Tag: NHL

Burns shines in Sharks victory over Ducks

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By Ivan Makarov

SAN JOSE, CA — Tied for points in the standings in the Pacific Division, San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks faced each other at the SAP Center on Thursday night in what was going to be one of the most important games in this stretch of the season. With both teams coveting the home ice advantage in playoffs, the tension was high. Sharks biggest stars rose to the occasion, powered by a great performance by Brent Burns, and defeated the Ducks 3-2, coming from behind.

Down 2-1 in the third period, Sharks did not despair, being the veteran team that they are. Brent Burns and Joe Thornton got out on a 2-on-1 breakaway, with Burns holding the puck. He shot it on the net, as any good forward should in this situation. Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen made the save, but the rebound fell to Thornton who put it just over Anderson who failed to make the save while still laying on the ice.

It was a big play from Burns who was flying all over the ice all night long, creating scoring chances, trying to finish them and throwing big hits all around.

“It’s so easy to play with him,” said Thornton of Brent Burns. “He just goes, he’s just a beast out there. Nobody can handle his size and his speed. It forced you to keep up with him because he’s going so fast. It’s great to watch.”

McLellan was likewise pleased with Burns.

“He is a wrecking ball, and a one man wrecking crew when he plays that way. His physically showed early in the game. I thought he finished his checks. That wasn’t even part of the offensive attack or anything like that.  He established himself as a man early and decided to play that way. It was nice to see him rewarded and the team.”

Sharks’ big defenseman-turned-forward Burns didn’t stop there and went on to score the game winning goal with four minutes left in the game, deflecting Joe Thornton’s shot in front of the net.

“I just saw Burnzie’s big body in front and decided to throw it in there, “ said Thornton. “It was lucky it hit off and he put it in the back of the net.”

Before Sharks were down, they were ahead at the start of the game.

Sharks were the first one to score in this game. Luca Sbisa took a bad penalty when he crossed checked Tommy Wingers into the boards with the puck nowhere near the two players, but with the referee watching. Sharks made him pay the price when Patrick Marleau scored his 29th goal of the season in front of the net after a good setup by Joe Thornton.

Ducks came back and also scored a power play when Marc-Eduard Vlasic was in the penalty box for questionable interference call when Teemu Selanne fell down on the ice in front of him. Mathieu Perreault was the goalscorer on the play as he put the puck into the net from close range. Selanne scored early in the third period to give the Ducks 2-1 lead, but it didn’t stand, and Sharks went on to win.

San Jose Sharks are now in the sole possession of the first place in the Pacific Division – the lead they have not held since early December. They are next on the ice on Saturday when they host Washington Capitals.

Sharks stunned by Panthers at home

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By Ivan Makarov

One thing that’s been odd and puzzling about San Jose Sharks season thus far is how poorly they have played against Eastern Conference outsiders, especially at home. With the losses to Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders, it came as no surprise when another Eastern bottom dweller gave Sharks a hard time, this time the team being Florida Panthers.

With only 25 wins in 68 games before the match up at SAP Center (compared to Sharks’ 45 wins on the season), Florida walked away with a 3-2 victory on Tuesday night in front of the sellout crowd. Scoring three goals in the second period, that’s all they needed to stop the six game winning streak by the Sharks.

Scottie Upshall, Quinton Howden and Brandon Pirri scored for the visiting team while Marty Havlat and Brent Burns scored for the Sharks.

On top of that, it was a stellar night in goal for Sharks’ familiar foe Roberto Luongo who was a frequent visitor to San Jose when he was playing with Vancouver Canucks before being traded to Florida only two weeks ago in the trade deadline transaction. Luongo made 52 saves (28 of them in the third period alone!) to preserve the victory.

How do Sharks explain the losses to some of these weaker teams?

“It’s tough to explain,” said Logan Couture after the game. “We knew going in that they were going to come out and they were going to work. I think we have more talent in this room than they have in theirs. But in the first two periods they outworked us.”

Coach Todd McLellan agreed.

“I was really disappointed, and I’m sure [the players] would tell you they are too. We started average and didn’t get better and then fell asleep. There wasn’t a lot of emotion in the game and drive from our behalf. We fell asleep and then tried to get desperate in the end. It doesn’t matter what league you’re in, you can’t win like that. We’ve talked about this a lot of times already, with teams who may be not in the playoffs, and we keep shooting ourselves in the foot. Until we fix that, we’re probably going to end up with the same results.”

The game itself was indeed the tale of the two different performances like the two of them described – the lackadaisical first two periods, and the desperate game in the third period.

