NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Bruins, despite injuries, win 5-2 over Preds; CBJs get a 4-3 OT win against Philly; Habs-Knights games turning into a rivalry; plus more

@NHLBruins: The Boston Bruins had plenty to celebrate as Patrice Bergeron (37) scored twice once in the first and another in the third period to help the B’s get a two goal 5-3 win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 The Boston Bruins (20-12-4) took care of business with a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators (22-13-2), First period goal from the Bruins Patrice Bergeron (10) and a third period goal–number 11 for the season.

#2 Columbus Blue Jackets (20-12-3) got a 4-3 win past the Philadelphia Flyers (14-16-4) Zach Werenski gets his sixth goal and Cam Atkinson gets his 21st and 22nd in the one-goal win for the CBJs.

#3 Florida Panthers (14-14-6) get a 2-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings (15-17-5). The Panthers got a first period goal from Mike Hoffman (16) at 3:09 and Evgenii Dadonov (17) at 17:21.

#4 The Montreal Canadiens (19-13-5) got a 4-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights (20-15-3). For the Habs’ Phillip Danault got goals three, four and five for a hat trick.

#5  The last place Los Angeles Kings (13-20-2) picked up an overtime win over the San Jose Sharks (19-12-6). For the Sharks, it was their second straight loss after winning five straight. The Kings’ IIya Kovalchuk scored his seventh goal for the overtime winner.

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

Sharks Fall to Kings 3-2 in OT; Kovalchuk Scores 2 Goals

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks lost 3-2 in overtime to the visiting Los Angeles Kings Saturday. Ilya Kovalchuk, just returned from a 10-game absence, scored twice for Los Angeles, including the overtime game-winner. Alex Iafallo also scored for the Kings, while goaltender Jonathan Quick made 29 saves in the win. For the Sharks, goals came from Lukas Radil and Joe Pavelski, and goaltender Martin Jones made 28 saves in the loss.

The Sharks’ special teams were both defeated by the Kings, though each team only had one power play in the game. The faceoffs were fairly even through the game at 51% to 49% for the Sharks. It is worth noting that the Kings blocked 29 shots to the Sharks’ 11.

The first goal for Los Angeles came on a power play at 4:28 of the first from Ilya Kovalchuk. Timo Meier was in the box for hooking Jake Muzzin when Brendan Leipsic carried the puck behind the Sharks net to send it back up to Alex Iafallo at the point. His pass found Jake Muzzin in the slot, but he didn’t have a clear shot. So he passed it to Kovalchuk at the bottom of the faceoff circle, and his shot beat Jones on the short side. It was Kovalchuk’s sixth of the season, with assists going to Muzzin and Iafallo.

The Kings led the Sharks in shots in the first period, 15-8.

At 8:09 of the second period, Oscar Fantenberg had a goal taken away for goaltender interference by Dustin Brown. Brown was in the blue paint, behind the Sharks’ Brenden Dillon. He could have argued that Dillon kept him in the paint, crowding Jones, but he got into that paint on his own.

The Sharks had a power play opportunity near the end of the second period, but did not score. The Los Angeles penalty kill did an excellent job of controlling the puck and play in general.

The Sharks did outshoot the Kings during the second period, 13-6, but still trailed 1-0 to Los Angeles.

The Kings started the third period mostly playing keep away from the Sharks, to good effect. For good measure, they scored a second goal at 5:15. Dustin Brown carried the puck below the goal line, then sent it to Iafallo for a perfect shot over Martin Jones. It was Iafallo’s eighth of the season, with assists to Brown and Nate Thompson.

The Sharks finally got one by Jonathan Quick at 10:18 of the third period. Lukas Radil, skating across the goal mouth, deflected Timo Meier’s shot from the boards. The puck went over Quick’s shoulder and off the crossbar for Radil’s third goal of the season. Assists went to Meier and Erik Karlsson.

San Jose left the tying goal until the final minute. With the Sharks net empty, Erik Karlsson passed the puck to Brent Burns, waiting just below the blue line. He sent the puck to the net, where Joe Pavelski was waiting to deflect it in. It was Pavelski’s 23rd goal of the season, with assists to Burns and Karlsson.

The overtime period lasted 2:29, at which point Kovalchuck put the puck behind Jones to end the game.

Erik Karlsson could possibly hear from the Department of Player Safety regarding a hit he made on Austin Wagner during the second period. Wagner did not return to the game after that hit.

That question will be answered before the Sharks next play, on Sunday at 5:00 PM PT, when they will host the Arizona Coyotes.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: After winning five straight, were Sharks tired or just slipped up against Jets?

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 The San Jose Sharks (19-12-5) came into SAP Center with a five-game win streak, but took a 5-3 two-goal loss to the Winnipeg Jets (23-10-2) on Thursday night.

#2 The Jets’ Nikojai Ehlers got a hat trick and scored the tie-breaking goal to help the Jets get a road win in one of the toughest places to play in the NHL, San Jose.

#3 The Sharks’ Evander Kane said after the game Thursday that the Sharks made a couple of mistakes that they would like to take back.

#4 San Jose outshot Winnipeg 34-13 and the Sharks outshot the Jets in the  period 14-4, but still the Sharks couldn’t figure out the Jets goaltender Conner Hellebuyck, who stopped 41 of 44 shots in the 5-3 Jets win.

#5 The Sharks have a matinee at SAP Center with the Los Angeles Kings (12-20-3), a 1 PM start. The Sharks will be coming off a tough loss and will battle to get back in the win column.

Len Shapiro does the SJ Sharks podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Jets Bounce By Sharks 5-3

Photo credit: @hockeynight

By Matthew Harrington

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks’ five-game win streak came to an end at the SAP Center on Thursday night, with the Winnipeg Jets beating their hosts 5-3. Joe Thornton tied Marcel Dionne for 10th all-time in career assists, Joonas Donskoi picked up his 100th career point and Evander Kane had a pair of points in the loss to his former team. Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck made 41 saves and Nikolaj Ehlers had a hat trick to give the Western Conference leaders their 48th point of the year.

The Jets scored first in a wild first period that saw a combined five goals, starting on a miscue by Brent Burns. The defenseman’s point shot went right into defenseman Dustin Byfuglien’s shin pad, resulting in a breakaway. The burly blueliner buried the puck for his 4th goal of the year just 51 seconds into the game.

San Jose tied the game after Joe Thornton and Evander combined on alittle give and go 45 seconds later, with the former Jet Kane scoring to knot the score at 1-1. Thornton’s assist was career assist 1040 for Jumbo, moving him into a tie with former Los Angeles Kings great Marcel Dionne for 10th place all-time in assists.

Joe Pavelski would tip a Kevin Labanc shot past Hellebuyck on the power play 11:27 into the period, his team-leading 22nd goal of the season scored from just outside the crease.

The Jets would again prey on the Sharks luck after a dump-in by Blake Wheeler caromed off the stanchion harmfully back into the slot, where Ehlers could score the easy tally with 7:28 left in the first. Mason Appleton gave his team the lead with a drive-by goal just 1:12 later for his first of the year.

The Sharks looked like they were back on the comeback after Donskoi scored his 6th of the year with just seconds left in the period on a opposite side redirection from a Kane pass. The Sharks’ forecheck forced Hellebuyck to turn the puck over behind his net, and Kane’s hard work on the boards pried the puck loose. Kane was potent all evening against his former team, firing 10 shots on goal to go with four hits. He played for Atlanta and Winnipeg from 2009 to a midseason trade to Buffalo in the 2014-15 season, playing in 361 games and amassing 222 points.

The Jets would put the dagger in the Sharks with just over three minutes left in regulation after a turnover on a breakout put the puck on the stick of a Jets forward on a 2-on-0. Martin Jones played the puck aggressively, allowing Ehlers to score his second of the night. He also would add the hat-trick after being awarded an empty net goal after a Sharks player impeded with his path to the vacant cage. Blake Wheeler assisted on all of Ehlers’ goals.

The Sharks look to get back to their winning ways with a pair of home games before the holidays, with the Los Angeles Kings and Arizona Coyotes coming to town for Saturday and Sunday tilts, respectively.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks rolling on five-game win streak, host Jets Thursday at SAP

Photo credit: mercurynews.com

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Sharks rolled to their fifth straight win with a 4-0 win. The Sharks look like they can’t be stopped right now.

