Tag: NHL

Sharks Win 6-2 Over Sabres, Georgiev Wins Back-to-Back Games

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

left to right the San Jose Sharks Mario Ferraro (38), Macklin Celebrini (71) congratulate goaltender Alexander Georgiev (40) who stopped 20 Buffalo Sabres shots at Key Bank Center in Buffalo on Tue Mar 4, 2025 (San Jose Sharks X photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Buffalo Sabres 6-2 on Tuesday. Timothy Liljegren, Nico Sturm, Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and Tyler Toffoli scored for San Jose. Alexandar Georgiev made 20 saves for San Jose the win. JJ Peterka and Tage Thommpson scored for Buffalo. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 22 saves in the loss.

After a loss in Montreal, Nico Sturm said that the Sharks were having trouble extending their lead, that they needed to “just score another goal.” The team did that Tuesday night with four goals in the third period. Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said: “Our guys were committed to it. You could tell from the beginning of puck drop we wanted to win the hockey game. We went on the attack.”

Two wins in a row has not been easy for the Sharks, but these wins had the distinction of being on back to back nights, with an overtime and shootout the first night, and the same Sharks goalie in both games. It was a somewhat unusual schedule for the San Jose goaltender: “I wouldn’t say it threw off my routine. Just probably not a lot of sleep. After the last win, I was pretty hyped. Yeah I felt… just trying to battle it out in the first period, have a good first and see what happened.”

After a scoreless first period, the Sharks scored 1:01 into the second period. Timothy Liljegren caught a cross-ice pass from William Eklund and took a shot. The puck slid under Luukkonen and went just over the line. The officials did not see it and play went on. A later review called it a goal. Assists went to Eklund and Jake Walman.

JJ Peterka tied it at 5:13 on a power play. Peterka scored with a slap shot off of a set up by Rasmus Dahlin. Assists went to Dahlin and Jack Quinn.

Nico Sturm gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead at 18:22. Collin Graf passed the puck across the ice and it went off of a Sabres defender. Sturm was right on hand to catch that stray puck and put it away. Assists went to Graf and Klim Kostin.

The Sharks out-shot the Sabres 11-5 in the first period. The Sabres took two penalties in the first, and the Sharks took two in the second. The Sabres had a tiny edge in shots for the second period, 11-10.

William Eklund extended the lead to 3-1 at early in the third period. Catching a pass off the boards from Toffoli, he shot the puck from just above the goal line. Toffoli and Shakir Mukhamadullin got the assists.

Tage Thompson trimmed that lead at 6:55 with a slap shot off a pass from Peterka. An assist also went to Connor Clifton.

Just over a minute later, Macklin Celebrini scored his 19th of the season. He had just come off the bench and the Sharks were swarming the net. Mukhamadullin passed the puck across the ice to Celebrini for a wrist shot. An assist also went to Will Smith.

Smith scored at 12:49 to make it 5-2. Smith caught a pass off the boards from Fabian Zetterlund in the Sharks’ end. He then skated all the way to the other end, evading the Sabres defense to score his 11th of the season.

Tyler Toffoli scored into an empty net at 18:01. Assists went to Jake Walman and Timothy Liljegren.

On the trade front, Vitek Vanecek was held out of Tuesday’s game in anticipation of a trade. Which team the Sharks are dealing with has not been announced.

The Sharks next play on Thursday in Colorado against the Avalanche at 6:30 PM PT.

Sharks Rally to Defeat Maple Leafs 3-2 in Shootout; Win ends San Jose’s 8 game loss streak

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks forward Tyler Toffoli (73) is thrilled after scoring his third period goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Mon Mar 3, 2025 (Canadian Press via AP)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won 3-2 in a shootout against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jack Thompson and Tyler Toffoli scored for the Sharks. Toffoli and Fabian Zetterlund scored to win the shootout. Alexandar Georgiev made 25 saves and three in the shootout for the win. John Tavares and Matthew Knies scored for the Maple Leafs, and William Nylander scored in the shootout. Anthony Stolarz made 20 saves and two in the shootout loss.

