Tag: San Jose Sharks

Sharks Sweep Ducks With 2-1 Win, Golden Knights Await in Round Two

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Photo credit: @sliccardo

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks swept the Anaheim Ducks, winning 2-1 Wednesday night to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Team Teal draws the Pacific Division champions, the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, who capped a shocking regular season run with a sweep of the Los Angeles Kings to open their first postseason foray.

Tomas Hertl responded to an Anaheim third period goal with the game-winner just 1:16 later. Marcus Sorensen also scored his third goal of the playoffs for San Jose. Premature Conn Smythe candidate Martin Jones made 30 saves for his 19th career playoff win, allowing four goals over the four-game masterpiece.

Jones needed to be stingy, thanks to four Anaheim power plays but the North Vancouver native was locked in. The lone blemish on the netminder’s ledger came 7:53 into the final period as a result of lax defense.

Brent Burns failed to stop a zone entry from the Ducks that saw the Puck skitter down the boards into the corner to Jones’ left. Ryan Kesler dug the Puck free, catching Burns sagged too far off to prevent a centering pass from behind the net. Kesler connected with Andrew Cogliano just a few feet out in the slot for a jam shot past Jones.

Hertl responded, stymieing a momentum shift before it could take hold. His shot through traffic beat netminder John Gibson to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead with just under 11 minutes left.

The final moments of play proved tense, with the Sharks producing a number of near-misses with Gibson pulled for the extra attacker. Ultimately though, San Jose bled the clock out to wrap up a date with Vegas.

Coach Peter DeBoer’s Sharks weren’t expected to handily dispatch the Ducks after stumbling out of home ice in the first round with a 1-4-1 record over the final six games of the first round. The strengths that made the Sharks look a near-lock to host in the first round in Mid-March were on display throughout the first series of the playoffs, chiefly good goaltending and scoring depth.

Look no further than the Sharks first scorer Wednesday day. Marcus Sorensen appeared in just 32 games with the Sharks, scoring seven points. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he’s a point-per-game player. The winger scored his third goal of the series 5:43 into the game, given San Jose its eighth point from the fourth line alone this series. Joe Pavelski, Evander Kane, Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture also are all on a point-per-game or better run.

The Sharks will need all the team speed and scoring depth they can muster against a stingy Golden Knights team. Vegas allowed just three goals in its dismissal of the Kings, with Marc-Andre Fleury collecting a pair of shutouts to add to his already polished postseason resume. Both teams will be well rested as both teams need to wait for the other six series to wrap up before beginning play.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs/San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks ready to put the finishing touches on Anaheim; Teams face off tonight at SAP for Game 4

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Sharks are on the brink of advancing to the second round. All they need is Game 4 to advance and sweep the Ducks.

#2 Was it that easy for the Sharks to win the first three games in Game 3? It wasn’t even a contest with a 8-1 win.

#3 You can pick anyone of the Sharks who could be the number one star. It seems like a total team effort for them to go up 3-0.

#4 The Ducks stars, in particular Richard Rakell, whose the Ducks’ leading scorer has pretty much been mesmerized by the Sharks’ optical illusion of defense.

#5 So here it is Game 4 tonight at SAP and this could be the Sharks chance to advance to the next round. Mary Lisa tells us how they will do.

Mary Lisa is a beat writer for the San Jose Sharks and does the Sharks podcasts each Wednesday for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs/San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks roll into the tank with lots of momentum; Could this kettle of fish sweep the Ducks?

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@ SanJoseSharks photo: Jubilant even in practice the San Jose Sharks celebrate a practice goal at Sharks Ice in San Jose on Monday morning

On the Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 Can the San Jose Sharks win tonight pushing the visiting Anaheim Ducks to the brink of being swept out of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs?

#2 What attributes to the Sharks success as some of the key elements of getting off to such a great start

#3 The NHL playoffs are always a different season from the regular season. The Sharks who lost five of their last six games of the regular season certainly regrouped at the top of this first round.

#4 The Sharks Evander Kane scored twice during game one has meant so much to this team

Len Shapiro does the Sharks podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: Sharks Take 2-0 Series Lead, Beat Ducks 3-2

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks took a 2-0 series lead over the Anaheim Ducks in the NHL Playoff quarterfinals with a 3-2 win Saturday. Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture and Marcus Sorensen scored for the Sharks, while Martin Jones made 28 saves. For Anaheim, goals came from Jakob Silfverberg and Hampus Lindholm, with 32 saves from goalie John Gibson. It was the first time that Anaheim lost two home games in a row since November 24.

The Ducks started the scoring just 40 seconds in. Jakob Silfverberg had just carried the puck over the line when he took a long shot that must have surprised Jones, as it went right by him. Hampus Lindholm got an assist.

The first penalties went to Evander Kane and Jakob Silfverberg, matching roughing penalties at 6:12. Each team added a shot to their total but neither team scored four on four.

The Sharks tied the game up at 9:41 when Brenden Dillon’s blue line shot came off the boards behind the net and went right to Marcus Sorensen next to the goal mouth. He tapped it in for his first playoff goal.

Near the 15 minute mark, the Sharks were trapped in their own zone for long time, including two icing calls. Mikkel Boedker finally got the puck out and seconds after the much needed change, Melker Karlsson drew a hooking penalty from Brandon Montour at 13:37.

The Sharks took the lead at 14:41 with a goal from Logan Couture on the ensuing power play. Kevin Labanc caught Couture with a pass across the slot as Couture was skating hard for the net. Couture pulled the puck across the crease and away from Gibson’s poke-check before putting it away with a backhand. Assists went to Labanc and Joe Pavelski.

At the end of the period, the Ducks mustered sustained pressure against the Sharks, almost catching up on the shot clock. That count was 9-8 Sharks after the first.

That late-period pressure from the Ducks did not phase the Sharks as they jumped into the second period. Tomas Hertl scored with a back hand after skating by a couple of Ducks from the blue line to the net. Mikkel Boedker gave him the puck as he came fast through the neutral zone, earning the first assist on the 1:11 goal. Logan Couture got the secondary assist.

Shortly after the goal, Ryan Getzlaf caught a deflected puck to the face. He left the ice only briefly and returned with an ice pack for use between shifts.

Paul Martin was called for slashing at 6:30, giving the Ducks their first 5 on 4 power play of the game. Hampus Lindholm took advantage of Martin Jones being pulled off balance by Brenden Dillon’s skate as Dillon tried to get in front of the net to defend. Jones was helpless to stop the shot. Assists went to Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler.

The Ducks were back on the power play at 6:12 of the third period after Evander Kane’s clearing attempt went over the glass. The Sharks killed that off and got their own power play at 9:17 after Nick Ritchie tripped Marcus Sorensen in the neutral zone. Despite a number of good chances, the score remained 3-2 Sharks.

At 16:17, Corey Perry hit Melker Karlsson while he did not seem to have the puck, knocking his helmet off and spinning him around. He went to the box for interference. The Ducks started their penalty kill with a short-handed opportunity, but the Sharks pushed back and held the zone after that.

The Ducks pulled John Gibson with under two minutes left but the Sharks held them off for the win.

The Sharks finished with 35 shots on goal to the Ducks’ 30.

Game three will be Monday in San Jose at 7:30 pm PT.

NHL Stanley Cup playoffs/San Jose Sharks podcast with Matt Harrington: Sharks look like a different team at the start of postseason play

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@SanJoseSharks photo: Game one stats the power play was in effect for the Sharks at the Honda Center on Thursday night as the Ducks look to even the score and the Sharks hope to take two back to San Jose tonight

On the NHL Stanley Cup/SJ Sharks podcast with Matt:

#1 How different do the Sharks look coming out of the gate during Game 1 of the playoffs in Anaheim as opposed to the way they finished up the regular season?

#2 How much has Evander Kane got this team fired up? He had them fired up when he first got to San Jose and he’s got them fired in his very first career playoff game.

#3 Scoring two goals in a game one on Anaheim ice in a series where the Ducks have home ice, Kane didn’t look intimidated whatsoever.

#4 If San Jose can come away with a win on Saturday night’s game two, do you see them finishing the job in games three and four?

#5 The Sharks really have many weapons on this team besides Kane with Brent Burns, Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski.

Matt Harrington is covering the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs and is the beat writer for the San Jose Sharks listen to his podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

NHL Stanley Cup Playoff podcast with Joe Lami: After having a rough ending, Sharks look like a different team in Game 1 of playoffs

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the Stanley Cup Playoff podcast with Joe:

#1 After having a rough ending to their regular season, the San Jose Sharks forgot all about that once the puck dropped for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Honda Center in Anaheim Thursday night in their 3-0 win.

#2 The Sharks’ Evander Kane played in his first playoff game, but got adjusted to the Stanley Cup postseason environment real fast after waiting over 574 regular season games before he got to play in his first Stanley Cup Playoff game, scoring twice to help lead San Jose to victory.

#3 Kane was a lighting rod for San Jose as soon as he came to the team he played in 17 regular games for the Sharks and scored 14 points for them in the closing weeks of the season.

#4 A look how head coach Peter DeBoer made Kane a big piece of the Sharks’ offense.

#5 Game 2 in Anaheim on Saturday this Saturday. If San Jose can grab the brass right they can go back to SJ 2-0 if they can pull off another win past the Ducks again.

Joe Lami does the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Sharks Top Ducks 3-0 to Take 1-0 Series Lead; Evander Kane Backs “I Am a Playoff Player” Statement With 2 Goals in Postseason Debut

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Photo credit: @PR_NHL

By Matthew Harrington

Evander Kane waited 574 games before he would make his Stanley Cup Playoff debut, but he felt he would rise to the occasion, saying he believes he is a playoff player but never got a chance. He backed up his point emphatically Thursday night in his postseason debut, scoring twice to help the San Jose Sharks take game 1 over the Anaheim Ducks 3-0.

Martin Jones picked up a 25 save shutout in net for the Sharks and Brent Burns added a goal for San Jose. Captain Joe Pavelski picked up two assists for Team Teal. Appearing in his first game since April 1st, John Gibson made 31 saves in net for the Ducks, but Anaheim finds themselves down 3-0 heading into game two Saturday at the Honda Center.

Despite a 2-1 power play advantage in the first period, the Ducks were outshot 8-4 in the first period. Neither team lit the lamp after 20 minutes though. Instead, it took a 5-3 power play to start the scoring.

Andrew Cogliano slashed Tomas Hertl 6:41 into the period, then Ryan Getzlaf joined him for another stick infraction 16 seconds later. The Sharks scored instantly, with two Ducks skaters getting pulled below the goal line 10 seconds into the 5-on-3. This allowed Kane to sneak into the slot, receiving Pavelski’s slot pass and ripping it glove-side for a 1-0 lead 7:07 into the period.

Kane scored on a classic power forward move, driving the net then finishing on a falling backhand around Gibson for a 2-0 lead with 6:09 left in the period. Burns ripped a point shot through traffic with 4:45 left in the period to beat Gibson for a 3-0 edge.

The Sharks and Jones withstood a 12-9 shot disparity and a pair of Ducks’ power plays to help pick up fifth career playoff shutout. Tempers flared at the end of regulation though, and San Jose’s Brendan Dillon and Anaheim’s Corey Perry were assessed two minute minors after the siren blared. In total the Ducks went to the box 7 times, with San Jose scoring on 1-of-6 power plays.

The Sharks’ power play could get a boost for Game 2, or maybe they couldn’t. Coach Peter DeBoer won’t disclose center Joe Thornton’s status for Game 2, only saying he was out for the series opener. Despite saying that at morning skate, #19 did take the ice for warm ups. Though, he sat out line rushes and his status remains unknown.

Up Next: The Sharks and Ducks meet again for Game 2 this Saturday at 7:30 pm PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Could Pavelski and Burns really light up the Ducks and lead Sharks to victory this round?

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Photo credit: nhl.com

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Losing the last game at home of the regular season and dropping five out of their last six games, does that pose many questions on how the Sharks will do entering Thursday’s playoff game in Anaheim?

#2 The Sharks’ Evander Kane is excited to be in his first post season after playing some 574 regular season games. It’s a long time waiting for the former Buffalo Sabres star.

#3 Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns are expected to help lead the Sharks in this first round and to victory. Do you see that kind of prediction making sense?

#4 The top players on the Ducks: Richard Rakell 34 goals, 69 points, and Ryan Getzlaf with 50 assists for Anaheim.

#5 The first round is like a new season for the Sharks after having a tough ending to the regular season. Can they come out and have a break out in the first round?

Mary Lisa does the Sharks podcast each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks need to climb Stanley Cup Playoff mountain on Anaheim ice; Ducks have home ice through first round

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@sanjosesharks photo: Stanley Cup Playoff schedule for the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks for the 2018 first round

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 The Sharks lost five of their last six games to close the regular season. They lost a big game to the Minnesota Wild 6-3 on Saturday night at SAP Center. The Sharks’ team captain Joe Pavelski said the team is trying to find it’s identity and they believe in their road game too.

#2 The loss dropped San Jose to third place in the Pacific after winning eight straight then went into a four-game losing streak the Sharks lost a key game to the Wild to close out the season. Pavelski said that the Wild were on them for most of the game.

#3 The first period for San Jose was not a banner moment, taking only three shots and giving up two goals to start the game.

#4 The Ducks and what San Jose will be up against going into Anaheim for the first two games of the first round.

#5 Any chance that San Jose can regain some of that old magic again similar to what they went through during their eight-game win streak.

Len Shapiro does the SJ Sharks podcasts each Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

NHL Podcast with Matt Harrington: Ducks making a bid for second tonight; If Sharks win tonight, they’ll finish second in Division; Pens get a shutout against Sens

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photo from bayareanewsgroup.com: Sharks forward Evander Kane (9) takes a shot against the Vegas Golden Knights in a game at SAP Center in San Jose on March 22.

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 The Anaheim Ducks Jakob Silfverberg made all the difference in Friday night’s game with a goal and two assists with the win. The Ducks can clinch a second spot in the Pacific Division if the San Jose Sharks lose to Minnesota tonight in San Jose.

#2 The Sharks coming off an important 4-2 win past the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday snapped their four-game losing streak and want to hold onto the home ice advantage and need tonight’s game with Minnesota badly.

#3 The Pittsburgh Penguins Sydney Crosby and Jake Guentzel took shots against the Ottawa Senators goalie Craig Anderson for goals and Pittsburgh goalie Casey DeSmith stopped 34 shots to shutout the Sens 4-0.

#4 The St Louis Blues’ Patrik Berglund got a hat trick with three goals and got the go-ahead goal in the third period as the Blues go onto beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1.

#5 The Tampa Bay Lighting continued to win with Nikita Kucherov reached 100 points for the 2017-18 season and is the second NHL player to reach 100 points. Kucherov’s points helped the Bolts beat the Buffalo Sabres 7-5.

Matt Harrington is covering the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs with the San Jose Sharks at http://www.sportsradioservice.com