Tag: NHL

Sharks Defeat Capitals 2-1, Bailey Assists GWG

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San Jose Sharks center Luke Kunin is congratulated by his teammates after scoring the go ahead goal in the third period against the Washington Capitals at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Nov 27, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Washington Capitals 2-1 Monday at SAP Center. Fabian Zetterlund and Luke Kunin scored for the Sharks and Mackenzie Blackwood made 33 saves for the win. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored for the Capitals and Darcy Kuemper made 21 saves in the loss.

Justin Bailey was signed to a two-way contract Monday. He has been playing for the Barracuda so far this season. Monday was his first game with the Sharks and his first NHL point of the season. He made a particular impact in board battles. The 6’4” Bailey seems like exactly the type of player the Sharks could use to fill out their thinned forward ranks.

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said: “He’s our biggest forward and he can skate. And as you can see, he’s got a little bit of touch too. That was a great pass he made to Kunin on the winning goal. And he plays an honest game.”

Fabian Zetterlund gave the Sharks the lead midway through the first period. After taking a shot from the top of the face-off circle, he pulled up near the net and jumped on the rebound. Assists went to Nikita Okhotiuk and Mikael Granlund.

Washington’s Evgeny Kuznetsov tied the game late in the second period. After a long spell in the offensive zone, Kuznetsov’s shot bounced off of Blackwood and then off of Okhotiuk and into the net. Assists went to Trevor van Riemsdyk and Martin Fehervary.

Luke Kunin gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead with a power play goal at 12:48 of the third period. Justin Bailey won a battle along the boards before finding Kunin with a short pass. Assists went to Bailey and Ty Emberson. Bailey was signed to a two-way contract with the Sharks Monday.

The Capitals pulled their goaltender with just over a minute left but the Sharks held on. The final shot count was 34-23 Capitals. The second period saw the largest discrepancy, with Washington out-shooting San Jose 14-6. The Sharks power play went 1/3 and their penalty kill was perfect through three penalties. The teams were even in the faceoff circle.

Tomas Hertl was out Monday, having suffered a mid-body injury Sunday. The Sharks again had seven defensemen in the game and 11 forwards.

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

Sharks Defeat Canucks 4-3, Granlund Scores Highlight Goal

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San Jose Sharks center Mikael Granlund (64) is congratulated by defenseman Mike Ferraro (38) and left wing Fabian Zetterlund (20) and defenseman Calen Addison (33) after scoring against the Vancouver Canucks in the third period at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Nov 25, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 at SAP Center on Saturday. Ty Emberson, Fabian Zetterlund, Mikael Granlund and Mike Hoffman scored for the Sharks and Kaapo Kahkonen made 32 saves for the win. Filip Hronek and Brock Boeser scored for the Canucks and Casey DeSmith made 18 saves in the loss.

It was the Sharks’ fourth win of the season. After the game, Sharks defenseman Calen Addison said: “Obviously we played a real complete game tonight, I think we should have won last night too. So, obviously it’s huge for our group and a win is huge for confidence.”

The Sharks and their goaltender, Kaapo Kahkonen did not give up a goal at even strength Saturday. With their defense firmed up, their offense took on new life. Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said: “We’re looking different, right? We’re looking more cohesive, we’re playing faster, moving pucks, but, spending time in the o-zone feels good.”

Early in the first, Vancouver’s Sam Lafferty put the puck in the net but the goal was called back for goaltender interference. Lafferty’s skate connected with Kahkonen’s as the goaltender rushed back into the blue paint after playing the puck behind the net. As a result, Kahkonen fell before he could get in position.

After that close call, Ty Emberson scored the first goal of the game at 9:58. His slapshot off a Hertl pass was his first in the NHL and the first goal from a Sharks defenseman this season. Assists went to Hertl and Mike Hoffman.

Filip Hronek tied the game at 15:37 with a power play goal. The Canucks’ fourth-ranked power play held the zone and the puck for the full minute that it took them to score. Hronek’s shot went under Kahkonen off a cross-ice pass. Assists went to J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes.

Fabian Zetterlund made it 2-1 Sharks at 14:05 of the second period with a slap shot from the top of the faceoff circle. Tomas Hertl found him with a quick pass from below the goal line after carrying the puck behind the net.