The win ended an eight-game losing streak and, for the Leafs, it ended a five-game win streak. The Sharks not only won, but came back from a two goal deficit to start the third period. Also to the Sharks’ credit, the two goals they gave up came on the power play. The game was hard won for the Sharks.

John Tavares scored the first goal after a scoreless first period. At 8:28 of the second, Tavares tipped a shot from Mitch Marner on a power play. Assists went to Marner and Nylander.

Matthew Knies made it 2-0 at 19:55 of the second, again on the power play. Knies redirected Auston Matthews’ shot from the goal line. An assist also went to Tavares.

Jack Thompson started the Sharks comeback at 2:23 of the third. Alexander Wennberg sent the puck in from the blue line. The shot went off of the boards behi8nd the net and back up to Thompson for a shot form above the faceoff dot. Assists went to Wennberg and William Eklund.

Tyler Toffoli tied the game at 10:10. Wennberg carried the puck into the zone, around behind the net and then centered it for a waiting Toffoli. An assist also went to Shakir Mukhamadullin.

In the shootout, Georgiev stopped Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews and John Tavares. William Nylander scored.

Stolarz stopped Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. Tyler Toffoli and Fabian Zetterlund scored.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday at 4:00 PM PT in Buffalo against the Sabres.

Utah HC Bedeviled As Swiss Snipers Snap Streak In 3-1 Loss

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Utah Hockey Club’s defenseman Mikhail Segachev scored Utah’s only goal against the New Jersey Devils at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sat Mar 1, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Swiss Forwards Nico Hischier and Timo Meier solve Karel Vejmelka in 3-1 New Jersey Devils win over Utah HC, snapping Utah’s four-game home win streak.

The Utah Hockey Club looked to extend their 4-game home winning streak on Saturday against the visiting Devils who in October gave Utah their first road loss of the season in a 3-0 shutout in New Jersey.

Nico Hischier was first to strike in the game, putting New Jersey up 1-0 in the first with his 25th goal of the season, assisted by Luke Hughes and Tomas Tatar. The Devils edged Utah 9-7 in shots on goal for the period, a deceptive statistic considering how much time New Jersey spent in their offensive zone. Utah netminder Karel Vejmelka, who entered the matchup on a personal four-game winning streak, turned away two Grade A breakaways in the frame to limit the Devils to a single goal.

At 10:03 of the second period, Mikhail Sergachev tied things up with his 11th goal of the season, a new career season high for the Russian defenseman, assisted by Liam O’Brien and Kevin Stenlund. When the PA announcer called out the players who scored, the loudest shouts came for fan-favorite O’Brien who recorded just his 2nd point of the season in his 22nd game. Earlier in the first he fired up the crowd fighting New Jersey’s Brenden Dillon.

Just 14 seconds into the third period, Devils forward Timo Meier found the back of the net for his 16th goal of the season, assisted by Dawson Mercer and Johnathan Kovacevic. New Jersey’s offense continued to be relentless throughout the period, further padding their lead at 12:44 of the third on the second goal of the season by Curtis Lazar, assisted by Jack Hughes and Nathan Bastian. Devils goalie Nico Daws was brilliant in net, saving 24 of 25 shots for the win which ended streaks for Utah at home and Vejmelka overall.

After the game, Liam O’Brien spoke with the media about his assist on Sergachev’s goal. “Yeah, I mean, just Sergy getting into a good spot, and he’s got such a dangerous shot, so when you get him the puck, it’s gonna go in the net.” Talking about any adjustments the squad might make heading into the road trip, O’Brien said, “I think the biggest thing is just rest. I think it’s been kind of a grind since break. I think just doing the right things away from the rink, and taking care of our bodies and getting ready to roll on the road.” With regard to his fight, O’Brien added, “Just wanting to get the momentum, that’s it.”

