Tag: NHL

Sharks Fall 4-3 to Avalanche, Kane scores 500th Point

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The San Jose get swept in the two game set with the Colorado Avalanche losing on Thursday 3-0 and on Sat May 1, 2021, 4-3 in Denver (@Avalanche photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost their final road game of the season to the Colorado Avalanche by a score of 4-3. Nathan MacKinnon, Andre Burakovsky, Patrik Nemeth and Mikko Rantanen scored for Colorado. Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves for the win. Alexander Brabanov, Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl scored for San Jose. Josef Korenar made 39 saves in the loss. Evander Kane scored his 500th NHL point in the third period with an assist on Logan Couture’s short-handed goal.

Josef Korenar made 39 saves on 43 shots Saturday. After the game, Sharks captain Logan Couture talked about the goaltender:

“I thought he kept us in the game. He was probably our best player for the majority of the night. I thought it could have been a lot more than the four that they got. So, he battled for us. We made it a game at the end there but wish we’d helped him out a little bit more throughout the game.”

The first period ended scoreless, with Colorado leading in shots 15-10. There was just one penalty, taken by the Sharks. The Avalanche power play got one shot on goal.

The Sharks scored the first goal of the game, on a power play at 4:25 of the second period. It was their first power play goal in 28 power plays. Barabanov caught a rebound out in the face-off circle and shot it by Dubnyk on the blocker side. Assists went to Tomas Hertl and Erik Karlsson.

Nathan MacKinnon tied the game at 13:08 of the second. The teams were playing four-on-four with Brent Burns and Dan Renouf in the box for penalties taken less than 20 seconds apart. Conor Timmins made a pass across the ice to MacKinnon who was closing fast on the net without anyone in his way. Assists went to Timmins and Mikko Rantanen.

Andre Burakovsky gave the Avalanche the leads at 16:06. Burakovsky caught the puck out of an offensive zone face-off, skated toward the slot and took the shot through some traffic to score. An assist went to JT Compher.

The Sharks killed one penalty in the second period, but were out-shot 12-4 in the period. The Colorado power play had four shots in the second. The Sharks power play had the one shot.

Patrik Nemeth made it 3-1 for Colorado at 9:05 of the third period. His slap shot from the blue line zipped through traffic and into the net. Assists went to Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon.

Logan Couture cut the lead by one with a short-handed goal at 9:55. Evander Kane snatched up a fumbled puck at the blue line and skated away from Makar to get a shot on goal. Logan Couture followed in a hurry and put the rebound away.

The Avalanche challenged the goal for goaltender interference. Kane did make contact with Dubnyk without actually entering the blue paint. The NHL did not consider it enough to call back the goal.

Colorado took back their two-goal lead with 4:26 left in the period. Mikko Rantanen’s shot from the blue line went through a lot of traffic and in. Assists went to Devon Toews and Conor Timmins.

With the Sharks net empty, Brent Burns took a quick shot from the blue line at 17:47. The puck went off of Tomas Hertl for his 16th of the season. Assists went to Burns and Barabanov.

The Sharks made a good final push at the end but it was not enough. The Sharks finally won the shot battle for the period, 11-8. The Sharks had one power play and a bit in the third, which added two shots to their tally. Colorado had just one shot on their power play before Couture scored and the unsuccessful challenge ended the power play. The Sharks won just 41% of the face-offs in the game.

The Sharks next play on Monday, in San Jose. They will face the Avalanche again at 7:30 PM PT.

Avalanche Shut Out Sharks 3-0

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The San Jose Sharks Erik Karlsson (65) tries to control the puck as the Colorado Avalanche’s left wing Andre Burakovsky gives pursuit at SAP Center on Fri Apr 30, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 3-0 to the Colorado Avalanche in Denver Friday. Gabriel Landeskog, Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen scored for Colorado, and Philipp Grubauer made 21 saves for the shut out win. Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 33 saves in the loss.