Brock Boeser tied it up again with a power play goal in the final seconds of the period. A rebound from Miller’s shot went right to Boeser for a shot over the goaltender. Assists went to Miller and Hronek.

The Sharks took the lead back with their first shot of the third period just 22 seconds in. The teams were skating four-on-four during a penalty carry-over from the second period. Mikael Granlund carried the puck end-to-end, right up the middle of the ice, weaving his way through the Vancouver defense. He made it to the net for a move worthy of a shoot-out. It was his first goal as a Shark. Assists went to Calen Addison and Mario Ferraro.

Mike Hoffman padded the lead with a power play goal at 1:48. The teams were playing four-on-three. Granlund shot the puck to the net for a deflection. The deflection did not work but Hoffman swept it in with a second try. Assists went to Granlund and Addison.

With 3:11 left in the third, the Canucks pulled their goaltender for an extra skater. Brock Boeser was able to score with a quick shot through traffic. Assists went to Miller (his third of the game) and Elias Pettersson.

In the final minutes of the game, Nico Sturm blocked a shot, had some trouble getting off the ice (though he managed a shot at the empty net on his way) and had to go to the dressing room.

The shots were close in the first period, 10-9 Sharks, but tilted to Vancouver thereafter, ending at 34-22 Canucks. The Sharks had just one power play to the Canucks’ four. Their penalty kill went 2/4 against the proficient Vancouver power play.

The Sharks next play on Monday at 7:30 PM PT at home against the visiting Washington Capitals.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks lose in shootout to Montreal 3-2; Sharks host Canucks tonight

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Montreal Canadiens goaltender Cayden Primeau (30) defends against a shot attempt by San Jose Sharks center Luke Kunin (11) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 William Eklund scored a shootout goal for the San Jose Sharks (3-15-2) against the Montreal Canadiens (9-9-2) at SAP Center on Friday afternoon it wasn’t enough as the Canadiens Nick Suzuki and Jesse Ylonen scored on Sharks goalie MacKenzie Blackwood for the win 3-2.

#2 The Canadiens Cole Caufield attempted to score on Blackwood in the shootout but Blackwood made a save and had 22 saves for the game.

#2 It was Caufield in the third period who tied up the game 2-2 beating Blackwood at 3:25 with a wrist shot to send the game into the shootout.

#3 The Sharks were hoping to get back in the win column after getting crushed by the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday in Seattle 7-1. The Sharks head coach David Quinn said despite the loss the veteran players led by example making it a much closer game this time around against the Habs.

#4 For the Sharks Mike Hoffman scored his fifth goal in five games, Eklund’s goal was a power play goal so the scoring has improved over the last two games. Hoffman’s goal came from an assist from Eklund 5:06 in the second period.

#5 The Sharks host the Vancouver Canucks Saturday night at 7:30pm. The Sharks lost to the Canucks 3-1 last Monday. The Canucks have lost three of their four games their last game coming against the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 on Wednesday.

Join Mary Lisa for the Sharks podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Eichel gets OT goal in Vegas’ 2-1 over Dallas; Quick stops 32 shots for 1-0 shutout for Rangers; plus more

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The Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) celebrates with teammates after scoring the game winning goal against the Dallas Stars in overtime at Dallas on Wed Nov 22, 2023

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Jack Eichel got the game winning goal in overtime for the Vegas Golden Knights at 1:57 in the overtime stanza to defeat the Dallas Stars 2-1.

#2 Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger as quick as he could stop the shot watched go past for the game winner by Eichel. Oettinger was sprawled out to the right of the net and Eichel was able to score the game winner.

#3 New York Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick stopped 32 shots and picked up his 60th career shutout. The Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh 1-0.

#4 Short handed goals are tough to find your down a man and going up ice with a four on five and not only did St Louis Blues pulled off scoring two short handed goals. At 4:13 left in the game Kevin Hayes scored the game winning goal and helped the Blues catch up on the Arizona Coyotes for the win 6-5.

#5 The Nashville Predators continue to find ways to win as they defeated Calgary Flames. It was the third straight win for the Predators. Juuse Saros stopped 24 shots in the 4-2 win against the Calgary Flames at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Canucks two goals in second period takes care of Sharks 3-1; A game almost fit for a Duke

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San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl (48) and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) anticipate on Harry The Duke of Sussex for the puck drop before Mon Nov 20, 2023 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver BC (photo from San Jose Sharks X)

By Torben Rolfsen

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -The toothless San Jose Sharks (3-14-1) started off a two-game swing through the Pacific Northwest Monday night by dropping a 3-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks (13-5-1) at Rogers Arena.

Despite slightly outhitting the Canucks, the Sharks never looked dangerous, were outshot 40-28, and soundly beaten in the faceoff circle.

J.T. Miller made it 3-1 with just under thirteen minutes left when he tapped in a quick rebound in front that Mackenzie Blackwood had no chance on.

Things got a little amped up late in the second period as the Canucks Nils Hoglander was assessed a five minute match penalty for using his right leg to flip over the Sharks Kevin Labanc with 1:29 to go.

Sam Lafferty then scored shorthanded for the Canucks with under a second left in the middle frame.

Tomas Hertl scored the lone San Jose goal as the major power play continued into the early third, with assists to Calen Addison and Mikael Granlund.

With 8:50 left in the second, William Eklund appeared to put the Sharks ahead 1-0 on a scramble in front of the Vancouver goal, but Canucks coach Rick Tocchet used a coach’s challenge to get the goal waved off for a borderline goaltender interference call after an official video review.

San Jose netminder Mackenzie Blackwood remained razor sharp through the middle of the second.

NHL scoring leader Quinn Hughes broke the 0-0 deadlock at 13:07, doing his Bobby Orr impression on a brilliant individual effort to wire one past Blackwood.

A low-event first period saw the Canucks outshoot the Sharks 12-7, but Blackwood was very steady.

Attendance was announced at 18,718 , which included the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, watching from the royal box.

The Sharks take on the Kraken Wednesday night in Seattle.

NHL podcast with Torben Rolfsen: Sabres Dahlin goal helps edge Blackhawks; Flyers continue their win streak to five games; plus more news

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Try as hard as he will the Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard (98) and the Blackhawks couldn’t get by the Buffalo Sabres as the Sabres defenseman Erik Johnson (6) defends Bedard’s efforts at the United Center in Chicago on Sun Nov 19, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Torben Rolfsen:

#1 Torben, the Buffalo Sabres Rusmus Dahlin had three points, a goal and two assists that helped edge the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 at the United Center in Chicago. Dahlin was elated after the game saying “we found a way to win. It wasn’t pretty but we found a way to win.”

#2 There seems no stopping the Philadelphia Flyers now they have won five straight games with Sunday’s defeat of the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The current win streak is the longest for the Flyers since they won nine in a row back on Feb 18 to Mar 7, 2020.

#3 The St Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer made 30 stops against the Anaheim Ducks in a 3-1 win on Sunday. The Blues had some of the weight of losing lifted off their shoulder they had been outscored in their previous two games 10-2. In their game Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings they lost 5-1.

#4 Alex Nedelijkovic made his return in goal for the Pittsburgh Penguins after suffering a lower body injury turning away 38 shots by the Vegas Golden Knights in a 3-0 win. This was Nedelijkovic’s first start since October 24th after being on the long term injured reserve list. Quite a game for Nedelijkovic after his injury and rehabbing in the AHL to return to the NHL.

#5 William Nylander returned to his native Stockholm and kept his point streak going at 17 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Nylander scored and had an assist in the Leafs win over the Minnesota Wild 4-3. “It was pretty special to get the OT winner there.” said Nylander at the 2023 NHL Global Series.

Torben Rolfsen covers the San Jose Sharks when they play the Vancouver Canucks in Vancouver for http://www.sportsradioservice.com. You could join Torben for the Comedy of Sports on Sportsnet Radio Canada

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks get great defense against Blues; SJ take on Canucks in Vancouver Monday night

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The San Jose Sharks Mikael Granlund (64) congratulates Sharks goaltender (36) Kaapo Kahkonen on making 44 saves out of 45 shots against at SAP Center on Thu Nov 16, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Mary Lisa the San Jose Sharks (3-13-1) lit up the lamp against St Louis Blues (8-6-1) for four goals in the second period on Thursday night at SAP Center in San Jose.

#2 The Sharks got scoring from Luke Lunin, Givani Smith and William Eklund with a goal each and Mike Hoffman added two goals this is the kind of offense the Sharks have not seen too much of this early season.

#3 The Sharks Ryan Carpenter helped out with two assists and his veteran experience has helped the Sharks with a game like this a three goal win over the decent Blues team.