Mikhail Sergachev commented on O’Brien’s assist. “Well, hell of a pass by Tuna. I was in the slot, so I had to shoot it. It was a knuckleball. Nothing special.” With regard to his new career high in goals, Sergachev added, “Obviously I want to score as many as possible, but it’s all about winning for me. If I can contribute scoring goals, great. If not, I’ll play defense. I’m not chasing goals.” Speaking of Vejmelka’s performance in goal, Sergachev said, “He’s been unreal all season long. He’s been a rock back there for us and an unbelievable goalie. Obviously it gives you confidence to play when you have a great goalie back there. He makes timeless saves for us.”

Head coach André Tourigny offered his takeaways from the game. “The first takeaway is that’s a really good team on the other side, and they played a really good game. They played with a really high pace and credit to them. Having that said, I think when you are in those kinds of games, you need to rise to the occasion. I think our level of focus and detail on what we knew they would do was not high enough. I think we went into that game wanting to play our game, which is fine, but you need to also know exactly the details of how you need to play against each opponent. I didn’t like our level of focus on those.” Tourigny also had praise for his netminder. “At key moments, he was great. In the first period, I think we were in deep water and he made key saves. He kept us there and allowed us to come back and tie the game. It’s a really good team. It’s a tight game. I’m not forgetting the fact we’re five games in eight days, and we’re at the end of it. It’ll be a welcome break for us to regroup, recover. But at the same time, in life you win or you learn, and it’s important. We had a few learning lessons in that game, and we cannot pass by.”

Utah now hits the road for a pair of games in Detroit and Chicago before returning March 10 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Sharks Fall Short Again, Lose 5-3 to Senators for eighth loss in a row; Sens end 5 game skid

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks William Eklund (72) takes a shot on Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) in the first period at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Sat Mar 1, 2025 (Canadian Press via AP)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 5-3 to the Ottawa Senators Saturday. Shane Pinto, Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle, David Perron and Michael Amadio scored for the Senators. Linus Ullmark made 34 saves for the win. Tyler Toffoli, Timothy Liljegren and Will Smith scored for the Sharks. Vitek Vanecek made 27 saves in the loss.

Once again, the Sharks gave up a lead to lose the game. “It sucks. It feels like we’ve been playing pretty good hockey. So, it’s just an unfortunate loss,” said Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro. The Sharks power play did well, scoring in three of four chances. It also did badly, giving up a short-handed goal on that fourth try, which was actually their first of the game. That was emblematic of the team’s frustrations lately. It is difficult to see the good in their game when they keep losing.

“I liked our start, we did some good things. Obviously a couple bounces. I didn’t like that line change that we had. We gave up an easy goal,” Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said, of the fourth Ottawa goal.

Shane Pinto started the scoring at 11:05 of the first period, short-handed. After pushing the puck out of the zone, Pinto started skating while Ridly Greig gathered up the puck and passed it ahead of Pinto. Pinto skated into the Sharks zone with no one between him and Vanecek.

Tyler Toffoli tied the game with a power play goal at 5:17 of the second period. Toffoli’s shot from the goal line went off of a Senator and into the net. Assists went to Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini.

Timothey Liljegren gave the Sharks the lead with a second power play goal at 9:47. Liljegren scored with a shot from the blue line through traffic. Assists went to Alexander Wennberg and Klim Kostin.

Brady Tkachuk tied the game again at 1:26 of the third period with a power play goal. Tim Stützle carried the puck in, then passed it across and back to Tkachuk for the shot. Assists went to Stützle and Jake Sanderson.

Tim Stützle gave the Senators a 3-2 lead at the three minute mark. Greig sent the puck in and off the end boards, where it bounced to the front of the net to meet Stützle.

