Tag: NHL

Kraken Sink Sharks 6-2, Montour Scores Twice

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The Seattle Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour celebrates scoring his second goal against the San Jose Sharks in the second period at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Thu Jan 30, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 6-2 to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday. Chandler Stephenson, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Brandon Montour (2 goals), Jaden Schwartz, and Eeli Tolvane scored for Seattle. Joey Daccord made 26 saves for the win. Carl Grundstrom and Tyler Toffoli scored for San Jose. Yaroslav Askarov made seven saves on 11 shots before being replaced by Alexandar Georgiev, who made 20 saves in the loss.

The Kraken took an early lead at 3:55 of the first period. Chandler Stephenson got a break away courtesy of a series of good passes to get the puck out of Seattle’s zone. By the time the puck got to Stephenson, he was almost at the Sharks blue line and there was no one between him and Askarov. The shot went by Askarov on the glove side. Assists went to Oliver Bjorkstrand and Eeli Tolvanen.

Carl Grundstrom tied the game at 17:55. Grundstrom skated to the net from the right side, passing back and forth with Will Smith, before taking the shot. Assists went to Smith and Mikael Granlund.

The Sharks outshot the Kraken 11-8 in the first period. There were no penalties called in the first.

Oliver Bjorkstrand made it 2-1 at 2:03 of the second period. Bjorkstrand scored from just outside the blue paint off a pass from Chandler Stephenson. Assists went to Stephenson and Vince Dunn.

Brandon Montour scored the third Seattle goal less than a minute later. S Wright stole the puck from the Sharks and passed it over to Montour, who was just skating into the zone. Montour took the shot from high in the slot and beat Azkarov on the glove side.

Jaden Schwartz made it 4-1 at 5:58. Jamie Oleksiak’s pass found Schwartz breaking away at the Sharks’ blue line. No one got in front of him as he skated in and shot at the puck past Askarov.

The Sharks pulled Askarov after that one and put Georgiev in net.

Brandon Montour scored his second of the night on a power play at 7:52. Montour caught a cross-ice pass from Jared McCann before shooting from the hash marks into the far side of the net. Assists went to McCann and Chandler Stephenson.

In the second period, several calls gave the Kraken two power plays and the Sharks one. The Kraken outshot the Sharks 17-9 in the second.

Tyler Toffoli got one back for the Sharks at 8:06 of the third period. Macklin Celebrini got a pass through to Toffoli in the center of the ice. Toffoli got a wrist shot through traffic in front of the net for his 18th of the season. Assists went to Celebrini and Henry Thrun.

Eeli Tolvanen made it 6-2 at 12:18. The Kraken took the puck from the Sharks on a zone entry and went to the other way. Tolvanen used Cody Ceci as a screen for his shot, Ceci being the only Shark to catch him as he skated into the zone. Joshua Mahura got an assist on the goal.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday back in San Jose against the visiting Montreal Canadiens at 7:30 PM PT.

Utah HC Takes Mammoth Step Toward Team Name But Falls to Penguins 3-2 In Overtime

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Pittsburgh Penguins center Syd Crosby (87) and Utah Hockey Club’s left wing Michael Carcone (53) battle for the puck in second period at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Wed Jan 29, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Utah inched closer to a new team name on Wednesday, but Sid Crosby’s overtime goal delivers another home ice loss.

The Utah Hockey Club announced on Wednesday that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had rejected various proposed names and logos that the team had sought as possibilities for the 2025-2026 season and beyond, including what had been the odds-on fan favorite “Yetis,” which turns out to be heavily trademark protected by Yeti Coolers LLC. As a result, the team announced that fan voting would take place at Delta Center during the next four home games where attendees would be able to choose between the current Utah Hockey Club name, the Utah Mammoth, or the Utah Wasatch, which is the name of the mountain range flanking Salt Lake City and the surrounding region.

The announcement was enthusiastically received by two particular fans, Richard Latimer and Nick Finlayson, who have actively campaigned for the Mammoth name from the beginning and who have been seen at many games and on television news programs sporting their now familiar Mammoth attire. Though not technically permitted to advocate at the arena’s polling booths where fans lined up for the opportunity to weigh in on the new name, Latimer and Finlayson nevertheless hung out near one of the voting sites prior to Wednesday night’s tilt against the Pittsburgh Penguins to draw attention and occasionally break into a “Let’s Go Mammoths” chant. Finlayson said, “When they announced the names that you could vote for, Mammoth stuck out immediately.” Latimer added, “We knew it was Mammoth from the beginning. As soon as it was announced we got a hockey club we knew we had to be the Mammoth. … We came to game one, opening night, dressed as mammoths.” The two friends have even taken their costumes on the road to a game against the Vegas Golden Knights. Spencer Joseph of the local Fox 13 affiliate surveyed a number of fans about their preferences, and Utah Mammoth was the clear fan favorite thus far.

