Tag: NHL

Sharks edge Blues 3-2 to extend winning streak to three games

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~ Photo credit: NHL.com

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ The San Jose Sharks scored three goals off six shots as they extended their winning streak to three games after escaping with a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center on Tuesday.

Both teams saw each other for the first time this season as the Blues lost a season-high four straight games.

The Sharks have scored three goals in their last three and held their opponents to two or less in their last four games.

Both Logan Couture and Mikkel Boedker got a goal and an assist apiece. Boedker, with seven points during his four-game goal streak, earned the game-winner with 4:06 left in regulation.    

Goalie Martin Jones made 31 saves and put together his and San Jose’s third straight win with a late game assist by Brent Burns. The Blues outshot the Sharks 24-11 during the last two periods.  

Marc-Edouard Vlasic had a chance near the end of the first that was redirected by Boedker and clanked off the right post.

After putting up zeroes in the first, both teams went the other way in the second with multiple goals each.

First, Couture cashed in after scooping up Boedker’s rebound and then lifting the puck at 6:35.

Less than two minutes later, Ivan Barbashev evened the sheet on a 2-on-1 from the left faceoff circle.

Undaunted, Joonas Donskoi made it 2-1 on a 3-on-2 from the right faceoff circle at the 12:05 mark. It was Donskoi’s first since January 13 as he hit almost the same spot in the net as Couture.

Boedker then put San Jose up 3-1 as he crashed the net and moved the puck underneath Carter Hutton’s right pad.

The Blues kept the game close though heading to the third. 10 seconds after drawing a penalty, Vladimir Tarasenko pulled his team back to within one. Vince Dunn got the primary assist as his shot went off Jones and rolled to Tarasenko. Tarasenko now has four points in his last three games.

With just over four minutes left in the game, Burns went fishing behind Jones to help keep Saint Louis at bay. Burns returned to continue his Iron man streak after missing the majority of the third period last game.

Game Notes: The Sharks’ recent power plays stand at 0-for-13. Sharks management made a pre-game trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs when they acquired Eric Fehr in exchange for a 2020 7th-round draft selection.

Up Next: The Sharks will take on the Nashville Predators Thursday at 5 pm PT for game two of their four-game road trip.

NHL Podcast Joe Lami: Karlsson gets 100th career point; Vegas takes it to Edmonton; Burns proves versatile in Sharks win; plus more NHL News

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Photo credit: @PR_NHL

On the NHL Podcast with Joe:

1 Vegas continues to make teams keep quiet on what happens in Vegas as the Golden Knights William Karlsson scored his 100th point of his career with his 30th goal. Knights win Thursday night 4-1 beating the Edmonton Oilers.

2 The San Jose Sharks dominated the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night at SAP Center with a 4-1 win the Sharks started Brent Burns as a forward scoring a goal and an assist. Later in the contest Burns played defenseman.

3 The New York Islanders shutout the New York Rangers 3-0. Jaroslav Halak in goal for the Isles got the shutout with 50 saves in his first shutout of the year.

4 What’s up with the Yotes? The Arizona Coyotes have been nailing them lately getting a 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens 5-2. It’s Arizona’s third win in a row.

5 The Anaheim Ducks just got by the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Thursday as the Ducks Ondrej Kase scored a goal and two assists and Adam Henrique got a third period goal. This was the Hawks’ eighth straight loss.

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

 

Jones Stands Tall, Sharks Beat Canucks 4-1

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Jerry Feitelberg

The San Jose Sharks knew the top players not amongst the injured would need to perform Thursday night if they’d like to escape with a win over the Vancouver Canucks at the SAP Center on Wednesday night. The big name players all pitched in, but the depth pieces also helped out with San Jose down Joe Thornton and now Tomas Hertl as well.

Martin Jones made a season-high 43 saves and Brent Burns registered a two-point night to lead the Sharks to a 4-1 win over the Canucks at home. Mikkel Boedker scored for the second consecutive game and depth pieces Chris Tierney and recent call-up Marcus Sorensen also lit the lamp for San Jose. Long-time lineup stalwart Daniel Sedin scored for Vancouver.

