Tag: Mike Hoffman

Sharks Fall to Golden Knights 5-4 in SO

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Las Vegas Golden Knights right wing Jonathan Marchessault (81) takes a shot against the San Jose Sharks goaltender Kappo Kahkonen (36) during the shootout at T Mobile Center in Las Vegas on Sun Dec 10, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks were defeated, 5-4 in a shootout, by the Golden Knights in Las Vegas on Sunday. Vegas goals came from Jonathan Marchessault (2), Chandler Stephenson and Brayden McNabb. Jiri Patera made 35 saves for the win. Sharks goals came from Mario Ferraro, Mike Hoffman(2) and Calen Addison. Kaapo Kahkonen made 23 saves in the loss.

The Sharks started the game without William Eklund or Marc-Edouard Vlasic in the lineup. Anthony Duclair left the game one shift into the second period with a jaw injury. Additionally, Justin Bailey missed more than 20 minutes of playing time but did return. Nonetheless, the Sharks managed a lot of shots on goal (39) and pulled off a surprising comeback to earn a point.

After the game, Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro said, of the lineup changes: “When we lost those guys, obviously it doesn’t help us but I don’t think we had to change anything in terms of the way that we were playing. We were already going, we already felt good, I think if we had [Duclair] stay in the lineup for the full 60 minutes, who knows.”

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said: “Just so proud of our guys, and then you throw in the fact that we lose two forwards during the course of the game, Duclair and Bailey… really had a short bench. Guy had to play a lot of minutes at the end of a road trip.”

Mario Ferraro opened the scoring 29 seconds into the game with a wrist shot from the top of the circle. It was his first goal of the season. Assists went to Kyle Burroughs and Mikael Granlund.

Marchessault tied the game 5:34 into the second period. His wrist shot went short side off after a quick entry that caught the Sharks outnumbered. An assist went to Ben Hutton.

Chandler Stephenson gave the Knights the lead with a deflection on the power play at 15:44. Assists went to Alex Pietrangelo and Mark Stone.

Brayden McNabb made it 3-1 with a wrist shot at 1:43 of the third period. Assists went to Jack Eichel and Kaedan Korczak.

Mike Hoffman cut the lead to 3-2 at 3:56 with a power play goal. Assists went to Granlund and Kaapo Kahkonen.

Marchessault scored his second of the night to make it 4-2 at 9:23. Assists went to Stephenson and Zach Whitecloud.

Calen Addison scored his first of the season and his first as a Shark at 16:15 of the third, cutting the Knights’ lead to 4-3. Assists went to Justin Bailey and Filip Zadina.

With the Sharks’ net empty, Hoffman scored his second of the night to push the game to overtime. That goal came at 19:21 and assists went to Tomas Hertl and Alexander Barabanov.

After a scoreless overtime period, Jack Eichel and Marchessault both scored in the shootout, giving the Golden Knights the win. Kevin Labanc and Granlund shot for the Sharks but Patera stopped them. Nicolas Roy’s shot was stopped by Kahkonen.

The Sharks will return home to play the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Defeat Canucks 4-3, Granlund Scores Highlight Goal

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks center Mikael Granlund (64) is congratulated by defenseman Mike Ferraro (38) and left wing Fabian Zetterlund (20) and defenseman Calen Addison (33) after scoring against the Vancouver Canucks in the third period at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Nov 25, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 at SAP Center on Saturday. Ty Emberson, Fabian Zetterlund, Mikael Granlund and Mike Hoffman scored for the Sharks and Kaapo Kahkonen made 32 saves for the win. Filip Hronek and Brock Boeser scored for the Canucks and Casey DeSmith made 18 saves in the loss.

It was the Sharks’ fourth win of the season. After the game, Sharks defenseman Calen Addison said: “Obviously we played a real complete game tonight, I think we should have won last night too. So, obviously it’s huge for our group and a win is huge for confidence.”

