Tag: Martin Jones

Kings Shutout by Sharks 3-0; Jones stops all 30 shots

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Los Angeles Kings center Jaret Anderson-Dolan, left, takes a shot for not on San Jose Sharks goaltender Martin Jones (31) at the SAP Center in San Jose on Fri Apr 2, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks went to Los Angeles and beat the Kings 3-0 Friday. Tomas Hertl, Timo Meier and Rudolfs Balcers scored for the Sharks and Martin Jones made 30 saves for the shutout win. Calvin Petersen made 33 saves for the Kings in the loss. The win is the third in a row for the Sharks. Three was a good number for the Sharks Friday.

Hertl, Meier and Balcers were skating on the same line. Meier had eight shots in the game and scored his first goal after a nine game dry spell. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said: “From what we see tonight, if he’s playing that way, and he’s that confident, he can be dangerous. It was good to see. I think that whole line, Tommy Hertl, Rudy’s playing great hockey. Those guys were a force tonight.”

Of Martin Jones, Boughner said:

“He looks calm in there, you know, he’s making the right saves at the right time. He’s allowing us to get that second goal and keep it 1-0 instead of 1-1 and the game completely changes. And, you know, he’s been one of our better players now for the past three weeks.”

The Sharks took an early lead when Tomas Hertl tipped Nikolai Knyzhov’s shot from the point. Assists went to Knyzhov and Rudolfs Balcers. The time of the goal was 2:57.

There was just one penalty in the first period, to Anze Kopitar for tripping. The Sharks power play got credit for two shots on goal. The Sharks outshot the Kings 9-7 in the first.

Timo Meier made it 2-0 for the Sharks nine minutes into the second period. Tomas Hertl’s pass from behind the net landed just right on Meier’s stick for a one-timer. Assists went to Hertl and Balcers.

The Kings challenged the goal for goaltender interference. Balcers pushed Kings defenseman Drew Doughty into the crease and Doughty fell on Calvin Petersen. A second or two passed after that contact and the play moved around the net before the goal was scored. The challenge was unsuccessful.

While the teams were waiting for that to be resolved, referee Pierre Lambert was escorted from the ice, looking unsteady. He had been hit by a puck.

The second period saw two penalties to each team. The Sharks penalty kill gave up two shots and their power play took three. The shot count was 14-13 Kings.

At 7:59, Dylan Gambrell put the puck in the net with a nice shot down the middle. It was called back, however, when the Kings successfully challenged for offside.

The Kings pulled their goaltender with more than two minutes left. The Sharks took several shots at that empty net but it was Balcers with the fourth good look who hit it at 19:33. An assist went to Brent Burns, who was using Balcers’ stick. After Burns’ stick broke, Balcers gave him his and had just gone to get another when the puck came to him for the shot.

The third period was penalty-free and the sharks outshot the Kings 14-9. The Kings won the face-off battle in the game, winning 55% of the draws.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 7:00 PM PT, again in Los Angeles against the Kings.

Sharks Tame Wild 4-2

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The Minnesota Wild forward Nico Sturm (7) tries to reach for the puck as the San Jose Sharks center Patrick Marleau (12) and defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) defend during Wed Mar 31, 2021 at SAP Center in San Jose (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks beat the Minnesota Wild 4-2 in San Jose Wednesday. Rudolfs Balcers, Ryan Donato, Nikolai Knyzhov and Evander Kane Scored for the Sharks, while Martin Jones made 26 saves for the win. The Sharks defense generated five points in the game. Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello scored for the Wild, and Kaapo Kahkonen made 29 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about the Sharks defensive game:

“I liked how aggressive we were in the d-zone, jump in and check. We didn’t give much, you know, we blocked shots. I thought we were really physical tonight, you know, and yeah, we played a lot in the o-zone. That is the blueprint for how we want to play on most nights and every night.”

Sharks Captain Logan Couture talked about what they need to do to carry this success forward:

“We’ve just got to keep playing the way we are. I thought we defended pretty hard and we created a lot of offense. We could have had more than the three we scored, or the fourth with the empty-netter, but a lot of good looks, I think our game’s in a good spot right now.”

In a scoreless first period, the teams each got credit for 10 shots. Evander Kane took three of those shots for the Sharks. Each team had one power play. The Wild had one shot on their power play and the Sharks had two on theirs. The Wild won 60% of the first period face-offs.