#4 Between the pipes for San Jose goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 44 shots and allowed just one St Louis goal.

#5 The Sharks open a brief two game road trip on Monday night against the Vancouver Canucks (12-4-1) a 7:00pm PT face off at the Rogers Centre in Vancouver. The Sharks head to Seattle against the Kraken on Wed Nov 22 at Climate Pledge Arena.

Join Mary Lisa for the Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Beat Blues In Decisive 5-1 Victory; Three Game Skid Comes To An End

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The San Jose Sharks had lots to be happy about as they’re offense was on as they defeated the visiting St Louis Blues at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Nov 16, 2023 (photo from Hockey News)

Thursday, November 16th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – It’s the San Jose Sharks against the St. Louis Blues in another regular season game and the Sharks are still looking for their third win. The positive for SJ right now in this wild season is that Tomas Hertl leads the Sharks in points and after last game he’s tied with Owen Nolan (206) for fifth on Sharks’ all-time goals list and can take over the spot after tonight. 

The first period was one of the strongest periods for the Sharks this season. Two minutes into the game former St. Louis player Mike Hoffman scored in the slot off a pass from Nico Sturm that put the Sharks up early, 1-0 San Jose.

Last game against the Florida Panthers, Hoffman scored his first goal of the season and now comes back in the building and gets his second. The Sharks had a way stronger attack this period than they did at any point last game plus there’s a sense of chemistry that the Sharks have been looking for from this group.

Another bright spot about this first period was Kaapo Kahkonen who blocked 11 shots this period, but had a couple saves that got big applause from the Sharks crowd. 

San Jose blew the doors open this second period with four goals and it was in outstanding fashion. 17 seconds in Nikita Okhotiuk hits a slapshot and it’s deflected by William Eklund and he gets the second goal. Eklund’s third goal of the season 2-0 SJ.

The rally continued from an “unlikely” source, Givani Smith got his first goal of the season with a wrist shot (assisted by Kunin & Carpenter), 3-0 SJ. A minute after that Luke Kunin scored making it 4-0 and the Blues changed goalies from Joel Hofer to Jordan Binnington, but the game didn’t change even though the goalies did.

The Blues were deflated, but San Jose wasn’t, they were amplified to a level unseen all season. 13:45 into the period and the Sharks scored again. Hoffman got his second goal on a breakaway and the score became 5-0 all the way through the rest of the period.

This second period wasn’t just a showcase of SJ’s best stuff, but it was an improvement on the faults that Coach Quinn wanted them to fix and it seems like they did exactly that.

Kaapo’s continued his great performance stopping everything in his path early in the third period. At this point in the game six Sharks players had multi points (Okhotiuk, Hoffman, Smith, Carpenter, Zadina, and Kunin) and on top of that this was Kunin’s third consecutive game with a goal.

Smith’s goal was the 300th goal scored in franchise history and all these positives resulted in probably the best game of this Sharks season so far. The Sharks couldn’t end their night in a shutout that’s a fairy tale, the Blues get a goal with about six minutes left in the game, but Kaapo still had 39 saves by the time of the goal. 5-1. The clock ran down and the game ended with this 5-1 score and a happy San Jose fan base.

The Sharks get a deserved break before their next game which is November 20th against the Vancouver Canucks Rogers Centre in Vancouver.

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Thompson week to week for Sabres; Canucks Soucy out 6-8 weeks with lower body injury; plus more news

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The Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson is week to week due to a upper body injury he got playing against the Boston Bruins on Tue Nov 14, 2023 (AP News file photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson is listed as week to week with an upper body injury that he sustained against the Boston Bruins. Thompson stopped a shot from the Bruins Charlie McAvoy in the second period. The Sabres were on the penalty kill. Thompson was came up injured in the Buffalo zone Thompson did tough it out through the play and left the game at 11:05.

#2 Vancouver Canucks defenseman Carson Soucy who blocked a shot from the Montreal Canadiens with his left foot. Soucy is listed out for the next six to eight weeks with a lower body injury. Soucy missed the first two games this season and now will miss almost two months of play.

#3 Len, anytime you lose your goaltender the head coach, the goalie coach, and the rest fall in line of worry what will they do next. The Washington Capitals goalie Darcy Kuemper was injured in practice when he was hit by a puck in an unprotected are of his leg from a shot in practice. Caps head coach Spencer Harbery said it’s not an ideal situation and it was a shot from behind Kuemper that hit him said Harbery.