The Sharks and their goaltender, Kaapo Kahkonen did not give up a goal at even strength Saturday. With their defense firmed up, their offense took on new life. Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said: “We’re looking different, right? We’re looking more cohesive, we’re playing faster, moving pucks, but, spending time in the o-zone feels good.”

Early in the first, Vancouver’s Sam Lafferty put the puck in the net but the goal was called back for goaltender interference. Lafferty’s skate connected with Kahkonen’s as the goaltender rushed back into the blue paint after playing the puck behind the net. As a result, Kahkonen fell before he could get in position.

After that close call, Ty Emberson scored the first goal of the game at 9:58. His slapshot off a Hertl pass was his first in the NHL and the first goal from a Sharks defenseman this season. Assists went to Hertl and Mike Hoffman.

Filip Hronek tied the game at 15:37 with a power play goal. The Canucks’ fourth-ranked power play held the zone and the puck for the full minute that it took them to score. Hronek’s shot went under Kahkonen off a cross-ice pass. Assists went to J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes.

Fabian Zetterlund made it 2-1 Sharks at 14:05 of the second period with a slap shot from the top of the faceoff circle. Tomas Hertl found him with a quick pass from below the goal line after carrying the puck behind the net.

Brock Boeser tied it up again with a power play goal in the final seconds of the period. A rebound from Miller’s shot went right to Boeser for a shot over the goaltender. Assists went to Miller and Hronek.

The Sharks took the lead back with their first shot of the third period just 22 seconds in. The teams were skating four-on-four during a penalty carry-over from the second period. Mikael Granlund carried the puck end-to-end, right up the middle of the ice, weaving his way through the Vancouver defense. He made it to the net for a move worthy of a shoot-out. It was his first goal as a Shark. Assists went to Calen Addison and Mario Ferraro.

Mike Hoffman padded the lead with a power play goal at 1:48. The teams were playing four-on-three. Granlund shot the puck to the net for a deflection. The deflection did not work but Hoffman swept it in with a second try. Assists went to Granlund and Addison.

With 3:11 left in the third, the Canucks pulled their goaltender for an extra skater. Brock Boeser was able to score with a quick shot through traffic. Assists went to Miller (his third of the game) and Elias Pettersson.

In the final minutes of the game, Nico Sturm blocked a shot, had some trouble getting off the ice (though he managed a shot at the empty net on his way) and had to go to the dressing room.

The shots were close in the first period, 10-9 Sharks, but tilted to Vancouver thereafter, ending at 34-22 Canucks. The Sharks had just one power play to the Canucks’ four. Their penalty kill went 2/4 against the proficient Vancouver power play.

The Sharks next play on Monday at 7:30 PM PT at home against the visiting Washington Capitals.

Sharks Fall 3-2 in SO to Canadiens; Habs Jlonen scores game winner in sixth round of shootout

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Montreal Canadiens right winger Jesse Ylonen (56) scored the game winning goal in the sixth round of the shootout against San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29) at SAP Center in San Jose on Fri Nov 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 3-2 in a shoot out to the Montreal Canadiens Friday at SAP Center in San Jose. Johnathan Kovacevic and Cole Caulfield scored for Montreal. Nick Suzuki and Jesse Ylönen scored in the shootout and Cayden Primeau made 31 saves for the win. Mike Hoffman and William Eklund scored for San Jose, with a shootout goal from Eklund as well. Tomas Hertl assisted on both regulation goals. Mackenzie Blackwood made 22 saves in the loss.

It was just two days ago that the Sharks turned in possibly their worst performance this season, in the 7-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken. After Friday’s game, Head Coach David Quinn said the Sharks “certainly looked a lot more like a hockey team tonight than we did against Seattle.”

For the first time this season, the Sharks out-shot their opponent for a final count of 33-24 Sharks. San Jose forward Tomas Hertl described Friday’s game as “A pretty good hockey game. I don’t think we gave them much but the chances we gave them they just cashed in, you know, so it’s tough because we deserved two points tonight.”

