Tag: NHL

NHL Free Agency Opens

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By Mary Walsh

The start of NHL free agency 2015 has been unusually busy for the San Jose Sharks. Just after the draft, they acquired goaltender Martin Jones (3 years at $3m AAV). On Day One of free agency, they signed veteran defenseman Paul Martin (4 years at $4.85m AAV). They have re-signed defenseman Brenden Dillon (5 years at $3.75m AAV). Defenseman Matt Irwin has not been re-signed and seems to be testing the free agent market. As reported by Elliotte Friedman, the Sharks also hired Johan Hedberg as goalie coach.

Over 13 seasons, Hedberg played in 396 NHL games in regular season and playoffs. He played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Dallas Stars, the Vancouver Canucks, the Atlanta Thrashers and most recently the New Jersey Devils. His last NHL game was April 27, 2013. Such a career suggests that he has seen a good number of changes in goaltending and has worked with a number of goalie coaches, including Warren Strelow. After retirement, he worked as a scout for the Devils in 2013-14, and spent last season as goaltending coach for the Albany Devils of the AHL. He should be a good addition to the Sharks coaching staff.

The Sharks have also signed John McCarthy and Bryan Lerg to one year two-way contracts. McCarthy was drafted by the Sharks in the seventh round of the 2006 draft. He spent last season with the St. Louis Blues organization. He was moved in an AHL trade to the Worcester Sharks but was unable to play in the Calder Cup playoffs due to injury. The Sharks also re-signed Bryan Lerg to a one year two-way deal. He played two games with the Sharks, and 68 games with the Worcester Sharks, earning 41 points last season.

Other moves around the NHL:

Former Los Angeles King forward Justin Williams, noted for his success in playoff game sevens, will be leaving the West for the Washington Capitals. Short of adding him to their own roster, this had to be the best outcome for teams in the Western Conference.

One high profile move was Pittsburgh’s acquisition of formidable goal scorer Phil Kessel from the Toronto Maples Leafs. While the move will certainly impact the Penguins, presumably for the better, it is only significant for the Sharks because it means Kessel is not coming west.

The Chicago Blackhawks are in the situation everyone knew they would be in, having to shed salary to meet cap requirements. They were unable to come to terms with Brandon Saad and traded him to the Columbus Blue Jackets. They also let Brad Richards walk, and he walked to Detroit. They did sign Viktor Tikhonov, who has returned from the KHL, and signed Artem Anisimov after acquiring him in the Saad trade from Columbus.

Coyotes do go home after all: Arizona (re)acquired Zbynek Michalek and Antoine Vermette, and signed goaltender Anders Lindback. Michalek was traded to the Blackhawks at the trade deadline last season, and returns to Arizona with a Stanley Cup ring. Michalek was traded at the same time, to the St. Louis Blues. Lindback spent last season with the Dallas Stars, and could be a significant improvement over prior Coyotes backups. Arizona also added forwards Boyd Gordon (another returning Coyote), Brad Richardson and Steve Downie, and defenseman Nicklas Grossmann.

The Los Angeles Kings signed goaltender Jonas Enroth, an interesting move as it breaks with their tradition of having less well-traveled backups for Jonathan Quick. Enroth played very well for the Stars last season, when their regular starter Kari Lehtonen was out with injury. The Kings had already acquired forward Milan Lucic from the Bruins during the draft, in a trade that led to the Sharks being able to get Martin Jones from the Bruins.  Lucic is the sort of forward everyone needs to keep an eye on. The Kings also terminated Mike Richards’ contract but gave no further details about the breach the termination was based on.

The Anaheim Ducks acquired defenseman Kevin Bieksa from the Vancouver Canucks and signed forward Shawn Horcoff. They added goalie Matt Hackett, formerly of the Minesota Wild and the Buffalo Sabres. They also hired former Senators coach Paul MacLean as assistant coach. During draft weekend, they sent Emerson Etem to New York in exchange for Carl Hagelin and picks.

The Vancouver Canucks signed defenseman Taylor Fedun, who played seven games with the Sharks last season, after being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers. Vancouver traded  Zach Kassian to the Montreal Canadiens for Brandon Prust. They signed goalie Richard Bachman, and defenseman Matt Bartkowski.