The Sharks got the scoring started in the second period, at 4:41. Rudolfs Balcers caught a pass from Tomas Hertl just as he arrived in front of the blue paint. He did not slow down as he stopped the puck on his backhand, then swept it around Kahkonen’s skate. Assists went to Hertl and Brent Burns.

The Sharks made it 2-0 at 9:22 with a power play goal. Brent Burns shot the puck right up the middle. Kahkonen stopped it but left a rebound. Ryan Donato was there to gather it up and tuck it under the goaltender. Assists went to Burns and Mario Ferraro.

That was the only power play for the second period. The Sharks outshot the Wild 14-9. The Sharks improved in the face-of circle, winning 55% of them.
Kirill Kaprizov cut the Sharks lead to 2-1 at 8:23. He carried the puck at speed from below the goal line, past one point to the other before taking the shot, which went past Jones on the far side. Carson Soucy got the assist.

The Sharks’ third goal started when Rudolfs Balcers carried the puck onto the zone. It was knocked off of his stick but Tomas Hertl was right there to get it back and pass it to Erik Karlsson. Karlsson found Nikolai Knyzhov just coming across the blue line, Knyzhov let the traffic settle into place in front of the net before shooting it past Kahkonen’s glove. Assists on Knyzhov’s first NHL goal went to Karlsson and Hertl.

Kaprizov knocked Logan Couture off the puck at 12:18. While Evander Kane was giving Kaprizov a piece of his mind about the hit, Ryan Hartman went after Kane. All the skaters on the ice converged after that but the result was just two minor penalties: cross-checking to Hartman and roughing to Kane.

The Wild made it 3-2 with their net empty and 12.1 seconds left in the game. Kevin Fiala took a shot from the point with three skaters blocking Jones’ view. The puck went off of Mats Zuccarello and in. Assists went to Fiala and Jared Spurgeon.

Evander Kane scored from just outside the Sharks’ blue line, into an empty net with one second left in the game. It was his sixth shot of the night.

The Sharks won the third period face-off battle 9-6. Each team had a power play in the period, with the Sharks taking three shots and the Wild taking two. In overall third period shots, the teams were tied at 9 each.

The Sharks next play on Friday against the Kings in Los Angeles at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Lose 5-2 to Coyotes

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 5-2 to the Coyotes in Arizona Friday. Coyotes goals came from Nick Schmaltz, Christian Dvorak (2), Dryden Hunt and Phil Kessel. Their goaltender, Aiden Hill, made 20 saves for the win. Tomas Hertl and Patrick Marleau scored for San Jose and Martin Jones made 23 saves in the loss. Patrick Marleau scored his 564th goal, tying him for 23rd all-time in NHL goal scoring. Friday’s game was also Phil Kessel’s 1100th NHL appearance.

The Sharks made a poor showing in the first period, registering just four shots on goal. Their second period showed some hope, starting with an early short-handed goal from Tomas Hertl, but then came unraveled in the third. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“I didn’t like our compete in the offensive zone, I didn’t like our compete all over the ice to be honest with you. I didn’t think it was good enough for a game like this. I thought that we weren’t physical enough, we didn’t stop them, we didn’t stop their feet enough.”

The first period saw just one goal scored, from Christian Dvorak at 6:20. Christian Fischer passed the puck behind the net to Conor Garland, who sent it up front for Dvorak. Assists went to Conor Garland and Christian Fischer.

The Coyotes outshot the Sharks 12-4 in a penalty-free first period.

Tomas Hertl’s short-handed goal came at the end of the Sharks’ first penalty of the second period. Hertl broke away with Evander Kane backing him up. He made a beeline for the net and no one got in his way. The assist went to Erik Karlsson.

The Coyotes took the lead back at the end of the period with a goal from Nick Schmaltz. Ilya Lyubushkin sent the puck to the net from the point and Schmaltz was able to tip it in as he arrived in front of the net. Assists went to Lyubushkin and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

The teams were dead even in shots during the second period, with 10 each. The Coyotes had two power plays, but the Sharks penalty kill allowed just one shot.

Christian Dvorak scored the Coyotes’ third goal of the night, at 7:48 of the third. Dvorak intercepted a pass from Brent Burns and no one could catch him as he made his way to the net.