Out on the ice, Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev returned to the lineup from injury after a five-game absence and gave his squad a 1-0 lead at 14:51 of the first with his 9th goal of the season, a snap shot on the power play, assisted Nick Schmaltz and Logan Cooley. Utah goaltender Connor Ingram turned away all four Pittsburgh shots in the period, while Penguins netminder Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 11 of 12.

Pittsburgh defenseman Marcus Pettersson evened things up at 6:40 of the second period with his 3rd goal of the season, assisted by Sidney Crosby and Matt Grzelcyk. Utah would respond two minutes later and regain the lead as Michael Carcone netted his 4th of the season, assisted by John Marino and Nick Bjugstad.

At 6:17 of the third period, Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson took advantage of a misdirected pass in the Utah defensive zone and blasted a shot past Ingram to ties things up again with his 5th goal of the season, unassisted, and the two teams ended regulation play knotted up 2-2.

With a little more than a minute remaining in the overtime period, Penguins star Sid Crosby gave Utah fans a glimpse of his Hall of Fame credentials with the game winner for Pittsburgh, his 16th of the season, assisted by Cody Glass and Rickard Rakell. Crosby commented after the game about playing for the first time in Salt Lake City. “It was great. The atmosphere was great, it was a lot of fun to play here. I can tell that the people are excited here to have a team and can support them.”

In the Utah locker room, Mikhail Sergachev was asked what it will take to learn from the losses. “Time. Tough loss, tougher than the ones that we had before. Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t know what it’s going to take. I think the leadership group and the coaches are doing everything we can to try to turn it around. And we can’t be too negative about it, but we can’t be just ‘whatever next one.’ Can’t be like that. So we’re going to talk about it tomorrow, for sure.”

Head coach André Tourigny praised Sergachev’s growth as a leader. “He has a lot of character. He takes ownership, and he doesn’t shy away from responsibility. He’s a winner, he won before so he knows what it takes, and he believes in (the) group and he wants to win.”

Utah HC returns to home ice on Friday when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets at 7:00pm.

Sharks Take on Crosby and Win 2-1 it on Monday Action; Victory snaps San Jose’s six game skid

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Sharks Players celebrate their first win against the Penguins at SAP Center in San Jose on Monday, Jan 27, 2025 (Sharks Media)

By Fernando Abarca

This Monday night, the San Jose Sharks pulled off a thrilling 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, keeping fans on the edge of their seats at the SAP Center. Not only was this matchup crucial in the fight for points in the season, but it also highlighted both teams’ tenacity and competitive spirit as both teams have struggled throughout the season

From the start of the match, the Sharks showed renewed energy after the dreadful loss against the Stanley Cup Champions, Florida Panthers, fueled by the unconditional support of their home crowd. In the second period, the home team took the lead with an early goal that fired up the crowd from Mikael Granlund assisted by Will Smith. A precise turnover from the blue line found its way to the net, thanks to an excellent job to fight for the puck. This first goal not only set the tone for the game, but also gave the Sharks confidence.

The Penguins, known for their responsiveness, were quick to react. They began to press harder throughout the second period, creating several scoring opportunities. However, the Sharks’ defense held firm, with their goalie making some key saves that maintained the lead. Despite Pittsburgh’s best efforts, the score remained 1-0 at the end of the second period.

The third period brought with it even greater intensity. The Penguins finally managed to equalize the score with a goal that came after a series of quick and precise passes. The visiting fans erupted in jubilation, and the match became even more exciting. However, the Sharks did not let themselves be discouraged. With time running out, they stepped up their game and began to go for the win.

The Sharks found their opportunity. With a well-crafted play, they managed to regain the lead with a second goal that left the Penguins with no answer. The combination of speed and precision in attack was key to sealing the fate of the match. Maklin Celebrini and Sidney Crosby got their points.

