Tag: NHL

Sharks Need Will Power to Keep Moving

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By Mary Walsh

The Sharks go in to the Olympic break in a good position. They are among only five teams with 80 or more points. They are just seven points behind the Division, Conference and League leaders, the Anaheim Ducks. They expect Logan Couture and Raffi Torres back after the break. They got bonus performances from their backup goaltender, Alex Stalock, and John McCarthy finally scored a goal in Friday’s game against Columbus. What more could you ask of the team?

More. The team will have to find more when the season resumes. Being in a good position is not all it is cracked up to be. The Sharks faced three very hungry teams last week. The Flyers, the Stars and the Blue Jackets all went into the break scrapping for playoff spots, and they were all close enough to smell the cookies. They all played better than their records would have you expect. The Sharks still beat two of them, one almost resoundingly. Before the Dallas game, Sharks head coach Todd McLellan explained that the Sharks needed to motivate themselves:

Well the first decision we have to make is whether or not we want to work, because we didn’t make that decision against Philly. And I know it’s a different day and a new opponent. But until that decision is made and we decide we all want to compete together for a full 60, it really doesn’t matter what else we have as far as game plan goes.

It is very easy to decide to work if you are hungry. There is no way to synthesize hunger, yet a team that is in a good position needs to find a substitute motivator. Is there such a thing?

That’s a loaded question because every team is hungry. You start the year at the starting gate, all thirty teams are there. Even the teams that fall to the bottom, they’re hungry teams. They want to win, they have a lot of pride. So hunger is one thing. Skill, talent, the ability to play together as a team, those all come into play as well. If it was just about hungry, we’d all be tied for first.

So the big dog stays fat while the little dog stays skinny, not because the big dog is hungry all the time but because he’s the big dog and he gets what he wants. Maybe he is meaner or stronger or smarter or maybe the little dog only has three legs. The end result is the same: the big dog stays big.

In the case of hockey teams, you don’t have that sort of disparity. They are all big, they all want to win, they all have skill. It will be those hungry teams that steal the Sharks’ meals now and then, which will impact the larger battle for Conference dominance. They will probably sneak in when the Sharks aren’t feeling especially grumpy or greedy and snatch away the points.

That is the way it usually goes, the way it went for many teams leading up to the break. It does not have to be so. Occasionally, a team will take off for no obvious reason and go on a massive winning streak, like last season’s Blackhawks. What kept them going? What possible motivator was there that kept them going full steam so early in the race? Was the will to win enough to trump hunger? Was pride enough? Were they even facing very hungry teams so early in the season? Which teams had played enough games to even know they were starving for points?

No one can know what the other team is going to do. Every player and coach says they can only control their own game. So it does come down to that: deciding. Deciding to work, deciding to be prepared and deciding you want to win, not because you are hungry or desperate but because you want to.

It sounds so easy. Easy as pie for someone on a diet.

Sharks earn win before Olympic Break

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By: Phillip Torres

SAN JOSE-The San Jose Sharks (37-16-6) defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets (29-24-5) 3-2 at the SAP Center in San Jose on Friday night. The victory was just was the Sharks were looking for before heading into the Olympic break. Not only was it the last game before the 2014 Sochi Olympics, but it was also Sharks head coach Todd McLellan’s franchise-record 435 game with San Jose.

The Sharks jumped out to the early advantage as they took the 1-0 lead at the 3:23 mark in the opening period. John McCarthy scored his first goal the year after he deflected the puck into the net after James Sheppard’s shot did not find the net.

San Jose’s fast start continued as they found themselves up 2-0 after another goal less than five minutes later. This time it was Patrick Marleau finding the net with a slapshot. Scott Hannan earned the assist on the play. The Sharks dominated early and finished the first period with a 2-0 advantage.