Mikkel Boedker started the Sharks scoring 8:41 into play, beating netminder Anders Nilsson for his ninth goal of the year in second in as many games. Chris Tierney and former Canuck Jannik Hansen assisted on the strike.

The Sharks second goal came from Brent Burns, who happened to be playing his natural defense at the time. Like in the loss to Arizona, Burns saw some time at wing, starting the game on the opposite side of Timo Meier with Joe Pavelski centering the top line. After a period of ineffectiveness, coach Peter DeBoer moved Burns back to the blue line. Burns responded by ripping one of his patented bombs that beat Nilsson 4:47 into the second period.

The Sharks escaped the second period leading 2-0 after Jones, a North Vancouver native, stood on his head in the middle stanza. The keeper turned aside 22 shots, the highest single period total of the season.

The goalie would be rewarded early in the third after recent San Jose Barracuda call up Marcus Sorensen unleashed a downright filthy wrist shot, beating Nilsson 3:06 into the third. Vancouver would answer back though, finally cracking through Jones 6:43 into the final frame on Daniel Sedin’s 14th goal of the season.

Burns, now firmly locked in as a defenseman, rewarded his coach again for returning him to his natural position with 7:27 left in regulation. Burns snaked a perfect pass to Chris Tierney who was waiting on the far post. Tierney redirected the puck into the neat for his 14th goal of the year. Boedker also picked up an assist for a two-point night for the Dane.

All wasn’t positive for the Sharks though, as the power play struggled again with two key cogs in Thornton and Hertl missing. San Jose went 0-3 Thursday night after going 0-for-4 Tuesday night against Arizona. The penalty killing unit was a perfect 1-for-1.

Next up for San Jose is a visit from Tyler Seguin and the Dallas Stars. After that, Team Teal hits the road for four straight games against Central Division foes. With a win Thursday, San Jose will enter that stretch still two points ahead of the Calgary Flames for second place in the Pacific Division.

Sharks Lose Hertl and Then Lose 2-1 to Coyotes

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Photo credit: nhl.com/sharks

By Jerry Feitelberg

The San Jose Sharks’ depth took another major hit Tuesday night, forcing head coach Peter DeBoer to get a little creative with his lines. With Tomas Hertl exiting the game with an undisclosed injury, DeBoer moved reigning Norris Trophy Winner for best defenseman Brent Burns to the top line’s wings for alternating shifts. Burns’ move upfront wouldn’t be enough to spark the Sharks though, as Team Teal fell to the visiting Arizona Coyotes 2-1 at the SAP Center.

The Sharks outshot the Desert Dogs 41-26, but goals from defensemen Kevin Connauton and Alex Goligoski proved to be the difference makers. Former Coyote Mikkel Boedker scored for the Sharks, but Scott Wedgewood and Antti Raanta combined to snap the Sharks win-streak at two games. The Sharks powerplay went 0-4 in the loss, failing to gain ground with the teams directly behind them in the standings, Los Angeles and Calgary losing to Eastern Conference teams.

Connauton opened the scoring 7:58 into the game, crashing the net on a Nick Cousins point shot, tipping home the loose puck while another Coyote crashed into the far post behind Sharks goalie Martin Jones. The net was knocked off its moorings, but the collision had no effect on the result of the play, so a brief discussion between the officials confirmed a good goal.

Boedker responded just 1:20 later, channeling team captain Joe Pavelski by tipping a Justin Braun point blast past starting goalie Wedgewood to tie the game. Marc-Edouard Vlasic joined d-partner Vlasic in picking up the assist on Boedker’s strike.

Goligoski, appearing in his 700th game, picked up the game-winner for the Western Conference cellar dwellers. Goligoski took advantage of a powerplay opportunity, blasting a point shot 9:35 into the second period for a 2-1 lead.