Dryden Hunt made it 4-1 at 9:08. Hunt took advantage of a rebound off a Lawson Crouse shot. Assists went to Crouse and Derick Brassard. Boughner challenged the goal for goaltender interference. Crouse’s stick did touch Jones’ leg as he skated by and it may have caused Jones to spin the wrong way. In any case, the goal was allowed and that put the Sharks on the penalty kill.

Phil Kessel made it 5-1 at 9:59, during the ensuing power play. Clayton Keller’s pass from near the goal line found Kessel in the slot. Assists went to Keller and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Patrick Marleau scored on the power play at 12:30. Coyotes goalie Aiden Hill had gone behind the net to gather up the puck but he lost it. He was still trying to get back into the net when Marleau snatched the puck up and put it over the line. Assists went to Mario Ferraro and Timo Meier.

Each team took two penalties in the third period. The Sharks got one shot in their power plays and scored on that one. The Coyotes got two shots on their power plays and scored with one. The Sharks held a small lead in third period shots, 8-6. The Sharks won 52% of the face-offs in the game.

Radim Simek was pushed into the boards midway through the third period. He was able to skate back to the bench but he went to the locker room after that. The hit was penalized as boarding. There was no update after the game.

The Sharks next play on Saturday against the Coyotes in Arizona, at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Fall 2-1 to Blues in Shootout

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost to the St. Louis Blues by a score of 2-1 in a shootout Friday. Tyler Bozak scored for the Blues and Jordan Binnington made 30 saves for the win. Ryan Donato scored for the Sharks and Martin Jones made 33 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“I think we had seven or eight missed chances, missed the net, and the rest were blocked. I thought we had a ton of opportunities, especially rush chances in the slot. We looked to pass it or we got blocked or, like I said, we missed the net. So they hit the net on theirs. They’re a good team, a good offensive team and I thought Jonesy gave us a chance to win there.”

Ryan Donato scored for the Sharks at 15:08 of the second period. Hertl started the puck out and passed it to Sorensen in the neutral zone. As he crossed the blue line, he dropped it to Donato. Donato hesitated until a defenseman went down to block the shot, and then took the shot from the slot. Assists went to Sorensen and Hertl.

The two penalties in the first two periods both went to the Sharks and they were both for too many men on the ice. After the game, Sharks captain Logan Couture said: “Tonight the first one was on the forwards and the second one was on the d-men. I believe the first one, guys just heard the wrong line that was called and obviously that can’t happen. And the d-one, I’m not sure, I’m not down at that end.”

The Blues had two shots during the first power play and one in the second. The Blues outshot the Sharks in both periods, 12-9 and 12-7.

The Blues tied the game at 6:22 of the third period with a short-handed goal. Kyle Clifford took a shot that went off of Tyler Bozak’s shinpad, making it Bozak’s first goal of the year.

There were two penalties called in the third period, an interference call against Zach Sanford of the Blues and a misconduct against Kurtis Gabriel of the Sharks. Neither team registered a shot on the power play in the third. The Sharks improved a little in shots, leading 11-10 in the third.

The Sharks had all the shots in overtime with four, and they had some power play time as well.

The shootout was concluded in three rounds. David Perron’s shot was stopped by Martin Jones. Donato shot wide. Brayden Schenn scored over Jones’ shoulder on the glove side. Logan Couture scored over Binnington’s blocker. Vladimir Tarasenko scored by outwaiting Jones and sneaking the puck behind the goalie. Kevin Labanc tried the same thing but Binnington’s skate got in the way for a save.

The Sharks’ face-off numbers were not good, with a 38% win percentage. Tomas Hertl and Dylan Gambrell both won fewer than 25% of their draws. Both players have been taking a lot of draws and until recently put up good numbers.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 6:00 PM PT, against the Blues again in San Jose.

Sharks Win 3rd in a Row, Beat Ducks 3-1

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The San Jose Sharks goaltender Martin Jones (31) allowed only one goal against the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Sat Mar 13, 2021 (@SanJoseSharks photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won their third in a row on Saturday, a 3-1 win against the Ducks in Anaheim. This is the first win streak for the Sharks this season. Sharks goals came from Evander Kane, Kevin Labanc and Dylan Gambrell. Martin Jones made 26 saves for the win. Max Jones scored for the Ducks and Ryan Miller made 30 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said: “It feels good to have a first little winning streak I guess you can call it, three games in a row. You know, especially on the road. The guys played well, it was a tight game.”