The Edmonton Oilers won the Cam Talbot sweepstakes, trading three drafts picks and receiving one in return with the coveted goaltender. They then signed two veteran skaters: defenseman Andrej Sekera and center Mark Letestu.

The Colorado Avalanche signed defenseman Francois Beauchemin to a three year contract, and forward Blake Comeau. They traded ryan O’Reilly and Jamie McGinn to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for defenseman Nikita Zadorov, forwards Mikhail Grigorenko and J.T. Compher, and a 2015 2nd-round pick. They did not re-sign Jan Hejda, Daniel Briere or Ryan Wilson.

Other moves of note for Sharks fans:

Thomas Greiss signed a two year deal with the New York Islanders. The Kings and others had inquired, according to Pierre LeBrun. Defenseman Sena Acolatse signed with the Florida Panthers.

Sharks Sign Paul Martin

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By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks have signed Paul Martin to a four year deal, according to Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. The former Penguins defenseman was reportedly sought by a number of teams. A four year contract might be surprising for a 34-year old defenseman, but most teams overpay for the players they get on the first day of free agency. This is why the Sharks have not traditionally gone this route. Sharks GM Doug Wilson must feel that Martin is worth the risk.

Martin started his NHL career with the New Jersey Devils. After five seasons with New Jersey, he was moved mid-season to Pittsburgh where he was a mainstay on the blue line for another five years. Dan Rosen had Martin in his list of top 20 free agents at NHL.com, saying that he can be effective in many roles, including special teams and top pairing. Presumably, the Sharks will not require him to be on the top pair but that versatility certainly added to his value.

Last season, Martin came in 38th league-wide in average ice time, 33rd on the penalty kill and 70th on the power play. On his team, he was second in power play time, third short-handed and second in all ice time to Kris Letang. His defensive numbers suggest that he should be a reliable addition, at least for a couple more seasons.

Sharks Acquire Martin Jones From Bruins

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By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks have acquired goaltender Martin Jones from the Boston Bruins. From the Sharks press release: “Martin was at the top of our list of players that we had targeted,” said Wilson. “We’re extremely excited to have him on board.”

In return, the Sharks gave up a first round pick in the 2016 draft and unsigned prospect Sean Kuraly. Kuraly was drafted in the fifth round in 2011 and is starting his senior year at Miami University.

In 2013-14, Jones won his first eight NHL starts to tie an NHL record. In that span, he was the first NHL goalie to average less than a goal a game in that win streak. The 6’4″, 25 year old goalie spent the majority of the past few seasons playing with the AHL Manchester Monarchs. In 2013-14, he played 19 games with the Kings, and this past season he played 13 games. Three of those appearances were against the Sharks: a win and two losses, one in relief of Jonathan Quick.

In the most recent World Championships, Jones started and won twice for Canada, helping the team earn the gold medal. His World Junior team won the silver medal in 2010, and he was named to the AHL All Star teams in 2011 and 2014.

Boston acquired Jones in a draft weekend trade from the Los Angeles Kings, along with a 2015 first round pick and defenseman Colin Miller in exchange for Milan Lucic. Jones was originally signed by the Kings as a free agent in 2008.

The Sharks also announced that they have issued qualifying offers to goalie Aaron Dell and forward Daniil Tarasov. By issuing the offers, the team retains negotiating rights to both players. The sharks did not issue offers to forwards Eriah Hayes and Rylan Schwartz, goalie JP Anderson, and defenseman Taylor Doherty. Those four players become unrestricted free agents.

McLellan to Coach Oilers, Babcock Decision Soon

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By Mary Walsh

As predicted by many, the Edmonton Oilers named Todd McLellan as their new head coach. McLellan and Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli spoke in a press conference Tuesday. Of his decision to join the Oilers, McLellan said:

When it came down to it, there’s a number of tremendous opportunities that exist in the National Hockey League right now and there’s a great coaching pool out there. After meeting with Peter and asking him… well, we asked each other some pretty direct questions. I liked the answer and the direction that Peter was taking the conversation and obviously Peter liked my end of it so we took it from there.

A lot of times when you’re a coach and you’re going to join a team, the manager’s been in place for a number of years and he has and idea of the organization. We’re both in it together here brand new. And I think that’s a good thing right now. We get to leave our mark, and we get to formulate an identity without any preconceived notions of individuals or partners on the D or lines anything like that. It’s brand new, everybody gets a fresh start.