After uneventful first period, San Jose were the first team with the the lead in the game after Marty Havlat opened the score with his eighth goal of the season which he scored on the power play at the start of the second period, as he fired the puck on a slap shot above the face-off circle. But it was the second half of that period that decided the game when Florida scored three goals in a row.

The first two goals came within 17 seconds of each other, which had to be frustrating for the Sharks. The third goal came with only 15 seconds remaining in the period. Sharks were outshot in that period and did not look like the team that have won 10 out of the last 12 games.

“In the first two [periods] we were cheating ourselves,” said Couture. “We were trying to look for offensive chances, leaving the zone. Too many mistakes.”

After some adjustments in the second intermission the Sharks looked like they got their legs back, and they began playing faster hockey, putting more shots on goal and breaking through Florida’s stingy defense. They outshot them 29-2 in that period, and had four power play chances, including a 51-second long 5-on-3 advantage. But when even when presented with good scoring chances, Sharks did not capitalize on them, as Luongo was sharp and focused in goal.

Sharks did score one goal with three minutes remaining in the game, but the big scramble afterward did not lead to any more goals.

If there was one positive on Tuesday night for the Sharks it was that their main divisional opponent this season Anaheim Ducks also lost playing at home against Washington Capitals, failing to advance on the Sharks in the standings. The two teams will now face each other on Thursday back at the SAP Center.

Sharks Shut Out Rangers

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By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks finished up their three game road trip with a 1-0 win against the hungry New York Rangers. New York is in a close battle for a playoff position, just two points ahead of the Washington Capitals for the last wild card spot in the East. The Sharks were outshot 41-29 but San Jose goaltender Antti Niemi rose to the occasion. His 41 saves set a new franchise record for saves in a shut-out. His work was well-appreciated:

@jasondemers5: There’s a new king of New York and he ain’t swedish! #31isastud #suomi

This was the first time the Sharks shut out the Rangers. To make the win more exceptional, the lone goal in the game was a short-handed goal. That Logan Couture scored it was less unusual, but it was still a significant win.

Just over a minute into the game, Brent Burns was called for interference against the Rangers’ Brad Richards. At the midpoint of the first period, the Sharks were already being outshot 14-3. To make matters worse, Scott Hannan took a tripping penalty at 9:02. With all of that going against the Sharks, it was very surprising that the Sharks scored first.

As soon as the second Sharks penalty kill started, Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau charged into the Rangers’ zone for a short-handed chance. Under a minute later, Logan Couture beat two Rangers skaters and their goaltender for a short-handed goal. It was the Sharks’ seventh shot of the game. Couture managed to lift the puck over Henrik Lundqvist despite losing his footing and shooting from a seated position. As the only goal of the game, it was a good one.

The Sharks had the first four shots of the second period, keeping the Rangers mostly on their heels for the first three minutes.

The Sharks got their first power play at 8:52 of the second, after Derek Stepan was called for roughing against Pavelski. The Sharks applied some pressure but it did not represent much of a change of pace from their second period even-strength play.

The last five minutes of the period saw the Rangers pushing back. With 4:12 left in the second, the Sharks got very lucky when a cross-ice pass found Ryan McDonagh with an open net. Marc-Edouard Vlasic just managed to get his stick on the shot.

With 3:15 left in the second, the Rangers appeared to have scored, but the referee called it no goal. No camera angle could definitively overrule it. It was the first time this season that the Sharks benefitted from that type of call.

The second period ended with the Rangers leading 27-21 in shots, though the Sharks lead 10-7 for the period.

The Rangers came out fast in the third. A chance for Stepan was just thwarted by a block from Dan Boyle. Seconds later, Carl Hagelin had a very good chance that Niemi had to come way out of the crease to cover.

With just over eight minutes left in regulation, a Sharks give-away gave Brad Richards a great chance on an open net but he missed. The Sharks responded with Matt Nieto and Patrick Marleau going the other way, two on one. A questionable non-call helped quell that scoring chance.

Neither team could sustain much pressure in the second half of the third. The game became a series of one-and-dones with a minimum of whistles to break them up. Through the period, the Rangers outshot the Sharks 14-8.

It was a good sign to see James Sheppard centering Tommy Wingels and Martin Havlat again. That could be the first time this season that the same three players were on the Sharks’ third line three games in a row. If it has been done this season, it was a long time ago.

It was not a good sign to see Raffi Torres out again for a fourth game in a row. McLellan said before the game that they would see how Torres felt in the warm up, and if he felt well enough he would play (-Working the Corners). Luckily, the team has their game in hand. The Sharks are again even in points with the Division-leading Ducks, though the Ducks still have a game in hand over the Sharks.