#4 Len, the Philadelphia Flyers goalie Carter Hart had an impressive return. Hart was out with an injury for the last two weeks came back and stopped 31 shots against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena in Carolina. Hart was crucial between the pipes on his return who was out due to a back injury and missed five games since Nov 1st against the Buffalo Sabres in a 5-2 loss.

#5 The Pittsburgh Penguins Kris Letang is one point short of reaching his 700th career point. Letang would become the 29th NHL player to join the 700 career points club. Letang is the third active NHL player that would have 700 point joining Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns (844 points, 248 goals and 596 assists) and the Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson (776 points, 183 goals and 593 assists). Ironically Len the two players with well over 700 career points are both defenseman in Burns and Karlsson two former San Jose Sharks.

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

Sharks Lose 5-3 to Panthers In Their Return Home

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The San Jose Sharks center Luke Kunin (left) celebrates scoring against Florida Panthers goaltender Anthony Stolarz (41) in the third period at SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Nov 14, 2023 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, November 14th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – At the SAP Center it’s the San Jose Sharks who are looking for a third win on the season against the Florida Panthers who are 9-4-1 and second in the Atlantic division. The Sharks lost their last game against the Ducks 4-1, but San Jose had their eyes set on last year’s Eastern Conference champions but couldn’t seal the deal in a two goal 5-3 loss.

Tomas Hertl leads the Sharks with 10 points (2 goals, 8 assists) entering tonight’s game alongside William Eklund, the offense looks to shake things up against a defense who isn’t afraid to get physical. Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood was pivotal in the Sharks only wins this season, but if the Sharks want any traction, Blackwood can’t be the only defensive presence out there on the ice. 

 The first period was a tale of two parts. The first part was a combination of sloppy play and bad rotation on defense where Ryan Lomberg scored the first goal of the game unassisted. 1-0 Panthers. The Sharks this season are notoriously bad when the opponent scores first (0-9).

The Sharks got the tying goal three minutes after the Florida goal and it was from the Sharks Mike Hoffman, his first of the season (assisted by Jan Rutta and Ryan Carpenter) making it 1-1. The Sharks strengthened up the defense to keep it tied at the end of the period and a sense of optimism was held over the SAP Center. 

The goalies were the highlight for the majority of the second period, both goalies showing out as they controlled the momentum. That changed when a roughing call to Givani Smith led to a power play goal by Panthers points leader Sam Reinhart, who scored his 12th goal of the season so far, assisted by Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Matthew Tkachuk 2-1 Panthers.

Smith even with the penalty still upheld his role as an enforcer, because his style of play started to frustrate the Panthers. Smith wasn’t the only guy throwing his body around, the Sharks physicality was clearly something to highlight in this period. As the period came to a close a tripping call with 18 seconds left on Panthers center Nick Cousins gave San Jose an advantage going into the third. 

Sharks third period had high hopes. Tomas Hertl scored on a powerplay goal from a beautiful pass by Zetterlund to make it 2-2. Right after that Luke Kunin scored on a rebound with a backhand shot and now it was 3-2 San Jose and the SAP Center was electric. “We Want Tacos!” chants started to circulate as the fans didn’t just want the win, they wanted free tacos, but that would come with a price.

Carter Verhaeghe on a power play hit a diving goal that tied things up and special teams was something that Coach Quinn stressed for his Sharks players, “a focus before the game” he said, but it would end up being a thing that kept them away from victory.

Kevin Stenlund put the Panthers back on top with a redirect on Balinskis shot that went five hole on Blackwood and now it was 4-3. 38 seconds later Sam Bennett appeared to close the game out for Florida, but Coach Quinn successfully challenged the play for offside and it was no goal, still 4-3. With 2:30 left in the game Quinn emptied his net, but the strategy would fail as Barkov scored into an empty net and it was a 5-3 to end the game. 

The Sharks lose another game, but the beauty of the NHL is there’s always a game around the corner and for the Sharks that game comes after one day’s rest. San Jose will be back in the Shark Tank to face the St. Louis Blues, a team that Coach Quinn credits for “having good forwards”. Last time the Sharks were in the Tank they had a two game win streak, but now it’s back to fighting from underneath and trying to find out what works and what doesn’t for this team.