With the final score at 2-1, the Sharks celebrated a much-needed victory, while the Penguins walked away with their heads held high, but with an unpleasant flavor. This game was not only a testament to the talent of both teams but also to the passion that ice hockey inspires in its fans, especially when you have the caliber of players of the likes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin,

The San Jose Sharks add up their first win since January 18, and fans are looking forward to seeing more standout performances in the upcoming games after a disappointing month of January, concluding the first month of the year in Seattle against the Kraken on January 30th.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks host Panthers tonight hope to snap 5 game skid

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Nashville Predators center Steven Stamkos middle left celebrates after scoring against the San Jose Sharks in the second period at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Jan 23, 2025 (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Nashville Predators came to San Jose and Filip Forsberg scored twice help edge the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center in San Jose on Thursday night 6-5.

# 2 For Forsberg the two goals helped extend his scoring streak to seven games. The streak is a first in NHL history for a player who went without a goal in 18 straight games then to score a goal in seven straight games.

#3 The Predators Luke Schenn got three assists, Justin Barron and Roman Josi each scored a goal and Justus Annunen stopped 30 shots for Nashville. The Predators had a three goal lead erased but came back to edge the Sharks in the one goal win.

#4 The Sharks Macklin Celebrini leads all rookies with goals scored he added another one for this 15th of the season. Mario Ferraro scored and it was his fifth goal of season a career high also adding an assist.

#5 The Sharks host the Florida Panthers Saturday night at SAP Center the Panthers sit in second place in the Atlantic Division 28-18-3 with 59 points. The Panthers have won five of their last ten games. How do you see this match up tonight?

Mary Lisa does the San Jose Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Bruins blank Senators 2-0 behind Korpisalo’s shutout; Red Wings get a jump on Habs in 4-2 win; plus more news

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The Boston Bruins left winter Brad Marchand (63) takes a poke at the puck in an attempt to score on the Ottawa Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg (31) in the third period at TD Garden in Boston on Thu Jan 23, 2025 (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 The Boston Bruins took care of business shutting out the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden in Boston on Thursday night. The Bruins and Sens didn’t score in the first period but the Bruins got single goals in the second and third periods. Bruins Morgan Geekie (13) score in the second period at 2:06 and David Pastrnak (23) at 19:55 in the third period in the 2-0 win. Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo stopped all 29 Ottawa shots for the shutout.

#2 The Detroit Red Wings won a two goal game over the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 at Little Caesars Palace in Detroit on Thursday. The Red Wings Jonatan Berggren (8) scored the game’s first goal in the first period at 13:00. The Wings scored a second goal at 19:56 in the first period by Alex DeBrincat (20) to go up 2-0. Second period Andrew Copp (9) at 4:25 and Dylan Larkin (21) at 7:50 both scored. The Wings came away with a 4- 2 lead after two periods. Neither team scored in the third period.

#3 The New York Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller scored a goal and had an assist. The Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin stopped 35 shots in the Rangers convincing win over the Flyers 6-1 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.

#4 The Carolina Hurricane put away the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-4 at the Lenovo Center in Columbus. The Canes Seth Jarvis scored two goals and had two assists. Sebastian Aho had a goal and two assists, as the Hurricanes scored five goals in the second period and came away with a three goal win.

#5 The Minnesota Wild who are 28-16-4 took a rather shocking defeat 4-0 to the Utah Hockey Club (21-19-7) at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Thursday. Utah’s Barrett Hayton scored two goals, Lawson Crousse, and Clayton Keller scored a goal each in the win. Utah goaltender Karel Vejmelka stopped all 26 Minnesota shots for the shutout.

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

Sharks Give Up 4 Goal Lead, Fall 7-5 to Predators

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San Jose Sharks goaltender Alexander Georgiev (40) and Fabian Zetterlund (20) blocks the path Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) in the second period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Tue Jan 21, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 7-5 to the Nashville Predators Tuesday. Fedor Svechkov, Tommy Novak, Justin Barron, Jonathan Marchessault, Roman Josi, Nick Blankenburg and Filip Forsberg scored for Nashville. Juuse Saros made four saves in the first period. Justus Annunen made 15 saves in the second and third periods. Macklin Celebrini, Luke Kunin, Mikael Granlund and Jake Walman scored for San Jose. Alexandar Georgiev made 34 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said:

“I think we had a good start. We did things that we wanted to do. And then, you know, we got immature with our game again. We got soft with puck plays especially. Made some bad reads, starting in the offensive zone. Tried to make a cross-ice pass when the puck should be delivered to the net.”