David Perron made it 4-2 at 8:31. Thomas Chabot carried the puck in and took a shot that created a rebound for Perron to gather up and put in the net. Assists went to Chabot and Drake Batherson.

The Sharks pulled their goaltender for an extra skater with more than two minutes left. Soon enough, they drew a tripping penalty and got a power play. Will Smith made it 4-3 with a third power play goal. Assists went to William Eklund and Macklin Celebrini.

The Sharks kept their net empty and with one minute left, Michael Amadio scored into that empty net. An assist went to Artem Zub.

The Sharks next play on Monday at 4:30 PM PT in Toronto against the Maple Leafs.

San Jose Sharks podcast Mary Lisa: Battle of the slides Sharks on 7 game skid vs. Senators 5 game slide Saturday nite in Ottawa

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks Nico Sturm (7) celebrates his goal with teammates Mario Ferraro (38) and Collin Graf (51) in the first period at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Thu Feb 27, 2025 (Canadian Press via AP News)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast Mary Lisa:

#1 The Montreal Canadians Cole Caufield got the game winner in overtime from Caufield at 3:21 to come away with a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks. The win was the Habs third straight since the 4 Nations Face Off break.

#2 Caulfield goal was skillful he shot the put between his legs and to get past the Sharks Macklin Celebrini and got it past goaltender Alexandar Geogiev shooting it over Geogiev’s right pad. Caulfield lead Montreal with 28 goals.

#3 Montreal’s Nick Suzuki scored two goals in the first period for Montreal and Alex Newhook scored his first goal since Feb 4th. Habs goaltender Samuel Montembeault stopped 22 out 25 shots for his third win in a row.

#4 Scorers for San Jose Fabian Zetterlund, Nico Sturm and Will Smith there effort was strong but once again San Jose fell short. The Sharks have now lost seven straight and have lost 13 of their last 14 games.

#5 Sharks hoping to snap their seven game loss streak at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. The Ottawa Senators fifth in the Western Conference at 29-25-4 and 62 points. Like the Sharks the Sens are battling a long losing streak with five loses in row.

Check Mary Lisa on the San Jose Sharks podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Lightning get shutout help from Vasilevskiy; Isles edge Bruins 2-1 at the Garden; plus more NHL news

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) and defenseman Ryan McDonagh (27) put the stop on the Calgary Flames right wing Matt Coranato (27) at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay on Thu Feb 27, 2025 (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 The Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped all 27 Calgary Flames shots on goal for a 3-0 shutout at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay on Thursday. The Lightning got goal scoring from Brandon Hagel, Erik Cemak, and Nikita Kucherov.

#2 The New York Islanders just got by the Boston Bruins 2-1 at the Garden in Boston. The Islanders Alexander Romanov scored his fourth goal of the season at 16:11 in the first period and teammate Kyle Palmieri scored his 18th goal of the season at 4:21 in the second period. The Bruins got their only goal of the game at 10:04 when David Pastrnak scored in the third period.

#3 The Columbus Blue Jackets won a three goal contest against the Detroit Red Wings. Most of the game’s scoring came in the second period when the Red Wings Alex DeBrincat scored his 27th goal at 27 seconds making it 1-0, the Blue Jackets would follow up with four unanswered goals from James Van Riemsdyk, Sean Kuraly, Kent Johnson, and Riemsdyk scored his second goal of the period making it 4-1 CBJs. The Red Wings JD Compher scored at 16:30 for the final goal of the period making it 4-2. The Jackets Kirill Marchenko scored at 19:03 in the third period to round out all the goals in a 5-2 win for Columbus.

#4 The San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens skated to a 2-2 after the first period. The Sharks getting first period goals from Fabian Zetterlund and Nico Sturm. The Habs got first period goals from Nick Suzuki scoring twice in the period. In the second period the Sharks Will Smith scored at 17:21 making 3-2 Sharks. The Canadiens added two more in the third period Alex Newhook and in overtime Cole Caulfield scored the game winner for the 4-3 win.

