Tag: NHL

Blackhawks edge Sharks 4-3 in shootout, Marleau’s No. 12 retired

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In a special tribute to former San Jose Shark Patrick Marleau he is joined by former Shark teammates Joe Thornton (center) and Kelly Hrudey (right) to retire his old number 12 at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Feb 25, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Saturday, February 25, 2023

Chicago goaltender Petr Mrazek made 45 saves, stopped all three shootout attempts by San Jose, and led the Blackhawks past the Sharks 4-3 Saturday on Patrick Marleau Night at SAP Center.

Marleau had his No. 12 retired by the Sharks, a first in team history. He played 21 of his 23 NHL seasons for San Jose before retiring in 2021. Marleau broke Gordie Howe’s record for NHL games played with 1,779. He holds Sharks records for games played (1,607), goals (522) and points (1,111).

Philipp Kurashev scored the only goal in the shootout, giving Chicago (21-32-5, 47 points) its longest winning streak since winning five in a row in January 2020.

Also scoring for the Blackhawks, David Gust with his first career goal, Brett Seney had his first goal in four years and Max Domi. Nick Bonino Evgeny Svechnikov and Erik Karlsson all scored for the Sharks (18-30-12, 48 points), who have lost five of their last six games. San Jose goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen was credited with 32 saves.

Domi scored on the opening shift of the third period to put Chicago ahead 3-2. Karlsson answered for San Jose with a goal with 2:11 remaining after the Sharks pulled Kahkonen for a sixth attacker.

The 29-year-old Gust scored on his first shift in the first period when he deflected a pass from Colin Blackwell past Kahkonen. Gust and Eddie Olczyk are the only Illinois natives to score in their NHL debuts with Chicago.

After Bonino tied it for the Sharks, Seney scored on a rush for his first goal since Feb. 9, 2019, when he played for the New Jersey Devils. Svechnikov then scored for the Sharks to tie the game at 2-2.

The Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane flew back to Chicago as trade talks with the New York Rangers began to heat up. Kane has a no-movement clause in his contract and must approve any deal. Sharks forward Timo Meier, who is also mentioned in trade talks, missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury that is not considered serious.

The Sharks host Montreal on Tuesday.

NHL podcast with Troy Ewers: Blues coach Berube stands by no passion comments; Pens put Kapanen on waivers; plus more

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St Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube stands by his remarks after Thursday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks after the team lost their fourth straight game in overtime (photo from nhl.com)

On the NHL podcast with Troy Ewers:

#1 St Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube says the players are not playing with passion, “don’t play with any passion, no emotion and no inspiration at all.” The Blues took a 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks in overtime after having a 2-0 lead melt down with 29 seconds left in the third period on Thursday when the Canucks tied the game and went onto defeat the Blues in overtime 3-2.

#2 Troy how much did the Vladimir Tarasenko trade and then trading their captain Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari play into the psyche of the Blues who are currently on a four game losing streak and in 11th place in the Western Conference standings.

#3 The Pittsburgh Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen was placed on waivers. Kapanen did not practice with the team Friday and had gone 14 games without scoring a goal in 15 games. The Penguins lost to the Edmonton Oilers 7-2. Kapanen has 20 goals for the season.

#4 The Winnipeg Jets forward Cole Perfetti will miss eight weeks due to a upper body injury he sustained most likely on Sunday. Perfetti played and scored a goal on Sunday in the 4-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils but didn’t play on Monday night against the New York Rangers and on Friday night against the New York Islanders. Perfetti has 30 points this season.

#5 Troy the Boston Bruins get Dimitry Orlov and Garnett Hathaway from the Washington Capitals and the Bruins get forward Craig Smith and Andre Svetlakov “Both Dmitry and Garnet bring some attributes that will complement our group,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said.

Troy Ewers filled in for Matt Harrington who does the NHL podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose gets blown out at home by Nashville 6-2

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Photo courtesey of San Jose Sharks. Matt Benning gets ready before a game.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

On a chilly night in San Jose the Sharks took on the Predators and struggled on home ice losing by a final of 6-2.

The goaltending matchup was between James Riemer for San Jose and Juuse Saros for Nashville.

The first period began with Nashville controlling most of the play while San Jose couldn’t get much going offensively.

