Pavelski went into the zone 2-on-1 with Timo Meier. He passed it to Meier for the shot, but Johnson stopped that. Pavelski got to the rebound just as he reached the goal line and muscled a shot past Jay Bouwmeester by the post. Assists went to Meier and Couture. It was Pavelski’s 12th goal of the season.

The Sharks did not wait long to stretch out their lead. 1:14 later, a pass off the rush from Karlsson found Kane in the slot as both skaters moved to the net. Kane took the shot for his seventh goal of the season. Assists went to Karlsson and Antti Suomela.

At the break that followed the third goal, the shots for the period were 11-2 San Jose. That count shifted a little as the period went on, with some important saves from Dell. The Blues in their own zone a couple of times, wearing them down so that a stop by Dell was the only option for relief. By the end of the period, the shots were 13-10 for the Sharks, or 7-2 Blues for the second half of the period.

That shot disparity carried on through the third period, with the Sharks only getting credit for two shots in the final frame. The Blues got 11 shots during the third, but the only goal was scored by Pavelski. Couture pushed his way across the blue line with the puck and created a two on one opportunity with Pavelski. Couture’s timely pass found Pavelski inside the faceoff dot with the goaltender still coming across the goal mouth. It was Pavelski’s 13th of the season. Assists went to Couture and Meier.

The Sharks next play Tuesday against the visiting Edmonton Oilers at 7:30 PM PT.

Blues Shut Out Sharks 4-0

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Photo credit: @StLouisBlues

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 4-0 to the St. Louis Blues at the Scottrade Center on Friday–their second loss in a row, both to Central Division teams. Goals came from Alex Pietrangelo, Ryan O’Reilly, Jaden Schwartz and Alexander Steen. Chad Johnson made 33 saves for the shutout. Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell made 27 saves on 31 shots for the Sharks.

Each team had four power plays, but all of the goals were at even strength. It was the sixth win of the season for St. Louis and the sixth loss for the Sharks.

After the game, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said: “I think yesterday we were reckless but we had energy. Today we were reckless without energy.”

Sharks captain Joe Pavelksi said: “We’re a better team than we showed the last two games. Just the simple breakdowns, kind of getting out of the system, we kind of see what happens. It can cost you.”

Asked about the Sharks’ defensive game, Pavelski said: “I’m fine with our foundation, you know, I’m really satisfied with that. It’s about us executing it a little bit better. And we need to be a little bit more committed to it.”

Asked if the breakdowns might be attributed to having new faces on the team this season, Sharks forward Logan Couture said: “We’re 17 games in. It’s almost a quarter of the season. You can use that excuse for one or two or maybe even three, you can’t use it for 17. So, we’ve got to figure it out.”

After the game in Dallas on Thursday, coach DeBoer made some line changes. Marcus Sorensen was with Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton, while Evander Kane was on a line with Antti Suomela and Joonas Donskoi. Barclay Goodrow was on a line with Rourke Chartier and Melker Karlsson. With Tomas Hertl still out with concussion symptoms, Kevin Labanc was on the top line with Logan Couture and Timo Meier. On defense, Tim Heed stepped into Joakim Ryan’s spot with Brent Burns. Aaron Dell was in net, which was to be expected in the second game of back to backs.

The Blues scored at 14:50 of the first period. The teams were playing four on four, with Joe Pavelski and Vince Dunn in the box for mutual slashing penalties. Ironically, no one was in the box for Alex Pietrangelo’s stick to Barclay Goodrow’s face, which sent the Sharks forward to the room for repairs.

Just over 30 seconds into the penalties, Pietrangelo caught a pass from Vladimir Tarasenko right in the slot. He had time to pick a spot and shoot over Dell’s shoulder. Assists went to Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly.

The Sharks ended the first period in the middle of a power play. That power play wound down without a goal to start the second period. The Blues extended their lead with a goal at 5:28 from Ryan O’Reilly. The Sharks had been outshooting the Blues 5-0 on the period, including some short-handed chances, but play went the other way and Tarasenko got the puck out from behind the Sharks net to Jaden Schwartz. Schwartz sent the puck across the slot to O’Reilly, who caught Dell moving across.