Tyler Kennedy drew back into the lineup, replacing Mike Brown on the fourth line.

Patrick Marleau lead the Sharks in shots on goal with six. Jason Demers lead in ice time with 22:05. Ryan McDonagh lead the Rangers with six shots, and in ice time with 27:18. The three stars went to Antti Niemi, Henrik Lundqvist and Logan Couture.

The Sharks next play at 7:30 on Tuesday, in San Jose against the visiting Florida Panthers.

Third Line Hot: Sheppard, Havlat Picking Up

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By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks started this season with an unprecedented number of injuries, some that occurred before the season and some that happened early in. One of the casualties of those injuries was a reliable third line. The team had trouble generating steady scoring without moving Joe Pavelski up to the top six, though it had been widely presumed he would be most valuable centering the third line. With just 14 games remaining, the Sharks may have finally solved the third line conundrum. The combination of James Sheppard, Martin Havlat and Tommy Wingels could be the line the team has been looking for.

The trade deadline came and went without any moves for the big club, apart from most of the injured players returning to the lineup. Some of those players are still adjusting to game speed, others have been adjusting to new linemates again and again for most of the season. Martin Havlat and James Sheppard fall into that second category. Good games from those two have been a significant factor in the team’s recent winning streak, currently at five in a row.

Tommy Wingels, of course, has balanced the trio perfectly. His consistently effective and smart play is no surprise. Of course he does well there, as he does well anywhere from first to fourth line. He is the perfect compliment to two players who have been all over the map thus far, two players the team needs to get more from.

Havlat returned from the injured list long before the Olympic break, but still sat for many games. He played 28 of a possible 59 before the Olympic break, putting him ahead of Raffi Torres and Adam Burish in playing time, but still behind the ball in terms of catching up with the rest of the team. In all, Havlat has 14 points in 35 games played this season. Since the Olympic Break, he has played seven of nine games, scoring three goals and earning an assist. Just before the break, he earned two points, meaning that six of his season points and four of his seven goals have come since February 1. His game looks to be on the upswing.

James Sheppard, who has been on the third line with Havlat for a couple of games now, has played 53 games, eight of nine since the break. In those last eight, he has seven points, including two two-point games. Like Havlat, he has earned a sizeable chunk of his 15 season points since February 1: nine in his last ten games, to be precise.

Martin Havlat and James Sheppard have had a couple of good games together now. Todd McLellan, a habitual line-juggler on a normal day, has outdone himself where Havlat is concerned, moving him all over the board. Nonetheless, Havlat’s game was lining out even before the break, without the benefit of seeing the same linemates from game to game. Whether it is a function of improved communication or confidence, passes were connecting, shots were coming, he was playing more games. That is not to say McLellan was wrong to move Havlat around, hindsight is not really 20/20. Havlat is playing well now, but that doesn’t mean he would be playing better if he had not moved so much between lines or played more. Perhaps the mad formula worked, perhaps it didn’t. In any case, Havlat’s game is strong now and that is all that matters.

How much of Havlat’s absence from the lineup has been due to health and how much to dissatisfaction with performance is unclear. In any case, McLellan seems to have found a balance he likes in terms of how much to play Havlat. As for where to play him, the jury is still out. Perhaps he has found a spot he likes him in now, but it is too early to tell. It might depend on James Sheppard.

James Sheppard is the surprise of the month. All season, the team’s observers (myself included) have assumed that the Sharks needed Joe Pavelski centering the third line to be at their best. Pavelski’s stellar performance on the top line was something that would do until the team was healthy again and he could be put back where the team really needed him. James Sheppard is the first player to really knock a hole in that assumption. Is he finally the guy to solidify that third line? Can Pavelski stay on the wing?

It is early still, only two games in to the Havlat, Sheppard, Wingels line. Unquestionably, if a line is going to work it will work better with more practice. As the regular season winds down to the playoffs, it would be a good thing for this third line to get more time together. All three have the talent to play in the top six, all three have spent some time on the fourth line. Whatever the reasoning for ever putting them on the fourth line, as a third line they could very well be the key to rolling over future opponents. Considering how long both Havlat and Sheppard have been wearing question marks over their heads, that would be a truly satisfying outcome as plot lines go.

Raffi Torres could be the line buster there. So far, McLellan has used him primarily on the fourth line, presumably to ease him back in to the game. I think it is likely that McLellan is being proactive in avoiding injury, or extra-cautious with his response to any little symptom. Some have called him over-cautious keeping Torres out after just a couple of games with limited minutes. How can you be over-cautious with a player who just returned from a long layoff? The reason people avoid surgery is that it creates more injury on top of the initial problem. It does take longer to recover when you cut the patient up. Before his return, Torres said:

I’ve done enough off the ice, I feel as good as I’m going to feel, I need to play games now I think. Ultimately I put a lot of pressure on myself to be a force out there and to be on my game. But I understand it’s a process and it takes some time and I’m cool with that.

