Tag: San Jose Sharks

San Jose Sharks Podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks without Marleau what kind of team will they be?; Flyers in SJ for opener

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Sharks center Joe Thornton (19) skates in on a breakaway during the NHL game between the San Jose Sharks and the Arizona Coyotes on September 30, 2017, at the SAP Center in San Jose, CA. (Photo by Matt Cohen/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

Mary Lisa on the Sharks podcast:

1 The Sharks will be heavily relying on team captain Joe Thornton whose experience and leadership always helps in providing wisdom for the younger player and players called up from the minors

2 Sharks GM Doug Wilson believes this is a good team that’s not going through transition but how good and good enough for the post season is still yet to be told

3 The other veteran who establishes himself is Brett Burns who won the Norris Trophy last season. Burns provides a lot of offense for the Sharks

4 Other players the Sharks will be counting on, Tomas Hertl, Chris Tierney, Melker Karlsson, Joonas Donskoi, and Marcus Sorenson

5 Goalie Martin Jones is the starting goalie vs Philadelphia Mary Lisa takes a look at how Jones sets up against the Flyers offense

 

Sharks Preseason 2017: San Jose Wins 5-3 to End Preseason

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

by M. Walsh

After two losses in a row, and six periods without a goal, the Sharks finished the preseason with a 5-3 win in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights. The game winner came on the power play from young defenseman Nick DeSimone. Goaltender Aaron Dell stopped 20 of 22 shots in the first half of the game, while Troy Grosenick stopped 14 of 15 in the second half. For Las Vegas, Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 28 of 32 shots.

NHL regulars to skate for San Jose included Joel Ward, Chris Tierney, Mikkel Boedker, Joonas Donskoi and Brandon Bollig. Dylan DeMelo was the most veteran defenseman. John McCarthy and Barclay Goodrow, AHL veterans with significant NHL time under their belts, skated as well.

The Sharks were outshot 13-6 in the first period. Unsurprisingly, Las Vegas scored first at 8:08. The Sharks had an offensive zone draw but McCarthy lost it to Haula. As the puck bounced around behind Fleury’s net, Haula predicted its path well enough to reach it in the slot and took off down the ice before McCarthy or Simek could catch him.

Late in the period, DeSimone went to the box for holding the stick. During an abbreviated 4 on 3 power play, David Perron was unable to hold the puck in after Radim Simek cleared it from in front of the net. Marcus Sorensen was there, chasing the puck out and he had momentum on his side when the puck slid over the blue line. Perron and Vadim Shipachyov both gave chase. DeSimone pulled up as Fleury came out to meet him on the edge of the blue paint. DeSimone moved the puck to his left while diving over Fleury’s legs to tap the puck in. Simek got the assist on the tying goal.

The Sharks picked up their game in the second, scoring twice and outshooting Vegas 13-9. At 4:28, Chris Tierney scored on a power play while Jason Garrison sat in the box for tripping. It only took seven seconds for the team to get set up. Joel Ward sent the puck to the blue line where Tim Heed caught it and sent it to Dylan Demelo, who shot it. Tierney tipped it in for San Jose’s first lead in seven periods.

Near the halfway point of the period, Ryan Carpenter redirected a stray puck out of the Sharks zone, to Barclay Goodrow along the neutral zone boards. Finding himself free to do so, Goodrow skated to the faceoff circle and put a shot over Fleury’s left shoulder. It was the Sharks’ only even-strength goal of the game.

Two minutes later, the Sharks thwarted a three on two rush from Vegas, but could not get the puck back out before David Perron got control of the puck along the blue line. After a moment’s reflection, he took the long shot and scored. William Karlsson got the assist.

After that goal, the shot count was 22-11 Las Vegas.

A couple of minutes later, Cody Eakin carried the puck around behind the Sharks net and found Colin Miller just crossing the blue line. Eakin’s pass reached Miller perfectly for a quick shot to tie the game. Assists went to Eakin and Shea Theodore.

Tied going into the third, the game winner came on a power play just past the halfway mark. After surviving a three on two short-handed rush, the Sharks went the other way quickly enough to keep the Knights from getting their penalty kill set back up. A shot from Daniel O’Regan produced a rebound that DeSimone was able to push under Fleury. Assists went to O’Regan and Timo Meier.