Almost ten minutes later, the Blues scored again. This time, the goal followed a prolonged assault from St. Louis. The Sharks were forced to ice the puck and the Blues took advantage of tired defenders. Jaden Schwartz went to the net an awaited a pass from Tyler Bozak to his right. the short pass set him up for a nice shot over a moving goalie. Assists went to Bozak and Alexander Steen.

The Blues ended the second period on a power play and started the third finishing it off. The Sharks got their third power play of the game at 8:11 of the third. The power play was not very strong and the Sharks gave up a short-handed breakaway to Bozak in the final seconds. Dell was able to prevent another goal.

At 12:21, Steen scored a fourth for the Blues while Sharks got tangled up with a flurry of Blues skaters in the slot. Steen skated around and through the traffic and put his shot over Dell’s pads. Assists went to Bozak and Colton Parayko.

Brent Burns took a tripping penalty moments later, putting the Sharks on the penalty kill. The Blues did not take chances with their power play and killed time, holding the zone. Dell made a good glove save on Parayko, but didn’t have to make many saves for that penalty kill.

The Sharks next play on Sunday back in San Jose against the Calgary Flames at 6:00 PM PT. That game will kick off a six-game homestand for Team Teal.

Sharks Lose to Blue Jackets 4-1

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks fell to the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets Thursday by a score of 4-1. Despite outshooting Columbus 45-27, beating them soundly in the faceoff circle and taking the early lead with a goal from Kevin Labanc, San Jose could not beat the Blue Jackets’ defense or goalie again. Columbus goals came from Anthony Duclair, Seth Jones, Nick Foligno and Josh Anderson. Columbus goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 44 shots for the win. Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell made 23 saves for San Jose. The special teams were all penalty killers: the Sharks’ power play had three tries and did not score, and the Blue Jackets also failed to score with their power play.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said:

You look up at the end of the night and we have those shots. Didn’t probably feel like a 45 shot night. You know… the energy level was just a little bit off for us. But throughout that game we were right there at times, we just never found that spark we needed.

Logan Couture was asked about the ice, as the puck was bouncing a lot. He did not consider that a valid explanation: “Can’t blame the ice. Both teams play on it. It’s simple: we just didn’t play well enough. There’s no excuse of the ice being bad. We weren’t very good.”

When asked to elaborate, Couture said: “We weren’t good. We didn’t pass well, we didn’t play hard enough. We didn’t spend enough time in their end, we didn’t forecheck, we turned pucks over. I mean, you go down the list, we did a lot of things wrong tonight and we got what we deserved.”

The first period was balanced in scoring and shots. The Sharks spent a spell in the Columbus zone before finally scoring first at 11:50 of the first period. Couture was in front of the net, trying to get a shot off but the puck slipped away from him. Labanc was right on the spot to catch it and take the shot. Assists went to Couture and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. It was Labanc’s second goal of the season.

The Blue Jackets tied it up at 16:30 with a goal from Anthony Duclair. The goal came after a lot of pressure from the Blue Jackets all around the Sharks’ zone. Ryan Murray sent the puck down from the blue line to bounce off the back boards where Duclair picked it up and took it behind the net for a wraparound. Assists went to Murray and Alexander Wennberg.

Columbus scored twice in the second period, the first at 9:15. Duclair, near the goal line, moved the puck out in front of the net where it went off the skate of Seth Jones as Jones was stopping in front of the blue paint. Assists went to Duclair and Lukas Sedlak.

Foligno gave the Blue Jackets a two goal lead at 18:40 of the period. Erik Karlsson’s pass to Vlasic along the blue line missed and went off the boards to Markus Nutivaara. He made a quick pass up to a fast-moving Foligno in the neutral zone. Foligno skated in and beat Aaron Dell on the left side.