Highlighting this lack of offense was their shots which was still at zero for the Sharks at the 12:00 mark of the first period.

On a power play Nashville capitalized as Nino Niederreiter tipped home his 17th goal of the season to make it 1-0.

At the end of the first the shots favored Nashville at 8-4.

Nashville got the second period started on the right foot as less than two minutes in Mikael Granlund scored to make it 2-0. The goal, which was Granlund’s eight of the season was on a floaty wrist shot that Riemer most likely wanted back

A little later in the period Nico Sturm was called for a five minute penalty though after review the officials took away the penalty entirely.

After that review just a few moments later Erik Karlsson was called for a hooking penalty putting Nashville on the power play.

While on the power play though there was a race for a loose puck in Nashville’s end which lead to Nico Sturm picking up the puck and shelving it over Saros. It was Sturm’s 12th goal of the season and made it a 2-1 game.

When the power play ended the Sharks got another chance as Erik Karlsson came out of the box and was fead a breakaway pass. The breakaway ended though with Karlsson hitting the crossbar and the score remaining the same.

Nashville not long after the goal got a odd-man rush and converted on it as Granlund scored his second goal of the game making it 3-1.

The Sharks were given a chance to get back in the game as Kevin Gravel took a penalty for interference.

Matt Benning while trying to break the puck out on the power play ended up turning it over leading to a goal for Yakov Trenin increasing Nashville’s lead to 4-1.

At the end of the second the shots still favored Nashville at 22-15.

Unlike the first two period San Jose got off to a good start scoring less than a minute in as Martin Kaut scored his first goal as a Shark.

With the score now 4-2 the team teal seemed to have new life as they controlled most of the play to start the third.

That momentum was killed though when on a odd man rush Niederreiter scored off of an accidental tip in by Noah Gregor making it 5-2.

Piling on to the lead on a power play Tommy Novak scored off a beautiful feed from Matt Duchene increasing Nashville’s lead to four.

Novak’s goal ended up being the last of the game as the Sharks finished off a dissapointing showing at home.

The three stars of the game were 1st: Mikael Granlund 2nd: Matt Duchene 3rd: Philip Tomasino

“I thought we were lifeless, I thought we were really not sharp in a lot of ways,” head coach David Quinn said after the game.

The Sharks will look to bounce back Saturday when they play at home against the Chicago Blackhawks at 7 p.m.

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Preds Johansen out 12 weeks; Caps Ovechkin returns tonight; plus more

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The Nashville Predators will miss 12 weeks following leg surgery from an injury from Tue 14, 2023 game against the Vancouver Canucks Quinn Hughes whose skate cut Johansen on the right leg. (photo from nhl.com)

On the NHL podcast with Len:

#1 Nashville Predators Ryan Johansen’s right leg got caught by the skate of Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes which made contact on Johansen’s lower leg Tuesday night at 16:43 of the second period. Johansen had to be assisted off the ice. Johansen had to have surgery on the leg and will miss at least 12 weeks he could make it back for the first round of the playoffs.

#2 Alexander Ovechkin had missed the last five games with the Washington Capitals after his father Mikhail passed away at age 71 in Russia. Mikhail was a soccer player in his youth. Ovechkin is returning tonight in Anaheim against the Anaheim Ducks. Ovechkin said he looks forward to getting back to work. The Caps lost to the Ducks 4-2 on Thursday night for the Caps sixth straight loss.

#3 The Chicago Blackhawks in a trade with the Ottawa Senators acquired defenseman Nikita Zaitsev . Ottawa received two draft picks from Chicago plus future defensemen considerations. Zaitsev has 108 points, 18 goals and 19 assists in 426 regular season games with the Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs. Zaitsev has five assists in 28 games with Ottawa this season.

#4 Len, the New York Rangers are looking to bolster their roster some more, as you know they picked up Vladimir Tarasenko from the St Louis Blues on Feb 10th and now their in talks with the Chicago Blackhawks about acquiring Patrick Kane. Rangers general manager Chris Drury said “Never say never’ regarding acquiring Kane.

#5 New Jersey defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in overtime here’s one team who is interested in Patrick Kane.