That isn’t the same as saying that he was 100%- it only meant that the next step in his recovery was to start playing. He’s cool with that process. At the rate he has put up points in the few minutes he has played (five points in five games), everyone should be cool with it.

The Sharks would like to catch Anaheim but their spot in the playoffs is secure now. They will need every resource available to them when the post season arrives. Keeping players like Havlat and Torres ready but not tired looks like a solid plan. The time for heroics is yet to come.

Sharks win 4th in a row, tie for first place

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by Jerry Feitelberg

PHOTO 5 OF 28 – SAN JOSE SHARKS VS. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS COLUMBUS, OH – MARCH 13: Matt Irwin #52 of the San Jose Sharks checks Cam Atkinson #13 of the Columbus Blue Jackets into the boards during the first period on March 13, 2014 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images)

Sharks win in a shoot out, tie for first place

The San Jose Sharks (43-17-7) beat a young and very determined Columbus Blue Jacket (34-27-5) team Thursday night in Columbus by a score of 4-3. For the Sharks, it was their fourth win in a row and with the win they moved into a first place tie with the Anaheim Ducks in the Pacific Division.

The one sour note is that the Ducks have a game in hand and the lead may be short-lived.

Nonetheless, the Sharks won the first game of a short three game road trip against a Blue Jacket team that is striving to make the playoffs for only the second time in their

existence as a franchise in the NHL.

The Sharks gave regular goalie, Antti Niemi, the night off and replaced him with backup goalie Alex Stalock (11-4-1) in the nets. Stalock played very well and came up big in the shoot out as he stopped all three attempts by the Blue Jackets. Reigning Vezina Trophy winner, Sergei Bobrovsky, tended goal for the Blue Jackets. The Sharks had their hands full trying to beat Bobrovsky but they persevered and

kept the pressure on to win the game. The scoring summary follows below.

Columbus drew first blood when Ryan Johansen notched his 26th goal of the year. Johansen sent a wrist shot past Stalock when teammate Nick Foligno sprawled himself in front of the goal blocking Stalock’s view and Johansen put the shot into the back of the net. Foligno and Boone Jenner assisted. Time of goal was 5:28. The Sharks tied the game at 10:53 when Patrick Marleau tipped in a puck for his 27th tally of the season. Logan Couture fed the puck from the corner and Marleau skating to the net tipped it in past Bobrovsky for the score. Game tied at one. The Blue Jackets had eleven shots on goal while the Sharks were able to manage just nine.

In the second period, the Sharks went on a power play when R. J. Umberger went off for tripping.

At 2:22 David Savard also was hit with a penalty that gave the Sharks a 5 on 3 advantage. The Sharks could not take advantage of the situation and then, to make matters worse, Umberger, coming out of the penalty box, was able to get a pass and had a breakaway to score a short-handed goal to give Columbus a 2-1 lead. The Sharks allowed just their fourth short-handed goal of the year but it was the second one allowed in the last two games. There was no further scoring in the period. 2-1 after two periods of play.

Things did not bode well for the Sharks. Not only did the Sharks have a history of not faring well in Columbus but their record this season was 3-13-1 when trailing after two periods. The Sharks, however, came out fighting. They tied the score at two with just 15 seconds played in the period. Matt Nieto scored his ninth goal of the year with assists to Logan Couture and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. They then look a 3-2 lead when the Sharks finally scored on a power play. They had gone 0 for 20 since play resumed after the Olympics. Patrick Marleau scored his second goal of the game with help from Joe Pavelski and Dan Boyle. Columbus refused to lay down and continued to play hard. They kept the pressure on and were able to put the puck in the net when James Wisniewski was able to beat Stalock. The Sharks were all on the right side of the net and somehow Wisniewski found himself all alone with the puck. Stalock moved out to cut down on the angle but Wisniewski banged it in over Stalock’s shoulder for the score. The game went to overtime and neither team could score. In the shootout, Stalock stopped all three Columbus attempts while Joe Pavelski beat Bobrovsky for the winning goal.

Notes- The Shark’s goalie, Alex Stalock, said that the team is a “loose group with success on the road all year.” Coach Todd McLellan had this to say about the Blue Jackets after the game. “"That team plays hard," "They’re as competitive as any team in the league. They’re physical. They’ve got good body position when they enter the zone. They throw a lot of pucks to the net. If we weren’t ready to go we wouldn’t have come close to getting the result we got tonight."