The first Sharks goal came just after an Anaheim power play in the first period. Taking advantage of a turnover in the Sharks’ zone, Kane went the other way in a hurry, with Tomas Hertl and Mario Ferraro just a step behind. Kane carried it all the way to the face-off circle before taking the shot and beating Ryan Miller on the blocker side.

The first period shot count was close, at 8-7 Sharks. There were five penalties called in the first, three to Anaheim and two to San Jose. The Sharks had four shots i their power plays and allowed just one powr play shot to Anaheim. In the face-off circle, the Sharks prevailed 58% of the time.

Anaheim tied it up at 5:38 of the second period. Max Jones skated around Radim Simek with the puck on his backhand. As he cut away from the wall he switched to his forehand for a quick shot into the far side of the net. Assists went to Kevin Shattenkirk and Isac Lundestrom.

Kevin Labanc grabbed the lead back for the Sharks just under a minute later. Tomas Hertl came around behind the net and, while losing his footing, passed the puck around the post to the front for Labanc to take the shot. Assists went to Hertl and Mario Ferraro.

The Sharks outshot the Ducks 14-9 in the second period, and out drew them in the face-off circle, winning 16 of 21 draws. There was just one penalty in the period, going to Anaheim. The Sharks did not get any shots on that power play.

Dylan Gambrell gave the Sharks a 3-1 lead at 2:07 of the third. Ryan Donato gathered the puck up behind the net after it came loose in the corner. Donato tried for a wrap around but was thwarted by traffic. Gambrell was in the thick of that traffic on his knees when he managed to push the puck in. Assists went to Donato and John Leonard. It was Gambrell’s first goal of the season, and his first in over a year.

The Ducks pulled their goaltender for an extra skater, with almost three minutes left in the game.

The third period shots were dead even at 11 each. The Sharks took the only penalty in the period, but allowed just one shot to the Ducks’ power play. Additionally, the Sharks took four short-handed shots during that penalty kill. The Sharks slipped badly in the face-off circle, dropping to 30% for the period. Overall, Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl won more draws than they lost, and, through the first two periods, Dylan Gambrell won more than 50%.

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

Sharks Fall 5-4 in OT to Golden Knights

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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.

Sharks Lose to Blues 3-2 in OT

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 3-2 in overtime to the Blues on Thursday in St. Louis. Mike Hoffman, Brayden Schenn and David Perron scored for St. Louis. Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington made 30 saves for the win. Noah Gregor and John Leonard scored for the Sharks and Martin Jones made 42 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks defenseman Brent Burns said: “There were definitely parts of that game where we were in control of that game.” The team does seem to have shed it’s second period troubles, and is also playing better five-on-five. On that topic, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“We did some good things five-on-five tonight. And, you know, if it’s not one thing, it’s another. Now it’s our penalty kill allowed that first goal in, took some momentum away from us. But we’re doing some better things and we’re working at it every day.”

St. Louis scored the only first period goal, on the power play at 6:12. Oskar Sundqvist tried to jam the puck under Martin Jones but was rejected. The rebound, however, went out to Mike Hoffman who had an open net to shoot into. Assists went to Sundqvist and David Perron.

St. Louis outshot the Sharks 12 to 10 in the first period. In the face-off circle, the Blues also prevailed with a 53% win percentage. The Sharks had one power play and one shot on that power play. The Blues had two power plays and got three shots in, including the goal.

Noah Gregor tied the game at 8:27 of the second period. The Sharks had been in their own zone for too long when Gregor carried the puck out. He maneuvered around the Blues defense and took a shot. That did not go but the Sharks got it back and eventually Nicolas Meloche got another shot in, this time from a bad angle. The shot rebounded to the other side of the net, where Gregor was ready to shoot it back in for his third of the season. Assists went to Meloche and Gambrell.

John Leonard scored his second NHL goal to give the Sharks the lead at 14:31. Ryan Donato fanned on a shot from close in, then and spun around and sent the puck down to Leonard who was by the post. Leonard’s quick shot beat Binnington as the goalie tried to get back in position. Assists went to Donato and Patrick Marleau.