The Sharks are clearly giving prospects a good look now and several played in Friday’s game. Left wing Ivan Chekhovich made his NHL debut with the Sharks Friday. He had one blocked shot in 10:55 of ice time. Center Alexander True made his third appearance of the season. He had one shot on goal and took one penalty in 13:01 of ice time.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said: “These young guys that are playing on the road in a tough building, against a good team, there was quite a few fans here tonight, so there was some atmosphere and it’s a good experience for them.”

Also getting a good look, the more experienced left wing Alexander Barabanov played his third in a row since joining the team at the trade deadline. He had a goal and two assists in his first two games. On a line with Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane Friday, he had one blocked shot, one hit and one penalty in 19:15 of ice time.

Boughner said, of Barabanov: “He slows the game down a bit, and his skill takes over. We’re asking a lot of him, playing on that top line against those players and he doesn’t look out of place defensively.”

The first goal came on a Colorado power play at 11:13 of the first period. Cale Makar took a shot down the slot and Gabriel Landeskog subtly tipped it into the net. Assists went to Makar and Mikko Rantanen.

Landeskog was in front of Jones for the next goal as well, on another power play at 13:13. This time Makar’s shot went past Landeskog and in. Assists went to Rantanen and Joonas Donskoi.

The Sharks had one power play in the first period, and got two shots on goal with the man advantage. Colorado had two power plays and got six shots with the extra man. Colorado outshot the Sharks 13-6 in the first.

The second period saw the Sharks kill off two penalties, one abbreviated by a Colorado penalty. Colorado’s power play got two shots in the period and the Sharks got none in their minute or so of power play time. The Avalanche out-shot the Sharks 12-8 in the period.

The Sharks put the puck in the net midway through the third period but Colorado challenged it as off side. Alexander Barabanov had knocked the puck out of the air above the blue line and after a review the goal was called back.

The third Colorado goal came at 18:21 of the third, when Mikko Rantanen scored into an empty net. Assists went to Landeskog and Carl Soderberg.

The Sharks power play took four shots in two tries in the third. The Avalanche still out shot the Sharks 11-7.

In keeping with attention to prospects, the Sharks’ AHL team was also playing Friday, in San Jose. Lengthy look-ins on that game were broadcast during intermissions of the Sharks game. The Barracuda won 6-4.

The Sharks next play on Saturday, again in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche at 5:00 PM PT.

Sharks could be odd hockey team out; SJ Planning Commission on board with Google Development plan

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Rendering of the Google Village that is on the drawing board for development literally right at the doorstep at SAP Center in San Jose (image from sanjosespotlight.com and Sitelab Urban Studio)

By Marko Ukalovic and Daniel Dullum

SAN JOSE–San Jose Sharks and Sports Entertainment has two choices regarding the future of the NHL hockey team staying in San Jose grin and bear it lose over 4,000 parking spaces and crater to the direction of new and future neighbor Google and their development of a new Downtown West Village that will feature retail, condos, new housing and 7.3 million feet of office development. Not to mention the remodeling and development of the Caltrain and BART stations that Google will push for as a huge public transit hub right across the street from SAP Center.

The San Jose Planning Commission voted unanimously to move forward with the development on Wednesday night. Meaning Google is getting one step closer towards building their 80 acre campus in the Dirdon/SAP Center neighborhood.

Google’s plans are to be the big business developer in the neighborhood and the Sharks would be welcomed by Google to stay but the mega tech company plans to develop or have the run of their parking lot as they are a major purchaser of the surrounding area.

The Sharks are waiting for the next meeting that will take place with the San Jose City Council who will vote on the development on May 25th. Google needs two thirds of a yes vote from the City Council to move forward with the development.

A two thirds vote is critical to the project because the San Jose Airport Commission voted no to the development because the Downtown West Village does not meet the building height and noise standards. Although it’s hard to say who on the City Council will vote in favor or not Google has made the deal interesting for the City of San Jose by pouring billions into developing the Downtown West Village project and the city is looking at the project as huge revenue and tax money income in spite of the City’s only professional team the Sharks who say they will leave if this project goes forward.