With a new general manager and new head coach, the Oilers can look forward to a change of fortune in the coming seasons. In one respect their fortunes have not changed at all, as they are expected to use the first overall draft pick this summer to choose Connor McDavid. McLellan will have a formidable offensive corps to work with, though the team has had some issues on defense.

Another team that has struggled over the past several seasons is the Buffalo Sabres. Reports have them meeting with Mike Babcock to fill their head coach position. Babcock was to talk to the Sharks this week, and the St Louis Blues have also been in play. It is still possible that he will decide to remain with Detroit. Babcock told Pierre LeBrun that he wants to make his decision by Wednesday.

The Sharks have also met with Dan Bylsma, who last served as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Another possibility is Peter DeBoer, who was head coach of the Florida Panthers and the New Jersey Devils. Another name that came up in TSN’s list is Dave Lowry, 2013-14 WHL Coach of the Year. Of his candidacy, he said “it is all rumors.” Read more about that here.

The list of coaching possibilities for the Sharks is no doubt longer than rumors can gauge. In some cases, like Babcock and Bylsma, permission has to be given by the coach’s previous employer to speak to them. In cases where no such permission is needed, it is harder for news to leak out.

It does seem that Wilson may decide on a hire sooner than later. It would be to everyone’s benefit if the new head coach were in place before the draft.

Todd McLellan at Top of Oilers’ List

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By Mary Walsh

There is good reason to suppose that Todd McLellan will be the next coach of the Edmonton Oilers. At the end of the season, McLellan stated that his immediate focus would be his job as coach of Team Canada at the World Championships, so it is reasonable to assume he won’t announce a decision before that job is done. He did meet with the Oilers during the tournament, and there have been no reports of in person meetings with any other team.

McLellan has had a chance to work with some of the Oilers (Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle) this month. He has also been coaching some Flyers (Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier) and other players on NHL teams that are looking for new coaches. One could imagine that announcing his choice before the end of the tournament could be a distraction for his players. That would be regrettable, as the team is having a better tournament than they have had in years. Saturday, they defeated the Czech team 2-0 for a spot in the gold medal game Sunday. It was Canada’s first shutout of the Czechs in the world championships since 1958.

Coaching Team Canada has been just the ticket for McLellan. He anticipated a positive experience, and he is having one. He told the Edmonton Sun’s Terry Jones:

When I went through my departure with the Sharks in San Jose it was emotional and it was empty. To come here, it was like getting refreshed again. With a different coaching staff, different people, a different approach, and a different country has been a really good experience.

As for what comes next, back in Aprils McLellan explained what he is looking for in his next head coaching position:

I would like to coach a great group of hockey players next year. And Connor McDavid, everybody is talking about him and his ability to come and have an impact. I’m assuming that the Oilers will pick him number one. But. one thing that I have learned: you can have the best player and still not have the best team. It’s about team, it’s about a group, it’s about the whole organization, the culture of the organization and Connor is going to be a very exciting player to watch, again I’m assuming in Edmonton, and he’ll have an impact on the league for years and years to come. But it’s often bigger, the bigger story is the group as a whole.

Edmonton may not seem like everyone’s idea of an ideal destination, but McLellan might be the coach to turn that around. The Oilers have a lot of forward talent and they have a new arena in the pipeline. Edmonton is also a little closer to California and McLellan’s family is staying in San Jose for the time being. Being a time zone or two closer to home can make a difference.

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Also in Prague this weekend, defenseman Brent Burns was named one of Team Canada’s bext three players of the tournament. Claude Giroux and Mike Smith were the other two. Ben Smith has two goals for Team USA in the tournament. Tomas Hertl has been conspicuously absent from the Czech bench, twice listed in the lineup only to not play. He was listed in the lineup for the games against Latvia on May 2nd and on May 14th against Finland, but saw no ice time in either game. In the bronze medal game Sunday, Hertl was not in the lineup.

Playoffs Over For Sharks, World Championships Underway

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By Mary Walsh

The dust has settled around the Sharks’ 2014-15 season, Todd McLellan will be choosing another team to coach, Doug Wilson will continue as San Jose general manager. Brent Burns was named a finalist for the NHL Foundation Player Award, for his work with Defending the Blue Line. The Sharks are negotiating an extension with the City of San Jose, so rumors that the team plans to leave town should die down.