The lone goal of the second period came at 18 seconds as the Blue Jackets cut the deficit in half. Ryan Johansen scored the unassisted goal for his 24th goal on the season and pulled his team to within one. The rest of the period was played with very stout defenses and both respective teams could not find the net. The score remained 2-1 San Jose heading into the third and final period.

Tommy Wingels gave the Sharks their two goal lead right back early into the frame. At 5:11 Wingels knocked a back hand shot into the net. Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Jason Demers picked up the assists on the shot.  The goal proved to be the eventual game winner as Columbus would tack on one more goal, but ultimately fall short 3-2 on Friday.

With the victory the Sharks finish at the break with 80 points, just five behind the Anaheim Ducks for first place in the Pacific Division.

 “We would have been probably pleased with that at the beginning of the season. Considering some of the players we lost over and throughout the year, we go into the break satisfied. Coming out of it we have work to do,” said McLellan.

With the Sochi Olympics set take off, the Sharks will not be back on the ice until Thursday February 27th. San Jose will be Philadelphia Flyers in Philadelphia. The puck will drop at 4:00 P.M Pacific Standard Time. 

Sharks Third Line Beats the Stars

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By Ivan Makarov

San Jose Sharks have not been getting much offense lately from it’s top lines. After helping them win games all throughout the season, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau’s lines have been held mostly off the scoresheet in the past few games. They went scoreless again against Dallas Stars on Wednesday night at the SAP Center, but the Sharks went on to win 2-1 in overtime anyway due to the great game by Sharks third line, and yet another strong performance by Sharks backup goaltender Alex Stalock.

Marty Havlat and Tommy Wingels each scored a goal, while Alex Stalock made 20 saves to record his eighth win of this season.

“It was time for some other players to step up and score,” said pleased Sharks head coach Todd McLellan after the game. “To see Marty and Tommy both do it in one game is a good thing for our team.”

Havlat took part in both goals, which is good to see from someone who recorded no points in the last five games since he came back from a month long recovery from injury, and was largely invisible all season long.

“It feels nice to win the game,” said Havlat. “I don’t really care who scored the goal. But it’s nice to score the goal.”

Havlat scored a goal towards the end of the second period, as he redirected a puck from a pass made by Scott Hannan. Later on he assisted Wingels on the game winning overtime goal as Wingels skated towards the net.

“I came over the line and saw someone being late and was trying to make a play,” said Wingels. “It bounced on me, but we got the puck back. Hannan got open there, and knew that Marty was there. Marty made a good play when he slotted [the puck] across the crease to me and I shot it and it went in.”

Scott Hannan was also credited with the secondary assist on the first goal, and like Havlat, he ended the night with two points.

Overall, it was a pretty sloppy game, with not a lot of scoring chances, and both teams struggling to possess the puck and creating very little in terms of chances on their own power plays. Nonetheless, McLellan saw improvement in team’s play after a bad game on Monday against the Flyers.

“The team improved, pretty evidently,” he said commenting on the result. “You look at the game tonight and compare it to the Philadelphia game. It doesn’t mean that we were cleaner or faster or more polished. It’s just that the commitment level went up. We still got to improve.”

Sharks play one more time before the Winter Olympics break in the schedule when they host Columbus Blue Jackets at home on Friday.

Flyers too much for the Sharks

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By Ivan Makarov

Going into the Monday night matchup against Philadelphia Flyers at SAP Center, San Jose Sharks did not lose to that team in 13 straight games, dating all the way back to December 21, 2000. The world was very different back then – we could bring liquids on the plane, there was no iPhone and the average price of gas was $1.65 per gallon.

The winning streak against the Flyers came to an end in one of the more disappointing performances by the home team. After beating the current Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks at home on Saturday, the Sharks showed the lack of consistency, focus and depth, and lost 5-2.