#5 The Carolina Hurricanes came away with a 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. Wearing their Hartford Whalers uniforms the Hurricanes scored three unanswered goals in the first period taking a 3-1 lead after the first period. Carolina would score a goal in each of the second and third periods for the 5-2 win.

Len Shapiro does the NHL podcasts each Friday morning at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Utah HC Runs Wild Over Minnesota In 6-1 Outburst

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Utah Hockey Club center Jack McBain (22) mixes it up with Minnesota Wild defenseman Jack Middleton (5) in the first period at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thu Feb 27, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Clayton Keller registers Utah franchise record 5 points and nine different players made the score sheet in commanding victory over Minnesota Wild for fourth straight home win.

The Utah Hockey Club concluded their February home schedule with a bang on Thursday night, exploding with 6 goals in regulation for the first time this season against Marc-Andre Fleury and the Wild, winning the season series against Minnesota with a 3-0-1 record.  The victory gave Utah a 4-1 home record for the month during which they outscored their opponents 14-7.

Just over 3 minutes into the first period, Wild defenseman Declan Chisholm went to the penalty box for holding against Clayton Keller.  Utah forward Barrett Hayton promptly cashed it in for his 16th goal of the season, assisted by Keller and Mikhail Sergachev.  Shortly after dropping the puck, Jack McBain and Jake Middleton dropped their gloves for a spirited bout which brought the Delta Center faithful to their feet roaring with approval.  With less than a minute remaining in the period, Minnesota defenseman Jonas Brodin went to the sin bin for hooking against Nick Schmaltz, and Marcus Foligno joined him 3 seconds later with a double minor penalty for high-sticking against Nick Schmaltz who left behind a pool of blood on the ice.  The Wild didn’t have a chance against Utah’s 5-on-3 power play as Dylan Guenther scored his 22nd goal of the season on a slap shot, assisted by Keller and Hayton, giving the home squad a 2-0 lead heading into the locker room.

At 16:02 of the second period, Minnesota forward Frederick Gaudreau cut the lead in half with a snap shot for his 12th goal of the season, assisted by Matt Boldy, but Utah defenseman Sean Durzi, who returned to the ice last Sunday after a 52-game absence, restored Utah’s lead with his first goal of the season, assisted by Josh Doan and Olli Määttä.

In the third period, Utah turned on the afterburners to deny the Wild any chance at a comeback while making Marc-Andre Fleury’s life miserable.  At 3:47 of the period, forward Nick Schmaltz put Utah up 4-1 with his 12th goal of the season, assisted by Logan Cooley and Keller.  At 9:30, Keller netted his 22nd of the season, assisted by Schmaltz and Sergachev.  Finally, putting an exclamation point on Utah’s dominant performance, Cooley scored his 17th of the season, assisted by Keller – his 47th helper overall and 4th on the night – and Schmaltz.

Earning the victory, Karel Vejmelka stopped 15 of 16 shots for his 4th consecutive win, allowing just 5 goals over that span.

In the locker room, Sean Durzi talked about the team’s defense finally being healthy again.  “It’s a lot of good depth. We got six guys going right now, we got guys who aren’t playing who can do just as good. It’s so important to have that, but it’s our energy we’re bringing. Guys are rooting for each other, breakouts are huge. Just small plays that take a little bit of poise. We’re making that extra play that is allowing our forwards to get speed, and then guys like (Clayton Keller) and (Logan Cooley) to show their skill, and it shows. We do our best we can, but to have six defensemen going with good energy, shift after shift, is so important.”