The second option on a possible Sharks move in a worst case scenario is narrowed down to three locations if they look past the project development succeeding, the Oakland Coliseum Arena previously served as a site of the defunct NHL California Golden Seals who played in Oakland in the 1970s. That site most likely won’t work for the Sharks because the Oakland A’s and the City of Oakland are considering developing the Coliseum proper if the A’s can land a new ballpark in downtown Oakland. Also the Sharks like the A’s most likely do not want to play their games at the Coliseum location.

The Sharks could turn to the San Francisco 49ers and Levis Stadium and develop a new arena in Santa Clara near Great America. That is if the Sharks will accept being a tenant of the 49ers. The Sharks really want their own location and own building. Right now being in a downtown setting is what the Sharks want and moving to Santa Clara would not offer that downtown ambiance.

The third location is Quebec City Canada. Quebec City lost it’s hockey team the Nordiques when they moved to Denver to become the Colorado Avalanche in 1995 and the city has been hungry for an NHL team ever since and have a NHL regulation facility in the waiting for such a team who is looking for a new home.

It all boils down the the San Jose City Council vote on May 25th and the Sharks will either be happy with the vote if the City Council votes thumbs down to the Downtown West Village project or they will have to look at their options if the vote moves forward with the project.

Marko Ukalovic is a San Jose Barracuda beat writer and Daniel Dullum does Headline Sports podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Ride 3-Goal 1st Period to 4-2 Win Over Yotes

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The San Jose Sharks get their celebration on after a two game sweep over the Arizona Coyotes at SAP Center on Wed Apr 28, 2021 (@SanJoseSharks image)

By Matt Harrington

The San Jose Sharks playoff hopes, while dimming, still live on after the Sharks 4-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes Wednesday night in San Jose. Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl had two points each, Kevin Labanc scored in his return to the lineup after missing Monday’s game with an injury and Evander Kane scored to continue a streak of six 20-goal seasons. Josef Korenar made 28 saves for his second career and consecutive win to keep San Jose (20-24-5) 5 points back of St. Louis, another victorious team Wednesday, for the final spot in the West.

The Sharks did most of their damage in the first period, scoring three goals on Darcy Kuemper. Kane scored first just 1:12 into play on the rush. Tomas Hertl wheeled into the zone, pulled up and hit Alexander Barabanov on the far post. Barabanov dished the puck to Kane cross-crease for the one-timer. Barabanov now has points in both games he’s appeared in for San Jose.

Rudolfs Balcers beat Kuemper 10:06 into the frame after the Sharks continued to gum up the neutral zone and force turnovers. Balcers caught Niklas Hjalmarsson flat-footed and sped around him for an open lane to the net. Logan Couture and John Leonard assisted on Balcers’ seventh of the year.

The Sharks third goal was a combined effort of Noah Gregor, Alex True and Kevin Labanc. Gregor picked up a homerun pass that would have gone for an icing for a slower skater and fed true net front. The pass drew Kuemper out so that True’s rebound would go to Labanc for an easy empty net goal and a 3-0 lead with 5:52 left in the first. It’s Labanc’s 11th goal of the season, and first since April 9th. He missed Monday’s game with an injury.

Phil Kessel joined rare company, becoming one of three players to score eight goals against the Sharks in a season. He accomplished the feat with 4:13 left in the period for a 3-1 Sharks edge. He joins Teemu Selanne and Luc Robitaille in the outer club and has nearly as many goals against the Sharks as the rest of the league (10) this year. Johan Larsson scored 4:40 into the second to cut the lead to one at 3-2. Hertl’s empty-netter sealed the game for San Jose and gave him an Couture (secondary assist on the play) multipoint nights.

Next up for the Sharks is a road trip to Colorado. They’ll play a two game road set against the Avs before welcoming the second place in-division Colorado side for two at home as the season moves to the final weeks.