The only positive time for the Sharks came in the first period when Sharks showed speed and resiliency they are known for when playing at home this season, especially at the start of the game. They did allow the Flyers to score first on their power play, when Mark Streit put a slapshot past Antti Neimi while he was screened by Flyers’ forward Wayne Simmonds. But the Sharks came right back and tied the game three minutes later on their own power play. Matt Neito scored after a nifty pass from Tommy Wingels as he was the first to the puck after Matt Irwin dumped it inside the Flyers zone.

Matt Nieto didn’t stop there and recorded another goal five minutes later. During Sharks possession inside the Flyers zone he was able to skate away from coverage. As he received the pass from Brent Burns from the corner, he made a great individual play as he paused the puck to bring Steve Mason down and put the puck into the net.

But this is where positives ended for the Sharks.

Being up one goal, they seem to have been content to try to ride it until finish, but were unable to match Flyers energy and execution. They ended up keeping the lead all the way into the third period, but the visiting team dominance on the ice eventually translated into goals, as Flyers scored three in the first four minutes of the third period.

“Even in the first, I did not think we were very sharp as we needed to be,” said Sharks head coach Todd McLellan. “We broke the cardinal rule – when you get outworked and get outnumbered all over the rink – you’re going to lose. It’s as simple as that.”

Those punches were too much for Sharks to overcome, and they were unable to generate any sustained pressure, or chances on goal even after Sharks coaching staff replaced Antti Niemi in goal with Alex Stalock. The move did not shake up the team like it sometimes does, and the Flyers increased the lead to three goals with a couple of minutes remaining. It was obvious with what McLellan thought of team’s performance as he let third and fourth line finish off the game.

“I don’t have any other explanation or excuse for it,” he said after the game. “I thought [the Flyers] were harder than we were, in all facets of the game – the goaltender, the blue line, 5-on-5, special teams. They were just a better team. It’s disappointing.”

Sharks still have a chance to rebound before the Olympic break in the schedule that starts after the game on Friday, and they’ll look to do just that when they host Dallas Stars on Wednesday.

Sharks lose third game in a row.

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(Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHL via Getty Images)
(Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHL via Getty Images)

by Jerry Feitelberg

There are two droughts going on in California right now. The first is a severe drought caused by the lack of rain in California this winter. The second drought is the scoring drought that the Sharks are experiencing right now. The Sharks, playing on consecutive nights, lost to the Calgary Flames

Thursday night by a score of 4-1. The Sharks did not score in the first two periods of the game and had gone scoreless in their last eight periods of play. The Sharks did get on the scoreboard early in the third period when Eriah Hayes scored his first goal in the NHL.

The Sharks were clearly out skated in the first period by the Flames. The Flames took an early 1-0 when Lee Stempniak beat Stalock on a rebound. Defenseman Dan Boyle could not establish good body position in front of the net and that allowed Stempniak to put the puck past Alex Stalock. There was no more scoring in the period and Calgary outshot the Sharks 12-8.

The Flames took a 2-0 lead with 3:38 played in the second period. The Flames shot the puck off the boards behind the net and the puck bounced out to Flames’ defenseman Mark Giordano who put it the net for the score.

The Sharks made it a 2-1 games with just 36 seconds played in the third period. Eriah Hayes, playing on the second line, scored his first NHL goal beating Flames’goalie Karri Ramo on the short side and putting the puck into the top corner of the net. Patrick Marleau and Tommy Wingels assisted on the play. Try as they might, the Sharks could do no more as they looked fatigued both mentally and physically. The Flames took a two goal lead when nineteen year old rookie Sean Monahan scored his fifteenth goal of the year with just seven minutes left to play in the game. The goal was very similar to the Flames second score. The puck bounced off the boards behind the net and Joe Colborne passed it to Monahan who the put the puck by Stalock. The Flames scored their fourth goal of the night into an empty net.

Notes- This is the second time this year that the Sharks have lost three games in a row in regulation.

Alex Stalock made 26 saves while allowing three goals while Karri Ramo stopped 27 shots and let one go by him.