First star Wedgewood took a puck off the helmet in the second, but was near perfect through two periods. He made 28 of 29 saves, but exited the game early in the third period after his defenseman pushed a Sharks player on top of him. The collision caused Wedgewood to hit the crossbar with his head, leading to his exit from the game.

The Sharks tested Raanta immediately, sneaking the puck behind him on their first shot. Goligoski was there to pull it off the line before the Sharks could tie the game. Raanta made 12 saves to finish out the win.

The Sharks get to face another struggling western conference team in game two of a three-game homestand. The Vancouver Canucks come to town Thursday before the Dallas Stars stop by for a Sunday start. Coach DeBoer hasn’t ruled out if Burns would make an appearance at forward if Hertl is unavailable.

Sharks end dad’s trip on positive note with 3-2 win over Ducks

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~ Photo credit: NHL.com

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ ANAHEIM — The San Jose Sharks won both back-to-back weekend games with a 3-2 shootout win over the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center Sunday.

The Sharks showcased their resiliency after relinquishing four straight goals Saturday and earning full points Sunday after they were scoreless with 10 minutes left in regulation.

San Jose was rewarded with second place in the Pacific for now instead of a three-way tie for second, which would have been the case had they not gone to extra periods.

Logan Couture notched the game-winner versus goalie John Gibson in the second round. It was Couture’s fourth point in three games.

This match clinched a 3-1 regular season series between the teams. It was the third time they had gone to a shootout .

Anaheim started with a 2-0 lead for the second game in a row. They had a number of close chances in the first.

The Sharks went almost seven minutes without a shot on net, starting with Chris Tierney’s shot at 2:16.

Ondrej Kase raced past Brenden Dillon and shot past goaltender Martin Jones from the left faceoff circle. It looked like an initial save, but the puck squeezed through five-hole at 2:39.

Before Marc-Edouard Vlasic had San Jose’s next shot on goal at 8:58, the Ducks had four shots on goal and the Sharks blocked four shots.

Instead of 1-0 after the first, the score could have been 3-0 in favor of Anaheim.

San Jose got lucky when a strong shot went off the boards and the rebound went to Andrew Cogliano short side near a clear part of the net, as he missed with his shot in the opposite direction. Cogliano led with three shots in the period.  

With 18 seconds left, Corey Perry made it 2-0 on the Ducks’ second power play of the period, but it was negated for offsides.\

After 13 shots in the first, the Ducks’ sole two shots on goal in the second sandwiched the Sharks’ first power play of the game.  

Nick Ritchie had a shot at 3:48, San Jose had three shots during their man advantage and Rickard Rakell had Anaheim’s last shot of the period at 6:54.

The game’s first fight occurred at 15:11.

Joonas Donskoi had four and Jannik Hansen had three of the Sharks’ 14 shots in the period. San Jose also had 11 missed shots.

On allowing the Sharks to get back into the game, Ryan Getzlaf replied, “It started in the second period…at that point, you’re receiving the game a little bit.”

The Ducks went up 2-0 legitimately when Cam Fowler won and got to the puck before Jones at 6:28 of the third.

San Jose Captain Joe Pavelski relayed, “…guys show character and there was no reason for us to panic. We were playing good…Staring at it down 2-0, guys stepped up.”

Coach Pete DeBoer concurred, “Despite being down in the third, we had played well enough that we should have either been tied or up. So, the fact that we stuck with it, it took us 59 minutes…I liked our game tonight.”

Couture prevented the shutout and started the Sharks’ comeback when he shot from the top of the right faceoff circle through the slot at 10:56.

When San Jose started with the man advantage after Jones was pulled, the puck was cleared three times. The Sharks even had to bring Jones in to take a faceoff in their own zone. However after that, San Jose went around the horn and Timo Meier redirected Couture’s feed to tie the game with 53.7 seconds left.

Pavelski explained, “We are here to win, obviously. We went out on that last shift and the chatter was, we are scoring. We are not going to give up an empty net goal.”’

Fowler recounted, “That last goal is a tough one to give up. I kind of left my man in front, so personally I feel a little responsible for that one.”