Notes: Brinson Pasichnuk made his NHL debut for the Sharks. He’s the first skater and second player from the fledgling Arizona State hockey program to make their NHL debuts this year. Joey D’accord played in net for the Ottawa Senators earlier this year…Matt Nieto skated in practice but a return date is still unclear…Alex True appeared in the lineup for the first time since March 3rd. He had his first point of the season…Evander Kane has seven career 20 goal seasons in total….John Leonard has his first point since an assist April 10th against Los Angeles.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks go for second win against Coyotes; Korenar gets the call for tonight

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San Jose Sharks goaltender Josef Korenar (32) will start tonight against the Arizona Coyotes takes a Gatorade break on Mon Apr 26, 2021 the two teams face off at SAP Center (Bay Area News Group photo)

On the Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 The San Jose Sharks (19-24-5) win over the Arizona Coyotes (21-23-5) had to take some weight off after losing eight straight games.

#2 One of the things that went right for San Jose was they were able to get the offense working scoring two goals in each period.

#3 The Sharks got a two goal win over the Coyotes 6-4 which included goals from Sharks defencemen Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson.

#4 The Sharks Josef Korenar stopped 25 shots and allowed four goals, Korenar who recently came up from the Sharks minor league AHL affiliate the San Jose Barracuda how has he been working out since the Sharks traded former backup goaltender Devon Dubnyk to Colorado.

#5 Game two between the Coyotes and Sharks tonight at SAP Center. The Coyotes are none too pleased about getting beat 6-4 and the Sharks scoring twice in each period how do you see this match up tonight?

Join Len for the Sharks podcasts Wednesday mornings at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks get some offense; Snap eight game losing streak

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San Jose Sharks scored two goals in each period to defeat the Arizona Coyotes 6-4 at the SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Apr 26, 2021 (@SanJoseSharks photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Mary Lisa one thing you could say about the Sharks (19-24-5) they didn’t hesitate to put the puck on the net on Monday night against the Arizona Coyotes (21-23-5).

#2 The Coyotes defense or goaltenders Adin Hill faced 22 shots and allowed on goal and back up goalie Darcy Kuemper allowed four goals and saw 11 shots.

#3 Even though the Sharks got 11 shot on goals in the game they made five of them count and that’s something that head coach Bob Boughner was looking for in the offense.

#4 Sharks got goals from Evander Kane, Alexander Barbanov, Logan Couture, Noah Gregor and even the defencemen got in the action Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson scored.

#5 The Sharks host the Coyotes on Wednesday night at SAP Center in the second of the two meetings. In their last two meetings the Coyotes defeated the Sharks in a two game series Mar 26, 5-2 and Mar 27, 4-0.

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

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh Tue Apr 27, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

Sharks Hang On, Beat Coyotes 6-4 for Korenar’s First NHL Win

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The San Jose Sharks Noah Gregor (73) scores a goal and gets congratulated from John Leonard (43) in the first period against the Arizona Coyotes at SAP Center on Mon Apr 26, 2021 (photo from Bay Area News Group)

By Matthew Harrington

The San Jose Sharks snapped their eight game losing streak, winning a pivotal contest 6-4 against the Arizona Coyotes in front of an audience of fans for the first time all season. Evander Kane picked up four points, Josef Korenar made 21 saves to secure his first NHL win and Alexander Barabanov netted his first career goal. By winning in regulation, the Sharks (19-24-5) kept the gap between fourth-place St. Louis, who won earlier in the night, at five points and kept Arizona (21-23-5) from jumping out eight points ahead of the Sharks. The Sharks had a 4-0 lead in the second but Arizona clawed their way back in.

“It was a lot closer than it should have been, let’s put it that way,” said Sharks coach Bob Boughner. “That’s no disrepesct to the other team. There’s just a couple of goals we would like to have back but it didn’t rattle us tonight.”

The Sharks took control early, with Noah Gregor scoring just 17 seconds into play after Dylan Gambrell pressured Coyotes netminder Darcy Kuemper on a play behind the net. Kuemper hopped back in the net but the shot went in Kuemper’s feet for Gregor’s fifth goal of the year.

Brent Burns doubled the lead a few minutes later, beating Kuemper on a bomb through a Tomas Hertl screen from the point at the 3:07 mark. Hertl and Evander Kane assisted on Burns’ seventh goal of the season and second in his last five games.

Sharks captain Logan Couture stayed hot, scoring in a second consecutive game after going goalless for 16. Couture picked a rebound from a Greg Pateryn shot out of his skates and beat an out-of-position Kuemper for a 3-0 lead 1:54 into the second. Erik Karlsson then added another on a another long distance shot, chasing Kuemper 3:19 into the second.

“We’re getting some bodies in front of the net,” said Boughner. “Which is allowing us to get some second, third opportunities. Our D are doing a better job of getting pucks through. I thought we were good off the rush today. I thought we created some chances off the rush.”

With Adin Hill in net, the Coyotes started to dig out of a hole with Michael Bunting, Clayton Keller and Jakob Chychrun all scoring for the Arizona on Korenar.

“He battles hard in there,” said Boughner. “He’s a young guy. He’s still finding his game. There’s a couple I’m sure he’d want back.”

They would then go on the power play 6:41 into the third period after Timo Meier took down Chychrun with a trip, but the Sharks penalty kill stood up the Arizona’s man advantage.

“They got a power play, he came up with 2 or 3 big saves,” said Boughner on his netminder. “That just shows that he has the ability to brush that off, the ability to battle back and be aggressive still and not sit back and be conservative in net. That’s what I like, I like a guy that’s going to get in there and fight.”

With Ryan Donato and Kevin Labanc both out, recent trade acquisition Alexander Barbanov drew in on the second line with Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane. He made the most of his opportunity after appearing in just 13 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs coming into the game with just the lone assist, scoring in his Team Teal debut to give the Sharks breathing room. Barbanov parked himself in the crease for a Kane rebound 11:17 into the final period for his first career NHL goal and a 5-3 lead.

“I’ve seen him play in Toronto a little bit before,” said Erik Karlsson about the new forward inserted into the line up. “I’ve heard good things about him. he came in and stayed true to himself. He played a hard game, he has some skill too. He wasn’t afraid to play with the big guys on the second line. He came in and it was a good first game for him and obviously nice for him to get a goal right away to get things going for him. It’s always nice to see.”

The goal would be needed after Chychrun added to his defenseman-leading 16th goal with 4:44 left in regulation. Chychrun, the Coyotes top defenseman, played through some pain after taking a couple of painful shot blocks in the second period. Evander Kane release the pressure after scoring an empty netter with 8.1 seconds left for a 6-4 Sharks win.

The Sharks will face Arizona at home yet again looking to keep that final playoff spot in striking distance. They’ll once again have the added boost of a handful of fans back in attendance.

“It was nice to see a little bit of normalcy,” said Karlsson on what the fans in the building meant. “Even though there weren’t that many you could hear how excited they were to be back. They supported us the entire time.”

Notes: The Sharks had 500 fans in attendance, considered a sellout in the current ticketing model…Barabanov came to the Sharks at the deadline for Antti Suomela as a bit of an unknown, he was the odd man out in Toronto, needing to play a skill role on a team with a loaded top-six…Kevin Labanc’s small ironman streak of 263 games was snapped after being scratched with an injury….Evander Kane scored his 19th goal of the season. If he scores a 20th this season it will be his 6th straight season of 20 or more goals…Both teams combined to go 0-7 on the power play.A

Sharks Lose 6-3 to Wild; Skid extends to 8 games

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Minnesota Wild left wing Marcus Foligno (17) puts the puck past San Jose Sharks goaltender Martin Jones (31) in the first period at SAP Center in San Jose (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks celebrated Patrick Marleau’s new record in NHL games played Saturday. It was the team’s first game at home since Marleau played his 1768th NHL game, surpassing Gordie Howe’s record, in Las Vegas last Monday. Family members were able to attend the game for the occasion. The Sharks all wore Marleau Jerseys for warm-ups. A pantheon of Sharks and NHL players and alumni spoke in a video presentation before the game. The only thing missing was an arena full of fans.

The Minnesota Wild won the game 6-3. Ryan Suter, Marcus Foligno, Jared Spurgeon, Kevin Fiala, Kirill Kaprizov and Nick Bonino all scored for the Wild. Kaapo Kahkonen made 27 saves for the win. Logan Couture, Evander Kane and Joachim Blichfeld scored for San Jose. It was Blichfeld’s first NHL goal. Josef Korenar made 15 saves during the second two periods, while Martin Jones made five in the first period. The win clinched a spot in the playoffs for the Wild. The loss was San Jose’s eighth in a row.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said: “The start was a disaster, right from the first shift, the first goal.” Boughner pointed out that there were several “new guys” in the lineup and this may have accounted for missed coverage and other errors during the game. He went on to say: “It’s no secret, you know, look at their lineup, look at our lineup, and, you know, we’re missing a little depth there. And you know, it got us early, let’s be honest, you know, second and third goal, that’s where it got us.”

The Sharks did have some unfamiliar faces on the bench Saturday. Greg Pateryn joined the defense in the absence of injured Radim Simek. It was his first game in teal since coming over from the Colorado Avalanche. He was on the ice for one goal against and one goal for the Sharks. Joachim Blichfeld was in the lineup for his sixth NHL game. He was also on the ice for one goal against and one goal for, which he scored. Neither player seemed to have an out-sized impact on the game. There were plenty of errors to go around.

As Boughner mentioned, the game did not start well for San Jose. Just 19 seconds in, Ryan Suter scored his second goal of the year, on the first shot of the game. Suter skated in with the puck and took a shot from the face-off circle. It whizzed by Martin Jones’s shoulder. An assist went to Jordan Greenway.

Moments later, Timo Meier collided with Kirill Kaprizov, Meier went to the bench but returned to play without missing much time.

Marcus Foligno added another 12 minutes into the first. Joel Eriksson-Ek carried the puck in in a two-on-one with Foligno. Eriksson-Ek made a pass at the last moment for Foligno the take the shot.

Jared Spurgeon made it 3-0 at 17:43 of the first. Spurgeon got by the Sharks defense and took a shot into the far corner. Ryan Hartman and Mats Zuccarello got the assists.

That first period saw the Wild out-shoot the Sharks 8-4. There was just one penalty called, a too many men on the ice call against San Jose. The Sharks penalty kill gave up no shots.

Josef Korenar was in the Sharks net to start the second period.

The score did not change again until the final minute of the middle frame. Marcus Johansson took a shot from the boards and created a rebound. Kevin Fiala was at the net to knock the bouncing puck in. Assists went to Johansson and Jared Spurgeon.

There were no penalties in the second period, and the Sharks led in shots 13-7.

Logan Couture got the Sharks on the board 1:19 into the third period. Couture passed the puck to Timo Meier as the skated to the net. Just as his pass got away, Couture was knocked down. As he slid, face-first, to the net, Meier’s rebound landed in front of him. He swept it into the net. Assists went to Meier and Rudolfs Balcers.

Kirill Kaprizov scored a power play goal to make it 5-1 at 4:28. Fiala swept the puck off the boards to the slot, where Kaprizov was ready for the shot. Assists went to Fiala and Nick Bonino.

Evander Kane scored for the Sharks at 4:47, when Nikolai Knyzhov took a shot from the blue line. Tomas Hertl knocked it out of the air and Kane cleaned it up for his 18th of the season.

Joachim Blichfeld scored his first NHL goal at 6:06. He took the shot from below the face-off dot. The puck went over Kahkonen’s glove and into the top corner.

Nick Bonino scored into an empty net at 19:38. An assist went to Ian Cole.

The Sharks took two penalties in the third period. The Wild’s power play got one shot on net during the period.