The Worcester Sharks played their final game on Friday against the Hershey Bears. The Sharks lost in fairly spectacular fashion, giving up ten goals to the Bears while scoring four. Barclay Goodrow, Nikolay Goldobin, Daniil Tarasov, Brian Lerg and Chris Tierney were all on the playoff roster for Worcester. In the series, Tierney had a goal and two assists, Tarasov had three assists, and Goodrow and Lerg each had one assist. Rookie goaltender Aaron Dell started three of the four games, while Troy Grosenick started one. It was a regrettable final appearance for the Worcester Sharks. Next season, they move to San Jose to play at SAP Center as the San Jose Barracuda.

Sharks owner Hasso Plattner published a statement of confidence in his GM, in which he addressed the fans directly. Plattner also expressed disappointment with the team’s recent failures. The letter came soon after Doug Wilson’s press conference, where he was asked if Plattner would be available to the media. Someone did suggest Plattner might address fans directly, maybe the letter was a response to that. In any case, Plattner continues to have little interest in discussing his decisions with the press.

Offseason changes that Sharks fans can expect will probably include a new starting goaltender. That Niemi was not resigned before the end of the season is strong evidence of that. Hardly any Sharks veteran gets this close to free agency and returns to the team.

In the choice of a new coach, Wilson has said that he will take the time he needs. It is odd that he did not even suggest he would like a new coach before the draft. He might not necessarily need his head coach’s input for drafting prospects. What one would expect the coach to participate in would be trade activity that happens around the draft. Perhaps Wilson has no intention of making any trades for players. Some might consider that an ill omen for next season.

Todd McLellan is currently in the Czech Republic coaching Team Canada at the world championships, with Brent Burns on his roster. For those wondering, Burns is listed as a defenseman for Canada. Canada has played two games so far, winning 6-1 against Latvia and 10-0 against Germany. Burns had an assist in the game against Latvia, and against Germany.

Tomas Hertl and Ben Smith are there too, playing for the Czech Republic and the USA respectively. The Czechs lost 6-5 to Sweden and defeated Latvia 4-2. Hertl had a goal in the game against Sweden.  The USA has won their two games, beating Finland 5-1 and Norway 2-1.

Sharks prospect Nikita Jevpalov was named to the roster for Latvia. Poor Latvia has not won yet, losing to the Czechs and the Canadians as listed above. Jevpalov has not played yet.

Sharks and McLellan Agree to Part Ways

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By Mary Walsh

After seven season, the San Jose Sharks announced that they were parting ways with head coach Todd McLellan. From Monday’s press release:

The San Jose Sharks and Todd McLellan have mutually agreed to part ways.

In related moves, Assistant Coaches Jim Johnson and Jay Woodcroft, and Video Coordinator Brett Heimlich have been relieved of their duties. Associate Coach Larry Robinson moved into his full-time role of director of player development at the conclusion of the 2014-15 regular season.

‘I want to thank Todd and his staff for their years of service to the San Jose Sharks organization,” said Wilson. “Sometimes a change is best for all parties involved but nothing will take away from what Todd and his staff ccomplished here over the last seven seasons.’

It seemed like time for Todd McLellan to move on last summer, so it is hardly surprising that he is doing so now. It is equally understandable that the Sharks did not ask him to go last season. The Sharks have the more difficult work ahead: finding a new coach will be harder than finding a new situation for McLellan. His options are probably not limited to those teams that have already fired their coaches likeToronto, Philadelphia or Buffalo. Several teams might consider firing their current coach if they can convince McLellan to join them.

In a conference call Monday morning, McLellan was asked if he has given thought to where he will go next:

Today is an emotional day, as I mentioned, with family, and my mind is in a lot of different places right now. I think finishing off what was happening here in San Jose, and getting ready for a new adventure is something I’ll be looking forward to. I don’t know what will happen over the next week but I do know Friday my son and I are getting on a plane … and Jay Woodcroft I should include in that, are going to get on a plane and we’re going over to Europe to make a real strong committment to Team Canada and its effort over there. I look forward to meeting new players, new people, new staff. I think it’s exciting and a little bit refreshing or invigorating for me to be doing that now. Where I go from here, I guess I somewhat control but there’s other people out there that have to make decisions. I’m comfortable with my career as a coach so far, I don’t have any regrets here in San Jose and I feel good moving forward.