The Knights pulled Fleury with 1:45 left, and used their timeout. The Sharks kept the Knights to the outside of their zone until the final 30 seconds when Grosenick stopped a shot from Schmidt and kicked it right up into the slot. Luckily, Joel Ward was there to help it along, all the way down and into the empty net.

Ironically, Timo Meier and Mikkel Boedker led the Sharks forwards in shots on goal with four each, yet came away with just one assist between them. For the Knights, Jason Marchessault got credit for seven shots on goal.

The Sharks will play their first regular season game on Wednesday against the Philadelphia Flyers in San Jose. The game starts at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Preseason 2017: Coyotes Shut Out Sharks 4-0

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

by M. Walsh

SAN JOSE– Arizona Coyotes goaltender Louis Domingue was the star of the show on Saturday, stopping 31 shots from the Sharks for a preseason shutout in San Jose. Derek Stepan, with linemates Clayton Keller and Max Domi impressed with their two goals, and another two came from Brendan Perlini.

That was disappointing for the home crowd, especially since the Sharks had most of their regular lineup in the game. Conversely, this was the first outing for them as a group this preseason. The Sharks lineup included Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Joel Ward, Tomas Hertl, Chris Tierney, and Melker Karlsson up front. Also playing at forward were Timo Meier, Jannik Hansen, Kevin Labanc, Ryan Carpenter, and Mikkel Boedker. The defense was comprised of Brent Burns, Paul Martin, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Justin Braun, Brenden Dillon and Tim Heed. The loss follows another in Anaheim last Thursday, when a very different Sharks lineup was also shutout.

The Coyotes started well against the Sharks on Saturday, maintaining a close shot count and scoring midway through the first. In the second, the visitors earned a powerplay goal while Kevin Labanc sat in the box for a hook. Both goals were scored by Derek Stepan from Clayton Keller and Max Domi.

The Sharks had a couple of good chances early in the game, but Louis Domingue was very sharp from the get go. San Jose failed to score despite back to back power plays that overlapped by 11 seconds in the first period.

A noteworthy incident followed the second goal, when Joonas Donskoi was called for boarding Nick Cousins. He received a five minute major and a game misconduct. The call was not popular with the home crowd. Cousins looked shaken up but did return to the ice before the end of the period.

The Coyotes extended the lead at 2:58 of the third when Brendan Perlini got by Brenden Dillon and then Tim Heed to make it 3-0. An assist went to Adam Clendening. After that third goal, the Coyotes shifted down into defensive mode and took very few shots. After staying within two on the shot clock, Arizona only took four shots. Unfortunetely for the Sharks, that fourth shot went into an empty net for Perlini. Assists went to Dylan Strome and Lawson Crouse.

Apart from taking 13 shots to the Coyotes 4, the Sharks did not make much progress in the third. Ryan Carpenter drew a tripping penalty at 5:37, sending Alex Goligoski to the box. At 9:13, the Sharks had another try at the power play when Nick Cousins was called for interference/slashing against Brenden Dillon.

The Sharks will play their final preseason game in Las Vegas on Sunday, October 1 at 5:00 PM PT, against the Golden Knights.

Ducks get 3-0 revenge

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ ANAHEIM– San Jose found themselves on the losing end this time as the Ducks shutout the Sharks Thursday before a 15,439 preseason crowd.

It was the San Jose’s first preseason loss.

Both teams started the preseason when the Sharks shutout Anaheim 5-0. In this game, San Jose had 11 different players and the Ducks had 10.

The game-winner emerged in the third. Chris Wagner scored a wraparound goal at 5:28, aided by Dennis Rasmussen and Korbinian Holzer through Martin Jones’ five hole.

The first period saw two Sharks’ power plays and a 5-1 shot advantage until Francois Beauchemin had Anaheim’s second shot with 8:46 left. By the end of the period though, it was a one shot differential with San Jose leading 6-5.

More confrontation, shots and the first power play marked the second. Shots went the same direction as the first. The period started with the Sharks’ third power play. San Jose’s Joel Ward and the Ducks’ Andrew Cogliano had a scuffle in the second, short of a fight. Jacob Middleton gave the Sharks their first penalty when he cross-checked Corey Perry. Perry’s teammate Kale Kossila came in to defend.