Both sides had three shots apiece in overtime.

In the shootout, Adam Henrique’s shot was saved. Pavelski scored after corralling his shot around a spread out Gibson. Rakell hit the post after Couture’s winner.

Game notes: Anaheim’s Kevin Bieska played in his 800th NHL game.

Up Next: The Sharks head back to SAP Center for a three-game road trip, featuring the Arizona Coyotes first Tuesday at 7:30 pm PT.

Sharks give up lead to Oilers, but storm back to win 6-4

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Photo credit: nhl.com/sharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks took a three-goal lead, gave it up and fell behind and then came back to beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-4 at the SAP Center on Saturday night.

In a topsy-turvy contest, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski earned four points, while defenseman Joakim Ryan scored his first two NHL goals, including the game-winner late in the third period. Tomas Hertl and Barclay Goodrow rounded out the Sharks goal-scoring and goalie Aaron Dell made 27 saves for the win.

Zack Kassian scored two goals for the Oilers. The other two coming from Leon Draisaitl and Brandon Davidson. Goalie Al Montoya made 24 saves.

Ryan had waited some time for those goals.

“It took me about 45 games to get a goal so definitely nice to get that first one and then getting that second one is even better,” Ryan said after the game.

Of Ryan, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said:

I was really happy for him. He shows up every day, doesn’t say much, just works hard. You know, we’ve been asking our defensemen all year all of them to get up in the play and help us create offense. You know, playing with Burnzie it’s easy to kind of sit there and just watch him go. It was nice to see Jok take advantage of that. I mean Todd and that staff know Burnzie, you know they really key on him when we play them and tonight Jok recognized that and jumped into a few holes at the right moment and showed a lot of maturity.

The Sharks had an impressive first period. They outshot the Oilers 14-9. Despite taking one penalty, they outdid their opponent in every respect from hits to takeaways.

Joakim Ryan opened the scoring with his first NHL goal just 1:15 in. Joonas Donskoi, deep in the offensive zone, turned quickly and made a pass back to Ryan on the blue line. Ryan’s quick wrist shot was partially screened by Oilers defenders moving in front of their goalie. Assists went to Donskoi and Pavelski.

Pavelski added another at 7:21. Pavelski’s goal was listed as unassisted, but it did get a little help from an official. E88’s pass to E25 seemed to deflect off the official’s skate, making 25 reach to catch it. Then when 25 tried to pass it back to 88, the puck again changed direction in the vicinity of the official’s skate, causing it to go into the side of the net, where Pavelski picked it up and put it in the net.

The Sharks also started the second period well. Jannik Hansen forced a turnover near the Sharks blue line, which allowed Barclay Goodrow to pick up the puck in the neutral zone. He skated into the Oilers’ zone and took his shot from the top of the faceoff circle at 2:30 of the second. It was Goodrow’s fifth goal of the season. Hansen got the lone assist.

At 11:11 of the second period, Chris Tierney and Mikkel Boedker flubbed a two-on-one in the Edmonton zone. The puck ended up in neutral ice and was picked up by Zack Kassian for a breakaway. His goal was unassisted.

After the game, Boedker said: “I tried to make aplay up towards our bench for the guys jumping on. And I missed and unfortunately it ended up in our net. The same with Tierns, he was trying to make a play. Those things happen but we’ve got to limit those mistakes.”

The Sharks got their only power play of the game at 9:46. The Edmonton penalty kill was effective, just like it has always been on the road so far this season.

Aaron Dell faced a Connor McDavid breakaway a couple of minutes after that penalty expired, as he escaped the Sharks in the neutral zone and was almost at the Sharks’ net before anyone caught up to him. Dell was able to get in front of the shot and the rebound was picked up by his defenseman.

The Sharks goaltender was less successful when faced with another breakaway at 14:20. Kassian broke away during a poorly executed change on defense and scored a second goal. Assists went to Yohann Auvitu and Kris Russell.