Coach Todd McLellan said after the game that the lack of scoring “was a big concern for us.” He also said that the Sharks “need some other players to pick up the slack.” He was referring to the fact that the two top lines had accounted for most of the scoring. He also said that “we have a lot of talent.’ but that “our team was tired.”

The Sharks return to home to play four more games before the break for the Olympic games. They meet the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks Saturday night at the SAP Center at 7:30.

Kings Beat Sharks 1-0, Stalock Sets New Shutout Record

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks lost 1-0 to the Los Angeles Kings at SAP Center on Monday night. It was the first game in 15 between San Jose and Los Angeles that went to the visitor. In the middle of the loss, Alex Stalock broke Evgeni Nabokov’s franchise record for shutout minutes, set back in 2009. Stalock has reset the record at 178:55.

Did Stalock know he was on the verge of breaking that record?

Other than [Logan Couture] reminding me every single day, but… I don’t know what it was at.

It was 171:18.

The game was one of the hardest fought low-scoring games the Sharks have played in a long while. That was exactly what Sharks head coach Todd McLellan had expected:

We got the game we thought we’d get from both teams really. It was a very tightly contested game, not a lot of chances at either end. They buried their one opportunity and we had a couple that we didn’t. That’s probably the end of the story. I thought that eight minutes of penalty kill time didn’t help us at all and to nullify a couple of power plays by taking penalties.

The game was noteworthy as a third start for Stalock in six games. McLellan has expressed an intent to start Stalock more, to compensate for the added wear and tear that Niemi might incur going to the Olympics. He appears to be sticking to that plan.

The Kings started the game with a long spell in the Sharks’ zone. They got credit for two shots before play went the other way.

When the first penalty was called, just over five minutes had gone by and only four shots had been recorded, three from Los Angeles. The penalty went to San Jose’s Brad Stuart for holding. Kings didn’t get more than a shot on the power play.

A few minutes later, LA’s Colin Fraser decided that punching Brent Burns would be a good idea. No one else thought so and the pair were separated quickly. Both went to the box with matching roughing minors.

The Sharks finished the four on four time in the Kings’ zone, but the best chance they had was a quick shot from Pavelski that went just wide. With 4:52 left in the period, the shots were 7-3 for the Kings.

By the end of the period, the Kings led in shots 8-4.

Early in the second period, Robyn Regehr went to the box for interference, giving the Sharks their first power play of the game. The Kings did an excellent job of keeping the Sharks away from shooting lanes, which is essentially what they had been doing all game.

The Sharks didn’t have to wait long before they were on the penalty kill, as Dan Boyle went to the box for holding. The Sharks penalty killers, didn’t allow the Kings to spend much time in their zone at all, several times turning them back entirely before they could cross the blue line. the Kings managed one or two good chances but their power play wound up being even less effective than the Sharks’.

With 11:08 left in the second, the teams got another shot at four on four, when Joe Thornton and Anze Kopitar went to the box for hooking and roughing respectively. As before, neither team could sustain any offensive pressure.

After such a hard-fought thirty-plus minutes, Stalock’s shutout streak ended with a quick shot from Anze Kopitar, off a pass from Jeff Carter. Anze Kopitar slipped around the Sharks defense and Carter sent a carefully-timed pass right to him. After the game, Stalock explained what he saw:

It was kind of a two on one and a half I guess. We had a guy coming back, and he passed it across. We got a stick on it, maybe it slowed it down and bought him a little time and he ended up beating me on a one on one play.

The Sharks drew a penalty in the final minute of the second period, a hooking call on Willie Mitchell. The Sharks didn’t get a shot on that power play, in the second or third period.

The shots at the end of the second period were 13-8 for the Kings.

Early in the third period, the Kings’ Slava Voynov went to the penalty box for cross-checking Bracken Kearns, but just 17 seconds later, Joe Thornton went to the other box for hooking. It was the third time the teams had played four on four in the game.