Captain Clayton Keller spoke of his team’s effort on a night where he set a franchise record with 5 points.  “I think ever since the break, even the game against (Los Angeles), we’ve just had a different feel in our game. We’ve had more confidence, we’re playing for each other, we’re playing the right way, and this is the time of year that you want to do that. So we’ll enjoy this for a couple minutes and turn the page and be ready for the next one here. … Like I said, I think we’re playing with a lot of confidence, even the games where they were tight, and 2-1 we still liked our looks. Like you said, we just had some poise, some confidence with the puck and (we) got to keep it going.” When asked about the team’s recent success at home, Keller commented, “It’s great. We struggled there for a little bit at home. I liked how we bounced back. And, like I said, we’re playing with a lot of confidence right now. Just got to keep it going. Every game is so important. It’s an exciting time of year. This is when you want to play your best, and this is what you put all the extra work in for.”

Head coach André Tourigny addressed his team’s depth, with six different players finding the back of the net on Thursday night.  “It’s really important. The way we played that game was shift after shift. Everybody was connected; everybody was engaged. They were resilient. When (Minnesota) pushed, I never felt we were shaky in any shape or form.” When asked about playing with a multi-goal lead in the final period, Tourigny said, “It’s weird. I think we were consistent in the way we played. When we went up 3-1, 4-1, we did not change. We did not start to play differently or start to peel back. We stayed engaged and we stayed in the moment. We just kept going.”

Utah, which finds itself just 2 points out of a Wild Card spot, has a chance to complete a perfect homestand on Saturday night when they host the New Jersey Devils. 

Canadiens Sink Sharks 4-3 in OT, Sharks Losing Streak at 7

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Montreal Canadians Alex Newhook (15) scores on the San Jose Sharks goaltender Alexander Geogiev in the third period at the Belle Centre in Montreal on Thu Feb 27, 2025 (Canadian Press via AP)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 4-3 in OT to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. Nick Suzuki, Alex Newhook and Cole Caulfield scored for Montreal. Sam Montembeault made 23 saves for the win. Fabian Zetterlund, Nico Sturm and Will Smith scored for San Jose. Alexandar Georgiev made 29 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks forward Will Smith said: “We gotta learn how to win. It’s been I don’t even know how many times this year so, it adds up and we’ve just gotta be better.”

Nico Sturm explained what was missing from the Sharks’ game at this point: “I think the one thing we haven’t done all year is score another goal. Either when we’re up or the game is tied, just score another goal and put a two goal lead or three goal lead. That’s what we haven’t done.”

The game got off to a flying start with four goals scored in the first period. At 3:56, Fabian Zetterlund scored to give San Jose the lead. Will Smith won the race for the puck and carried it behind the net. He passed it up to Zetterlund for a snap shot just outside the goal post. Assists went to Smith and Alexander Wennberg.

Nick Suzuki tied the game at 6:49 with a snap shot from high in the slot. Assists went to Cole Caulfield and Juraj Slafkovsky.

Nico Sturm made it 2-1 Sharks at 12:39. Sturm and Klim Kostin skated into the zone. Kostin carried the puck below the goal line before sending it back up to Sturm for the shot. Assists went to Kostin and Collin Graf.

Nick Suzuki tied it again in the final minute of the period. Suzuki won the offensive zone face-off, then caught Lane Hutson‘s pass from the blue line and took the shot from just above the hash marks. Assists went to Hutson and Jayden Struble.

Will Smith gave the Sharks their third lead of the game at 17:21 of the second period. Alexander Wennberg won a faceoff in the defensive zone and got the puck to Shakir Mukhamadullin. Mukhamadullin passed it to Smith, who carried it through the neutral zone, into the Canadiens’ zone, and scored with a shot from the hash marks.

Alex Newhook tied it 3-3 at 2:22 of the third period. Newhook, Patrik Laine and Owen Beck swarmed the crease and the puck ping-ponged around among them. Laine and Beck got the assists.

Cole Caulfield scored the game winner at 3:21 of OT. He caught Suzuki’s pass on the Canadiens’ blue line and carried the puck all the way down the ice for a snap shot from in close. Assists went to Suzuki and Montembeault.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 4:00 PM PT in Ottawa against the Senators.