Was this really a mutual parting of the ways? Did the Sharks ask McLellan to leave? “I participated in the decision, I definitely did.” He continued:

The hardest part for me was the players and the staff, because they’re like family members, and then at home, my family. At the end of the year I mentioned that I have to come home and discuss it with my family, get my family together. When we sat down it wasn’t about loading up the moving truck and leaving. We like San Jose, we’re passionate about the community, we have a lot of good friends here. My youngest son is deeply entrenched in his high school and is involved in a number of programs there. So our discussion was can we do this being apart from each other, not packing the moving van but can we be apart. That was a huge priority for me. So my wife and two boys sat down and we really talked about it and we made a decision that we thought we could do this.

McLellan was asked by various reporters about his next destination. I thought that the most telling answer was to Edmonton’s Jim Matheson. Matheson asked if he would like to coach Connor McDavid:

I would like to coach a great group of hockey players next year. And Connor McDavid, everybody is talking about him and his ability to come and have an impact. I’m assuming that the Oilers will pick him number one. But. one thing that I have learned: you can have the best player and still not have the best team. It’s about team, it’s about a group, it’s about the whole organization, the culture of the organization and Connor is going to be a very exciting player to watch, again I’m assuming in Edmonton, and he’ll have an impact on the league for years and years to come. But it’s often bigger, the bigger story is the group as a whole.

Sharks Lose 5-1 in Final Home Game of Season

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– In their last home game of the season, the San Jose Sharks fell to the Dallas Stars 5-1. Before the game finished, both the Sharks and Stars were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. The Winnipeg Jets defeated the Minnesota Wild, putting the Jets out of reach for Dallas or San Jose. The Los Angeles Kings obliged the Sharks by losing in overtime to Vancouver. That makes it just possible that the Sharks could have the opportunity to play spoilers to the Kings’ last minute scramble into the 2015 playoffs. Probably that is not much motivation for the Sharks today. It is not clear what would motivate the Sharks at this point.

Joe Thornton scored the Sharks’ only goal on Monday. Jamie Benn scored the game winner for Dallas. Jason Demers was roundly applauded by the Sharks fans when he was featured on the jumbotron. The Sharks gave away a lot of signed jerseys and gifts for fan appreciation night. It is possible that those last two facts are more significant than the first two.

It did not matter, as far as playoffs go, who won Monday. Still, one team was more eager to win than the other.

28 seconds into the game, Jason Demers took a shot from the blue line. Al Stalock stopped it but kicked it out to Colton Sceviour, who was waiting, unmolested, between the blue paint and the faceoff circle. Sceviour scored, assists went to Demers and Vernon Fiddler. A few seconds later, Mike Brown and Antoine Roussel fought. They both went to the box and the score was still 1-0 Stars.

The Sharks took the first penalty of the game, a tripping penalty to Melker Karlsson. The Sharks killed the penalty off and by the midpoint of the period, they were near even on the shot clock.

At 9:51, Mike Brown was called for charging Trevor Daley, a call that did not go over well with the crowd or Brown. The hit was a beat late but Daley did just release the puck. The hostile encounter with Roussel just after the hit on Daley could have been called roughing, but the ref opted to go with the hit on Daley. The Sharks killed that penalty too.

The Sharks finally got a power play when Shawn Horcoff went to the box for holding the stick at 14:21. The power play generated some good chances but did not change the score.

The Sharks went back on the penalty kill with just 2:50 left in the period. Barclay Goodrow was in the box for elbowing Tyler Seguin. While everyone was mulling over that call, the Stars scored. They had some help from a couple of Sharks skaters who crowded their own goalie and did not help him out. Patrick Eaves had a clear shot at the net, though Logan Couture did try to impeded him from behind. Eaves got the goal, with assists going to Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza.

At the end of the first, the score was 2-0 Stars, with the Stars leading on the shot clock 11-9.

The Sharks made it to 6:12 of the second period without taking another penalty or giving up another goal. This time, Joe Pavelski went to the box for hooking. Al Stalock was not happy about the call, since he had just gotten a shoulder to the face from a falling Dallas Star. Perhaps the officials felt the hook caused the fall. In any case, back to the penalty kill went the Sharks.