The Sharks play the Islanders on Friday night and finish the road trip Sunday against the New York Rangers.

Sharks rise to the top continues with a victory over Maple Leafs

Published on by Ivan MakarovLeave a comment

By Ivan Makarov

Having won seven out of the last eight games, San Jose Sharks continued to win on Tuesday day when they hosted the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs. The game was never close, with home team winning 6-2 and earning seven out of the possible eight points during the four game home stand.

Sharks outshot the Leafs 48-21, have played in the Leafs zone for most of the game (after going 49-28 in face-offs circle), and put one of the more complete games they have played all season.

“We’ve been good during different times throughout the season,” said Joe Pavelski after the game when asked where this victory ranked among others. “We’ve been playing good at home. This was definitely one of them. We got on them early, and had the puck a lot. It was a solid win.”

Before Sharks got the big lead in the game, they had to endure one of the strangest first periods of the season.

Sharks played the way they usually play this season at home in the first period – dominating the play all over the ice. The shot total ended up being 14-6 in the first period in their favor, but they only went up 2-1 on the scoreboard. It could have been more, but Sharks’ good goal scored by Tommy Wingels was disallowed. The replay showed the puck nowhere near being frozen on the play, and going inside behind Toronto’s goaltender James Reimer, but the referees blew the whistle and after discussing it over, disallowed the goal.

However, Marc Eduard Vlasic and Brent Burns scored more goals that counted. Vlasic blasted a slap shot from near the face off circle after a great pass from Matt Nieto who spotted him open on the play. Brent Burns scored in front of the net assisted by Joe Thornton, and there was a wait between the time he scored and when the goal counted, as refereed discussed it between themselves. With loud boos from the crowd, and having disallowed Wingels’ goal just minutes before, they at last awarded the Sharks with the second goal.

The second period continued much like the first. Sharks had the puck more, they were playing with more desperation and they were creating all the chances. All this advantage resulted in two more goals. Tommy Wingels at last got the goal allowed, scoring his 15th on the season on a deflection from the shot by Justin Braun 6:54 into the period. Joe Pavelski got the Sharks lead to three goals when he scored just over a minute later, assisted by Joe Thornton, making it 4-1. Sharks had the chance to make the score even more in their favor, when they went on 5-on-3 power play towards the end of the second period for more than 90 seconds. But the players failed to produce a single shot during that stretch with 2-men advantage as Toronto killed off those penalties.

“We made adjustment or two between [first and second periods], and talked about using our energy, few more pucks to the net,” said Todd McLellan reflecting on what was the key turning point in the game. “Fortunately, [Toronto] played on their end a little bit longer. We had the short change. A lot of the times in the second period the long change is what’s talked about. When you’re on the offense, you have the short change, and can pin teams in. We were able to that.”

The third period seemed more like a formality at that point for the Sharks, having a three goal lead going into the third period. But they continued to play hard while rolling all four lines, and scoring goals – with Joe Pavelski and Marty Havlat getting on the scoreboard.

Besides the goals, the game also saw four fights, with Andrew Desjardins dropping the gloves twice – once against David Clarkson and the second time against Tim Gleason, while Mike Brown fought Troy Bodie early on in the game. Tommy Wingels earned his first “Gordy Howe” hat trick of the night (goal + assist + fight) in the third period when he fought Joffrey Lupul with three minutes left in the game.

Sharks will next play three games on the road, visiting Columbus, New York and Rhode Island before they return back to San Jose.

Sharks fall short against Hurricanes

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By Ivan Makarov

San Jose Sharks have not played well against Eastern Conference bottom dwellers this season, having lost to Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders at home. The game against 13th spot Carolina Hurricanes became another one of those, as Sharks fell 3-2 in overtime.

San Jose started game slow, generating only three shots in the first 10 minutes of the game and being outplayed on all parts of the ice. They looked rusty, and out of sync, which often happens when team comes back home after a long road trip or a break. Carolina capitalized on the sleepy Sharks, taking 1-0 lead in the game as Juri Tlusty scored on a breakaway at 12:07 mark.

The goal seemed to have woken up the Sharks and they responded with one of their own. Marty Havlat scored his fifth goal of the season on a rebound from Tyler Kennedy’s shot. Havlat’s goal was even more memorable because he scored it while falling down.

Brent Burns increased the Sharks lead towards the end of the period. He scored on a slap shot from near range when Raffi Torres set him up on a great play just in front of the goal.