The Sharks next play on Monday against the Arizona Coyotes in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Matt Harrington: Sharks hope to snap 7 game skid tonight

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The Vegas Knights Shea Theodore (27) reaches out for the puck as the San Jose Sharks Timo Meier (28) is right behind at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas on Thu Apr 23, 2021 (AP News photo)

#1 The San Jose Sharks (18-23-5) enter tonight’s game at SAP Center against the Vegas Golden Knights (33-11-3)) on a seven game losing streak in the Sharks last game against the Vegas Golden Knights not even close another loss 5-2.

#2 What are some of the things that head coach Bob Boughner must be saying to the club right now going on a long losing streak and trying to find ways to break that long string.

#3 For Sharks goaltender Josef Korenar a tough night against Minnesota facing 39 shots and allowing four. Korenar had a good long run with the Sharks minor league team the San Jose Barracuda but this is the big leagues now how ready is he?

#4 Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl both had a goal each for San Jose it wasn’t enough but they’ve had some good offensive nights for the Sharks this season.

#5 The Sharks face off against the Minnesota Wild (27-13-3) tonight at the SAP Center. The Sharks have lost the last two meetings with the Wild by scores of 3-2 and 5-2 with the Sharks on the current losing streak could they have their hands full tonight?

Join Matt for the Sharks podcasts each Saturday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Lose 5-2 in Vegas; losing streak swells to seven games

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The San Jose Sharks Ryan Danato tries to get the puck into the net sliding with Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury behind to defend on Wed Apr 21, 2021 at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell to the Vegas Golden Knights by a score of 5-2 Wednesday. Jonathan Marchessault (2), Mark Stone, Alex Tuch and Mattias Janmark scored for Las Vegas. Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves for the win. Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl scored for San Jose, with Josef Korenar making 35 saves in his second NHL start. The win was the eighth in a row for the Golden Knights, and the seventh loss in a row for San Jose. The Sharks have also lost seven in a row to Las Vegas.

Timo Meier scored the first goal of the game at 2:38. Joel Kellman’s shot went off of Meier skate while Meier was being swept through the blue paint between two Vegas defenders. Kellman got the assist.

Jonathan Marchessault tied the game at 6:51 of the period. He skated through a gap in the defense and was able to take a shot right in front of Korenar. Korenar stopped that one but Marchessault caught the tiny rebound and swept the puck around the goalie’s skate and in. Assists went to William Karlsson and Alec Martinez.

The Golden Knights outshot the Sharks 19-8 in the first period. Each team had one power play, and two minutes of four-on-four time. The two-minute Golden Knights power play had two shots and the ninety-second Sharks power play had one.

The Sharks took the lead again at 11:07 of the second with Tomas Hertl’s 14th goal of the season. He gathered up a rebound and shot it in from just below the face-off dot to Fleury’s right. Assists went to Patrick Marleau and Erik Karlsson.

Mark Stone tied the game back up at 12:52 with a power play goal. Max Pacioretty sent the puck down to Stone on the goal line and Stone swept the puck all the way around in front of Korenar and into the far side of the net. Assists went to Max Pacioretty and Shea Theodore.

Alex Tuch gave Vegas the lead at 19:10. He shot from the same spot on the goal line where Stone scored from, but he took the shot over Korenar. Assists went to Theodore and Marchessault.

The Sharks led in second period shots 12-10. They had one shot on their one power play. The Golden Knights had two power plays and got two shots in those.

Marchessault scored his second of the game 13:18 into the third period. Mattias Janmark was circling high in the face-off circle with his back to the net when he gave the puck to Marchessault, who was skating into the zone. Marchessault took the shot right away and beat Korenar before the goalie could adjust. Janmark got the assist.

Mattias Janmark made it 5-2 with a goal into an empty net at 19:04. Marchessault got the assist.

The Sharks got two shots in their third period power play and led 13-11 in shots during the final frame. The Sharks did show improvement in the face-off circle Wednesday, winning more than 50% in each period and 58% overall. All of the Sharks penalties were taken by defensemen: Brent Burns, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Mario Ferraro and Erik Karlsson.

The Sharks next play on Saturday against the Minnesota Wild in San Jose at 6:00 PM PT.