Tag: Pittsbugh Penguins

Penguins Shut Out Sharks 3-0; Sharks…Still Waiting For Victory to Come

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By Fernando Abarca

SAN JOSE, CA — After a painful loss in Utah, it was a vibrant Hispanic Heritage Night at SAP Center in San Jose — but not a celebratory one for the San Jose Sharks (0-3-2). San Jose hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins (4-2-0) in hopes of securing their first win of the season, yet they fell short once again, extending a difficult start to the campaign losing in a shutout 3-0.

Coming into the game, the Sharks sat near the bottom of the league standings, largely due to a troubling goal differential and ongoing defensive struggles. Key defensive pieces such as John Klingberg, Ryan Reaves, and Shakir Mukhamadullin were unavailable for the matchup, further complicating San Jose’s lineup decisions.

The organization also took the opportunity to honor the local community with Hispanic Heritage Night, celebrating the rich cultural presence of Latinos in San Jose and across the Bay Area.

First Period: Promise Without Results

San Jose opened the game with energy and offensive intent, showing flashes of chemistry and creativity against a Penguins team anchored by veteran experience. Both teams traded chances, but neither was able to break through, ending the first period scoreless. The Sharks looked more structured, generating quality rushes and forecheck pressure.

Second Period: Crosby Capitalizes

The momentum shifted in the second. Defensive lapses by San Jose allowed Sidney Crosby to find space and open the scoring, giving Pittsburgh a 1–0 lead. The Sharks struggled to respond, managing offensive zone time but lacking the finish to beat the Penguins’ goaltending. This has been a consistent theme — San Jose entered the night averaging among the fewest goals per game in the NHL.

Third Period: Penguins Seal It Late

In the final frame, Anthony Mantha doubled Pittsburgh’s lead, converting on another Sharks breakdown. With seconds remaining, Evgeni Malkin added the third goal, putting the game out of reach and sealing yet another defeat for San Jose.

Key Stats & Takeaways

  • Shots on Goal: Penguins 31 – Sharks 26 (approximate/game trend)
  • Power Play Struggles: Sharks remain without a power-play goal in multiple games.
  • Goal Differential: San Jose continues to carry one of the worst in the league (-15 or worse entering the game).
  • Bright Spot: Increased compete level and improved offensive zone entries compared to previous outings.

Despite the loss, the Sharks showed glimpses of competitiveness and depth, particularly among their younger forwards. However, significant work remains — especially on the defensive end — if they hope to end their winless stretch.

What’s Next?

The Sharks now head to the East Coast for a challenging back-to-back against the New York Islanders Tue Oct 21, New York Rangers Thu Oct 23, two disciplined teams with strong forechecking systems. A response will be needed if San Jose wants to avoid an early-season spiral. They will conclude the road trip against the New Jersey Devils on Fri Oct 24.

Sharks apologize for offensive message on scoreboard on Hispanic Heritage night: The Sharks issued an apology for a message that was shown on the video board regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the same night that they were celebrating Hispanic heritage night.

The message was displayed on the video board during the first intermission that read, “SJ SHARKS FANS/LOVE ICE !!/GET ‘EM BOYZ !”

The Sharks in a statement said “an offensively worded message which had been externally submitted was inadvertently displayed on the in-arena scoreboard.”

“Sharks Sports & Entertainment deeply regrets that this message, which does not meet our organization’s values, was not detected during our standard review process,” The Sharks in the statement also added. “The Sharks organization sincerely apologizes for this oversight, and we are actively working to determine the origin of the message.”

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Rangers closing in on second place; Flames win ties them with Jets for Wild Card spot; plus more

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Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) stands near the goal as the New York Rangers celebrate a goal by Chris Kreider during the third period at Madison Square Garden in New York on Wed Apr 5, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len:

#1 The New York Rangers Chris Kreider and Tyler Motte scored a goal each in the Rangers win over the Tampa Bay Lightning to notch closer to second place in the Metro Division. The Rangers picked up a 6-3 win at Madison Square Garden and are now just three points behind first place New Jersey Devils.

#2 The Calgary Flames are in a tie with the Winnipeg Jets for a second wild card for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Western Conference. The Flames defeated the Jets 3-1 at Canada Life Centre Wednesday night. You wanted to say something Jacob Marston.