The game was an example of extremes for both teams: each had one very good period and one disastrous period. Sharks fans must by now be used to the frustration of watching the team give up leads, but to give up a four goal lead is unusual.

Macklin Celebrini opened the scoring just 1:07 into the first period. Celebrini scored with a wrist shot on a breakaway thanks to Cody Ceci’s stretch pass. Ceci and William Eklund got the assists.

Luke Kunin made it 2-0 at 11:42 with a wrist shot from high in the slot. Ceci got the assist.

Fourteen seconds later, Mikael Granlund made it 3-0 with a slap shot off a cross-ice pass from Will Smith. Smith and Fabian Zetterlund got the assists.

Tommy Novak got one back for Nashville at 12:20, scoring with a wrist shot from close in. That made three goals in 38 seconds. Assists went to Luke Schenn and Zachary L’Heureux.

Alexander Wennberg won the puck along the boards and skated to the net, two-on-none with Jake Walman. Wennberg made a short little pass across the slot and Walman backhanded it in for the Sharks’ fourth goal of the period.

At the end of the period, the shots were even and just one penalty had been called, a puck over the glass against Nashville. The Predators changed goaltenders to start the second period.

Mikael Granlund scored his second of the night with a power play goal at 4:28 of the second period. Celebrini moved like he was going to the net, but instead passed to Eklund on the goal line and Eklund passed it across the crease to Granlund for the shot.

Fedor Svechkov scored for Nashville with a shot from the slot, following a lot of puck movement from Nashville. Assists went to Colton Sissons and Novak.

Justin Barron made it 5-3 just 53 seconds later. Barron’s wrist shot came after another series of quick passes that had the Sharks defense befuddled. Assists went to Filip Forsberg and Steven Stamkos.

The Sharks had just five shots on goal in the second period to Nashville’s 18. That was the beginning of a comeback by the Predators. In the third period, they mirrored the Sharks’ first period with four goals, one on the power play and one into an empty net. The goal scorers were Jonathan Marchessault, Roman Josi, Nick Blankenburg and Filip Forsberg.

The Sharks next play on Thursday against the Nashville Predators in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT.

Utah HC Cools The Jets 5-2 To Close Homestand On Winning Note

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Utah Hockey Club goaltender Conner Ingram (39) blocks a shot against the Winnipeg Jets center Morgan Baron (36) in the third period at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Mon Jan 20, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–After 36 scoreless minutes, Utah scored four consecutive goals en route to 5-2 victory over division-leading Winnipeg.

On a day when the United States celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day and inaugurated a new president, the Utah Hockey Club wrapped up its 7-game homestand on Monday against the Central Division leading Winnipeg Jets. Whereas our neighbors to the north have thus far resisted becoming America’s 51st state in the opening hours of the new administration, fans in attendance were treated to local recording artist Oba “Obeeyay” Bonner’s stirring renditions of O Canada and The Star-Spangled Banner prior to the opening faceoff.

The first period was all defense on both ends of the ice. In a battle of the Connors, Winnipeg netminder Connor Hellebuyck turned away all 10 shots he faced, while Utah goalie Connor Ingram stopped 11.

The initial 16 minutes of the second period remained a defensive draw until Olli Määttä found the back of the net for his first goal in a Utah sweater, assisted by Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller. Keller had just returned to the ice after sitting out most of the period after being hit in the face by a deflected puck and receiving a dozen stitches in the locker room. In the closing seconds of the period, Barrett Hayton fed a breakaway pass to Logan Cooley who put Utah up 2-0 at the end of the second with his 15th goal of the season.

Nearly 5 minutes into the third period, Hayton would score his 9th of the season, assisted by Josh Doan and Kevin Stenlund, and just a few minutes after that, Utah would go up 4-0 on the 8th goal of the season from Matias Maccelli, assisted by Doan and Hayton. If anyone began to feel like Utah might have the game in the bag at this point, those thoughts were quickly dashed as Winnipeg got one back 28 seconds later on a shot by Nino Niederreiter, and then cut the lead in half a few minutes later with Dylan DeMelo putting the puck past Ingram. Recent 3rd period lapses at home suddenly caused concern that another one might slip away in the closing minutes. This time, however, Utah held the line on defense and Clayton Keller sealed the result with an empty net goal, his 16th goal of the season assisted by Schmaltz, to officially put the game away with two minutes remaining.