Anaheim started the third period with new goalie Reto Berra. This time the period started with a Ducks’ power play. It became a two-man advantage when Tomas Hertl was called for hooking midway. San Jose killed the power plays but a minute after the last was when Wagner scored. He said, “We picked up a little energy after that goal. We started playing more in their end. We got better as the game went on.”

Anaheim doubled their lead at 16:17. With Jones positioned short side, Antoine Vermette got it into the open net far side. 40 seconds later, Kosila made it 3-0 when he directed the puck into the empty net.

The Ducks’ Head Coach Randy Carlyle felt, “we won the game ugly…scored some dirty goals.”

Timo Meier from the Sharks commented, “We played some good hockey at the end, but we let up a goal and then another one and then it broke down a little bit.” Head Coach Peter DeBoer thought, “Our defensive game was good. I thought Jones was solid. Again, you have to score to win in this league. We looked like we could have played for another hour and a half and not scored a goal.”

Game notes:  Anaheim outshot San Jose 14-9 in the third to win that battle overall 26-24. In Ward’s first action since surgery, he was on the ice for 14:01, had three shots, three attempts blocked and one missed shot. DeBoer said, “I thought as the game went on he go better. We know what he can do. We’ll be working him in.” The Sharks continue preseason with their second game against the Arizona Coyotes Saturday at 7pm.

Sharks Preseason 2017: Sharks Win 5-4 in Arizona

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

By M. Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won their third preseason game on Saturday, against the Coyotes in Arizona. The final score after a shootout was 5-4. Tim Heed got the game winner, with Sharks goaltender Troy Grosenick stopping 24 of 28 shots.

San Jose got off to a slow start in Saturday’s preseason game in Arizona, falling behind by three goals before turning the tables late in the first period and through the second. Mikkel Boedker started the rally with two goals, followed by goals from Barclay Goodrow and Kevin Labanc, with goals in the shootout from Logan Couture and Heed. Coyotes goals came from Nick Cousins (2), Derek Stepan and Luke Schenn. Max Domi added a shootout goal.

For their third preseason contest, the Sharks lineup included forward prospects Timo Meier, Noah Rod, Ryan Carpenter, Kevin Labanc, and Rudolfs Balcers. On defense, Joakim Ryan, Radim Simek, Nick DeSimone and Tim Heed joined Sharks veterans Brendan Dillon and Dylan DeMelo. Recent addition Brandon Bollig played at forward with Sharks regulars Logan Couture, Chris Tierney, Barclay Goodrow, Joonas Donskoi, and Mikkel Boedker. Troy Grosenick started in net with Aaron Dell backing up. Goaltender Antti Raanta played the first two periods for Arizona, and his backup Marek Langhamer played the third.

The Coyotes jumped out to a strong lead with two goals in the first period. The first came just 30 seconds in from Nick Cousins, asisted by Alex Goligoski and Christian Dvorak. The second came from Derek Stepan at 7:26, assisted by Clayton Keller. The Sharks challenged the second goal as offside, but the call held up on review and the Sharks came away witha penalty to kill.

The Coyote power play was shortened by a hooking call to Goligoski at 9:01. Playing 4 on 4, the Sharks gave up another goal, this one to Luke Schenn, with Stepan and Keller picking up the assists.

The Sharks scored on the ensuing power play when Mikkel Boedker beat Coyote goaltender Antti Raanta. Assists went to Ryan and Heed. Boedker cut the lead to one when he took advantage of a broken play to score, assisted by Joonas Donskoi at 18:49.

Nick Cousins started the second period as he had the first, extending the Coyotes lead back to two at 1:38. The lead lasted for several minutes, until Barclay Goodrow and Kevin Labanc both scored in just over a minute. Sorensen and Carpenter took assists on the first, Tierney and Meier assisted on the tying goal.

Brandon Bollig and Michael Latta exchanged blows in the second half of the period. The teams exchanged penalties as the period wound down, but the score remained tied going into the third.

The Sharks had a scare in the middle of the third when Logan Couture caught a puck to the upper body after Simek tried to dump the puck in. Couture went down but got back up and seemed fine.

The game went to overtime and then on to the shootout. Logan Couture was the first San Jose shooter and he scored. He was followed by Mikkel Boedker, Kevin Labanc and Chris Tierney before Tim Heed got the game winner. Clayton Keller, Max Domi, Derek Stepan, Brendan Perlini and Conor Garland shot for Arizona, with the lone goal scored by Domi.

The Sharks next play on Thursday the 28th at Anaheim.

Sharks Preseason 2017: Sharks Host Knights, Win 5-2

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

By M. Walsh

SAN JOSE- The  San Jose Sharks hosted the NHLs newest team on Thursday, defeating the Las Vegas Golden Knights 5-2. Sharks goals came from Kevin Labanc, Joe Pavelksi, Melker Karlsson, Jannik Hansen and Tomas Hertl. Knights goals came from David Perron and Teemu Pulkinen.

San Jose veterans seen in Thursday’s preseason match included Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns, Tomas Hertl, Martin Jones, Chris Tierney and Melker Karlsson. Noteable rookies seen included Timo Meir, Joakim Ryan and Kevin Labanc. The game winner was scored by Joe Pavelski, but the first Sharks goal was Labanc’s. Vegas did not have their presumed starting goaltender in net, Marc-Andre Fleury. Instead, they had Calvin Pickard, backed up by Maxime Lagace. Aaron Dell backed up Martin Jones for San Jose.

The Sharks held the Knights to a single shot for the first ten minutes of play, putting four of their own on net. Near the end of the first, Julius Bergman went to the box for tripping, giving the Sharks their second penalty in the period. By then, San Jose had six shots on goal, and Vegas took their second of the period during the power play.

A couple of minutes later, veteran Melker Karlsson went to the box for hooking. Joakin Ryan handled himself pretty well on the penalty kill, keeping the puck safely below the goal line while reinforcements arrived. The Sharks managed a couple of short-handed chances, including a breakaway for Tomas Hertl, but Vegas goalie Calvin Pickard kept it scoreless.

By the end of the period, the shots were 9-2 Sharks.

The Knights took their first penalty a few minutes into the second period. At first, the Sharks power play did not seem any more effective than the Vegas one. The Knights had their own breakaway, but Jones stopped that and when play went the other way, Kevin LaBanc found himself alone with the puck in the slot. His wrist shot found its way in for the first goal of the game at 4:13. Assists went to Timo Meier and Chris Tierney.

At 8:58 of the second, during a 5 on 3 power play, Joe Pavelski scored San Jose’s second. The first assist went to Burns for his feed from below the goal line. A second assist went to Dylan DeMelo. Curiously, Pavelksi had put one in the net moments earlier from a bounce off the safety netting. The whistle had already gone and no one really believed it was a goal.

Before the second penalty expired, Jannik Hansen picked up a rebound and put it behind Pickard for the Sharks’ third goal. Assists went to Tomas Hertl and Joakim Ryan.

The fourth Sharks goal came from Brenden Dillon all the way up at the blue line. Chris Tierney opted to pass it back to him instead of taking a shot from the faceoff circle. That was the team’s first even-strength goal of the game.

The second period ended 4-0 Sharks, with the shot count at 19-8.

The Sharks had an early power play in the third period, but it was negated by a goaltender interference call against Joe Pavelksi. With 37 seconds left in the Pavelski penalty, Timo Meier went to the box for slashing. The Knights started the five on three in the offensive zone. After three tries at cycling the puck around the boards and back to David Perron on the goal line, the Knights broke the shutout. The Knights scored again before the power play expired, a simple-looking play off the faceoff that left Teemu Pulkinen unguarded and free to shoot from the slot.

Tomas Hertl got one back in a nice play with Timo Meier. The two of them skated in and, as Meier took a shot, they switched sides and Hertl picked up the rebound to make it 5-2. A second assist went to Joakim Ryan.

During the final 34 seconds of the game, Brandon Mashinter and Stefan Matteau engaged in some fisticuffs.

Final score, 5-2 San Jose. The Sharks will play their next preseason game on Saturday in Arizona.

Sharks’ slow start leads to first loss at home this season, 3-2 to Calgary

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tkachuk-scores

By Morris Phillips

Peter DeBoer wasn’t fooled.  The scoreless period-and-a-half of hockey at the SAP Center on Thursday night between the Flames and the Sharks wasn’t a mid-point draw.  To DeBoer, the scoreless tie meant one thing from his perspective, his Sharks were behind, symbolized by the lack of physicality he’s always pointed to as an integral component to winning NHL games.

“We lost because of a lack of a 60-minute commitment from everybody,” DeBoer said, no doubt pointing to the stat sheet that showed his Sharks registered just one hit in the first 20 minutes of play against Calgary.  “The desperation level of the teams we’re playing is really high, and we need to understand that.”