With 10:13 left in the period, the Sharks finally drew even on the shot clock, but the Kings were keeping those shots hurried and unscreened.

With 9:52 left, Joe Pavelski went to the penalty box for four minutes after high-sticking Kopitar in the mouth. The penalty kill started out inauspiciously. The Sharks had a short-handed chance but a minor collision between Stalock and Brad Stuart followed, and then a pile up of bodies on top of Stalock in the Sharks’ crease. The referee talked briefly to Stalock and play resumed.

The Sharks had time to get their penalty kill together. Tommy Wingels described that successful kill as a chance to build momentum:

Hard-fought, that’s for sure. I think our penalty kill at the end there gave us a chance to win the game. When you kill off a four minute penalty there, you get some momentum off it and I think we did. Ultimately with your penalty kill you want to keep yourself in the game and I think in the third there we did a good job with it.

The Sharks did get the puck cleared at regular intervals, keeping their penalty killers fresh. As the last minute of the kill started, Marleau and Wingels broke away for a decent chance, but the Kings’ defenders held Wingels up enough to prevent him getting a good shot off.

By the end of the penalty, the teams were still tied in shots, 20-20. A timeout and three shots later, the Kings had broken through the visitors curse by holding on to win 1-0.

Alex Stalock made 20 saves on 21 shots. Bracken Kearns lead the Sharks in shots on goal with five, Matt Irwin getting credit for four shots. Tommy Wingels and Mike Brown lead the Sharks in hits with five each, while Jason Demers and Brad Stuart lead the team in bockled shots with three apiece.

Jonathan Quick made 23 saves for the shutout. Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar lead the Kings in shots with four each, Matt Greene led the Kings in hits with five, Greene and Willie Mitchell lead the Kings in blocked shots with four each.

Sharks rally to beat Wild at home

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By: Phillip Torres

SAN JOSE-The San Jose Sharks (34-12-6) hosted the Minnesota Wild (28-20-6) at the SAP Center in San Jose on Saturday night. The Sharks rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Wild 3-2 in Overtime. Joe Thornton scored two goals, including the game winner in Overtime at 3:30. The sellout crowd of 17,562 witnessed a great game in the Overtime thriller.

Matt Cooke gave Minnesota the early 1-0 lead when he scored his eighth goal of the season.  Brad Stuart missed a pass and the puck deflected off the boards and Cooke scooped up the loose puck and put it past Annti Niemi at 9:33 for the unassisted score.

Keith Ballard scored his first goal of the season and his first score in 115 games to extend the Wild’s lead to 2-0 at 4:16 in the second period. The assists were earned by Mikael Granlund and Jason Pominville.

The Sharks got on the board midway through the second period with a goal from Joe Thornton. Thornton scored his seventh goal of the season on a check shot that flew in the upper right corner of the net.  Joe Pavelski and Matt Irwin assisted at 11:12 to cut the lead in half at 2-1.

Less than one minute later San Jose tied the game after Patrick Marleau knocked a wrist shot into the net at 12:01 Tommy Wingels and Irwin earned the assists on the game tying goal.

The third period was a defensive struggle as both teams were held scoreless and the score remained tied 2-2 at the end of regulation.

Thornton hit the game winning shot at 3:30 to carry the Sharks to a victory, their 34th victory of the season. Pavelski passed the puck to Thornton in the left circle where slapped a bullet into the net for the game clinching goal.

The Sharks will be back on the ice on Monday when they host the Los Angeles Kings. The puck will drop at 7:00 PM. 

Three is Prime: Sharks Keep Stars in Place

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By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks really like the number three. They needed three goals to win their sixth in a row Saturday night. All three goals were scored by the Sharks who just signed three year contract extensions: Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau.

With those contract extensions, the Sharks propped open that window people talk about, the one that is supposed to be closing on them. Whether or not they also extend Dan Boyle, the team has locked up most of its most productive players for at least three years.