Though Utah closed out the homestand with a 3-4 record, the team felt good about hitting the road on a positive note having won the final two. After the game, head coach André Tourigny began his media session by joking, “I wish we stay at home for a little while, man, now we’re rolling!” Tourigny praised his captain’s return to the game from his injury. “That’s a hockey player. The other thing is that he went at the net and got a puck right in the eye and came back on his first shift–no hesitation…Kicked the puck out on entry, went right at the net and got rewarded. Coming back without hesitation, without a doubt in his head; that was great.”

Tourigny continued commenting on his team’s performance, “They believe in the way they play, they believe in themselves, they believe in the consistency in our game. Every loss or every stretch (is) not necessarily positive, unfortunately…We have a different mindset; there’s no doubt about it. The key moment in the game was in the first period. The first 17 and a half minutes, we didn’t give anything. You’ll tell me we didn’t get a lot–but that’s the Winnipeg Jets. That’s one of the best defensive teams in the league. There was a bunch of nothing happening, which was fine. There’s a few calls we didn’t get. Then we got emotional a little bit…And they dominated the last two (and a half) minutes. We came back in the second calm (and) collected and we played well. Even when they had a push the rest of the game, I never felt the boat was rocking. We had great leadership, we had a great presence. I’m really proud of the way we weathered the storm and stayed with it. I think that made a difference. When we took the lead, we didn’t change the way we played. We kept playing the same way. We started the third period, we didn’t back down or get nervous, we kept playing–playing the right way. For me, that is the key moment.”

Captain Clayton Keller spoke to the media in the locker room, his stitched-up eyebrow on full display, “I’m feeling great. I got lucky; (the puck) didn’t catch my eye. When it happened, it happened so fast. You don’t really feel much. But I tried to look through my eye and I knew I could, so I wasn’t really too worried after that.” Keller immediately moved on to talking about the game itself. “I think we tried to be simple and try to have some traffic, get to the net. I think we did a good job of that. (Hellebuyck is) one of the best goalies in the league. He’s so hard to score on. Credit to the guys for going to the net and bearing down on our chances.”

Forward Josh Doan, who picked up a couple of assists in the game and is holding his own since being recalled from Tucson, commented about playing the Jets. “Any time you play a division opponent it’s a huge game. (Winnipeg) is such a great team…I think we did a good job tonight of taking what was there and not forcing it. I think that’s something that maybe, earlier in the year, we wouldn’t have done.” With regard to Keller returning to the game in the second period, Doan said, “Yeah, I think it does a lot for the bench knowing that he’s willing to do that and come back and go right back to the net front next shift and get rewarded. It’s one of those things where it’s part of the game, but you hate to see it happen and for him to bounce back like that was huge for us and our momentum. Obviously you heard the crowd’s reaction. It meant a lot to them too.”

Sharks Fall 6-3 to Briuns, Smith Gets Two Points in Homecoming; Loss is San Jose’s Third Straight

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The Boston Bruins right wing Oliver Wahstrom goes airborne and San Jose Sharks right wing Carl Grundstrom both slam into the boards in the second period on Mon Jan 20, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

Vinni Lettieri, David Pastrnak, Charlie Coyle, Brad Marchand and Elias Lindholm scored for the Bruins. Joonas Korpisalo made 25 saves for the win. Barclay Goodrow, Will Smith and Fabian Zetterlund scored for the Sharks. Yaroslav Askarov made 27 saves in the loss.

The game was a homecoming of sorts for several Massachusetts natives on the Sharks team, including Will Smith, Collin Graf and Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky. It was their first time in Boston as NHL players and coach.

“I thought for the majority of the game I liked our game. We just got very immature in the third period,” said Ryan Warsofsky. “Just a young team that got scrambly. You know, they put us on our heels and we couldn’t relieve the pressure by making some plays. We got back to kind of flipping pucks to the middle of the ice and they feed off of that stuff.”

Vinni Lettieri scored the first goal at 9:27 of the first period. Lettieri tipped Jordan Oesterle’s shot from the blue line. Assists went to Oesterle and Oliver Wahlstrom.

Barclay Goodrow tied the game with a goal at 13:16. Ty Dellandrea dumped the puck in from the centerline. Nico Sturm chased it down and then passed it back to a trailing Goodrow for the shot.