Mike Hoffman scored the first of the game at 5:06 of the second period. William Eklund held the puck behind the net after catching a pass from Tomas Hertl. Eklund found Hoffman drifting to the net for the shot.

Eklund made it 2-0 at 12:30 with a power play goal. Right off the offensive zone face-off, Calen Addison passed the puck to Eklund across the ice for a slap shot into the far side of the net. Assists went to Addison and Hertl.

Johnathan Kovacevic cut the lead to 2-1 at 18:02 of the second. His wrist shot from high in the slot went over Blackwood’s outstretched right arm and into the net. Assists went to Jayden Struble and Cole Caufield.

Caufield tied the game 3:26 into the third period. Skating into the zone two-on-one with Christian Dvorak against Nikita Okhotiuk, Caufield opted for the shot and found the top corner. Assists went to Juraj Slafkovsky and goaltender Cayden Primeau.

The Sharks had three shots to the Canadiens’ two shots in the overtime frame. In the shootout, Primeau stopped shots from Fabian Zetterlund, Mike Hoffman, Mikael Granlund. Tomas Hertl and Anthoney Duclair. Blackwood stopped shots from Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Christian Dvorak and Sean Monahan.

With forward Nico Sturm back in the lineup, the Sharks only used seven defensemen. Filip Zadina left the game at the end of the first period, leaving the team with just ten forwards. Regarding Zadina’s injury, Quinn said: “Upper body injury, so not sure where he stands right now.” The injury did not seem to be a result of a specific event in the first period. Quinn said it was “just something that’s been bothering him and it just acted up.”

The Sharks were bested again in the face-off circle, winning just 43.8% of the draws. The penalties were low in the game, with just two penalties called on each team. The Sharks scored the only power play goal.

The Sharks next play Saturday night at 7:00 PM PT in San Jose against the Vancouver Canucks.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks prepare for opener with Golden Knights on Tue Oct 17th at SAP

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Los Angeles Kings left wing Pierre-Luc Dubois (80) and San Jose Sharks Kyle Burroughs mix it up in the third period at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thu Oct 5, 2023 (still photo by the San Jose Sharks)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The San Jose Sharks came up a goal short to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night in their final pre season game in overtime 4-3. The Sharks got goal help from Alexander Barabanov, Mike Hoffman and Thomas Bordeleau.

#2 The Sharks in the first period, Mikael Granlund impressed forechecking the Kings Drew Doughty and stole the puck and dished it off to William Eklund but Eklund’s shot was turned away by Kings goaltender Phoenix Copley.

#3 Also in first period action the Kings Adrian Kempe got behind the Sharks Bordeleau and got a pass off. Bordeleau went to block the pass instead of going in for Kempe and Matt Benning got on Kempe but the skill set of Bordeleau trying to block was impressive.

#4 Bordeleau scored twice and his goal coming in the third period, as Eklund passed to Bordeleau as Eklund was on the same skate speed with Bordeleau who beat Copely in a strike that lit the lamp.

#5 Sharks open up the regular season on Thu Oct 12 at SAP Center in San Jose against the NHL Champions Vegas Golden Knights. The Sharks who beat the Knights on Tuesday is not an indicator as both teams were using their bench, free agents, and trying to see who will make the final roster cuts. Opening night will be a true test for San Jose against Vegas.

Join Mary Lisa for the SJ Sharks podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com. This is Mary Lisa’s 11th year covering Sharks hockey and will be doing the Sharks road games for 2023-24.

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

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

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.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Troy Ewers: Grier expects lots from forwards in upcoming season

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier is looking forward to seeing the success of the forwards in the 2023-24 Sharks rebuild (AP file photo)

On the San Jose Sharaks podcast with Troy Ewers:

#1 Nico Sturm, Matt Benning, Luke Kunin, Jan Rutta, Kyle Burroughs, Givani Smith, talk about how general manager Mike Greir and head coach David Quinn looks forward to their contribution as pre season starts on Sun Sep 24 at SAP Center.

#2 Mikael Granlund, Mike Hoffman, and Anthony Duclair, all struggled last season but have the capability to make the Sharks strong at the forward position.

#3 Talk about the development of the future as Grier and Quinn look forward to see what William Eklund can bring his offensive shooting.

#4 Grier said that he wants this team to be gritty, fast paced, competitive and in your face and he feels the Sharks have laid out the ground work for that.

#5 The Sharks open pre season Sun Sep 24 against the Vegas Golden Knights you just never know what to expect from when the Sharks meet up with the Knights who are expected to be a strong competitor during the regular season.

Troy Ewers is a San Jose Sharks podcast contributor and does NHL hockey podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Troy Ewers: Sharks put hopes on Hoffman, Duclair and Blackwood for 23-24 season

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Winnipeg Jets’ Cole Perfetti (91) turns after scoring a goal against New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (29) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, in Newark, N.J. MacKenzie who plays goalie for San Jose is preparing for the pre season (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Troy Ewers:

#1 Troy there’s no doubt that the SJ Sharks have a lot stacked against them from making the playoffs this season. They struggled even when they had Erik Karlsson now they can expect to struggle even more without him.

#2 Last season the Sharks had goaltenders James Reimer and Kaapo Kahkonen and they had a rough seasons.

#3 The Sharks in their save percentage had .881 and that was 2% less than the rest of the league where the average was .899 and they need to bring that up

#4 For Kahkonen he needs to be able to stop the shot and have the kind of season he had in the early part of last year. MacKenzie Blackwood needs to execute the kind of performance that got him to the NHL in the first place.

#5 The loss of Timo Meier last season hurts the team and the Sharks are looking at Anthony Duclair and Mike Hoffman to help out in some crucial scoring.

Troy Ewers is a San Jose Sharks reporter for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: With or without Karlsson this would have been a rebuild year for San Jose

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Feb. 14, 2023. Karlsson joins the Penguins in a deal on Sun Aug 6, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro:

On thing about dealing defenseman Erik Karlsson to the Pittsburgh Penguins it give San Jose Sharks general manager some room to sign some players. The big thing is that the Sharks got the first round pick from the Penguins.

The Sharks got forwards Mikael Granlund and Mike Hoffman, defenseman Jan Rutta and a top ten protected 2024 first round pick and the Montreal Canadiens got goaltender Casey DeSmith and defenseman Jeff Petry.

The Penguins in turn picked up from the Sharks forwards Rem Pitlick and Dillon Hamaliuk a 2026 with Karlsson. This on the face of it is not a good deal for San Jose who gives up a defenseman who scored 101 points. Look for Karlsson to be a huge asset joining Pittsburgh with Evgeni Malkin and Sid Crosby.

Len Shapiro does the San Jose Sharks podcasts for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: CBJ’s Laine out for 2-4 weeks with triceps strain; Coyote’s co-owner suspended for domestic violence; plus more news

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

The Columbus Blue Jackets Patrik Laine will sit out two to four weeks due to a triceps strain he sustained in practice on Thu Mar 23, 2023 during practice. (nhl.com file photo)

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 Matt, the second leading scorer on the Columbus Blue Jackets Patrik Laine will miss two to four weeks of action due to triceps strain which he injured while taking a shot during practice on Thursday. Laine is having a great season with 52 points, 22 goals, and 30 assists in 55 games this year.

#2 The Arizona Coyotes minority owner Andrew Barroway has been suspended by the NHL for domestic violence abuse. Barroway 57, is accused of strangling his wife according to Aspen Police and the Aspen Daily News. The league said that Barroway has been suspended indefinitely. Barroway got into an argument with his wife which turned into him strangling his wife. He has been ordered by the courts to stay away from his wife except if it involves visiting their children and is under court order not to consume alcohol.

#3 The Boston Bruins AJ Greer was suspended one game for cross checking the Montreal Canadiens forward Mike Hoffman on Thu Mar 23. Greer cross checked Hoffman at 17:08 of the first period and was hit with a major penalty and a game misconduct. Greer will also be fined $4121.62 money that will go the NHL Players Emergency Fund.

#4 Logan Thompson who made 37 saves for the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday against the Calgary Flames in a 3-2 win suffered an lower body injury. It was tough luck for Thompson who was playing in his first game since Feb 9th. Thompson coming back from another lower body injury and missed 18 games. Thompson left the game at 6:07 of the third period. Jonathan Quick was called to replace Thompson.

#5 Matt, much is the talk of the San Jose Sharks (19-38-15) possibly ending up the team that could get number one NHL draft pick Connor Bedard as the loses continue for San Jose. The Sharks were shellacked in a five goal loss to the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Thursday night 7-2. The loss was San Jose’s eighth straight. Will getting somebody like Bedard give the Sharks someone to build around.

Matt does the NHL podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Canadiens Shut-Out Sharks 4-0

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen (34) shutout the San Jose Sharks as the Sharks center Tomas Hertl’s (48) shot is stopped in front of the net by Allen during the first period at SAP Center on Thu Oct 28, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 4-0 to the Montreal Canadiens in San Jose Thursday. It was the Sharks’ third loss in a row. It was Montreal’s first win in San Jose since 1999. Brendan Gallagher, Mike Hoffman, Alexander Romanov and Josh Anderson scored for Montreal and Jake Allen made 45 saves for the shut-out win. Adin Hill made 28 saves for San Jose in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about the loss: “Our power play is not… you know, it’s generating shots and chances, we’re just not getting a bounce and that would have been a, both the last two games, that would have been a difference.” When asked about whether the Sharks are being aggressive enough in front of the goalie, he said: “We were there but we weren’t quite in his lap where we’re supposed to be.”

Sharks forward Timo Meier said: “We had some chances. It’s just, you know, we made it easy on their goalie, and in front of the net, we didn’t find the rebounds to put them in. So we didn’t do enough to win this game.”

The Canadiens scored the only first period goal at 12:09. Mike Hoffman was on his way to the net when Brett Kulak took a shot that created a rebound in the slot. Hoffman swept the puck around Adin Hill and tucked it in the net. Assists to Brett Kulak and Nick Suzuki.

The first period shots were nearly even at 10-9 Montreal. The Sharks had two power plays in the period and six shots with the man advantage. The Sharks had a slight advantage in the face-off circle, winning 53% of the draws.

The Canadiens scored again at 8:53 of the second period. It was Montreal’s first power play of the game. Alexander Romanov defelcted a hard shot from Jonathan Drouin at the point.

Brendan Gallagher made it 3-0 at 12:54, scoring his first of the season. Assists went to Josh Anderson and Nick Suzuki.

The Sharks led the second period in shots 16-10. Each team had two power plays in the period. The Sharks penalty kill only allowed two shots and their power play managed seven shots on goal. The Sharks won 62% of second period the face-offs.

Midway through the third period, Jake Allen stopped three quick shots in close from Dahlen, Balcers and Couture. It was a good example of how frustrating the game was for the Sharks. Allen was indeed in the zone on Thursday.

The Sharks pulled Adin Hill for an extra attacker with a little over three minutes left. Josh Anderson scored an empty netter at 17:52. Assists went to Tyler Toffoli and David Savard.

Near the mid-point of the third period, William Eklund took a shot off of his wrist. He required some attention on the bench but did return to play.

That Sharks out-shot the Canadiens 20-12 in the third. The Sharks took one penalty in the third, apart from a flurry of penalties in the final three seconds of the game. The Sharks penalty kill gave up three shots.

The Sharks next play on Saturday, in San Jose against the Winnipeg Jets at 4:00 PM PT.