San Jose outshot the Blues 12-8 in the penalty-free second period. The Sharks also improved in the face-off circle, winning 58% of the draws.

The Sharks held onto that lead until 19:20 of the third, when Brayden Schenn tied it up to force overtime. The Blues net was empty for the extra skater. Mikke Hoffman shot the puck at the net from just above the goal line, hitting Jones in the shoulder pad. Schenn was on the spot to catch the rebound and knock it in. Assists went to Hoffman and David Perron.

The Blues dominated the face-off circle in the third, winning 72% of the draws.

David Perron scored the game-winner 4:00 into overtime. Patrick Marleau was called for hooking Ryan O’Reilly, giving the Blues a power play that started with 1:36 left in the period. As the Blues entered the zone, Torey Krug held the puck just below the blue line long enough for Perron to get to the net. The Shrs penalty killers were nowhere near Perron and he took a quick shot from the face-off circle. Assists went to Krug and Jordan Binnington.

The Blues out-shot the Sharks 10-1 in the overtime period.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 4:00 PM PT, again in St. Louis against the Blues.

Sharks Lose 3-1 to Golden Knights

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost their first game back in San Jose, a 3-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. Power play goals were scored by Jonathan Marchessault, Mark Stone and Chandler Stephenson. Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves for the win. Tomas Hertl scored the Sharks goal, and Martin Jones made 23 saves in the loss.

Despite some lackluster seasons, the Sharks have maintained a respectable penalty kill. Not since 2009 have the Sharks allowed three or more power play goals in consecutive games, as they did in their last two games. On the season so far, the Sharks are 21st in the league with a 76.9 penalty kill percentage.

After the game, Sharks defenseman Brent Burns talked about what the Sharks need for a better penalty kill:

“In a pk, when it’s successful, you’re just pressuring hard, working, things are hitting you, blocking, you’re just disrupting things and, you know, I think we gotta get a little bit of that back. Taking time and space away, within our system, and making it difficult for them to create stuff. I think it looked a little too easy for them in the last couple games.”

Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about the Sharks’ game even-strength: “We won the five-on-five game. I liked our five-on-five game. I think, you know, obviously I’d like to score more than one but you know, on the other hand we didn’t give them anything five-on-five.”

At 13:13 of the first period, Jonathan Marchessault scored his team’s first power play goal of the afternoon. The puck was bouncing in front of Martin Jones, and went over his head. Marchessault managed to get a stick on it in the air and tap it in. Assists went to Chandler Stephenson and Alec Martinez.

The Sharks had two power plays in the first period, and had two shots in those power plays. In total, the Sharks outshot Vegas 11-7 and came out even in the face-off circle. Vegas had just the one power play and got three shots before scoring.

Mark Stone scored the second Vegas power play goal at 9:56 of the second. Stone was next to the net when Jones moved forward to try to cover a rebound. When it got away from him, Jones was too far out to get back and prevent the goal. Assists went to William Karlsson and Cody Glass.

Tomas Hertl scored his goal at 18:39 of the second. Rudolfs Balcers took a pass from Marc-Edouard Vlasic and carried the puck down the ice two-on-one with Hertl. Balcers made a tidy pass from one face-off dot to the other so Hertl could score with a one-timer. Assists went to Balcers and Vlasic.

The only penalty in the second was the one that led to the Vegas goal, a delay of game penalty for sending the puck over the glass. The Golden Knights again had three shots on the power play before scoring. Vegas edged the Sharks in the face-off circle 55%-45%, and on the shot clock 10-7.

Chandler Stephenson finished the scoring off of his skate at 6:45 of the third, again on a power play. The Golden Knights had just enered the zone and didn’t need to get set up when Alex Tuch’s pass across the slot hit Stephenson’s well-angled skate, sending the puck behind Jones and in. Assists went to Tuch and Martinez.

Each team had two power plays in the third period, with the Sharks giving up three shots and a goal, and Vegas giving up just two shots. The Golden Knights took over the face-off circle, winning 76% of the thirs period draws. Much of that success can be attributed to Chandler Stephenson and William Karlsson, who took the lion’s share of the draws for Vegas. Both of those players won more than 60% of the time. In the end, the Golden Knights won 59% of the draws on Saturday.