#5 The San Jose Sharks Timo Meier remains one of the top sought after players before the trade deadline. The New Jersey Devils and the Carolina Hurricanes are inquiring about Meier’s services with the Devils being the team who want a long term deal with Meier but the Canes have said that would not be a prerequisite with them. Meier is currently hurt with an upper body injury and has been out since the second period of Sat Feb 18th’s game against the Buffalo Sabers.

6. Edmonton Oilers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-2 as the Oilers Conner McDavid scored two goals tonight with 109 points leading the NHL.

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

Reimer stops 26 shots as Sharks shut out Seattle 4-0

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San Jose Sharks center Nico Sturm (7) celebrates the goal of teammate left wing Evgeny Svechinkov (10) who scored against the visiting Seattle Kraken in the second period at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Feb 20,. 2023. Referee Mike Dunning (20) watches against the glass. (@SanJoseSharks photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Monday, February 20, 2023

James Reimer earned his second shutout of the season Monday, as San Jose Sharks blanked the Seattle Kraken 4-0 in a President’s Day matchup at SAP Center. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Sharks.

Reimer made 26 saves, and got offensive support from Logan Couture, Evgeny Svechnikov, Noah Gregor and Michael Eyssimont. Erik Karlsson assisted on two of the Sharks’ goals.

Kraken goaltender Martin Jones stopped 19 shots against his former team, but suffered his fourth straight loss as Seattle (32-19-6. 70 points) was shut out for the third time this season.

After a scoreless first period, San Jose (18-29-11, 47 points) took a 1-0 lead on a fluke goal credited to Couture midway through the second period. Couture was in a faceoff with the Krakens’ Yanni Gourde, who won the draw but inadvertently sent the puck back past Jones and into the net. It was Couture’s 20th goal of the season.

The Sharks made it 2-0 later in the period when Svechnikov intercepted a clearing pass and beat Jones on a rebound shot. The unassisted tally was Svechnikov’s seventh goal of the season. With 17.2 seconds left in the second period, Gregor scored. Eyssimont made it 4-0 late in the third period with his fourth goal of the season, assisted by Couture and Karlsson, his 58th.

Each team was 0-for-2 on the power play.

The Sharks host Nashville on Thursday and Chicago on Saturday.

Sabres skate past Sharks 4-2; San Jose drops four of last five games

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Buffalo Sabres teammates gather after defeating the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Feb 18, 2023 (@BuffaloSabres photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The San Jose Sharks returned home to face the Buffalo Sabres Saturday night at the Shark Tank. The Sharks were hoping to snap a two-game losing streak. That was not in the cards as the Sabres skated to a 4-2 win over the Sharks.

The Sharks lost a close game to the first-place Las Vegas Golden Knights in Sin City Thursday night. The Sharks were hoping to right the ship against Buffalo based on their strong effort, even though they came up short, 

In fifth place in the Atlantic Division, the Sabers needed a win as they are fighting to make it into the playoffs as a Wild Card team. Buffalo got a much-needed win when they beat the hapless Anaheim Ducks 7-3 Wednesday night in Anaheim.

The Sabres started the scoring early in the first period. Dylan Cozen notched his 20th goal of the year as he put the puck past Sharks’ goalie Kaapo Kahkonen. The time of the goal was at 3:01. The Sharks responded with their first goal with 16:49 played. Evgeny Svechnikov put the puck past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for his sixth of the year. Assist went to Jacob MacDonald and Steve Lorentz. The first period ended tied 1-1.

The Sabres grabbed a 2-1 lead when Owen Power lit the lamp with 6:26 played/ Alex Tuch and Jeff Skinner assisted on the play. The Sharks tied the game when Alexander Barbanov was in the right place at the right time. One of the Sharks’ players shot past the net and hit the boards, the puck rebounded right to Barbanov’s stick, Luukkonen was out of position, and Barbanov had an easy goal.

It was number 11 for Barbanov. Logan Couture and Erik Karlsson assisted. For Karlsson, it was his 56th assist of the season. The teams were tied 2-2 at the end of the second period.

The Sharks, who are not going to the playoffs for the second year in a row, wanted to upset Buffalo’s apple cart Saturday night. The Sabres needed the win to stay close to a possible playoff spot. The last 20 minutes would determine the winner.