Hurricanes tied the game at 2-2 in the second period when Elias Lindholm scored a similar goal to Brent Burns earlier, as he shot a slap shot from a short range that left Alex Stalock with no time to react, thus setting the third period with no team leading.

Both teams traded good scoring chances in a fast paced game, but failed to score, taking the game into the overtime. The game seemed to have been heading towards another shootout, but Carolina ended it with less than a minute left on a broken play inside the Sharks own zone. Jay Harrison jumped into the play from the blue line as he got the puck from his teammate Elias Lindholm, and became wide open right on the edge of the crease. With plenty of time to pick a corner and Andrew Desjardins failing to cover him, Carolina player sent the puck into the net, thus ending the game.

It was not a loss in which the Sharks played well, but they have a chance to rebound against the best team in the East Pittsburg Penguins, as Sidney Crosby and Evgeny Malkin make their rare appearance at the SAP Center.

Sharks Finish Road Trip with 4-2 Win Over NJ Devils

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By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks ended a three game road trip with a 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday. They picked up two wins in five days to close the gap between the Sharks and the Division-leading Ducks to five points in the standings.

Sharks goals were scored by Joe Pavelski, Raffi Torres, Matt Nieto and Patrick Marleau. Alex Stalock turned in a very good performance with 21 saves in his second win in a row. Devils goals were scored by Adam Henrique and Patrick Elias.

The first star of the game was Matt Nieto. Of Nieto, Sharks coach Todd McLellan said:

He played an excellent game, he seized the opportunity, played really well, was effective penalty killing, was very good on that line, obviously scored the winning goal.

What about Nieto sitting out the last game?

In his case it wasn’t so much sending a message it was getting some other people into the game who had to play. It was nice to see that he handled it properly and was ready to go today.

Nieto replaced Brent Burns on the top line Sunday. McLellan explained that decision:

I thought Burnzie had a good game but it’s been a long time since he produced and scored on that line. And just like everybody else we’ve got to to hold him accountable. Brent will work his way back.

The game was the first time the Sharks had played against ex-teammate Ryane Clowe, and he welcomed them to town with four hits. He gave one each to Justin Braun, Dan Boyle, Tommy Wingels and Jason Demers. During the second intermission, he was asked if those hits had a little extra energy behind them for his ex-teammates:

You’re right, you lean into them a little more. It’s something where obviously they’ve had a core together for a while, you know all those guys. It’s a little bit of me is trying to play physical, probably trying to play a little more physical against those guys.

But it’s also part of the game, I think we’ve got to get on our D and play physical against that D who skate well, who move the puck well, but we’ve got to make them defend.

The first period ended scoreless, with just one penalty call in the last minute of play. That call went to the Sharks. The shots were very close, just 10-8 for the Sharks.

New forward lines for the Sharks’ were clearly trying to find their way, most notably the line composed of Brent Burns, James Sheppard and Martin Havlat. How McLellan had never put those together is a mystery, as McLellan can be relied on to try everything at least once, and those three can provide some skill and scoring. How to communicate smoothly after not playing together is another matter. The line did not get credit for any shots on goal in the first period but did spend more time in the offensive zone than defending.

The other lines were adjusted accordingly, putting Tommy Wingels on a line with Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau. Matt Nieto came back into the lineup, on a line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. The fourth line was made up of Raffi Torres, Andrew Desjardins and Tim Kennedy. That line did not have much trouble sorting themselves out, and were generating good chances for themselves early in the game.

The defensive pairings had also been changed since the game in Buffalo two nights before: Matt Irwin was with Dan Boyle, Marc-Edouard Vlasic was paired with Jason Demers, and Justin Braun was with Scott Hannan. Finally, Alex Stalock was in net.

The first goal of the game came early in the second period. The Sharks’ Tommy Wingels screened the goalie for a Jason Demers shot from the point that was tipped by Patrick Marleau. The shot created a small rebound that came out to Couture who was sliding in near the post. Assists went to Marleau and Demers.

The second goal came from the Devils’ Adam Henrique to tie the game. What looked like a fairly manageable two on three fell apart for the Sharks when Henrique came down the slot and received a pass from Steve Bernier, who had escaped Tyler Kennedy along the boards. Sharks defenseman Justin Braun did not get back across the ice quickly enough to tie up Henrique. Assists went to Bernier and Eric Gelinas.

The Devils also scored the third goal, during another incident of missed coverage. Patrick Elias scored that, with assists going to Jon Merrill and Henrique.

The next goal tied the game again. This time a neutral zone pass from James Sheppard went to Raffi Torres, who went in to the Devils’ zone in a two on one with Joe Pavelski. Torres passed it to Pavelski, who passed it back. Torres had an open net and scored his third goal in two games this season.