Two goals—93 seconds apart—late in the second period gave the Flames the implicit lead on the scoreboard as well, and they would go on to hand San Jose its first home loss of the season, 3-2.

Calgary rookie Matthew Tkachuk scored twice for the first time in his career, coming up with the game-winner on a nifty pass from Michael Frolik with less than five minutes remaining.  Frolik dropped a perfectly timed cross in front of the net, and Tkachuk did the rest, patiently maneuvering around goalie Martin Jones before lightly touching the puck into the net.

The Sharks answered Calgary’s second period goals with two of their own in the first half of the third period, only to see Tkachuk win it with his second goal.  Still the Sharks’ coach and his players pointed to the team’s slow start that failed to take advantage of Calgary’s leaky defense, which had surrendered 40 goals in 11 games to rank last in the Western Conference.

“Right now we’re a goal short, a shot short, and that’s on everybody,” Joe Pavelski said.  “The work ethic can go up.”

Pavelski, along with Joe Thornton, assisted on the Shark’s initial goal, a one-timer from the point off the stick of Brent Burns just 35 seconds into the third period.  Last than nine minutes later, the Sharks tied when Melker Karlsson willed the puck past Chad Johnson while operating in the Calgary goalie’s kitchen.

On a night where San Jose’s bigger names failed to make an impact, Karlsson may have been the Sharks’ best player, willing to mix it up inside despite seeing just over 12 minutes of ice time.

The Sharks committed a pair of third period penalties after scoring their initial goal, but the Flames failed to regain their two-goal lead before Karlsson tied it.  Chippy play in front of the net preceded Tkachuk’s game-winner, but the teams were skating at equal strength when the 18-year old rookie untied it.

Tkachuk is the son of Keith Tkachuk, best known for his stints with the Coyotes and Blues in a 19-year NHL career in which he played 1,201 games and scored 538 goals.  The 18-year old Tkachuk found out earlier in the day that he wouldn’t be demoted to the minors ostensibly to delay his free agency by one year.

“He’s getting better each night out,” Flames GM Brad Treliving said during the pre-game skate.  “And there’s always going to be bumps along the way with a young player.  But he belongs here.”

The Sharks resume their home stand on Saturday night meeting the defending Stanley Cup Champion Penguins who captured the trophy in June, winning game 6 in San Jose.

Sharks lose to Edmonton, fail to clinch playoff berth or gain ground in the Pacific

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Oilers respond

By Morris Phillips

SAN JOSE–The Sharks said retribution wouldn’t satisfy them as much as clinching a playoff berth on Thursday with a win against Edmonton. But their intentions and their play in the deciding second period said something else entirely.

San Jose blew a two-goal lead, as the Oilers tallied four times in the second period to take control in a 6-3 win over the Sharks. For the second consecutive home game the Sharks failed to clinch a playoff berth after missing the playoffs last season for the first time in 10 years.

The out-of-town scoreboard brought promising results as well with the Ducks and division-leading Kings losing, but the Sharks also failed to make up ground on either Pacific Division rival and remain a point behind Anaheim in the race for home-ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Playoff’s first round.

“Disappointing, considering our first period,” Coach Peter DeBoer said. “We came ready to play.”

First period goals from Tommy Wingels and Joe Pavelski had the Tank buzzing, as well as a fight between Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse and San Jose’s Michael Haley three minutes in. Both players received fighting major penalties as the Sharks sought to send a message in response to Nurse’s vicious attack on Roman Polak March 8 in which Polak’s nose was broken and his eye socket damaged by Nurse before he could even remove his gloves and mount a defense.

Nurse was suspended three games for the incident, but the Sharks maintained to the media that the only retribution they sought was a critical, late season win over the Oilers and their old coach, Todd McLellan. But that turned out to be a misleading statement as the Sharks activated bruiser Haley before the game, and sent him to the ice in search of Nurse just three minutes in.

The fight and the two Sharks’ goals had Edmonton reeling, but three goals in the first 10 minutes of the second period allowed the Oilers to take control. While Edmonton was surging, the Sharks managed to put just one shot on goal.

“There were times in the first where it was men against boys, but I thought we responded well,” McLellan said.