With 46 seconds left in that penalty, Brent Burns joined Pavelski in the box for slashing. It was a fairly blatant slash, breaking Eaves’ stick.

Logan Couture, Justin Braun, Brenden Dillon and Al Stalock managed to kill 26 seconds of the five on three, but with 20 seconds left, Jamie Benn scored from the faceoff circle. Assists went to Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza.

At 11:29, Shawn Horcoff went to the box for interference. The Sharks power play looked stymied by the Stars’ penalty killers and spent too much time chasing rushes the other way. In the final two seconds of the power play, one of those short handed rushes trapped two Stars in the Sharks’ zone while Chris Tierney went the other way with the puck. He dropped it to Thornton at the Stars’ blue line and charged ahead one on two to add to a screen in front of Jhonas Enroth. Joe Thornton followed him in and shot through the three-man wall to put the Sharks on the board. The assist went to Tierney.

At the end of the second period, the Stars led 3-1 and 20-15 in shots.

Just over four minutes in to the third period, the Sharks showed some life on a delayed penalty, maintaining control of the puck in the Stars’ zone for over 20 seconds before the whistle blew and their power play officially began. They did not score on that power play.

Tommy Wingels went to the box for boarding at 9:15. The highlight of that penalty kill, possibly the second best Sharks play of the game, was a short-handed breakaway by Barclay Goodrow and Chris Tierney. They didn’t score but they looked very dangerous.

Their efforts did not go unnoticed. A shift from the Thornton line followed and they looked rejuvenated. That was not enough to change the course of the game, but it did help slow the Stars down.

The Sharks held the Stars scoreless for 15:08 of the period. With 4:52 left in the game, Patrick Eaves evaded Brenden Dillon along the boards in the Sharks zone. He was clear just long enough to get a pass to Jamie Benn, who was loitering below the faceoff circle. 4-1 Stars.

With the three-goal lead, Ryan Garbutt decided it would be a good idea to elbow Matt Irwin in the neck as the Sharks defenseman skated into the Dallas zone. The Sharks power play did not score.

Ryan Garbutt did score at 18:00, on a breakaway with a backhand.

The Stars took another penalty with 37.3 seconds left in regulation. Shawn Horcoff went to the box for the third time, this time for goaltender interference.

Final score 5-1 Dallas. Shots 25-24 Dallas.

Matt Irwin led the Sharks in shots with six. Mike Brown and Tommy Wingels led the team in hits with four each. Karl Stollery and Brenden Dillon led in blocked shots with four each. Al Stalock made 20 saves on 25 shots.

Jason Spezza and Jamie Benn led the Stars in shots with four each. Antoine Roussel led the Stars in hits with three. Jyrki Jokipakka led in blocked shots with four. Jhonas Enroth made 23 saves for the win.

The Sharks next play in Edmonton on Thursday at 6:30 PT.

Sharks Defeat Coyotes 3-1

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– In their continuing quest to remain in the playoff hunt, the San Jose Sharks beat the Arizona Coyotes 3-1 on Saturday. Of the last couple of wins, Joe Pavelski said “We just haven’t had the big turnovers, that’s the biggest thing, through the middle of the ice. It’s allowed us to go forecheck, and when we forecheck and roam around that o-zone that’s effective for us.”

Early in the first period, the game looked like it was setting up to be a rout. The Sharks scored their first goal 58 seconds into the game. By the middle of the period, the Sharks had a two goal lead and were ahead in shots 11-1. The pace had to slow down, and it did. By the end of the period, the Sharks had not scored again and had added a paltry five shots to their tally, while the Coyotes had trebled theirs.

The Sharks did not regain that first period dominance but never let the Coyotes draw even in any aspect of the game. Sharks goals were scored by Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski and Matt Nieto. Antti Niemi made 20 saves for the win, while Coyotes goalie Louis Domingue made 34 saves for the Coyotes. The lone Coyote goal was scored by Marc Arcobello.

After taking control of the puck in the neutral zone, Patrick Marleau found Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture on their way into the Coyotes’ zone. Hertl drew the defender to him, and was able to get a pass to Couture despite the Coyote stick in front of him. Couture caught the pass with his skate and shot it quickly to open the scoring 58 seconds into the game.