Utah HC Posts Third Consecutive Home Win With 2-1 Victory Over Chicago

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Utah Hockey Club left wing Lawson Crouse (67) takes the puck up ice against the Chicago Blackhawks at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tue Feb 25, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Clayton Keller and Lawson Crouse each found the back of the net, and Karel Vejmelka stopped 21 of 22 shots, as Utah nails down third consecutive home win.

Coming off of a 2-1 home victory against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday, Utah HC returned to the ice on Tuesday to square off against the Chicago Blackhawks, whom they defeated 5-2 on opening night in October.

Prior to the puck drop, local recording artist Yahosh Bonner, fresh off of starring in the lead role of Coalhouse Walker Jr. in the musical “Ragtime!,” the inaugural production at The Ruth and Nathan Hale Theater in Pleasant Grove, set the tone for the game with his powerful performance of the national anthem.

At 12:47 of the first period, Utah forward Kevin Stenlund went to the penalty box for holding against Connor Bedard to give Chicago its first power play of the evening. Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones converted the man advantage on a snap shot for his 7th goal of the season, assisted by Ryan Donato and Teuvo Teravainen, as Chicago took a 1-0 lead into the locker room.

Chicago goaltender Arvid Soderblom was stingy in net for the first two periods, but with 44 seconds remaining in the second, Utah captain Clayton Keller found the back of the net to tie things up with his 21st goal of the season, assisted by Michael Kesselring and Logan Cooley.

Kesselring’s assist was his 17th of the season establishing his new single-season high. Last season he registered 16 assists in 65 games for the Phoenix Coyotes. Cooley’s assist gave him at least one point in each of Utah’s last 8 home games.

Utah forward Lawson Crouse gave his squad the lead at 12:12 of the third period with a backhand shot, his 9th goal of the season, assisted by Josh Doan and Olli Määttä. The goal turned out to be the game-winner, Crouse’s second of the season, matching his 2023-2024 total. Crouse also scored against the Blackhawks on opening night.

Chicago put heavy pressure on Utah in the closing minutes of the game with their goaltender pulled, but Karel Vejmelka stood tall to protect the victory. Vejmelka has now won 3 games in a row, allowing just 4 goals during that span for a 1.40 GAA and .942 save percentage.

In the locker room, Lawson Crouse talked about how his team has been handling pressure recently. “As our identity progresses forward, we keep taking steps in the right direction. It’s a lot of fun when we play this way. Everyone is on board.

Everyone that’s contributing and creating team success pushes everyone to be the best they can possibly be.” Describing his game-winning goal, Lawson added, “We attacked as a unit, and Doaner made a great play to find me in the middle. There was a lot of open ice, and I think the key player on that play was McBain just being at the net, and that allowed me to have that extra second to get the shot off.”

Captain Clayton Keller, Tuesday night’s other scorer, talked about his squad’s perseverance. “It’s huge. We didn’t have our best stuff to start the game, but we stuck with it. They played hard. They made us work for everything. It’s good to get the win there.

It was a tight game all the way through, so a huge win for us.” Talking about Crouse’s goal, Keller said, “It’s huge. He’s such a great teammate. He’s scoring, not scoring, and has been through the ups and downs. He’s a guy that you love being around at the rink.

Just a great teammate. Anytime another guy has success, it’s awesome.” When asked about holding onto the lead for the final eight minutes, Keller added, “Just keep playing our game. Keep going. I think we’ve taken strides in learning from previous mistakes when we’ve had the lead. Playing a little bit more loose. That’s part of the way that we kind of stuck with it. We had a lot of possession and chances in the third there.”