Edmonton came in with just 11 road victories on the season and without highly touted Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who was injured in the team’s previous game at Arizona. But second-period goals by Lauri Korpokoski, Taylor Hall, Patrick Maroon and Adam Clendening turned the tide. Clendening’s goal came just 45 seconds after Hall’s, giving Edmonton a 3-2 lead. But after Patrick Marleau’s power play goal got the Sharks even, Maroon responded with the go-ahead goal in the final two minutes of the period.

Maroon also picked up an assist in Edmonton’s outburst and Clendening’s goal was his first after 46 games without one. Jordan Erberle added an insurance goal for the Oilers, and Hall tallied again on an empty-netter in the third period.

James Reimer made 16 saves for San Jose, while Cam Talbot stopped 23 shots for Edmonton and picked up the win.

Five of San Jose’s remaining eight games are at home, beginning with a visit from the Dallas Stars on Saturday afternoon. The Sharks see the division-leading Kings for a final time on Monday. The Kings have a five-point lead on San Jose for the top spot in the Pacific.

“It’s that time of the year where you’re more concerned with the response,” DeBoer said when asked when he had last seen his club play so poorly.

Edmonton won in San Jose in regulation for the first time since January 2011, and gave McLellan his first win in San Jose as the visiting coach. While happy with the win, McLellan said it carried little extra significance.

“It wears off fairly quickly,” McLellan said when asked if there was additional satisfaction in defeating his old club. “I with my new family now.”

 

 

 

 

 

Sink Tank: Sharks six-game win streak evaporates in home loss to the Blackhawks

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Score!

By Morris Phillips

SAN JOSE–Coming off a perfect six-game road trip and eager to show off their new, winning ways back at home with an eye on regaining sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division, the Sharks figured to take the ice at the SAP Center Wednesday night in a feeding frenzy.

But their opponent, the Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks, aren’t exactly a home-cooked meal.

Brent Seabrook capitalized on Chicago’s early momentum, scoring on a one-timer eight minutes in, and the Blackhawks kept the Sharks on their heels throughout in a 5-2 win.   The Hawks came out flying, amassing the first eight shots on goal, while the Sharks didn’t get their first until 13 minutes had elapsed and they were trailing 1-0.

“The story of the game was the first period and how we started,” Coach Peter DeBoer said. “We were sloppy and a little slow in the first.”

While the Sharks lost for the first time since November 10, the Los Angeles Kings also lost 2-1 in Tampa to the Lightning in a shootout. But the Kings picked up a valuable point to maintain their perch atop the Pacific Division.

In four of the six games on the just-completed road trip, the Sharks allowed two goals or less. But in the first period alone, goalie Martin Jones was beaten twice, giving the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead after a period. If Wednesday’s matchup was the NHL’s hottest team versus the league’s hottest player, than Patrick Kane was the clear winner there, picking up a pair of assists, including the cross ice pass to set up Seabrook’s opening goal.

Kane also assisted on Duncan Keith’s second period goal that put Chicago up, 3-1. The Blackhawks’ offensive catalyst has now collected points in a career-best 17 consecutive games and he leads the NHL with 21 assists and 34 points.

While the Sharks were returning from their perfect road trip through the Northeast, the Hawks spent the last couple of days in Las Vegas, an annual tradition for their club in the month of November. But the kicker may have been the bad taste the Hawks acquired over the weekend in a humbling loss at Vancouver where they surrendered six goals to the Canucks.

Corey Crawford allowed five goals on just 19 shots Saturday, but he was back in goal Wednesday with much different results. Crawford kept the Sharks relatively quiet, allowing a power play goal to Brent Burns in the first period, and a goal to Patrick Marleau in the third, after the Hawks killed off a pair of critical, two-minute penalties earlier in the period.

And as soon as Marleau’s goal cut Chicago’s lead to 3-2 with 8:40 remaining, Andres Desjardins answered a minute later with his first goal of the season to again extend the Hawks’ lead to two goals.

Jones saved 21 of 25 shots faced, a performance well off his goals against average of 2.02, which ranks him behind only Henrik Lundquist, Braden Holtby and Ben Bishop on the list of the NHL’s top goaltenders.

Danius Zubrus, the 37-year old veteran best known for his days in New Jersey with the Devils, made his Sharks’ debut Wednesday on the team’s fourth line.  Zubrus, who worked out for almost a week with the club before he was signed to a one-year deal, was on the ice for 10:13 and saw some time on the Sharks’ penalty kill unit.