The second period ended with the Devils on a power play after Marc-Edouard Vlasic was called for tripping Travis Zajac. The shots were 18-14 for the Sharks, the score still 2-2.

The Sharks killed off the last 30 seconds of the penalty without incident. Sharks’ goaltender Alex Stalock had to make some good saves on Jaromir Jagr and Ryane Clowe in the first minutes of the period.

A little over six minutes into the third, the Sharks had a scare after a giveaway in their offensive zone. A relentless attack from the Devils required several good saves from Stalock. The Sharks finally cleared the puck and executed a line change, putting the Thornton line on the ice. One quick pass from Joe Pavelski to Matt Nieto gave the Sharks the lead again.

The Sharks went right to the penalty kill when Jason Demers went to the box for tripping. The Sharks killed that off very effectively, as they had the two previous penalties. The Sharks spent a good deal of the penalty kill outside their own zone.

The Sharks went to the penalty kill yet again with less than six minutes left in the game. Justin Braun was called for hooking. The Sharks did not allow the Devils to spend much time in the offensive zone, but iced the puck shortly after the penalty expired. Sharks coach Todd McLellan took his timeout with 3:22 left in the period.

Shotrly after play resumed, the Devils made a fatal mistake, letting Patrick Marleau get off on a break away to score the Sharks’ fourth goal of the game. Tommy Wingels helped the Devils make that mistake by going ahead and driving for the net to take away a Devils defender and distract Cory Schneider.

The Devils pulled their goaltender with a little less than two minutes left, but even with the extra attacker the Devils could not score again.

Final score: 4-2 Sharks. The Sharks killed four of four penalties, Alex Stalock made 21 saves on 23 shots. The Devils killed one penalty, Cory Schneider made 18 saves on 22 shots. The teams were even in faceoff wins with 24 each.

The three stars were Matt Neito, Adam Henrique and Joe Pavelski. Justin Braun lead the Sharks in ice time with 21:03, Joe Thornton lead in shots with four.

The Sharks next play at home against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday at 7:30 pm.

Sharks fly by the Flyers

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

by Jerry Feitelberg

Sharks fly by the Flyers

The San Jose Sharks returned to play in the NHL Thursday night after a twenty day layoff due to the Olympics.The Sharks had four Olympians returning from Sochi. Two of them, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Patrick Marleau, came home with Gold. Sharks goalie, Antti Niemi, returned with a Bronze medal as his Finnish team finished third in the tournament.

The Sharks used the time off to get key players back on the ice. Logan couture missed sixteen games with a hand injury while teammate Raffi Torres was on the ice for the first time this year. Torres sustained a knee injury in the pre-season.sAdam Burish and Tyler Kennedy were also back from injuries.

The Sharks started a three game road trip with a win in Philadelphia by a score of 7-3. The Sharks

had to be elated when Raffi Torres scored the first goal of the night in his first game back. Jason Demers and Mike Brown picked up assists on the play. The goal came with just 4:35 played in the period. The Flyers took command of play and dominated the rest of the period. They tied the score at one when Andre Mezaros beat Alex Stalock for the score. Stalock blocked a shot but was way out in front of the net and Mezaros flicked it in to tie the game. Philadelphia struck again just twenty-two seconds later. Brayden Schenn scored his sixteenth goal of the year and the Flyers took a 2-1 lead.

The Sharks did not get a shot on goal in the last eleven minutes of the period and the Flyers outshot the Sharks 10-5.

The second period was a whole different story. The Sharks scored five time to take a 6-2 lead.

Joe Pavelski scored three goals and notched his second hat trick of the year. Logan Couture and Raffi Torres also scored. The Flyers pulled goalie Steve Mason after Couture’s goal and replaced him with Ray Emery. Emery didn’t do well at all as he got beat by Pavelski and Torres.

In the third period, Logan Couture scored his second goal of the night when he scored while the Sharks were shorthanded. It was Couture’s sixteenth tally of the year and the assist went to Tommy Wingels.

Later in the period, it appeared that Couture scored again, while shorthanded, but the goal was not allowed. It looked like the puck barely went over the goal line but , for some unknown reason, the refs ruled that it was not a good goal. The Flyers changed goalies again. Mason went back in replacing Emery. The Flyers made it a 7-3 game on a Matt Read goal but it was too little,too late as the Sharks win and now have 82 points with twenty-two games left to play. The Sharks trail the Anaheim Ducks

by 5 points in the race for the division crown.