A couple of minutes later, B.J. Crombeen was called for hooking against Brenden Dillon. The Sharks racked up some shots on that power play but did not score until a minute after it expired. Couture sent the puck to Marleau near the goal line, who passed it back up to Pavelski, who was waiting just below the faceoff circle. Pavelski shot it into the top corner with emphasis.

The Coyotes got the puck past Niemi at 5:51, but it was called no goal as David Moss pushed the puck into the net with his hand, while falling over Niemi.

At the ten minute mark of the first period, shots were 11-1 Sharks.

With 3:52 left in the first, the Coyotes went on the power play and Matt Nieto went to the box for a high stick. One of the Coyotes’ better chances on the power play was foiled when Martin Erat mishandled the puck and could not get a shot off though he had some room to do it. The Sharks did not allow the Coyotes any shots on their power play.

At the end of the first period, the Sharks still led 2-0 and a 16-3 lead on the shot clock.

The Sharks added a shot to that count in the first minutes of the second but it was the Coyotes who scored on their fifth shot of the game. Marc Arcobello sent the puck at the net where Tobias Reider was waiting to knock it in. Reider did not get the chance as the puck went off of Brent Burns past Niemi to make it 2-1.

By the middle of the second period, the Coyotes had clearly stopped the bleeding. They were keeping with the Sharks on the shot clock at six apiece. The shot count for the period was 10-7 Sharks.

The Sharks’ third period was no return to their first period dominance, but they did achieve some symmetry at the half way mark, when the shot clock read 31-13 Sharks. Beyond that, the period was fairly uneventful.

The teams played four on four at when Brenden Dillon and Tye McGinn went to the box with matching roughing minors.  Before that was over, Matt Nieto extended the Sharks lead with an impressive backhand shot while being pressured by two Coyotes in front of the net. Assists went to Chris Tierney and Matt Irwin.

Seconds later, the Coyotes reduced their numbers by one, giving the Sharks a seven second four on three power play. Michael Stone took a seat next to McGinn in the penalty box, for high sticking.

The balance of the Sharks power play was spent chasing down a lot of short-handed chances, but the Coyotes did not score on any of them.

Karl Stollery led the Sharks in hits with four. (He also had three shots and two blocked shots and a takeaway), Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture each had five shots on goal and Taylor Fedun led the team in blocked shots.

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Lineup notes: Mike Brown made a return to the lineup after missing 47 games with a leg fracture. Rookie Karl Stollery made his San Jose debut on the blue line after being called up Thursday. It was his eighth NHL game over two seasons. The Sharks acquired him from the Colorado Avalanche at the March 2 trade deadline.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Mirco Mueller and Scott Hannan were all out of the lineup with injuries. John Scott was a scratch.

The Sharks play the Coyotes again on Saturday at 6:00 PT in Glendale, Arizona.

 

Sharks Finish Road Trip With Shootout Loss to Penguins

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By Mary Walsh

For the second time this season, the Sharks and the Penguins went to a shootout to resolve a tied score. This time, the Penguins prevailed, jumping over the New York Islanders for second place in the Metropolitan Division. The Sharks earned a single point but despite having a four on three power play for most of overtime, they could not grab the extra point that they urgently needed to keep fighting for a playoff spot. On the bright side, Al Stalock was featured in the NBC save of the game. Stalock was starting the second of back to back games, after playing Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia.

The shootout winner was scored by Pittsburgh’s David Perron. Patric Hornqvist and Chris Kunitz also scored for Pittsburgh. Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves on 32 shots for the win. Ben Smith and Logan Couture scored for the Sharks and Al Stalock made 31 saves on 33 shots for the Sharks.

The Sharks were without defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, so Taylor Fedun was called up to fill the empty spot on the blue line. The Penguinswere also missing some key players. They only had five defensemen after Kris Letang sustained a concussion on Saturday.

The Sharks held their own for the first minutes of the game, but gave up two goals in a 56 second span mindway through the first period. At 7:08 of the first, Patric Hornqvist opened the scoring off his own rebound. After some tenacious play behind the net, Daniel Winnick got the puck ahead of the goal line. Hornqvist and Sidney Crosby were hovering around in front of the blue paint to make something happen. They did. Assists went to Winnick and Ian Cole.