The teams battled it out on both ends of the ice. Buffalo, as they had done in the first and second periods, scored the first goal of the third period. The goal was scored by the Sharks’ killer, Jeff Skinner. Skinner notched his 21st of the year. It was Skinner’s seventh goal in his last seven games against the Sharks.

The Sharks need to come back from a one-goal deficit for the third time in the game. They tried, but they couldn’t get the puck into the net. They pulled their goalie and put pressure on the Sabres. However, Alex Tuch found himself alone in the Sharks’ zone and put the puck into an empty net to ice the win for Buffalo 4-2.

Game Notes: With the loss, the Sharks are now 17-29-11 for the year. They are in seventh place in the Pacific Division with 45 points. The Sharks are 5-14-7 at home. They have 25 games left on the schedule. Buffalo won the season series 2-0. Buffalo is now 28-22-4 good for 60 points.

The Sharks play the third-place Seattle Kraken at the Shark Tank Monday afternoon. The game will start at 1:00 pm. 

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Stadium Series with Hurricanes and Capitals tonight; McDavid, Oilers battled Rangers at MSG; plus more

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Members of the Carolina Hurricanes tune up during the morning skate on Fri Feb 17, 2023 before their meeting with the Washington Capitals in the outdoor Stadium Series in Raleigh NC at Carter Finley Stadium in Raleigh. (photo by the nhl.com)

On the NHL podcast with Matt Harrington:

#1 Matt, tonight’s the big night as the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes match up for the NHL Stadium Series at Carter Finley Stadium in Raleigh this Sat Feb 18th. Everyone in Raleigh has been counting the days for this one and it’s the first outdoor game against the Capitals for the Hurricanes.

#2 Edmonton Oilers faced off with the New York Rangers on Friday night at Rogers Center in Edmonton. It was a game where Oilers superstar Conner McDavid needed just one more point to hit his 100th point of the season getting his 100th and 101st points. Things are going well for the Oilers they have won six of the last 11 games.

#3 Matt, wanted to go over some of the players who are up for grabs as the NHL trade deadline Fri Mar 3 is approaching. We’ll start with Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks would be a huge help on any NHL line. Kane has a no movement clause in his contract and would have to approve any deal. Kane has scored at least 20 goals 14 times during his 16 year NHL career.

#4 The Blackhawks Jonathan Toews is a 34 year center and his skills have declined is his last three seasons but has 370 career goals to his repertoire and has played over 1,000 games in his NHL career. Matt, if the Blackhawks can deal him do you see Toews being a big help for a club?

#5 The San Jose Sharks Timo Meier and Erik Karlsson’s names have circulated for trade rumors. Meier can light the lamp and has scored at least 30 goals in each of his last three seasons. Karlsson leads all NHL defencemen in goals. If the Sharks deal him they would have to take on some of his salary cap Karlsson gets $11.5 million a season and first right of refusal on any deal.

Join Matt for the NHL podcast Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Fold Late in Sin City, Slip to Vegas 2-1

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San Jose Sharks right wing Timo Meier (28) attempts to skate around Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud (2) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP News photo)

By Matthew Harrington

Thursday night’s 2-1 loss against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena could be representative of the San Jose Sharks season as a whole. Get severly outshot but still hold the lead for a time; check. Punch up against a superior class team for a majority of the game; check.

The Sharks lead into the third period but give up the advantage late; check. The only thing missing for San Jose (17-28-11) was an Erik Karlsson point or two (or three or four as this season has gone).

Alexander Barabanov scored his tenth goal of the year and Kaapo Kähkönen played brilliantly once again, making 36 saves on 38 shots but a Vegas (33-18-4) goal tied the game early in the third period and finished off the Sharks on a William Carrier goal with 18 seconds left in regulation to pick up their fourth consecutive win.

The Sharks were outshot 38-26, thanks largely to seven Golden Knights power plays, but killed off all the opportunities and survived a 14-4 first period shot differential to lead the Pacific Division leaders after 40 minutes.

The game-winner came on an offensive faceoff win for the Golden Knights and was a result of Matt Benning and Nick Bonino both getting tied up with Nicolas Roy in the slot.