Head coach André Tourigny was happy with his team’s consecutive home win and offered particular praise for the play of Crouse. “He’s playing with more conviction. He has less doubt in his head, he plays a little bit more free-minded. He shoots quickly and you can see he doesn’t overthink the game. So, I like the way he played, the pace he played with, and I think that line was excellent again tonight. Obviously, they got the big goal as well, but the pace and the key moments were really good.” With regard to the whole team, he said, “They want it. There’s a good feel on the bench right now. There’s a feel of competitiveness, there’s a feel of care, and there’s a feel of passion. I like the way it feels and the guys are all in on winning. They don’t give a damn about who, but us.”

Speaking about Vejmelka, who also won Sunday’s 2-1 contest against the Canucks, Bear noted, “He stopped the puck and that’s a good quality for a goalie. He did a really good job in both games and found a way to make the last stop. Even during 6-on-5, they had two good looks, and [Vejmelka] came up big. I like the way he plays…He was really solid [against Vancouver] and looking at this body of work since he got hurt, I think he really stepped up and has allowed us to be in the hunt.”

Summarizing the game, he concluded, “It was huge. I think we’re at the point as a team where we’re in the zone and it’s like next man up. We need to find a way to win games and I think tonight, we did a lot of good stuff, offensively and defensively. The puck was not going in and we had a little bit of a tough time to make the next play offensively in terms of execution, but we stayed with it, and I think the guys were focused. Even if the execution was not at our best, we stayed with it, and we played with confidence. We had confidence in our play without the puck and confidence if we kept pegging away and putting the puck behind and putting pucks at the net. Something will go in and it did.”

Utah will go for its fourth consecutive home win on Thursday against the Minnesota Wild. They have won five of their past seven games and trail the Calgary Flames by three points in the Western Conference Wild Card chase.

Sharks Fall 2-1 in OT to Jets, Winnipeg Win Streak at 10; San Jose loss steak reaches six

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Winnipeg Jets Mark Scheifele (55) scored the game winning goal in overtime on San Jose Sharks goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg on Mon Feb 24, 2025 (Canadian press via AP)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 2-1 in overtime to the Winnipeg Jets, despite holding a lead for more than 40 minutes. The win was the tenth in a row for the Jets. For the Sharks, it was the sixth loss in a row. Josh Morrissey and Mark Sheifele scored for Winnipeg. Connor Hellebuyck made 17 saves for the win. William Eklund scored for the Sharks and Vitek Vanacek made 33 saves in the loss.

Vitek Vanacek was a big part of the reason that the Sharks hung in there for as long as they did. After the game, William Eklund said, of the goaltender: “Yeah, he was outstanding tonight.” Of his teammates, Vanacek said that “I think the guys played really well.” The Sharks came away from the loss disappointed but not ashamed of their effort.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said that the team:

“Worked extremely hard, each and every period, with things we talked about this morning. To fall short is a kick in the gut. Disappointed we don’t get the result but I’m really extremely proud of our group. Back to back, get in late last night, to have that type of effort against arguably the best team in the League.”

William Eklund started the scoring with a power play goal at 15:07 of the first period. Macklin Celebrini made a cross-ice pass to Eklund for a slap shot from the face-off dot. Celebrini and Will Smith got the assists.

Winnipeg outshot San Jose 10-6 in the first period. The teams took matching roughing minors near the middle of the period. The Sharks had the only power play of the period. The Jets outshot the Sharks 10-8 in the second period and 13-3 in the third. The Sharks had two power plays in the second period and killed one penalty. The Sharks had the only penalty in the third period and killed that.

Eklund’s goal gave the Sharks a lead that lasted until the final minute of the third period, when Josh Morrissey tied the game with the Jets’ net empty. Morrissey caught a bounce off of the side board and put the puck in the net on the short side from the top of the faceoff circle.

1:33 into overtime, the Jets extended their win streak when Mark Sheifele picked up a rebound right in front of Vanacek and poked it over the line. Assists went to Nikolaj Ehlers and Kyle Connor.

The Sharks next play on Thursday in Montreal against the Canadiens at 4:00 PM PT.