By 18:02 of the period, the Sharks’ game seemed to be coming entirely unraveled. They had only taken four shots by the time Leon Draisaitl scored Edmonton’s third goal. An assist went to Oscar Klefbom.

The Sharks ended up getting credit for five shots in the second period, while the Oilers had nine, just like they did in the first period.

Just 1:21 into the third period, a Draisaitl pass across the goal mouth found defenseman Brandon Davidson and his shot gave the Oilers their first lead of the game. Assists went to Draisaitl and Michael Cammalleri.

Tomas Hertl responded at 3:41. He scored his 15th of the season with a backhand shot that tied the game. Assists went to Logan Couture and Kevin Labanc.

The Oilers had another chance on the power play at x, when Couture was called for goaltender interference. They had almost killed that off when Brent Burns lost part of his stick and did not seem to realize it. He was called for playing with a broken stick, giving the Oilers a seven second five-on-three.

By the time the Sharks killed those penalties off, there was just under four minutes left in regulation.

With under three minutes left, Ryan scored again. He skated down the slot and took a shot. That one did not go in, but it generated a perfect rebound for his to put home. Assists went to Pavelski and Timo Meier.

At 18:48, Pavelski put the puck in the empty net to give the Sharks a 6-4 lead. Assists went to Tierney and Melker Karlsson.

Jannik Hansen, after sitting out for seven games, drew into the lineup after Joel Ward was sidelined in Thursday’s game against the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Ward’s injury is described as day-to-day and, from the look of the hit, is in the shoulder region.

Up Next: The Sharks next play on Sunday in Anaheim against the Ducks at 5:00 pm PT.

Vegas Still Top of Deck After Third Period Rally; Achieved 5-3 Win Over Sharks

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Matthew Harrington

The Vegas Golden Knights continued their tear through the Pacific Division Thursday night, rallying from a 3-2 deficit in the third period to best the San Jose Sharks 5-3 at the SAP Center.

Vegas rode its trademarks that have them in first place in the Pacific Division in their inaugural season, receiving outstanding goaltending from a now healthy Marc-Andre Fleury and goals from five different players.

Joe Pavelski scored two goals for the Sharks and Timo Meier continued his breakout second half with his 13th goal of the season.

San Jose opened the game with a boost after Joe Pavelski netted his 11th goal of the season 4:40 into a near-perfect first period. The Sharks held Vegas shotless for the majority of the frame, but a blocked shot bounced back to Erik Haula who beat Martin Jones for his 21st goal of the season on Vegas’ first shot at the 14-minute mark of the first.

Karlsson scored just 37 seconds into the second period, but unfortunately for Sharks fans it was William, not Melker. Then came Meier’s 13th goal with Brent Burns pick up his second assist of the game, tying the score 2-2 at the 11:47 mark into the middle frame on the power play.

The man-advantage again struck, with Joe Pavelski tipping home his 12th goal of the campaign 7:45 into the third. Consecutive goals by Brayden McNabb, James Neal and a power play strike from Jonathan Marchessault doomed San Jose in the fateful final frame. In total, the Sharks threw 38 shots on net, while Martin Jones turned aside 28 Golden Knights shots.

Vegas now improves to 2-0 against the Sharks who are 2-4-1 during the absence of top line center Joe Thornton with a knee injury.

San Jose next squares off against wunderkind Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, once reeling but now hitting full stride thanks to their young superstar. The Sharks will have seek revenge for a first round playoff exit last season at the hands of the Western Canadian team.

Sharks can’t get enough offense; Bernier stops 39 shots for 3-1 Avs win

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~ Photo credit: NHL.com

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ The Colorado Avalanche’s Jonathan Bernier posted his best save percentage since January 4 as the San Jose Sharks fell 3-1 Tuesday night at Pepsi Center.

Bernier earned the first star of the game with a .974 save percentage, while the Sharks’ Martin Jones fired 39 shots.

Sharks coach Pete DeBoer joked, “Bernier’d be making $20 million a year if he was playing us every night.”