The only goal of the third period came with just 1:01 left in the game, a short-handed, empty-net goal from Josh Anderson.

The Sharks ended the game with a 5-on-3 power play, but it only lasted 22 seconds before they ran out of time.

The Sharks will host the Philadelphia Flyers for their next game on Saturday at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Lose 3-2 to Devils, Power Play Struggles

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks finished their five game road trip with a 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Sunday. Devils’ goals came from Kyle Palmieri (2) and Jean-Sebastien Dea. Keith Kinkaid made 37 saves on 39 shots for the win. Joe Pavelski and Timo Meier scored for the Sharks, while goaltender Martin Jones made 33 saves on 36 shots.

Asked whether the team might be showing fatigue from the road trip, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said:

This game felt exactly like a couple of the other ones we’ve lost so far: they’re right there for us, you know, a few chances, power play opportunities, you know, all those certain situations. We expect to win these, that’s why they’re frustrating right now.

Asked about the power play’s struggles, Pavelski said:

It could be a little bit cleaner, the execution could be a little bit better. We’re making some plays, we’re having some looks. Either we’re not shooting or we’re shooting it too quick. The rhythm just.. it’s close. It does feel close but we’re still not where it needs to be.

Sharks forward Logan Couture’s comments on the power play were more succinct: “We’re six games in, we have one goal on the power play. I don’t think it’s close.”

Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer summarized the team’s situation as:

We’re not scoring enough, that’s the bottom line, and we’re not getting enough saves too. It’s a bad combination so we’ve got to find a way to get another goal a night. Part of that’s power play, part of that’s five-on-five and we’ve got to find a way to get another save a night. Part of that’s defending a little tighter, part of that’s getting another save.

The first period on Sunday was scoreless, but showed some back and forth in momentum. The Devils started fast, but a Sharks’ power play at 3:14 gave the Sharks some life. As the penalty expired, the Sharks peppered Kinkaid with shots and established a shot lead that carried through the period.

Penalties, on the other hand, did not favor the Sharks in the first, and by the end of the game the Devils had eight power plays to the Sharks’ three. Two of those penalties were for delay of game, puck over glass.

The Sharks scored first at 3:51 of the second period. Evander Kane fought for the puck below the goal line and then, while being tripped by Mirco Mueller, got the puck to Brent Burns at the blue line. Burns took a quick shot that went right into Kinkaid’s pads. Pavelski was right in front of the goalie and pulled the puck back for a swift shot around the pads for the goal. Assists went to Burns and Kane.

The Devils tied the game during a 5-on-3 power play at 7:06. Taylor Hall made a pass across the ice to Kyle Palmieri in the right circle. Palmieri took the shot and scored on the far side.

Meier got the puck to Tomas Hertl in the neutral zone to set up San Jose’s second goal at 15:35. Hertl carried the puck across the line and passed it to Couture above the faceoff circle. Couture carried the puck in front of the net. As Couture seemed to lose control of the puck, Meier had come down for the follow up and he was able to poke the puck in. Assists went to Couture and Hertl.

The Devils tied it back up just 37 seconds into the third period, with another goal from Palmieri. Andy Greene took a shot from below the blue line and three Devils converged on the net. Palmieri’s stick beat out the others to get the puck in after Jones stopped the initial shot. In the midst of all that, Couture ended up in the net and it looked like the puck came up and hit him in the face. He went to the locker room. Assists on the second goal went to Greene and Damon Severson.

A few minutes later, at 3:25, Dea gave the Devils their third goal, the game-winner. The Sharks had just killed off their fifth penalty and followed it up with a couple of shots when Dea got the puck away from their zone to Hall in the neutral zone. Hall carried it into the Sharks zone and made a pass to Mueller, who took the shot. Jones slowed it down, but it squeezed through under his arm and sat in the blue paint for a moment. Dea was the first to find it and he put in away. Assists went to Mueller and Hall.

The Sharks next play on Thursday against the Buffalo Sabres in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT.