Still Winless, Sharks Fall 3-2 to Kings; Foegele scores twice for LA

San Jose Sharks center Luke Kunin (11) fights Los Angeles Kings left wing Andre Lee (47) with Kings defenseman Joel Edmundson (6) behind and holding Kunin in the first period Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Thu Oct 24, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 3-2 to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. Jordan Spence and Warren Foegele scored for the Kings and Mikael Granlund scored for the Sharks. David Rittich made 24 saves for the win. Mackenzie Blackwood made 27 saves in the loss. The loss gave the Sharks the dubious honor of being the second team in NHL history to lose the first eight games of the season in consecutive seasons.

All three of the Kings’ goals were scored in just over seven minutes during the first period. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said: “Just can’t do that in the first period in this league. We did some good things in the second and third. We’re still giving up too many chances.”

Sharks forward Fabian Zetterlund talked about how the team played better in the second and third periods: “When we move the puck and we actually make plays and have fun, you know, that’s part of [hockey]. When we do [that] kind of stuff we look like a really good hockey team.”

Jordan Spence gave the Kings the lead at 4:31. After some back and forth in the neutral zone, Trevor Moore got control of the puck and the Kings skated up ice at speed. Just inside the zone, Moore passed the puck to Spence for a snap shot. Phillip Danault also got an assist.

Warren Foegele made it 2-0 at 8:47, poking the puck past Blackwood and Henry Thrun in a net-front battle. An assist went to Alex Laferriere.

Foegele scored his second at 11:36, tipping a shot from Brandt Clarke just below the blue line. Laferriere also got an assist.

At the end of the first period, the Sharks had been outshot 17-7, but they had not been short-hamded yet. They did get two power plays.

Mikael Granlund got the Sharks on the board with a power play goal at 10:05 of the second period. Catching a pass from Jack Thompson, Granlund put the puck in the top corner with a wrist shot. Alexander Wennberg also got an assist.

In the second period, the Sharks took two penalties and had two power plays. The shots were even at seven each.

Granlund scored a second power play goal in the final minute of the game with a wrist shot from above the faceoff circle. Assists went to Thompson and Wennberg.

The Sharks next play on Saturday against the Golden Knights in Las Vegas at 7:00 PM PT.

Utah edges LA 3-2 in exhibition game for new NHL franchise

Utah Hockey Team celebrate a win over the Los Angeles Kings in NHL exhibition at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Mon Sep 23, 2024 (@utahhockeyclub photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Five months ago the National Hockey League announced that the personnel of the Arizona Coyotes had been purchased by the Smith Entertainment Group and would operate as a new NHL franchise in Salt Lake City beginning with the 2024-2025 season. The Coyotes brand was retained by owner Alex Meruelo in the event Arizona is awarded a future expansion team.

For those who wondered whether or not Utah could support an NHL team in addition to the NBA Utah Jazz and MLS Real Salt Lake, both also owned by SEG, all doubt was immediately cast aside as more than 34,000 season ticket deposits were received in a matter of days.

Since that time, anticipation has continued to build as team colors were announced and fans began online voting to name the team for its eventual sophomore season. Though all manner of shirts, hats, and hoodies have made their way onto store shelves throughout the state, even at Costco, fans are looking forward to the arrival of inaugural season jerseys which are being expedited to potentially arrive in November.

On Monday, a packed Delta Center welcomed their new hometown team for its first-ever pre-season game with a loud standing ovation as they took to the ice to square off against the visiting Los Angeles Kings. Prior to dropping the puck, an emotional tribute video honored the lives of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau who were tragically killed by a suspected drunk driver on August 29. Following a 13-second moment of silence, fans were invited to remain standing for the national anthem, immediately followed by the moment everyone had been waiting for.

At 15:04 of the first period, Lawson Crouse gave Utah HC the lead on a power play goal, assisted by Sean Durzi and Matias Maccelli. At the ensuing faceoff, Utah’s Liam O’Brien and the Kings’ Jeff Malott immediately dropped their gloves, much to the delight of a roaring crowd. Moments later, Alex Kerfoot put Utah up 2-0 on another power play goal, assisted again by Durzi and Maccelli, which was the score heading into the locker room at the end of the first period.

The Kings came back in the 2nd period with goals from Jeff Malott and Alex Turcotte to even things up heading into what became a scoreless 3rd.

With the crowd standing and cheering the beginning of overtime, it took only 19 seconds for Clayton Keller to put the puck in the back of the Kings net for the unassisted game winner.

After the game, head coach Andre Tourigny noted that there’s still a lot of rust from the offseason to shake off, and that video from Monday’s game will immediately be used to determine the focus of the next practice.

Utah will now hit the road for their next four pre-season games against Las Vegas, Colorado, San Jose, and Anaheim. They will kick off the regular season with their home opener against the Chicago Blackhawks on October 8.

San Jose Sharks Lose 2-1 At Home To The Los Angeles Kings

Los Angeles Kings right winger Adrian Kempe (9) scores on San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blacwood (29) in the first period at SAP Center in San Jose (AP News photo)

Thursday, April 4th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

SANJOSE–Even though the San Jose Sharks were the hosts, there were an abundance of Los Angeles Kings fans in the house and the Kings gave that portion of the Tank something to cheer for edging out the Sharks 2-1 at SAP Center. Adrian Kempe scored the opening goal on a breakaway, his 25th of the season, 1-0 Kings 11 minutes into the game.

Shortly after the Kempe goal, Akil Thomas scored his first points of the season and the second goal of the game with a wrist shot while embracing a hit, 2-0 Kings. The cheers for the Kings from their fans overshadowed the boos from the Sharks fans in attendance and the 1st period ended with a 2-0 score and the Kings in the middle of a power play. 

A better second period for the Sharks, but only because the Sharks were more physical. A fight between Luke Kunin and Andreas Englund had a fight that woke the crowd up including the home fans. No goals this period, but a sign of hope as San Jose got more chances and had better possession time.

Third period was a nothing period as the Kings played the clock and the Sharks looked defeated as soon as the period started. Klim Kostin scored a goal that gave fans some sense of hope, but it was too little too late, 2-1 Kings to end the game.

Game notes: Two division rivals on opposite sides of the coin face off as the last place in the Pacific Division San Jose Sharks host the 4th place in the Pacific Division Los Angeles Kings. Last game for the Sharks was a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken on April Fool’s Day. Fabian Zetterlund (1g, 1a) netted his team-leading 21st goal of the season, a power play tally to open the home team’s scoring in his ninth multi-point game of the season.

Klim Kostin (1g, 0a) scored his fourth goal with the Sharks, his seventh of the season. Mikael Granlund (0g, 1a) extended his point streak to five games (2g, 4a) with an assist on Zetterlund’s goal, and William Eklund (0g, 1a) pushed his home point streak to eight games (3g, 6a) with the secondary helper on the same score. SJS Goals: Zetterlund (21 pp), Kostin (7) . 

Next game for the Sharks will be at home Saturday against the St. Louis Blues.

Sharks Beat Kings 4-3 in Shootout, Couture Scores in SO; San Jose wins second straight game in LA

Logan Couture (39) the San Jose Sharks center and team captain with the Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar (11) meet at center ice with former Los Angeles Rams running back Marshall Faulk (28) for the pre game puck drop ceremonies at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in a shootout on Monday. Fabian Zetterlund, William Eklund, Justin Bailey scored for the Sharks in regulation. Zetterlund and Logan Couture scored in the shootout. Kaapo Kahkonen made 44 saves for the win. Trevor Moore, Quinton Byfield and Drew Doughty scored for the Kings and David Rittich mdae 24 saves in the loss.

Midway through the second period, Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro sustained a lower body injury going into the boards after a hit by Trevor Lewis. He dragged himself to the bench and did not return to play. Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said that he expects Ferraro to miss at least “a couple games.”

Ferraro’s injury left the team short one defenseman for roughly half of regulation. After the game, Quinn said:

“Yeah, it was a gritty one. Listen, obviously we went down to five D there and you could see our D getting tired and they turned it up a little bit there in the third and towards the end of the second. But we just kept battling and competing and I give our D-corps a ton of credit. They turned it up and we answered.”

In a scoreless first period, the Sharks were out-shot by the Kings 18-6. They picked things up in the second. With an extra skater on during a delayed penalty, Fabian Zetterlund scored with a snap shot in the slot at 7:46. Assists went to Mike Hoffman and Tomas Hertl.

William Eklund made it 2-0 with a snap shot at 9:06.. Skating into the zone with Nico Sturm, Eklund caught Sturm’s pass and took the shot from inside the left circle. Assists went to Sturm and Jan Rutta

Trevor Moore got the Kings on the board with a snap shot at 17:06. From the right circle, he put the puck into the far corner. An assist went to Kevin Fiala.

Quinton Byfield tied the game with a slap shot at 1:33 of the third. Adrian Kempe centered the puck from near the goal line and Kahkonen could not get across in time to stop Byfield’s shot. Assists went to Kempe and Jordan Spence.

Justin Bailey gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead at 6:07. Skating in on a breakaway, Bailey’s wrist shot went under Rittich for Bailey’s third of the season. An assist went to Ryan Carpenter.

Drew Doughty tied it again on the power play with six Kings skaters on the ice. He scored with a slap shot from just below the blue line at 18:02. Assists went to Kevin Fiala and Quinton Byfield.

The game went through overtime, during which the Sharks had just two shots to the Kings’ five. In the shootout, Logan Couture and Fabian Zetterlund scored. Kahkonen stopped shots from Trevor Moore and Adrian Kempe.

The Sharks were out-shot by the Kings 47-27 in the game. They won 54.7% of the draws. Logan Couture led the team in face-offs, winning 9 of 14 draws.

The Sharks next play Tuesday, back in San Jose against the New York Rangers at 7:30 PM PT.

Demoralized Sharks Fall 5-1 to Kings; SJ dealt their sixth straight loss

The Los Angeles Kings left wing Kevin Fiala (22) put the puck on net for a second period goal past San Jose Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen (31) at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Wed Dec 27, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 5-1 to the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. The Kings’ goals were scored by Kevin Fiala, Trevor Lewis, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Adrian Kempe, who scored twice. David Rittich made 24 saves for the win. Fabian Zetterlund scored the lone Sharks goal and Kaapo Kahkonen made 38 saves in the loss. This was the sixth loss in a row for the Sharks.

Although the Sharks won the first period of the game, their power play showed signs of what was to come. The Sharks power play registered no shots on net and gave up two short-handed shots. After the game, Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said:

“Really it was a tale of two games. I thought the first twenty-five minutes we played well, I thought we had some great chances. Then we got blitzed with two goals in five seconds, six seconds, whatever it was and that’s happened to us too often and you could just feel it again. And it just got away from us, we got demoralized and our power play really hurt us.”

When asked how the team can cope with collapses like giving up two goals in 13 seconds, Sharks forward Fabian Zetterlund said “we just have to have a couple good shifts, get the pucks deep, and play boring hockey… and then we can take it from there.”

The Sharks scored the only goal of the first period. Fabian Zetterlund scored with a snap shot on a breakaway at 11:02. It was his 10th goal of the season. The period was almost penalty-free, with just one call against the Kings at 18:23. At even strength, the Sharks outshot the Kings slightly with eight shots to the Kings’ six.

The Kings tied the game at 2:57 of the second period. Kevin Fiala scored with a wrist shot on a breakaway. An assist went to Jordan Spence.

13 seconds later, Trevor Lewis stole the puck from Mario Ferraro by the Sharks net and scored with a backhand.

Pierre-Luc Dubois made it 3-1 at 12:26, off a rebound from Arthur Kaliyev’s shot from high in the slot. Assists went to Kaliyev and Alex Laferriere,

The Kings outshot the Sharks 17-11 in the second period. The teams each took one penalty, overlapping by 24 seconds, in the middle of the period.

Adrian Kempe made it 4-1 at 3:36 of the third period. From between the circles, Kempe tipped a shot by Matt Roy. Assists went to Roy and Carl Grundstrom

Kempe’s second goal came with an impressive zone entry, skating past and around three Sharks to score with a wrist shot. Assists went to Mikey Anderson and Drew Doughty. That goal came at 15:42.

The third period saw a flurry of penalties, starting with a fight at 5:29 that garnered an additional roughing penalty for Alex Laferriere. The Sharks then took two more penalties in the period. In the face-off circle, the Sharks won just 40.7% of the draws. The shot count was very lopsided, 20-6 Los Angeles, for a game total of 43-25 Kings.

Sharks defenseman Jacob MacDonald was placed on IR. Goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood was ill and so Magnus Chrona was called up as backup.

The Sharks next play on Thursday back in San Jose against the Edmonton Oilers at 7:30 PM PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks hope to right ship open two game road trip tonight in Vancouver

Arizona Coyotes center Alexander Kerfoot (15) scores on the San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29) in the second period at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Dec 21, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Sharks lost on home ice on Thursday night to the Coyotes for their fourth straight loss 5-2 at SAP Center.

#2 San Jose outshot Arizona 12-7 in the first period it was a display that the Sharks had their foot on the necks of the Coyotes, but the goalies were on point keeping it scoreless. 

#3 The second period was rough for the Sharks as the Coyotes offense went to work getting three goals and taking a 3-1 lead.

#4 The Coyotes kept it up scoring two more goals and came away with a three goal 5-2 win for the Sharks fourth consecutive loss.

#5 The Sharks will try and hope that a change of scenery will be beneficial when the open the first of two road games on Saturday in Vancouver and then in head to the Southland and face the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. How do you see these match ups.

Join Mary Lisa for the Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Lose To Their Rivals From So-Cal Kings 4-1; LA goalie Rittich holds SJ to just one goal

The Los Angeles Kings defenseman Andreas Englund (5) congratulates goaltender David Rittich (31) after defeating the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Dec 19, 2023 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, December 19th, 2023

By Troy Ewers 

San Jose, CA – The San Jose Sharks have played in six consecutive one-goal games over the club’s last seven contests, earning points in four of the last five (3-1-1) as part of the team’s hot December run. Following San Jose’s 1-0 loss Friday at Arizona (Dec. 15), the Sharks got trounced by the Avalanche 6-2 and hope to turn it around before the holidays as they face the Los Angeles Kings in the SAP Center. 

The Sharks and Kings went almost the whole period scoreless, but even in almost every category. That stalemate between these two rivals finally came to an end when the Kings were able to generate a smooth line of offense that resulted in Arthur Kaliyev getting the puck behind the net and he found Anza Kopitar in the slot area with a wide open wrist shot past Kaapo Kahkonen. 1-0 Kings.

The period was majority even until the goal 18 minutes in, but after that it the Kings held the lead on the scoreboard and in the shots on goal stat line with 12 compared to the Sharks’ five. 

Sharks couldn’t generate anyhing going in the second period, especially compared to the Kings. Four minutes into the period, Trevor Moore assisted by Kevin Fiala, who now has 23 assists and Phillip Danault who now has 12. 2-0 Kings.

A minute later the Kings continued their assault as a shot from Kopitar was deflected by Alex Laferriere in the net and it was 3-0. The Sharks looked out of it in the second period, but the crowd was still in it and rooting for their boys in teal no matter how ugly it looked. 

The air was sucked out of the room during the period. The only time the crowd came alive was when the puck looked like it was going in the net, but Kings goalie David Rittich gloved it right before it crossed the line. Another time the crowd came alive was when Fabian Zetterlund looked like he was about to get the Sharks first goal of the night, but the puck hit the post and it went right back to a silent night ironically.

The time kept ticking, but the score stayed the same for the majority of the period. An empty net goal from Trevor Lewis made it 4-0 and immediately after that the Sharks finally got one on the board with a slap shot by Jacob MacDonald, his fifth of the season. 4-1 and that was the final score as the final buzzer sounded.

The Sharks take another crushing loss this season and their next game will be on December 21st, back in the SAP Center and the Sharks have a lot to evaluate before they go into the holiday break.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Troy Ewers: Sharks host Kings tonight; San Jose looking to rebound from loss in Colorado

The Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (right) battles for the hockey puck as the San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl (left) tries to get a stick on the puck on defense at Ball Arena in Denver on Sun Dec 17, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Troy Ewers:

#1 Regardless of winning or losing the San Jose Sharks played six straight one goal games they did win three of six on their last east coast six game road swing. They lost a close one to the Arizona Coyotes on Friday night in Tempe. Then the Sharks were crushed by the Colorado Avalanche on 6-2 on Sunday.

#2 In the loss to the Avalanche Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals and had two assists which help lead the Avalanche to their out scoring bid on the Sharks.

#3 The Avalanche had plenty of help with Mikko Rantanen, Ryan Johansen, Valeri Nichushkin and Miles Wood each with a goal. It gives you an idea how potent the Avalanche offense is.

#4 The Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood was blitzed by the Avalanche facing 33 shots and allowing five. For Blackwood was this a matter of not getting the protection up front or was this an off game for Blackwood.

#5 Sharks host the Los Angeles Kings (17-6-4). The Kings have won six of their last ten games although they’ve lost three of their last four games. The did win their last game against a very sound Seattle Kraken team with a one goal win 3-2 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. Troy, how do you see this contest between the Kings and Sharks tonight.

Troy Ewers is a San Jose Sharks beat writer at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Canadiens overcome deficit defeat CBJ’s 4-2; Rangers two goal third period defeats Wings 3-2; plus more news

The Montreal Canadiens forward Joel Armia (right) scores on the Columbus Blue Jackets Elvis goaltender Merzlikins (left) and defenseman Erik Gudbranson in third period in Columbus on Wed Nov 29, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len:

#1 Len, the Montreal Canadiens got the hot hand and scored twice in the third period against the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 4-2 win in Columbus. The Habs Joel Armia got the go ahead goal at 17:03 to make it 3-2 for what would be later the game winning goal.

#2 The New York Rangers erased a 2-1 lead against the Detroit Red Wings scoring two goals in the third period to catch the Rangers and get the win 3-2. The Rangers Jimmy Vesey got a rebound and shot a backhanded goal at 4:15 against the Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso for the winner.

#3 The Los Angeles Kings five game win streak came to an end on Wednesday night against the Washington Capitals losing it 2-1 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The Capitals got goals from Connor McMichael and Anthony Mantha and Caps goaltender Charlie Lindgren stopped 37 shots.

#4 The Vancouver Canucks dealt Anthony Beauvillier to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday. Beauvillier had eight points on the season for the Canucks. Beauvillier was dealt to Chciago for a fifth round draft pick going to Vancouver.

#5 The Minnesota Wild acquired defenseman Zach Bogosian from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a seventh round draft pick, the Lightning traded Calen Anderson to the San Jose Sharks for Adam Raska and a 2026 fifth round draft pick.

Len Shapiro does the NHL podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Fall to Kings 4-3 in OT, Preseason in SLC

Los Angeles Kings left wing Pierre-Luc Dubois (80) and San Jose Sharks Kyle Burroughs, top, fight during the third period in pre season action Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell to the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in overtime at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday. Pierre-Luc Dubois, Anze Kopitar and Trevor Moore scored for the Kings during regulation. Adrian Kempe scored the OT winner.

Pheonix Copley made 24 saves for the win. Alexander Barabanov, Mike Hoffman and Thomas Bordeleau scored for the Sharks and Mackenzie Blackwood made 33 saves in the loss.

Kings center Pierre-Luc Dubois opened the scoring at 8:27 of the first period. Kevin Fiala and Vladislav Gavrikov got the assists.

Late in the period, Carl Grundstrom was called for tripping. In the ensuing power play, Sharks winger Alexander Barabanov tied it up at 17:39. Mikael Granlund and Anthony Duclair earned the assists.

The shots were close in the first period, at 12-10 Kings. The Sharks killed their only penalty in the period and scored on one of two power plays.

Anze Kopitar gave the Kings their second lead of the game at 8:16 of the second period. Drew Doughty got an assist on the goal.

Sharks winger Mike Hoffman tied it back up at 14:45 of the period, with assists going to Tomas Hertl and goalie Mackenzie Blackwood.

The Sharks killed both of two penalties they took in the period. They had one unsuccessful power play in the final minutes of the second frame. The shots were 12-9 Sharks.

Trevor Moore gave the Kings a third lead just 3:28 into the third period. Viktor Arvidsson and Phillip Danault got the assists.

Sharks center Thomas Bordeleau tied the game for the third time at 14:15 of the period. William Eklund got the assist.

The penalties exploded in the third period, with two sets of matching double-minors, four misconducts, an interference and two unsporstmanlike conducts distributed among six players. The shot count for the period heavily favored Los Angeles, 15-5.

Adrian Kempe’s overtime winner was the only shot of the period and came just 17 seconds into the extra frame. Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty got assists.

This was the final 2023 preseason game for the Sharks. The Sharks’ next game will be October 12 at home against the visiting Vegas Golden Knights. Puck drop at 7:30 PM PT.