It was the least amount of shots Jones has faced since January 13 when he was pulled from the game.

With one game left between the teams, the Avalanche clinched the season series with another two-goal win versus San Jose.

Gabriel Bourque, J.T. Compher and Tyson Jost were the Avalanche’s scorers and Joel Ward put the Sharks on the board.

San Jose out-peppered the Avalanche 39-20 and 14-3 in the first period.

Things were looking good as Colorado was held shotless for ¾ of the opening period. The Sharks won faceoffs 72% to 28%, but the Avalanche blocked 11 shots. Four of those blocks came during the Sharks’ power play. San Jose’s Joonas Donskoi and Joe Pavelski each had three shots. Colorado’s Nikita Zadorov had five hits.

The Avalanche swiftly recovered in the second, though, creating an uphill battle for the Sharks.  

Brenden Dillon was on his way out to clear, but fell. Jost recovered the puck at the blue line before passing it to Compher. The swift pass helped enable a 2-on-1, which Compher used to his advantage. With Jones situated near him, Compher passed far side to Bourque, who sent the puck over Jones’ right pad to make it 1-0 at 2:31.

Colorado doubled their lead just over two minutes later using a pretty pass. The puck traveled from Girard at the far faceoff circle to Yakupov at the far blue line to Jost at the near blue line. Jost sped up before shooting past Jones.

San Jose slashed the lead in half at 13:29. Ward scored after the puck went off a defender as Ward hit the goal cam, but the tally was initially waved off. It was Ward’s first goal since November 22.

In the third period, Justin Braun and Jones helped prevent a 3-on-1 attempt. The Sharks’ Timo Meier also fished the puck off the tape to stop a goal.

Compher made it 3-1 with four seconds left with an empty-net goal.

Some of San Jose’s Logan Couture’s comments were, “some mental lapses, they’re a quick team, they’re quick in transition.”

Game notes: The Avalanche were without Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon this time.

The Sharks completed their five-game road trip with a 2-2-1 record.  They will now hold a two-game homestand. First up, the division-leading Vegas Golden Knights Thursday at 7:30pm.

Forgotten defense returns to vintage form, Sharks beat Hurricanes 3-1

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Photo credit: nhl.com/sharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won their second game in a row, 3-1, against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena Sunday afternoon.

The Sharks’ goals came from Brent Burns, Timo Meier and Chris Tierney.

Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell made 29 saves, while Hurricanes goaltender Came Ward made 23 saves in a losing effort. Sebastian Aho scored the lone goal for the Hurricanes.

This second win was big for a road trip that started with losses in Pittsburgh and Detroit.

Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said this improvement is due to a commitment to defense:

Real big commitment, I think right from Pittsburgh, it’s been there. Didn’t get the result in the first couple games, but the effort by the goalies and the team defense it’s created offense for us, created a little bit of momentum. You know, everyone’s buying in, which is important, especially when you’re playing on the road.

Sharks forward Chris Tierney said that consistent defense is part of the team’s identity: “I think we just stuck to our game plan. That’s our identity, being able to win those tight games, tight checking and play well in the third and shut teams down. Just sticking to our game plan and working hard is what we do.”

Aaron Dell described what he saw from his team through the game: “We had lots of support tonight, guys were coming in and giving the other guys options and I think it really showed. We didn’t really give up a whole lot and we got out of our zone pretty easily all night.”

While Dell may have forgotten that the game was played early in the day, he did show up ready to play.

The Sharks opened the scoring just 4:06 into the first period. Timo Meier took a quick pass from Joonas Donskoi just above the goal line. Meier had been trailing the play after Donskoi, Burns and Logan Couture initiated the attack. Meier’s shot beat Cam Ward on the glove side. Assists went to Joonas Donskoi and Brent Burns.

The Hurricanes tied it up at one apiece with 2:02 left in the period. Danny O’Regan was just above the Sharks goal line when he turned the puck over to Jordan Staal. Staal’s pass to Danny Aho set him up perfectly to beat Dell.