#3 The Edmonton Oilers are having a great season and their closing in on first place in the NHL Pacific Division picking up their sixth straight win defeating the Anaheim Ducks 3-1. The Oilers Ryan Nugent-Hopkins reached 100 points and goaltender Jack Campbell stopped 27 shots. The Oilers extended their points streak to 12 games.

#4 The Minnesota Wild Kirill Kaprizov got to practice on Wednesday for the first time since Mar 8th due to a lower back injury. Kaprizov wore a non contact sweater during the practice. Kaprizov will sit out Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. However Kaprizov could return on Saturday against the St Louis Blues.

#5 The Washington Capitals will miss their first post season for the first time in eight years It’s the first time the Caps have missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2013-14 season. The Capitals played .500 hockey (34-34-9) but was not good enough to make the playoffs. The Caps are in 13th place in the Eastern Conference.

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

Sharks Fall to Penguins 2-1 in OT; SJ drops second straight game

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Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson (28) and goaltender Louis Domingue, right, are in the process of prevent defense against the San Jose Sharks left winger Matt Nieto (83) in the third period at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Jan 15, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks lost their first overtime game of the season, falling 2-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Kris Letang and Jake Guentzel scored for Pittsburgh and Louis Domingue made 40 saves for the win. Rudolfs Balcers scored for San Jose and Adin Hill made 25 saves in the loss.

For the first time in a long time, the Sharks had Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson on the same power play unit. The Sharks had three power plays Saturday, one of those a double-minor, but still could not convert against the Penguins’ top-ranked penalty kill. Most of the Sharks’ power play shots came from the first unit, but short-handed chances were given up by both units.

Sharks’ Head Coach Bob Boughner did not put too much stock in the power play’s failure to score:

“I thought our power play had some great looks. At the end of the second and the beginning of the third, we had some great looks and we had traffic and we picked the rebounds off. I think our second unit was just very average, I thought we didn’t get anything going on the second unit but, you know, we did a lot of good things, the only thing we didn’t do was score but that’s not on our power play. I think Pittsburgh’s a good team.”

Rudolfs Balcers scored the first goal of the game at 7:01. Erik Karlsson chased down the puck as it came off the boards, then spun and sent it to the net. It went right to Balcers as he arrived in front of the net and angled his stick to deflect it in. Assists went to Karlsson and Timo Meier.

The Sharks held the Penguins to one shot for the first half of the period but at 10:56, Kris Letang tied it up. Letang skated around the outside to get behind the Sharks defense, then cut across the slot to score with a backhand over Hill’s right pad. Assists went to Jake Guentzel and Teddy Blueger.

The shot count for the period was 11-4 Sharks, and San Jose also led in the face-off circle with 53% of the draws. The Sharks took the only penalty of the period, and the penalty kill allowed no shots on goal.

The Penguins got more shots through in the second, with four on net in the first half of the period. The Sharks also had more, 8, at that point. By the end of the second, it was 17-8 Sharks.

With a little more than a minute left in the period, Jake Guentzel went to the box for four minutes after drawing blood from Jonathan Dahlen with a high stick. The Sharks power play ended the period with three shots on goal and a little under three minutes remaining to start the third period.

The Sharks had that power play and another in the third period. They had six shots with the man advantage and gave up four short-handed shots. Overall, the Penguins out-shot them by just one, 14-13.

Jake Guentzel scored the game winner 37 seconds into overtime. Sidney Crosby carried the puck into the zone and across the slot. Guentzel had just arrived at the blue paint when Crosby sent the puck back to him for an easy tap-in. Assists went to Crosby and Kris Letang.

The Sharks had an excellent night in the face-off circle, winning 67% of the draws. Noah Gregor led the team in shots with seven.

The Sharks next play on Monday at home against the Los Angeles Kings at 1:00 PM PT.

Radim Simek is still out with a lower body injury, and Alexander Barabanov is on the COVID-19 list. Jacob Middleton was put on the injured reserve list after being injured in Detroit on January 4. James Reimer is off of the injured reserve list and he backed up Hill on Saturday.