#2 The handy work of goalie Martin Jones saw him stop 26 shots for San Jose.

#3 The Sharks are 6-1 in their last seven games, averaging three goals a game.

#4 Guys who are going big: Logan Couture with a high plus three, Brett Burns has three goals rookie, Lukas Radil a goal and an assist also five points in ten games.

#5 The Sharks host the Winnipeg Jets. How do you see this matchup Thursday?

Listen to the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa each Thursday at http://www.sportsrasdioservice.com

 

Headline Sports with London Marq: Schumer says Integrity fees out for sports betting; Kings hope for a win against OKC tonight; This is Kittle’s month–now headed for Pro Bowl; plus more

Photo credit: @truthout

On Headline Sports with London:

#1 The No Integrity fees for sports leagues, which would be a cut in revenue for teams. New York Senator Chuck Schumer (D) said the law was to protect the consumer from corruption.

#2 The Sacramento Kings were rolling until they ran into the Minnesota Timberwolves last Monday night and got clobbered by almost 30 points. The Kings have Oklahoma City Thunder, do you see a recovery tonight?

#3 The San Francisco 49ers’ tight end George Kittle had a career day against Denver on Dec. 9th with 210 yards third most in NFL history.

#4 It’s hard to contain the San Jose Sharks. They got anther big win a 4-0 shutout over the Minnesota Wild and have won five straight games.

#5 The Oakland Raiders continue to have problems on and off the field losing to Cincinnati, getting sued by the City of Oakland and trying to find a new place to play in 2019.

London Marq does the Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks silence the Wild 4-0

Photo credit: AP Photo/Stacy Bengs

By Pearl Allison Lo

After being relieved early in the San Jose Sharks’ last game, goalie Martin Jones replied by keeping the Minnesota Wild at bay 4-0 at the Xcel Energy Center Tuesday with his first shutout of the season.

Jones made 26 saves including a crazy stick block against Mikko Koivu in the third.

The Sharks are now amidst a season-high five-game winning streak as they clicked on all cylinders. San Jose is 6-1 in their previous seven games, with an average of three goals each game.

Logan Couture was a game-high +3 (Brent Burns too) with two goals. Couture also had a goal last game, with a total of six points in his last three games. Playing in his ninth game, rookie Lukas Radil had a goal and assist. “Ever shift and every game, pretty excited to be here,” he commented.

The Sharks had their only penalty in the first period, when Timo Meier got into his first fight.

In a span of about half a minute during the second, the 0-0 game quickly swung in favor of San Jose.

Radil took the pass from Radim Simek off the end boards and parallel to the goal line, Radil barely looked as he made a perfectly timed pass to Couture, who went top shelf at 9:49.

Tomas Hertl soon after made a long pass to set up Joe Pavelski’s breakaway goal versus goalie Devan Dubnyk. Hertl had two assists and has nine points in his last six games.  

Five seconds after the last second period penalty expired, which was 51 seconds into the third, Couture tallied again. It started with a pass from Erik Karlsson, described by Couture after as “nasty.” Karlsson made a no-look backwards pass between his legs to Hertl, who then found Couture in front of the defenders, as Couture buried the puck short side.

The Wild hit the post at least twice.

With under five minutes left in the game, Koivu had a clear look at the net, but Jones was able to get his stick out in time for the crucial block.

Up Next: With their 2-0 road trip in the books, the Sharks head back home for four games, starting with the Winnipeg Jets Thursday, Dec. 20 at 7:30 pm.

Sharks Beat Blackhawks 7-3 in Chicago

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 7-3 Sunday in a much-needed road win at the United Center. After a shaky first few minutes, the Sharks took over with goals from Melker Karlsson, Marcus Sorensen, Evander Kane, Barclay Goodrow, Kevin Labanc, Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl. In all, 13 Sharks earned points in the game, six of them earning more than one. For Chicago, goals came from Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini.

Both teams used both of their goalies, with San Jose’s Martin Jones being replaced after giving up three goals on four shots in the first period, and Chicago’s Corey Crawford leaving the game after an injury in the first period. Sharks’ Aaron Dell did not give up a goal on 16 shots, while Blackhawks’ Cam Ward made 30 saves on 35 shots. San Jose’s special teams were perfect with four penalty kills and two goals on two power plays.