Boston outshot San Jose 11-6 in the first period. The Sharks pushed back in the second, outshooting Boston 14-10.

David Pastrnak gave the Bruins their second lead with a power play goal at 7:02 of the second period. Pavel Zacha carried the puck around behind the net and then sent the puck to Pastrnak in the circle. Patrnak scored with a snap shot. Assists went to Zacha and Elias Lindholm.

Will Smith tied it again at 8:52. Smith took the puck away from John Beecher, then carried it back across the blue line and passed it back and forth with Mikael Granlund before shooting it by Korpisalo on the short side.

Fabian Zetterlund gave the Sharks their first and only lead of the game at 15:18. Zetterlund carried the puck all the way from the Sharks’ zone, took a shot, caught his own rebound and put it in the net. An assist went to Will Smith.

Charlie Coyle tied the game again at 8:22 of the third period. Skating to the net, Coyle caught a pass from the boards and snapped it in. Assists went to Matthew Poitras and Brad Marchand.

Coyle scored again at 14:11. Shooting as he crossed the goal line, his shot went off of Askarov and in. Assists went to Poitras and Mason Lohrei.

Brad Marchand made it 5-3 with an empty net goal at 18:45. Assists went to Pastrnak and Brandon Carlo. Elias Lindholm made it 6-3 with a second empty net goal at 19:35. Assists went to Coyle and Andrew Peeke.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in Nashville against the Predators at 5:00 PM PT.

Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting As Utah HC Battles Blues For 4-2 Victory

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The Utah Hockey Club’s center Clayton Keller (9) takes a shot on net against the St Louis Blues left winger Pavel Buchnevich (89) in the first period at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sat Jan 18, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Liam O’Brien’s bloody fight sparks Utah’s 3-goal outburst in the first as teammates go on to win 4-2.

The Utah Hockey Club welcomed the St. Louis Blues to Delta Center on Saturday night for the sixth of seven games in the longest homestand of the season. Utah previously defeated their division rival 4-2 in St. Louis in November and entered the game trailing the Blues by five points in the Central Division standings.

Two minutes into the first period, Blues defenseman Tyler Tucker ripped a snap shot from near the faceoff circle for his second goal of the season, assisted by Oskar Sundqvist, to give St. Louis an early 1-0 lead. On the ensuing draw, Tucker dropped the gloves with Utah’s Liam O’Brien in a brutal exchange of fisticuffs which ultimately sent O’Brien to the locker room with blood streaming down his face as fans roared their approval.

At 5:15 of the frame, Zack Bolduc went to the sin bin for tripping against John Marino, giving Utah its first power play of the evening. Less than a minute later, defenseman Michael Kesselring netted his 5th of the season, assisted by Logan Cooley and Clayton Keller.

At 8:25, Utah grabbed the lead on Nick Schmaltz’s 9th goal of the season, assisted by Clayton and Marino. Just past the halfway point of the period, St. Louis was whistled for tripping Cooley at the net, but captain Clayton Keller lunged for a rebound and found the back of the net for his 15th of the season to nullify the penalty and give Utah a 3-1 lead heading into the locker room.

St. Louis opened the second period on the power play due to a holding penalty against Barrett Hayton near the end of the first. At 1:32 forward Jake Neighbours made it 3-2 with a power play goal, his 12th of the season, assisted by Dylan Holloway and Brayden Schenn. At 10:42, Logan Cooley recaptured the 2-goal lead with his 14th of the season and Keller picking up his third assist and fourth point of the night.

In the third, Utah exorcized the demons of previous late period collapses and goaltender Connor Ingram turned away the final nine shots from the Blues as Utah gained a rare home victory 4-2.

After the game, Utah captain Clayton Keller talked about his chemistry with Logan Cooley with whom he combined for seven points on the night. “I think we’re playing with a lot of speed. We’re starting to read off each other. I’ve said before, chemistry takes time and to get to know one another’s tendencies. We like to hang out. We’re chatting a lot. I’m doing everything I can to help him with how I like to play the game and how he likes to play the game. You know Schmaltzy [Nick Schmaltz] as well, I played with him for a long time as well. So it’s been good. We’ve had some success lately.” Asked about the team’s response to the early St. Louis goal, Keller said, “I think just our mindset. We’re positive. We have better body language from everyone. Coaches and all the way down. We had confidence and Ingy (Connor Ingram) made some unbelievable saves. OB (Liam O’Brien) had a great fight there. Kind of pumps us up after this and they score one. A lot of credit goes to him.”