33 seconds later, Taylor Fedun took Evgeni Malkin down with a hook. It was difficult to see why Malkin fell, but the hook was called and the Sharks went on the penalty kill. The eighth ranked Pittsburgh power play did not take long to score. In less than 30 seconds, the Penguins had the Sharks moved out of position and heavy on the right side. This gave Crosby plenty of time to draw Stalock to the left and then pass to Kunitz on Stalock’s right. Crosby’s pass went under Brenden Dillon’s stick as the Sharks defenseman attempted to help his goalie out. The goal was scored by Kunitz with assists to Crosby and Derrick Pouliot.

The Sharks stopped the bleeding for the rest of the first, and ended up outshooting the Penguins 12-9. Melker Karlsson was hit in the hand by a shot from Brent Burns late in the period but he was back on the ice for the second period.

The Sharks cut the lead in half when Barclay Goodrow controlled the puck on the half boards long enough to pass it to Justin Braun at the point. Braun took a quick shot that Ben Smith deflected past Marc-Andre Fleury’s shoulder and in. Assists went to Braun and Goodrow.

The Sharks had their first power play opportunity at 11:06 of the second when Maxim Lapierre was called for hooking. The Sharks did not get a shot on goal during the power play. They had another chance at 14:53 of the same period when Ben Lovejoy was called for cross-checking Chris Tierney. This time, Logan Couture made the most of the situation and scored at 15:38. After one failed zone entry, the Sharks regrouped quickly and Brent Burns’ neutral zone pass caught Patrick Marleau, who was able to hand it off cleanly to Couture who was moving to the net. Assists went to Marleau and Brent Burns.

At the end of the second, the Penguins had edged ahead of the Sharks on the shot clock 20-19.

The Sharks had another power play early in the third period when Crosby tripped Brent Burns in the Sharks’ zone. Brent Burns created one good chance carrying the puck into the zone and getting it in front of the net, but the Penguins’ penalty killers did not give the Sharks any room to work. The score remained tied.

The Sharks took the next penalty, a high-sticking call against Tommy Wingels at 12:51 of the third. San Jose’s penalty killers were more effective this time, clearing the puck more than once and, obviously, not allowing another goal against.

A penalty against Pittsburgh followed right on the heels of their power play, when Nick Spaling went to the box for holding. The Sharks could not take the lead with the power play and the next best scoring chance went to the Penguins’ David Perron but the buzzer sounded.

A play by Justin Braun almost ended the game early in OT but Marleau could not get his stick on it before the Penguins cleared it away from the crease and out. The Sharks came back in quickly. In a battle along the boards to keep the puck in, Hornqvist caught Brent Burns in the mouth with his stick. He did look remorseful, as he had been trying to lift Burns’ stick and not cut him in the face. In any case, Hornqvist went to the box for a four minute power play.

The Sharks started the four on three power play with a Thornton shot off the post. Pavelksi shot next, then Couture opted not to shoot. That was probably the tidiest part of the extended power play. The Penguins seemed to find their rythm and pushed the puck out a few times. One interesting hiccup came when the puck looked like it was going out but Burns kept it in with his body. Unsure whether it had been kept in, several players loitered near it as if expecting a whistle.

Sharks coach Toddd McLellan used his timeout to rest his players after the next stoppage, instead of changing his four man power play unit. The strategy did not pay off and the Penguins killed the penalty. Their fans gave them a standing ovation for their efforts. The final shot count after overtime was 33-32 Penguins.

David Perron went first in the shootout. After a careful hesitation, he beat Stalock with a backhand to give Pittsburgh the lead. Melker Karlsson shot next but lost the puck after faking a shot.

Sidney Crosby shot second for the Penguins and scored. Logan Couture shot second for the Sharks but hit the post.

Final score: 3-2 Penguins.

Logan Couture led the Sharks in shots with seven. Brent Burns led the Sharks in hits with three and ice time with 26:08. Brenden Dillon led the team with three blocked shots. The Sharks had a slight edge in the faceoff circle, winning 36 to the Penguins’ 33. Tommy Wingels had the best faceoff win percentage on the team with 60%, but he only took five faceoffs. Joe Pavelski won 9 of 16 for a win percentage of 56%. Pittsburgh’s Maxim Lapierre beat pretty much everyone most of the time, winning 93% of 14 faceoffs, against a variety of opponents.

The Sharks return home to play at 7:30 PT on Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche.