NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Kings snap 10 game skid; Lightning tie NHL record for 50 wins; Oilers Koskinen stops 30 shots for shutout; plus more

photo from yahoo.com: Kings beat Blackhawks 6-3 to halt 10-game losing streak on Saturday night at Staple Center against the Chicago Blackhawks

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 The Los Angeles Kings finally snapped out of it and won a game after losing ten games straight the Kings Andre Kempe scored a goal and an assist as the Kings beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3. Kings head coach Willie Desjardins said it’s been a long time and it feels good just to win.

#2 The Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov led the Bolts with a goal and an assist as they won their 50th game in 66 games defeating the Ottawa Senators 5-1. With the win the Lightning tie the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings for the fastest team to win 50 games in a season.

#3 The Edmonton Oilers Mikko Koskinen stopped all 30 Columbus Blue Jacket shots and the Oilers Leon Draisaitl got a goal and two assists for the 4-0 win.

#4 Brad Marchand got the Boston Bruins only goal and B’s goaltender Tuukka Rask stopped all 20 New Jersey shots in the Bruins 1-0 shutout of the Devils.

#5 The Toronto Maple Leafs had an offensive extravaganza from John Taveres and Mitch Marner who scored a goal each and had two assists in the Leafs 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabers. It was Toronto’s fourth win in five games.

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

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Canes get two goal win over Oilers; Rangers rookie goalie key in win; Bruins shutout Ducks; plus more

hockeywriters.com photo: Carolina Hurricanes Nino Niederreiter and Sebastian Aho get congratulations in front of their bench. Niederreiter scored twice on Friday night’s win over the Edmonton Oilers

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington:

#1 The Carolina Hurricanes Nino Niederreiter scored two goals and goaltender Curtis McElhinney stopped 40 shots in Carolina’s 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night.

#2 The New York Rangers rookie goalie Alexander Georgiev helped in the Rangers cause with 31 saves and stopped 13 shots in the third period. The Rangers Vladislav Namestnikov scored two goals in eight second with an assist in the closing minutes of the Rangers 6-2 win over the Buffalo Sabers.

#3 The Boston Bruins threw a 3-0 shutout against the Anaheim Ducks. The B’s Jaroslav Halak stopped 30 shots for his fourth shutout this season. The Bruins Noel Accirari and Jake DeBrusk each scored a goal.

#4 In a game that no one was giving in whatsoever New Jersey got by the Minnesota Wild by a goal 5-4. This was New Jersey’s second win in eight games. The Devils key goals Nico Hischier, Marcus Johansson, and Kyle Palmieri scored goals.

#5 The San Jose Sharks host the Vancouver Canucks Saturday night at SAP Center in San Jose. The Sharks got a five goal win over the Canucks last Monday in Vancouver for their sixth straight but took a four loss to the Washington Capitals last Thursday night.

The NHL podcast with Matt is heard each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Joe Lami: Sharks get back on track with another win; Canes just get by Buffalo; Panthers’ Matheson gets fifth goal; plus more

Photo credit: @PR_NHL

On the NHL podcast with Joe:

#1 The San Jose Sharks (32-16-11) have found their swing to the back of the nets with a great 5-2 win over the Calgary Flames (34-15-1). Sharks goals by Tomas Hertl (23 & 24), Evander Kane (22 & 23), and Brett Burns (11).

#2 The Carolina Hurricanes (27-21-6) got a narrow win over the Buffalo Sabres. The Hurricanes got three goals in the third period to hang on.

#3 The Florida Panthers got by the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2. The Panthers got an OT goal by Mike Matheson for his fifth game and fifth goal of the year.

#4 The New York Islanders (31-16-6) got goals in the first period and in OT to beat the New Jersey Devils (20-25-8).

#5 The LA Kings got a one-goal win, scoring goals in each of the first and second periods, respectively. For the Kings, Austin (5) and Adrian Kempe (9) in the 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Joe does the NHL podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Yotes snap 4-game skid with 4-3 win; McDavid gets 2 goals, Oilers upend Flyers; Jets pick up OT win, down Hawks 4-3; plus more

freep.com photo: Arizona Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski (33) skates against New York Rangers center Filip Chytil (72) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 14, 2018, at Madison Square Garden in New York.

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 The Arizona Coyotes’ Derek Stepan, the former New York Ranger, got a chance at revenge and defeated his old team in overtime with a goal at 4:28 to help the Yotes snap out of a four-game losing streak at Madison Square Garden. The Coyotes were behind 3-0 at one time, but scored four unanswered goals for the comeback.

#2 The Oilers’ Conner McDavid is one you could count on scoring two goals and an assist and teammate Leon Draisaitl had three assists as the Oilers got a three-goal win over the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1.

#3 The Winnipeg Jets’ Mark Scheifele with 50 seconds into the overtime scored the game-winning goal to edge the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3. Scheifele scored two goals in the game for the Jets fourth win in a row and the Hawks have now lost nine of their last ten games.

#4 The Ottawa Senators got offensive help to get by the Detroit Red Wings 4-2. The Sens’ Mark Stone scored a third period goal, Chris Tierney added a goal on a empty-netter.

#5 In overtime, New Jersey’s Nico Hischier got the game-winner after 41 seconds. New Jersey came back from three goals down to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-3.

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

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Timo Time pays off for Sharks; Jones like wall in net as Sharks win four of last five

Photo credit: @sharks_fanly

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Last Monday against New Jersey, the San Jose Sharks were able to take advantage, scoring three goals when Timo Meier scored twice and Radim Simek scored his first goal of the season helped the Sharks get a three-goal win over NJ 5-3.

#2 Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl also had two-point nights for the Sharks.

#3 The Sharks had been a little slow on picking up the pace, but were able to open things up against New Jersey with Timo Meier firing up the offense.

#4 Tomas Hertl added a power play goal at 5:38 in the third period and goaltender Martin Jones stopped 22 shots.

#5 Thursday night, the Dallas Stars are at SAP and the Sharks hope to get some of the same support they got on Monday.

Mary Lisa does the Sharks podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Meier’s Pair, Simek’s First Lead Sharks to 5-2 Win Over Devils

Photo credit: @nbcbayarea

By Jerry Feitelberg

The San Jose Sharks continued to stay hot following a coaching staff reorganization, winning their fourth game of the last five against the New Jersey Devils Monday night at the SAP Center. Timo Meier scored twice and Radim Simek scored his first NHL goal to give the Sharks a 5-2 win over the Devils. Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl also had two-point nights for the Sharks.

San Jose looked like the weaker team in the early going after New Jersey scored on a fluke goal 12:05 into the period. Drew Stafford threw the puck on net from the goal line, finding daylight between Martin Jones and the post for a 1-0 lead.

San Jose hadn’t generated much offense to that point, not finding a shot on net for the majority of the first 10 minutes. That all changed after a heady play by Timo Meier. Meier stole the puck from a New Jersey skater entering the Sharks zone and went the other way, ultimately beating Keith Kinkaid from the right faceoff dot to tie the game with 4:09 left in the first.

Joe Pavelski scored with just under two minutes left in the period after Brenden Dillon’s point shot ricocheted off Kinkaid. The captain picked up the loose puck and slid it into the back of the net for his team-best 20th goal. Pavelski has now scored 20 goals in a season for the 10th time in his career.

Radim Simek picked up his first NHL goal 7:19 into the middle period, launching a point-shot through traffic for a 3-1 Sharks lead. Lukas Radil, a fellow rookie, picked up his first career assist after scoring his first goal over the weekend.

Andy Greene’s drive-by tip 11:01 into the second pulled the Devils within one goal before Meier’s second created some space. Joonas Donskoi fed Meier streaking up the wing, allowing the Swiss forward to once again show off his laser of a shot. Meier’s wrister beat Kinkaid glove side before bouncing off the back of the net and out with 5:08 left in the period.

Tomas Hertl added a power play goal after picked up a rebound in the slot eight seconds into the man-advantage with 5:38 left in the game to effectively ice the game. Martin Jones made 22 saves to preserve the win.

San Jose welcomes the Dallas Stars to the Shark Tank Thursday night, looking to continue the winning ways. Game time is 7:30 pm PST.

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Jackets on a roll, get ninth win past Caps; Leafs with five-goal win, 6-1, over New Jersey; NHL matchups for tonight

Photo credit: nhl.com/bluejackets

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 The Columbus Blue Jackets (9-6-1) got by the Washington Capitals 2-1 Friday night. The Jackets got a goal from Oliver Bjorkstrand at 17:16 in the first period and Anthony Duclair got goal number seven of the season at 5:09. Not much offense from the Caps.

#2 The Toronto Maple Leafs (11-5-0) and the New Jersey Devils (6-7-1)  skated to a 6-1 five-goal Leafs victory Friday night. The Leafs scored four goals in the second period and they’re not slowing down.

#3 The Vancouver Canucks (10-7-1) are in Buffalo (9-6-2) tonight. How dangerous, how improved are these Canucks this season?  The Sabers won it by a goal 4-3 in a shootout beating a tough Canucks team after having a two goal deficit.

#4 The Chicago Blackhawks (6-7-3) face the Philadelphia Flyers (8-7-1) at the Wells Fargo Center. Is this an evenly matched game or do the Flyers have the home ice advantage when the puck drops tonight? The Flyers blanked the Blackhawks 4-0 for the Hawks seventh straight loss.

#5 Tonight, the Golden Knights (7-8-1) are in Montreal (8-5-3). Taking a look at the Knights’ offensive leaders: Jonathan Marchessault leads the team with 14 assists, seven goals, and William Karlsson eight assists, and for the Montreal Canadiens, Max Domi 19 points, nine goals, and Jeff Petry with 11 assists.

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

Sharks Lose 3-2 to Devils, Power Play Struggles

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.

Fourth Line Leads Way in Sharks’ 6-2 Win Over Devils

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Matthew Harrington

Tuesday night was a feel-good night for the San Jose Sharks all around. Sure, the Sharks won 6-2 over the visiting New Jersey Devils to run their win streak to five, but how they did it was far more exciting than what they did.

The Sharks’ fourth line members each scored a goal apiece, Jannik Hansen lit the lamp for the first time this season and Paul Martin picked up his first NHL point of the 2017-18 season. Logan Couture scored his 30th goal, crossing the triple-decade club for the third time in his career and first since 2012. The power play scored not once, but twice in a game, and to cap it all off, coach Peter DeBoer picked up his 350th win.

That Joe Thornton was spotted skating earlier in the morning, or that the Los Angeles Kings lost in overtime earlier in the night to fall back four points behind team teal for second in the Pacific Division were just icing on the cake.

New Jersey came into the contest on an impressive run, having beaten Vegas, Nashville and Los Angeles before falling to the Ducks in the previous quartet of games. San Jose put the Devils on their heels early though, thanks to fourth liner Eric Fehr’s third goal of the year 5:32 into the game.

Brent Burns fed Paul Martin, up with the big club and playing largely thanks to injuries to a number of blueliners with Tuesday’s victim being Joakim Ryan, who then teed up a point shot. The shot whistled wide of the net to keeper Corey Schneider’s right but ricocheted off the back wall to Fehr on the opposite post. Fehr went top corner of Schneider’s shoulder for the 1-0 lead.

Hart Trophy candidate Taylor Hall breathed life into the Devils devils at the 11:19 mark after Justin Braun failed to clear up an aerial pass. No. 9 scooped the puck up on a hop and scored easily on the breakaway for his 32nd goal of the season.

Joe Pavelski scored the most Joe Pavelski-like goal just over a minute later on the power play, tipping a Kevin Labanc shot past Schneider for his 19th goal of the year and a 2-1 lead.

Jannik Hansen, the “beneficiary” inserted onto the fourth line due to injuries to Joel Ward and Joonas Donskoi, used his speed to get a breakaway on former Vancouver Canucks teammate Schneider, scoring his first goal of the year with 4:46 left in the first period.

The final member of the fourth line to Barclay Goodrow chased Schneider from the game after scoring his career-best seventh goal of the season 10:38 into the second period.

Logan Couture then put the Sharks up 5-1, beating relief netminder Keith Kinkaid on the first shot he faced with 8:42 left in the period. Brendan Dillon assisted on both goals.