Two defenders on one man allowed Carrier to sneak into the far post unmarked. Chandler Stephenson was able to make the connection and Carrier was able to hammer home the tap-in for his 15th of the year. Bonino drew an abuse of officials misconduct for arguing Roy’s entanglement.

Vegas tied the game on another Sharks miscue after Tomas Hertl wiped out in the offensive zone, with Jack Eichel spring Paul Cotter on a two-on-one. He elected to shoot rather than pass through Karlsson, beating Kähkönen from the face-off dot 6:22 into the third. Cotter has goals in three-straight.

Barabanov stayed hot for the Sharks, picking up his eight point in six games when he scores on the rebound with 2:56 left in the second period. His tenth goal of the year came off a Marc-Edouard Vlasic shot, with Logan Couture picking up the secondary assist. Kähkönen has allowed just eight goals over his last four starts.

The Sharks return home Saturday night to face the Buffalo Sabres. It kicks off a seven-game homestand filled with teams struggling to make the playoffs or fully entrenched in the Connor Bedard sweepstakes, a welcome sight after the grueling road trip of late January and early February.

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Senators say DeBrincat will not be traded; Walsh named NHLPA executive director; plus much more NHL news

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Ottawa Senators 25 year old forward is off the table in trade considerations according the Senators GM Pierre Dorion. The Senators plan to negotiate a new deal with Dorion at the end of the season. (photo by nhl.com)

On the NHL podcast with Len:

#1 Alex DeBrincat of the Ottawa Senators will not be traded according to Senators general manager Pierre Dorion “We’ll see what happens before the end of the year and if we sign a contract with him before then. But he’s not getting traded.” said Dorion.

#2 Len, Martin J Walsh was unanimously voted by the NHL Players Association as the new executive director. Walsh succeeds former executive director Donald Fehr who held the position since December 2010. Walsh was the US Labor Secretary prior to joining President Joe Biden’s administration, Walsh also was the former Mayor of Boston and served 16 years in the House of Representatives. He will be the main negotiator for future collective bargaining agreements.

#3 Defenceman Olli Maatta of the Detroit Red Wings has signed a two year six million dollar contract with the Wings. Maatta has 17 points, five goals and 12 assists this season. Maatta who signed a one year $2.5 million deal back in July could have become a free agent after this season.

#4 Washington Capitals Alexander Ovechkin lost his father Mikhail at 71 years old. Ovechkin had been on leave from the Capitals since Tuesday and has asked for privacy for he and his family during this time. It’s never a good time to lose a family member how will this effect Ovechkin when he returns to the Capitals.

#5 The Edmonton Oilers are the club that are hot and heavy in pursuing San Jose Sharks defenceman Erik Karlsson. The Oilers are willing to part with defenceman Tyson Barrie, left wing Warren Foegele, defenceman Evan Bouchard, the Oilers further are willing to depart in the deal their 2023 NHL first round draft pick and 2024 second round draft pick.

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

Penguins’ top line sparks 3-1 victory over Sharks

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The score says it all as the Pittsburgh Penguins get a two goal win over the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center led by the Penguins Sid Crosby (87) who got two assists on Tue Feb 14, 2024 (@penguins photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Pittsburgh scored once in each period Tuesday to methodically defeat San Jose 3-1 at SAP Center.

Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith stopped 38 of 39 San Jose shots. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s top line of Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Rickard Rakell each collected three points. Crosby assisted on each goal, giving him 41 helpers on the season.

Guerntzel had two of the Penguins’ goals, including an empty-nette, while Rakell had the other Pittsburgh tally.

Timo Meier, who is rumored to be on the trading block as the trade deadline is approaching, scored his 31st goal in the third period. Aaron Dell was credited with 24 saves in his third start of the season without a win.

All-Star Erik Karlsson and Alexander Barabanov each saw their four-game point streaks come to an end.

The Penguins used an early goal by Rakell, his 19th of the season, to get a 1-0 lead. In the second period, Crosby found Guentzel with a no-look backhand pass from behind the net, Guentzel had a wide-open net to shoot at for his 22nd goal of the season,

Meier scored on a rink-long rush, beating DeSmith in the five-hole at 4:03 of the third period.

San Jose’s Logan Couture played in his 900th NHL game.

The Sharks visit the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.