The Sharks were not done with the period and regained the lead in the final minute. Melker Karlsson’s pass from the corner found Chris Tierney right in front of the net. He wasted no time and put it away. Assists went to Karlsson and Mikkel Boedker.

San Jose repeated that good start in the second period, but cut it almost in half. Just 2:03 into the middle frame, Brent Burns chased the puck down along the blue line and took a hasty, hard shot at the net. Cam Ward may have been somewhat screened by Barclay Goodrow and Brett Pesce battling in front of him. Assists went to Joel Ward and Joakim Ryan.

Brock McGinn and Brenden Dillon fought at 7:32, which started after a cross-check from Dillon. They went to their respective boxes, and Dillon was joined by Kevin Labanc, serving Dillon’s cross-checking penalty. That was the only penalty of the game, but it did not change the score.

Carolina made a good push at the start of the third, outshooting the Sharks 5-1 in the first six minutes. The Sharks put an end to that with a long shift at the other end, wearing the Hurricane defense down with an unrelenting assault. the Hurricanes broke out of that with a two-on-one but could not turn that into a goal.

Carolina pulled Cam Ward from the net with just over two minutes left in the period but the final score remained 3-1.

The Sharks will finish up this road trip on Tuesday in Denver against the Avalanche at 6:00 pm PT.

Sharks down Blue Jackets 3-1; end four-game losing streak

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Photo credit: nhl.com/sharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 at the Nationwide Arena Friday. It was the Sharks’ first win since Joe Thornton suffered a knee injury four games ago. The Sharks’ goals came from Logan Couture, Kevin Labanc and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 28 saves on 29 shots.

Boone Jenner scored the lone goal for the Blue Jackets. Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovski made 25 saves in a losing effort.

After the game, Martin Jones said:

It was a really strong game for us. This is a pretty tough road trip for us and we weren’t happy getting one point in the first two games. Obviously we thought we could have done a little better. It was a big win for us. I thought it was a really strong road game for us. We did a lot of good little things tonight.

Kevin Labanc has moved onto the first power play unit in Joe Thornton’s absence.

“He knows what he’s doing out there,” Logan Couture said of Labanc. “He put up a lot of points in junior and I’m sure a lot of those were on the power play. So, that usually translates over to the pro league. I didn’t think it’d translate over this quickly but he’s done a great job.”

The Sharks scored the only first period goal at 5:07. The Sharks were on the power play after Matt Calvert was called for tripping Brenden Dillon. Brent Burns was parked in front of Bobrovski when Logan Couture took a shot from the point. The puck might have been deflected by a Columbus player, as there were several between Couture and the goal. Assists went to Kevin Labanc and Tomas Hertl.

The Blue Jackets responded early in the second period with a goal from Boone Jenner. Jenner took a shot from some ways above the faceoff circle that beat Martin Jones on the left side. There were two Sharks defending, including Dylan DeMelo. The shot went off of Demelo’s stick and changed direction slightly on its way to the net. Assists went to Cam Atkinson and Dean Kukan.

The Sharks power play paid off again in the second period. This time with a goal from Kevin Labanc during a 13 second 5-on-3 at 10:20. After an especially contentious faceoff, Pavelski came up with the puck and sent it to Labanc who was waiting, unguarded, right in front of Bobrovsky.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic extended the lead at 6:51 of the third. Justin Braun sent the puck through the neutral zone, where Timo Meier touched it just enough for Vlasic to pick in up on his way into the offensive zone. Vlasic evaded the Columbus defense long enough to get a back hand shot off. The puck went in on the far side as Bobrovsky moved the other way to cover the shot. Assists went to Meier and Braun.

With 7:13 left in the third, Burns sent a puck around the boards and Couture caught it in the mouth and had to leave the ice. He did return to play before the end of the period.

The Blue Jackets had their only power play of the game at 14:34 of the third but failed to score.

Up Next: The Sharks next play on Sunday at 10:00 am PT in Raleigh, North Carolina, against the Hurricanes.