One piece the Sharks do not have locked up, and are not likely to have before the summer if at all, is associate coach Larry Robinson. It is safe to say that there is little if any negotiation involved there: it is a decision Robinson will make when the time comes. Any NHL team in their right mind would want Robinson to stay as long as possible.

The arrival of Robinson and Jim Johnson was a boon. Whether it was a matter of continuing development, as with Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun, or getting a player back on track as with Jason Demers, the new coaches have had an enormous impact on Sharks defensemen.

If Robinson does not stay, his influence will remain in what he is teaching Sharks players, but in some things it is good to be greedy. It would be very regrettable if the Sharks could not convince Robinson to stay on.

On the player front, the Sharks should retain Dan Boyle, but numerically they have the majority of their top skaters in place until 2017: Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Vlasic, Braun, and now Thornton and Marleau. That isn’t a whole hockey team but it is a fine collection of centerpieces.

That is why signing those three year contracts made sense for Marleau and Thornton too. It is a situation that offers as much chance of success as they would be likely to find anywhere else. Anyone can argue that there is something wrong in San Jose that they have never won the Stanley Cup after so many trips to the playoffs. But there’s many a slip twixt a cup and a lip, even more slips on ice with a bunch of guys trying to jostle your hand. No outcome is certain in the playoffs, except one: you can’t win if you miss the second season.

Maybe the Sharks need to finish the playoffs every which way they can before they win it: swept out, four games to one loss, game seven OT funny bounce loss… Maybe they have a few more exits to try before they find the right door. Not keeping their top players at this point won’t help them find it any sooner.

The notion of rebuilding right now is preposterous, with Couture and Vlasic and Braun and Tomas Hertl locked up. When you have promising players like Tommy Wingels, Matt Irwin and Matt Nieto playing as well as they are right now in the NHL, when you have a few more like Eriah Hayes and Matt Tennyson in the picture, and you might have a dark horse or two lurking in Worcester, now is not the time to trade everyone away and start over.

Alex Stalock is vying for more attention than Sharks backups usually get. Unless the Sharks will give him enough work to really test his potential as a starter, they may not reap the full benefit of his skill. That Stalock got two starts in four games is a step forward here. Maybe McLellan is ready to force some rest on his starting goaltender.

That isn’t a serious problem, and it certainly would not be solved by the acquisition of another player. The team doesn’t have any gaping holes, any glaring need of another big money player- actually or figuratively.

That is why the Sharks should try to keep Dan Boyle. The Sharks don’t need a significant disruption. Boyle probably wants a multi-year contract. Why wouldn’t he? Who doesn’t? What kind of salary he wants is probably the hold up. Doug Wilson has shown that he can get players to sign for less than they would be worth on the open market. That is partly because most players would rather not hit the open market, but also because the Sharks are perennial contenders.

I would guess that Boyle stays with the Sharks. If his salary requirements are reasonable, which would be significantly less than he is presently earning, I think Wilson is likely to offer him three years. He has given as many and more to players who are less central to the team’s core. With Thornton and Marleau at three years, it would be indecent for Boyle to expect more.

I would not put money on that guess. Boyle is at the point in his career where he is deciding how and where he will finish his playing career. Wilson has more cap space to work with than he might have after signing Marleau and Thornton, but he is not swimming in it.

Wilson might need some room to keep Jason Demers.  While Demers has been in and out of the lineup for a few season, he is clearly coming into his own now. He will probably have some suiters calling if the Sharks don’t secure him early.

While other teams are giving their masthead names seven years to stay, it is a sign of confidence from Marleau and Thorton that they accepted three. A 34 year old can’t expect seven years, but players of Thornton’s and Marleau’s stature could certainly get five somewhere. 37 isn’t a great age to be looking for a new contract, but those two are willing to take the risk. If they really think San Jose is the place to be, maybe it is.