After the game, Joe Pavelski said that “he felt pretty good out there” and that the “ice felt pretty small” as he made reference to the wider rink that was used at Sochi. He also said that “we want to catch Anaheim” and that we “will take care of business” the rest of the way. Pavelski also said that “it was fun to see Raffi score” the two goals in the game.

Logan Couture commented on the gaol that was disallowed saying “I saw a goal and it was over the line.”

The Sharks avenged an earlier loss to the Flyers at San Jose and evened the season series at one apiece. The Sharks head on to Buffalo to play the Sabres in game two of the three game road trip and finish up against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday.

To Be Or Not To Be On The World Stage: Olympic Hockey

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

By Mary Walsh

Should the NHL allow players to participate in future Olympics? Should Women’s ice hockey be in the Olympics at all? Those two questions keep being asked and not answered, perhaps because they are only really asked every four years or so. Or perhaps it is because they are silly questions.

It seems like the NHL has been saying it for a long time, that this will be the last time they send their players to the Olympics. They have good, solid business reasons for not liking the interruption to their season. Players risk injury outside the risks they are under contract to take. The NHL schedule is disrupted and condensed, viewership is not guaranteed, especially when the games take place at 4:30 am for some of the audience. The benefits of being seen at the Olympic party are difficult to calculate. Perhaps the money is better spent promoting the Stanley Cup Playoffs or a dozen outdoor games.

Hogwash.

Even the most lukewarm sports fans notice the Olympics, but they might not notice the NHL’s absence from them. That is not the Olympic committee’s fault, that is the NHL’s fault. The NHL has work to do, markets to grow. It is preposterous for the NHL to not want to be on the most global of stages.

Hockey is one of the few team sports in the Winter Olympics. Technically, bobsledding, curling and relays are team sports, but it is not the same. The bobsledders don’t have to contend with other bobsledders ramming them off the track. Most of the Olympic “teams” compete primarily with themselves, a clock, or a judge’s opinion. They take the stage in very small groups or as individuals.

This makes hockey stand out. The spectacle of uniformed groups in active, face to face competition contrasts sharply with the other Winter Olympic events. If the NHL does not see how valuable this is to growth in their market, they are very foolish.

Perhaps the NHL will never have the resources to expand to a global market, but that is no reason to snub the rest of the world.

The NFL doesn’t do Olympics. Major League Baseball doesn’t do Olympics. Basketball and hockey do. Is that why they are smaller than the other two? Is the secret to success to take an isolationist position?

Throw the other football into that mix, the fanatical, globally thriving market that is called soccer here, and the US market looks like small potatoes. Yes, football and baseball have the biggest piece of the local pie but there is more pie, bigger pies to be had. Perhaps the NHL should be thinking even bigger than the big American fish.

Pro soccer goes to the Olympics, after a fashion. Their refusal to allow all professionals to compete equally has resulted in unimpressive Olympic records for some of the historically strongest soccer nations. That is what the NHL could look forward to, which would be good news for Slovenia, Latvia, Switzerland and Germany. Maybe France could finally get a shot at a spot in the tournament, even a medal.

If the NHL did pull their players from the Olympics, would it be worth alienating some players for the sake of one interruption every four years? What if Alexander Ovechkin insisted on going, no matter what the NHL said? Would they suspend him? How many players could they suspend? It could make for a very interesting, different kind of interruption to the season.

For women playing hockey at the Olympics, the question is different. The utter lack of parity between North America and the rest of the world makes the tournament somewhat predictable and less interesting for any audience outside Canada and the US. Or does it?

Does a nation like Japan take pride and interest in their team, even if they have next to no chance of winning a game? Watching the Japanese women bow to each other after scoring a goal, how could anyone suggest that they did not belong there? It is an enormous thing to have more women, in more places, playing hockey. It is bigger than the sport. We have a moral imperative to promote the expression of women’s achievements in all fields right next to those of men.

No matter what the NHL decides to do, no one is talking about dropping men’s hockey from the Olympics. Yet they do discuss dropping the women’s tournament. Hockey for women is still in a fledgling stage in most countries. This is only the fifth time women have played hockey at the Olympics. If countries are prepared to send teams to World Championships and qualifying tournaments, it would be outrageously petty and mean to not let them compete at the Olympics. If the NHL, as the biggest advocate for hockey, is serious about growing interest and its audience, they cannot ignore half of the population.

Many women will watch even if they do not play, just as men who do not play still watch. But if many people prefer to watch sports they also play, there is no reason that should be less true of women than of men. Professional contact sports for women are not likely to make money any time soon. Today, the Olympics are as far as a woman can go in hockey, so let them go. Let them play too, and dream of big games, and enjoy watching the NHL all the more.