Sharks defenseman Radim Simek left the game early in the second period after being cross checked in the mid-section by Jonathan Marchessault. The Sharks shared no further information on his status after the game.

Erik Karlsson’s game also ended early, not playing in the final 11 minutes. After the game, Bob Boughner said “lower body. He’s on the trainer’s table now just getting working on. So I don’t think it’s anything crazy serious. I think he just tweaked something.”

The Sharks next play on Monday at 7:30 PM PT, in San Jose, against the Anaheim Ducks.

Sharks Blown Out By Kings 6-2

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Photo credit: mercurynews.com

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 6-2 to the Los Angeles Kings Thursday at Staples Center. Kings goals came from Anze Kopitar, Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Carl Grundstrom, Austin Wagner, Alex Iafallo, and Jeff Carter. Their goaltender, Calvin Petersen, made 29 saves for the win. Tomas Hertl scored both Sharks goals ad Martin Jones made 20 saves in the loss. Alexei Melnichuk made five saves for the Sharks, during the final ten minutes, in a brief NHL debut.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said, of the first period: “I thought we played a pretty good period. We’re down three-nothing, I mean, you’ve gotta dig yourself out of a hole on the road. When really, I mean, I thought we were probably the team that had some better scoring chances in the first period and their guy made some saves and our guy didn’t. And now you’re down three-nothing.”

Boughner also said, of Martin Jones’ performance: “That’s not up to our standard, that goaltending. And, you know, I mean we’ve given him a chance here to grab the net, especially with [Dubnyk] being hurt. And we’re not expecting him to win hockey games for us and stand on his head but we’ve gotta have solid goaltending, especially at the beginning of games and it’s not up to our standard and I’m sure it’s not up to his own.”

Logan Couture talked about the trouble the team had with five-on-five offense: “We should have done a better job tonight of holding onto the puck, using the back of the net, then looking to the slot. We were trying to force plays right away and kind of throwing plays blindly. I can think of a few that I did off the top of my head right now. So, something to work on.”

Brent Burns was in the penalty box for holding when Anze Kopitar took a shot from the face-off circle. His shot went over Erik Karlsson’s leg and by Martin Jones on the glove side at 2:47. Assists went to Drew Doughty and Dustin Brown.

The Kings took a 2-0 lead at 9:25. Austin Strand’s cross-ice pass found Jaret Anderson-Dolan for a quick shot. His shot hit Carl Grundstrom’s leg, changing direction at the last second to get by Jones.

A Sharks power play had just expired when Tobias Bjornfot sent the puck up the ice to Austin Wagner, who had just stepped out of the penalty box. He was free to take his time and plan his shot with no defense in the vicinity. It was Wagner’s second goal of the season, scored at 12:42.

Tomas Hertl got the Sharks on the board at 16:49. Nikolai Knyzhov carried the puck across the line and then gave it to Hertl along the boards. Hertl took a shot that hit Austin Strand on the leg. Hertl caught the rebound and sent it back, over Calvin Petersen’s outstretched pad. Assists went to Knyzhov and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

The second period was, surprisingly, the Sharks’ best of the game. Despite taking two penalties to the Kings’ one, it looked like they had stopped the bleeding when they scored on a power play at 16:45. The teams had just finished four-on-four when Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl jumped out for a two-on-one. Couture took a shot that came off of Petersen’s pad, right to Hertl. Couture and Erik Karlsson got the assists.

The Kings started their third period scoring at 4:51. Carl Grundstrom gathered up the puck behind the net, and sent it above the crease to Trevor Moore, who passed it to the side of the net. Martin Jones had come out to challenge Moore, but he left too much room and gave Jaret Anderson-Dolan an open net. The Sharks defense had missed several chances to control that puck, and in doing so ended up well out of the play and unable to help their goaltender.

Just over a minute later, Alex Iafallo made it 5-2. Dustin Brown managed to fall and slide into Martin Jones without incurring a penalty. While Jones was tied up with Brown, Iafallo put the puck in the net. Brent Burns was called for hi-sticking Brown which negated any penalty to Brown. The Sharks challenged the goal but just got a second penalty for their trouble.

With a two-man advantage, the Kings scored again at 6:56. Jeff Carter scored with a one-timer off of a Kopitar pass that went from one face-off circle to the other. Assists went to Kopitar and Drew Doughty.

The Sharks put Alexei Melnichuck in the net with about 10 minutes left in the period. He made five saves on five shots.

By the end of the game, the teams were dead even in shots at 31 each. The Sharks had just two power plays, while Los Angeles had six. The Sharks had some of their best face-off results of the season, winning 60% of them.

Goaltender Devan Dubnyk is day-to-day with an injury. Bob Boughner did not specify when the injury was sustained but he did say that he does not expect him to play this weekend.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 1:00 PM PT in San Jose, against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Sharks Beat Kings 4-3 in Shootout

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

The San Jose Sharks Evander Kane (9) celebrates with teammates after scoring a third period goal as the Los Angeles Kings could only look away Mon Feb 9, 2021 at Staples Center in Los Angeles (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won 4-3 against the Los Angeles Kings at Staple Center Tuesday. It was their fifth shootout of the season and their third in a row. Sharks goals came from Logan Couture, Timo Meier and Evander Kane, with Couture also scoring the shootout winner. Martin Jones made 24 saves for the win. Kings goals came from Dustin Brown (2) and Anze Kopitar, while Calvin Petersen made 37 saves in the loss. Patrick Marleau passed Jaromir Jagr in Tuesday’s game, on the NHL’s all-time games played list. His 1,734 games are good for third, just behind Mark Messier.

Sharks captain Logan Couture had an outstanding game with a goal, an assist and six shots on goal before the shootout. Only Brent Burns had more shots with seven. After the game, Sharks goalie Martin Jones said: “He just brings it every night. He’s got kind of a workmanlike attitude and, you know, he comes and he brings it every night and that’s something that, you know, I definitely respect about him.”

The Sharks started the scoring early, just 1:20 in. Radim Simek put the puck off to the right of the net and Ryan Donato caught up to it just in time to send a pass backwards to where Timo Meier was arriving at the net. Goalie Calvin Petersen was following the puck to the left and Meier moved it back to the right and into an open net. Assists went to Donato and Simek.

The Sharks’ second goal came in the final minutes of the first. Knyzhov put the puck on Patrick Marleau’s stick by the net and he passed it across the crease to Logan Couture. Petersen could not get back across in time and Couture scored his sixth of the season. Assists went ot Marleau and Knyzhov.

The Sharks took one penalty mid-period but allowed no shots. Instead, Marcus Sorensen got credit for a short-handed effort. The Sharks led the first period in shots 12-4, and the teams were even in face-off wins.

The Sharks started the second period on a power play that carried over from the first period. They got two shots in on that power play but then took three penalties over the course of the period. Timo Meier went for hi-sticking, Mat Nieto went for hooking and Ryan Donato sat for a too many men penalty. Those penalties gave the Kings six shots and a goal.

Seven minutes into the second, Anze Kopitar got a breakaway, skating most of the length of the ice to beat Martin Jones one-on-one. Assists went to Alex Iafallo and Dustin Brown.

Dustin Brown tied the game with a power play goal at 17:54. Adrian Kempe took a shot from the blue line that hit Jones’ glove and dropped to the ice. Before Jones could cover it, Brown lifted it over the goalie’s glove and into the net. Assists went to Kempe and Drew Doughty.

The Kings led in shots during the second period 12-9, and in face-off wins at 53%.

Brown scored his second of the game to give the Kings a lead at 10:45 of the third period. Iafallo fought his way down the ice and around behind the Sharks net and made a quick pass up to Brown just as he came through the face-off circle. His quick shot squeezed between Jones and the post.

Evander Kane tied the game back up at 19:15. With the net empty, Couture took a shot from high in the slot. As the puck bounced around in the blue paint, Kane pushed it over the line through sticks and bodies. Assists went to Couture and Brent Burns.

The shots were 11-10 Sharks in the third. The Sharks won just 44% of their third period face-offs, but in the brief over-time session, they won 80%.

Despite outshooting the Kings 8-1 in overtime, the Sharks could not end it without another shootout. Jones was perfect in the shootout, allowing Logan Couture’s goal to win it for San Jose.

The Sharks will play the Kings in Los Angeles again on Thursday at 7:00 PM PT.