Sharks Extend Streak to 5, Another Shutout for Stalock

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By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks won their fifth game in a row, defeating the Winnipeg Jets 1-0. Goaltender Alex Stalock got his second shutout in a row, the first being on January 16 in Florida against the Panthers.

Sharks head coach Todd McLellan was glad to see the Sharks play a much better game than they had Monday:

It was a tight game, I thought both teams played that way. Not many chances at either end. And when there were, both goaltenders played well. We’re lucky enough that [Pavelski] batted one out of the air and [we] got away with the win.

Good to see our team play a tight game. I thought against Calgary we weren’t any where near that, we were sloppy. Great to see Alex [Stalock] get another shut out. We’re excited for him. Some good things tonight.

As well as keeping their own zone in order, the Sharks also outshot the visitors. An imbalance on the shot clock was all but predicted by Jets head coach Paul Maurice, after the morning skate:

A huge, huge challenge in here tonight… in terms of their quickness and speed on the puck and the time that they take away from you when you have the puck it’s a huge challenge for the back end.

We loved the gritty effort in Anaheim, it was fantastic but the facts at the end of the day were our goalie made 40 saves and we blocked 36 shots. We didn’t have the puck enough, and I’m not complaining about our effort. So that tells you they were pretty good. I’m expecting to see that from San Jose.

The Sharks delivered, outshooting the Jets 32-20, with Winnipeg blocking 16 more shots. That was a closer margin than the Jets saw in their last game.

Thursday morning, Todd McLellan had predicted the first period to a tee, when asked what he expected from the game:

Tough game, probably a fast game when you look at their lineup and the way they’ve been playing the last four or five games. We know our opponent is confident, fast, they can play an aggressive game so I think we’ll see that type of night.

Bold plays abounded from both sides, the Sharks made quick, short passes through the neutral zone. The puck was bouncing much like it had the game before but the Sharks looked like they were used to it now. No matter how many times the puck hopped over a stick or went shooting into the air unexpectedly, they looked calm about waiting for it to come back into line. After the game, Joe Pavelski didn’t want to give the ice too much credit for either game:

I think it was a little better. You can’t put it all on the ice… You can make one play where the ice probably doesn’t affect it, and then there’s another play where it might make a difference.

It wasn’t a tough period in terms of physical play, but it tested the focus of both teams, with long stretches between stops. Neither team was able to execute or finish elaborate plays.

Pavelski went to the box at 3:33 of the first for holding the stick. That got some boos from the crowd and the Sharks killed the penalty off without giving the Jets much to work with.

The second penalty also went against the Sharks, this time to Tommy Wingels for tripping at 12:38. More boos from the audience, still no joy for Winnipeg.

The boards were unusually lively, as demonstrated by a Winnipeg shot that went wide, only to bounce back at the net. It missed the outside of the post, bounced off of Stalock, and across the blue paint. Luckily for the Sharks, the bounce was unlikely and fast, and no Jets players were in position to take advantage of it before the Sharks were on it.

The period ended with the teams even in shots at 11 each.

The second period was not so fast. The middle of the period was bogged down with pucks out of play and offside calls. The shot clock ticked along but neither team maintained lengthy attacks.

Finally, after a pile up in front of the Winnipeg crease, Olli Jokinen was called for holding.

It took the Sharks less than ten seconds to put the puck in the net, but the referee waived it off. Joe Thornton was on top of Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec when the puck crossed the line. That he was pushed there by Winnipeg’s Mark Stuart did not make a difference. The game remained scoreless, and the power play did not change that.

Shortly thereafter, Mike Brown helped Winnipeg’s Jacob Trouba into the end boards. He didn’t hit him with a full body check but he gave him a distinct push from behind and Trouba hit the glass awkwardly. Brown went to the box for charging. The Sharks killed off their third penalty of the game. They did not allow the Jets a shot on goal.

The shots for the second period were 11-4 San Jose.