The Sharks would take advantage of another power play opportunity, with Mikkel Boedker scoring his 14th goal of the year with 1:40 left in the second. Brent Burns assisted on the goal for his third point, all assists, of the game. In total, San Jose was a perfect 2-for-2 on the man-advantage.

New Jersey would beat goalie Martin Jones just once more over the duration of play, with Blake Coleman scoring an even strength goal with 1:36 left in regulation for the final score of 6-2. Jones made 26 saves.

San Jose now sits four points ahead of LA and five ahead of second wild card team Anaheim. They sit behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the division lead though, eight points back with nine to play. If San Jose hopes to gain ground, they’ll need a victory over the expansion team when they visit the Shark Tank Thursday night.

Sharks Shut Out Devils 3-0

Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

by M. Walsh

The San Jose Sharks started a five-game road trip on Friday, with a 3-0 win in New Jersey. Melker Karlsson scored the first goal of the game, with Joe Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi adding to the score. Martin Jones made 28 saves for the shutout, while Keith Kinkaid made 30 stops for the Devils.

Asked if starting the trip a day early helped prepare the team, Sharks Captain Joe Pavelksi said:

Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. We won, so it helped. Coming off our home stand which wasn’t the best, I think it was good for us to get on the road an extra day and realize it’s a business trip for sure but we’ll have some fun, and it’s a great way to start it tonight.

The New Jersey Devils have had an excellent start to their season, winning six of seven games before the loss to the Sharks. Two of their young stars, forward Nico Hischier and defenseman Will Butcher get some credit for the early season success. In Friday’s game, Butcher led his team with five shots on goal. So far this season, Butcher has nine assists, while Hischier has two goals and five assists. After the game, Martin Jones described the Devils’ game as “They’re quick, they’re really good around the net. They make a lot of quick little plays in and around the net, so they’re definitely a dangerous team.”

The Sharks lineup looked the same as it had in their last game, one of just two wins this season. After the game, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said:

We need our depth, I thought our depth guys were good tonight. I thought all the guys on Tierney and Carpenter’s line were solid and we got good contributions from them. If not offense, then zone time and offensive zone play. So that was a good sign… It was the best that our depth forwards I think have played as a group, which is what we need.

The first goal came in the first period at 14:11. Tim Heed shot the puck in and the Sharks forwards swarmed the net. After Kinkaid made a couple of stops, Hertl made a quick pass from behind the net that found Karlsson right on the edge of the blue paint. From there he was able to put the puck into the far corner. Assists went to Hertl and Heed.

During that sequence, Logan Couture seemed to take the a shot off of his ankle and he left the game for the rest of the period. He did return to play the second period, but then missed some minutes at the start of the third.

The second goal came early in the second period. The Devils had the Sharks stuck in their own zone for a spell, but when the Sharks broke out they moved quickly. Defenseman Justin Braun sent the puck down low to Joe Thornton, who sent it right back as Pavelski got to the net. Braun took the shot from the blue line and Pavelski tipped it in. Assists went to Thornton and Braun. Of the goal, Pavelski said after the game:

I was a little surprised it went in, I was really tight to the goalie at the time. A lot of times they’ll be able to shut those down. Actually, one of my uncles passed yesterday and that was the one thing, you know, from family that they said, get a goal for that. And I don’t think that goal probably should have went in so I’m sure he had a little bit to do with it.

In the final two minutes of the second period, Joonas Donskoi showed off his skill and tenacity with the third goal. He carried the puck over the line, accompanied by his linemates Jannik Hansen and Ryan Carpenter. Donskoi took a shot from the faceoff circle which Kinkaid stopped and kicked back out. Donskoi caught the rebound on his backhand and threw it back in. An assist went to Justin Braun. Of Donskoi’s performance, DeBoer said:

He’s a very good player. Whether he plays with Thornton and Pavelksi or whether he plays with Tierney or Carpenter, he comes to work every game and he’s got to find a way to create offense for us. So I thought he was good tonight, played well. He’s just got to keep building on that.

The Sharks play again Saturday in Brooklyn against the New York Islanders at 4:00 PM PT.