Logan Cooley talked about how great it was to get the win. “Yeah, it’s awesome. There’s no better feeling than winning, and especially on home ice. These fans deserve it, and obviously it’s felt like it’s been a year since we had a win at home so it’s nice. I thought it was a great effort by everyone in here, a full 60 minutes. That’s how we need to play, especially against a team like that. It’s an important game. It’s basically a playoff game. So it’s unbelievable to get those two points.” With regard to Utah’s 3 goals in a 4:25 span in the first, Cooley said, “Yeah, it’s big. It allows you to feel good early on in the game. I feel like us as a line, we had a lot of touches early and that allows you to feel the puck more, and it kind of gives you more confidence to make plays. I thought our line was extremely good on both sides of the puck. We didn’t give them anything defensively, and I thought we were pretty good offensively, too, and generated a lot.”

Head coach André Tourigny was asked about the impact of O’Brien’s fight. “Every time he’s in the lineup, his energy, drive, physicality, predictability, and how he played makes me like his presence.” Tourigny also addressed the competitiveness of Cooley and Clayton Keller. “I said it many times about how competitive those two guys are. They’re never satisfied.” The coach continued, “Tonight, I liked a lot of guys on our team. I liked the fight. I liked Bjugy’s (Nick Bjugstad) line. I think they played big-boy hockey tonight. They were physical, and they had pace. They were the other huge presences in the game. I think our kill in the third period was elite as well. There’s a lot of guys who contributed to that game. I think Kesselring had a really good game. Johnny was maybe a little bit tired at the end of the game, but he was really good for us and made key plays at the end of the game. If you look throughout the lineup, there are a lot of positives. Ingy (Connor Ingram) making big saves was a key moment as well.”

Utah has a chance to earn a third victory on the homestand on Monday against the Winnipeg Jets, after which they will hit the road for a trio of games against Minnesota, Winnipeg, and Ottawa.

Sharks can’t push back on Brazel and Nelson’s goals as Isles dump on SJ defense 4-1 at UBS Arena

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New York Islanders goaltender Marcus Hogberg (50) makes a stop on the San Jose Sharks Luke Kunin (11) in the second period at UBS Arena in Elmont on Sat Jan 18, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Jessica Kwong

ELMONT, NY. — With several players sick or injured, the depleted San Jose Sharks fell to the New York Islanders 4-1 on Saturday night at UBS Arena.

The Sharks tied the game at 1-1 in the second period, but the Isles regained the lead 40 seconds later and took off with an unstoppable momentum.

“Yeah we just can’t make these, I don’t know if I can say it, but bonehead mistakes that end up in the back of net,” said Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky. “We get away from who we are as players and as a team, so until we do that we’re going to be kind of seeing the same result.”

Mathew Barzal scored the first goal of the night unassisted at 8:47 in the second period to put the Islanders up 1-0. The Sharks answered back at 10:02 when Barclay Goodrow scored a goal assisted by Jan Rutta to tie the game at 1-1.

“Yeah just saw (Collin) Graf and (Nico) Sturm driving the net, driving the inside and just trying to get the puck in,” said Goodrow of his goal.

Just 40 seconds later, Brock Nelson made a goal assisted by Kyle Palmieri and Adam Pelech to put the Isles back up 2-1. Then with 27 seconds remaining in the period, Noah Dobson made a goal assisted by Barzal and Bo Horvat, boosting the Isles up 3-1.

In the third period, Ryan Pulock made a goal assisted by Anthony Duclair and Nelson at 1:03 to expand the Islanders’ lead to 4-1. The Sharks made an effort in the third, but couldn’t score.

Sharks 19-year-old forward Will Smith, who was their fourth overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, skated with Mikael Granlund and Fabian Zetterlund for the very first time.

“I mean this team has done it before coming back 4-1, so I think having the mindset that we’re not out of it, and obviously no quit is kind of the mindset going into the third,” said Smith.

The Isles had an especially memorable night before the puck dropped, holding a ceremony on the ice inducting Brent Sutter into their Hall of Fame.

The Sharks (14-28-6) continue their road trip on Monday against the Boston Bruins (22-19-6). The puck drops at 10am PST on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.