The Jets had a scare to start the third period, when a shot from Brent Burns stung Ondrej Pavelec. After consulting with the trainer, Pavelec stayed in.

The Sharks earned their second power play of the game when Matt Nieto drew a hooking call on Bryan Little. The Sharks couldn’t convert on that one either.

The score finally got to change after Justin Braun cut a path to the slot and threw a backhand on Pavelec. Braun described the shot after the game:

I just kind of put it on my stick there. Maybe I should have shot it right away but it kind of worked out: soft backhand, Pavs made a nice play, whacked it out of the air.

Pavelski did knock it out of the air, but described it as if it happened in slow motion:

It’s one of those that’s just kinda, well it’s hovering there. You’re going to the net just hoping for something like that.

In case anyone was still wondering if Pavelski is in the zone, if he’s seeing pucks hovering while the rest of us see them not at all, yes, he is officially in the zone. That is a good thing for the Sharks, a good thing for Pavelski, and dare I say it? Sure, it’s a good thing for America too.

Alex Stalock made 20 saves in the shutout win, Ondrej Pavelec made 31 saves for the Jets. The Sharks and the Jets both had perfect penalty kills on three chances each.

Braun, Andrew Desjardins, Brent Burns and Matt Irwin each had four shots on goal. Brad Stuart led the Sharks with five hits, followed by Eriah Hayes with three. Olli Jokinen led the Jets in shots, with 5. Jacob Trouba led the Jets in blocked shots, with four. The Sharks won 45 of 69 faceoffs.

The three stars were Alex Stalock, Ondrej Pavelec and Joe Pavelski.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at SAP Center. They will host the Minnesota Wild at 7:30 pm.

Sharks top Lightning 5-4 in Tampa

Published on by philliptorres2013Leave a comment

By: Phillip Torres

TAMPA BAY-The San Jose Sharks (31-12-6) defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning (28-16-5) 5-4 on Saturday in Florida. The Lightning were up 4-2 at one point but could not hold off a late Sharks rally to hang on for the victory. San Jose rallied behind Joe Pavelski and his three goals to complete the come-from behind win.

Martin St. Louis was outstanding for Tampa Bay. St. Louis scored four goals in a game for the first time in his career and was the first Lightning player to do so since 1992. Pavelski stole the show from St. Louis and the home crowd in Tampa with his three goals in a span of 6:12 that happened late in the second period.

The Sharks opened up the scoring in the first period with a goal from Matt Nieto, who scored on a wrist shot at 9:46. The goal was assisted by Patrick Marleau and Tommy Wingles. St. Louis scored all three goals for the Lightning in the opening frame, completing his eighth career hat trick in less than 20 minutes.  Marleau also scored on wrist shot for the only other San Jose goal in the first period.  Nieto and Wingles assisted on the goal to earn another point on the night.

St. Louis scored his fourth goal of the game at 2:07 in the second period to extend the lead to 4-2 for Tampa Bay. The slapshot goal from the eventual first star of the game was assisted by Teddy Purcell and Tyler Johnson. The goal was the last score for the Lightning as the game was controlled by Pavelski late in the same frame.

Pavelski scored his first goal at 12:48 on a wrist shot that found the net. Tyler Kennedy and Jason Demers both contributed an assist on the play. Less than 30 seconds later Pavelski scored on another wrist shot to tie the game at 4-4 on his 24th goal of the season. This time it was Dan Boyle and Marleau getting appointed the assists. With exactly one minute remaining in the period, Pavelski’s last goal was made with his third wrist shot. The score made it 5-4 San Jose, and the score remained that way throughout the contest.

The Sharks played great defense in the third and final period, as Antti Niemi pitched a shutout in the last period. The win gave the Sharks their 31st win on the season. San Jose will be back on the ice on Monday January 20, 2014 to take on the Calgary Flames at the SAP Center in San Jose. The puck will drop at 7:30 P.M.