The Sharks resume their home stand on Saturday when the Calgary Flames visit the SAP Center at 7:05pm.

 

Early Deficit Undoes Sharks in Homestand Finale with Islanders

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

SAN JOSE, Calif. –True to recent form, a poor start once again took a bite out of the San Jose Sharks chances for a win Tuesday night at SAP Center. The Sharks (7-8-0) allowed two goals to the New York Islanders in the opening five minutes and never managed to dig themselves out of the quick hole they found themselves in, falling 4-2. Joel Ward and Brent Burns tallied the Sharks goals, while Alex Stalock made 20 saves in a relief appearance. Perennial Hart Trophy candidate John Tavares netted a pair of goals to lead the Islanders (8-5-3) to victory.

“We wanted to get a better start and it just didn’t happen,” said Sharks Captain Joe Pavelski after the game. “A bad bounce or bad change, it happens. You’ve got to fight through it.”

San Jose has now lost 7 of 9 games this season when allowing the opponent to score first. The Sharks scored first in their first 5 games of the season, but have yet to score first in consecutive games since. Over the last 10 games, the Sharks netted the first goal only twice. Their record over the last ten games now stands at 3-7-0.

Sharks starting goalie Martin Jones’ night ended after facing just three shots. San Jose coach Peter DeBoer had seen enough from Jones and opted to pull his netminder for Alex Stalock after goals from John Tavares and Mikhail Grabovski in the first 3:30 of play.

“We need a momentum change,” said Jones. “Alex stepped in the last couple games and played great. It’s no fun being pulled but I’m not surprised.”

“You’ve always got to be ready,” said Stalock. “That’s the job of a back-up, injury or change of pace.”

The Islanders captain Tavares struck the opening blow on a rebound of a Brock Nelson shot, the first two shots of the game, at the 36 second mark. Three minutes later, Grabovski managed to turn a defensive zone faceoff into a rush up ice and a wrist shot for his third goal of the season.

“You can give up a bad goal in this league and recover,” said Sharks coach Peter DeBoer. “You can’t give up two goals and expect to win.”

Joel Ward regained a stake of the team lead in goals in the second period on a piece of strong forechecking against Travis Hamonic. Ward lifted Hamonic’s stick along the boards, picking the Islander’s pocket before power to the net. The veteran beat former Shark Thomas Greiss in the crease for his 8th goal of the season at the 10:14 mark of the period.

“We got within one, which gives us a chance,” said Pavelski. “But we want to be playing with the lead.”

Despite only cutting the deficit in half, the Sharks second period performance gave plenty of hope to fans and coaches alike. San Jose outshot the Islanders 14-6 in the frame, drawing the 16,558 fans in attendance to a standing ovation following one specific spectacular shift.

All the momentum built up from a strong second was zapped from the building with another quick strike to open the third. Isles defenseman Johnny Boychuk scored his second goal in as many games, rocketing one of his patented slap shots past Stalock clean for a 3-1 lead 45 seconds into the final frame of regulation.

“I thought it was going to hit my pads,” said Stalock. “It’s a bad feeling when you have no sensation of a puck.”

Brent Burns made the game interesting late, taking a Thomas Hertl pass from behind Greiss and slicing it past Greiss pad for his 5th goal of the season with 5:11 left to play. Despite an offensive surge for the Sharks, Greiss managed to hold on for the win following his 34 save effort. John Tavares added an empty net goal to ice the win for New York.

With the Sharks going 1-3 on a recent homestand, they’ll be looking forward to the road. They’ve fared much better away from SAP (4-3) than at home. They’ll open a six-game road trip with back-to-back contests in Detroit Friday night and a meeting with Jack Eichel’s Buffalo Sabres Saturday afternoon. The six city trip will also make stops in Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Columbus.

Notes: The Sharks had one power play on Tuesday and failed to score, running the streak to 21 straight power plays at home without a goal. They have yet to score on the man advantage at home this season…Melker Karlsson returned to action with the Sharks, playing almost 16 minutes and registering 3 shots on goal while primarily playing on the top line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. On having Karlsson return to the line-up DeBoer said: “I thought he was good. First game in a long time. You can see that he’s an NHL player. He can help us”.…The loss puts the Sharks below .500 for the first time all season.