After the game, Sharks forward Logan Couture commented on how the team has improved lately:

We’re playing the right way now. There’s less cheating, less chances being taken in bad areas of the ice. Defensively I think we’ve played some very strong hockey, and when we do that, it may be hard to realize but it always leads to offense. You’re always going to score more goals when you’re defending well. It’s just the way this game works, you don’t think it when you’re on the ice, but that’s the way it works.

Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer talked about his fourth line of Melker Karlsson, Barclay Goodrow and Lukas Radil after the game: “Melker consistently gives me the same game. You know, his production maybe isn’t there all the time but I think you know what you’re getting from him every time he puts his uniform on and he’s going to do whatever he can to help you win a game. You know, that fourth line has some chemistry and they’re making a difference in games. That’s the first time we’ve had that in a while so it feels good.”

The Blackhawks scored first and last in a goal-laden first period. In the first four minutes, Chicago scored twice. First, Alex DeBrincat got his 14th of the season at 2:34. The Sharks were on a change as Erik Gustafsson carried the puck into the neutral zone. He made a pass to the Sharks blue line where DeBrincat waited and DeBrincat took the shot from just over that blue line. The puck trickled through Martin Jones. Less than one  minute later, Dylan Strome defelcted a shot from Connor Murphy that came from above the faceoff circle. Assists went to Murphy and Patrick Kane.

The Sharks got one back, courtesy of Melker Karlsson at 9:58. Lukas Radil and Barclay Goodrow caused a turnover in the neutral zone, allowing Brent Burns to take the puck and send it away from the Sharks zone to Radil near the Chicago blue line. Radil made a quick cross-ice pass to Karlsson. Karlsson took the shot from inside the faceoff circle and beat Corey Crawford over the pad. It was Karlsson’s third of the season, with assists to Radil and Burns.

The Sharks tied it up with their next shot less than a minute later. Joe Thornton stole the puck in the neutral zone and gave it back to Justin Braun. Braun moved the puck quickly to Kevin Labanc, who sent it cross-ice to Thornton. Thornton found Marcus Sorensen in front of the net. Sorensen used a backhand to sneak the puck under Crawford fr his sixth of the season. Assists went to Thornton and Labanc.

Chicago retook the lead at 12:54 of the period. Brendan Perlini scored off of an ugly play that started with a breakaway by Dylan Sikura. Sikura got tangled up with Justin Braun and fell on his way to the net, but he continued to drive the puck forward. Meanwhile, Perlini won a race against Marc-Edouard Vlasic and tapped the loose puck around Jones’ skate. Assists went to Sikura and Brent Seabrook.

The Sharks switched goalies at this point, putting Aaron Dell in net.

With 1:30 left in the period, Corey Crawford was bowled over by Dylan Strome after Strome tried to slip between Logan Couture and Evander Kane as they converged on the net. Kane was called for goaltender interference. Strome was called for slashing Couture. Crawford left the game and Cam Ward came in. A tripping penalty 44 seconds later on Timo Meier turned the 4-on-4 into a 4-on-3, which carried over into the second period, but none of the penalties altered the score.

The Sharks tied it back up 4:21 into the second period with a power play goal from Evander Kane. Chicago was short-handed for playing with a broken stick, attributed to David Kampf. Kevin Labanc took a stick to the eye early in the power play. It was not observed by officials but Labanc had to leave for repairs.

With under 30 seconds left in the power play, Brent Burns took a shot from above the faceoff circle. The shot came off of Ward’s pads and went right up the middle to where Kane was waiting to swat it back in. It was Kane’s 10th of the season, with assists to Burns and Erik Karlsson.

Barclay Goodrow gave the Sharks their first lead of the game at 7:36 of the period. After a great shift from the Sharks’ fourth line, Justin Braun took a shot from the blue line that went off of Goodrow who was screening Cam Ward. It was Goodrow’s fifth of the season, with assists to Braun and Melker Karlsson.

Logan Couture stretched the Sharks’ lead out to two with his 11th of the season at 16:16. After a nice keep-in by Joe Pavelski up on the blue line, Evander Kane kept the puck away from two Blackhawks below the goal line before getting the puck up to Brenden Dillon on the blue line. Dillon took the shot and Couture deflected it over Ward’s shoulder. Assists went to Dillon and Kane.

The Sharks scored a second power play goal at 13:03 of the third period, with Chicago’s Patrick Kane in the box for tripping. Tomas Hertl kept the puck in at the corner, then moved it along the blue line to Burns. Burns juggled it a bit, just keeping it on the right side of the line. Burns then moved down the slot, threatening a shot, before passing it to Kevin Labanc. Labanc caught the pass just above the hash marks and beat Ward high on the short side. It was Labanc’s fourth of the season, with assists to Burns and Hertl.

Tomas Hertl got on the board with the Sharks’ seventh of the game at 18:27. The Blackhawks were pushing hard in the last couple of minutes, but Timo Meier broke the puck out and took it down behind the Chicago net. Meier put the puck in front of the net, where it came out to Erik Karlsson for a shot. That one came back out for Meier to shoot, but he broke his stick. It went back below the goal line to Logan Couture, who found Hertl coming in for his shot. Couture got the only assist on that one.

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

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks face a struggling Blackhawks team Sunday; Chicago has lost 9 of last 10 games

lastwordonhockey.com file photo: Chicago Blackhawks head coach Stan Bowman faces the media the Hawks have lost nine of their last ten, fired their longtime coach Joel Quenneville last Nov 6th and are still on a slide. They host the San Jose Sharks Sunday night at the United Center

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 The San Jose Sharks pay homage to the United Center Sunday night and the Chicago Blackhawks. The Hawks have lost nine of their last 10 games, including a game that went thud for them against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night in a 4-3 overtime loss. What has been the problems for the Hawks?

#2 The Hawks had won three Stanley Cups between 2010-2015, but they’re a different team now and with their losing streak, the Sharks, who have been gaining a full head of steam, could pretty much put this game away on Sunday.

#3 The Blackhawks fired their head coach Joel Quenneville on November 6th. Talk has it that Qunneville and team general manager Stan Bowman did not get along. Since the firing the Hawks have been 6-6-1 under new head coach Jeremy Colliton, but the loses are mounting.

#4 For the San Jose Sharks’ Timo Mieier has had the hot hand and has had multiple goal games and the Sharks are going hot, winning five out of their last six games.

#5 The Sharks’ Martin Jones has been the difference maker during the win streak for San Jose and has been protecting the net and on some nights standing on his head.

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

 

It’s Two Times the Timo in Sharks’ 3-2 Win Over Stars

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Jerry Feitelberg

The San Jose Sharks scored three unanswered goals to comeback from a 1-0 deficit before hanging on for 3-2 win over the visiting Dallas Stars Thursday night at the SAP Center. San Jose has now won three games in a row after losing their previous four. Timo Meier scored a pair of goals to continue his torrid stretch and Joe Thornton scored his fifth of the season. Logan Couture had a multi-assist night, his 14th and 15th points in 13 games, and Martin Jones 20 made saves.

Both teams engaged in a defensive standstill after 20 minutes, allowing a combined eight shots on goal with zero goals. Dallas broke through early in the second, with Radek Faksa scoring his fifth goal 3:35 into the middle frame.

After that, it was Timo time. The Swiss sophomore blasted a point shot past Stars goalie Anton Khudobin with 3:40 left in the second. He potted San Jose’s next goal 12:50 into the 3rd, driving hard to the net and redirecting a Logan Couture pass into goal for a 2-1 lead. Meier now has eight points in his last six games.

Joe Thornton scored an easy redirect just over five minutes later for his fifth goal of the season after Radim Simek’s point shot hit a blocker and ricocheted to the future Hall of Famer. Marcus Sorensen also added an assist on the Sharks 3-1 goal. Thornton was a game-time decision after missing practice Wednesday.

Miro Heiskanen scored his seventh of the year, victimizing the Sharks with 7:36 left in regulation on a bad line change, but San Jose would hold with the net empty for Dallas to pick up the win. They next travel to Chicago to face the reeling Blackhawks Sunday at 4:00 pm PST.