Tag: San Jose Sharks

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Blues turn it up with 2 wins after losing to San Jose; Oilers McDavid scratched against Vegas Wednesday; plus more news

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Edmonton Oilers Conner McDavid controls the puck against the St Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center in St Louis on Mon Apr 1, 2024 (AP News photo)

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Arizona Coyotes might relocate to Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City is being very aggressive about getting the Coyotes. The owner of the Utah Jazz Ryan Smith wants an NHL team to join he and the Jazz at the Salt Palace.

#2 The St Louis Blues had to be sore after losing to the San Jose Sharks last Saturday in overtime. The next day the Blues exploded and defeated the Anaheim Ducks six goals and came away with a 6-5 win. On Wednesday the Blues once again got a three goal win to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks by three goals 5-2 all four of the Blues first four shots were all goals to start the game.

#3 The Edmonton Oilers Conner McDavid was scratched out of the line up against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday. The Oilers have been rolling and even without McDavid the Oilers came out a big winner 5-1 in Edmonton. McDavid missed practice for the second straight day with a lower body injury

#4 Syd the Kid Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins wins the NHLPA most complete player of the year. Crosby got 38.37 percent of the vote Crosby beat out the Florida Panthers center Alexander Barkov who had 14.6 percent of the vote.

#5 Alexander Ovechkin is becoming like the ageless wonder setting a record scoring 30 or more goals for the 18th season. In the first 43 games this season Ovechkin had eight goals and teammate Dylan Strome said he wouldn’t be surprised if he reached 30 which he has now done for the 18th time.

#6 The New Jersey Devils failed to make post season for tenth time in 12 seasons. New Jersey suffered from injuries, goalie instability, and the Devils have suffered a numerous amount of injuries and missed a lot of key players who were out.

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

San Jose Sharks Lose 3-2 In Overtime To Calgary Flames

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San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn stands behind bench with center Kim Kosin (10) and center Mikael Granlund (64) sitting in front at SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Apr 9, 2024 (Bay Area News Group photo)

Tuesday, April 9th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – The San Jose Sharks (18-51-9) welcome the Calgary Flames (35-37-5) to SAP Center for their second meeting of three this season, the only one in San Jose on Tuesday night. Last game against the Flames, Sharks won 6-3. Sharks come off a 5-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes, but one big positive from the game is Mikael Granlund (0g, 1a) extended his season-long point streak to eight games (2g, 7a). Granlund enters the contest against Calgary having tallied 25 points in his past 25 games played (7g, 18a). 

The Sharks who had a 2-2 tie with the Flames let it get away in overtime for a 3-2 loss. The Sharks have now lost 13 of their last 15 games.

First period was exciting for SJ fans even though it wasn’t anywhere near a sell out in the SAP Center. Coach Quinn started the “Lund” line, William Eklund, Fabian Zetterlund, and Granlund and seven minutes and 22 seconds into the period, that line got the first goal of the night.

Zetterlund leads a 2 on 1 breakaway with Eklund and after a crisp pass from Zetterlund, Eklund scored with a backhand shot past the Calgary goalie Dustin Wolf. 1-0 Sharks.

Granlund continued his point streak to nine games and the goal was both Eklund and Zetterlund’s 40th point on the season so far. The whole period was a trade of hits between both clubs, one nasty hit specifically resulting in a boarding penalty for Martin Pospisil when he hit Calen Addison. The Sharks didn’t convert on the power play, but the message was received by the Sharks. San Jose goes into the first intermission up 1-0. 

Second Period was more on the side of Calgary and that’s because the Sharks defense couldn’t keep track of the Flames. San Jose extended their lead early in the second period when Mike Hoffman stole the puck, passed to Jacob MacDonald for a backhand goal, 2-0 Sharks.

Flames come back though as Rasmus Andersson scored after shots on goal were blocked, but with no one in teal picking up the puck on a rebound, Andersson hits the third shot past Blackwood for Calgary’s first goal, 2-1.

The Flames weren’t done capitalizing on San Jose as Nazem Kadri gathered the puck that the Sharks defenders lost in the mix and scored off a snap shot to tie the game up. This was a power play goal coming off a Vlasic tripping call. 2-2 headed into intermission. 

Third Period it appeared Calgary tried to bully the Sharks and it was evident when a couple of times the Flames tried to be aggressive, they got penalized. Miromanov tripped Eklund and set up a power play and then in the last 2 minutes of the game, Coleman cross checked Kyle Burroughs and that earned the Sharks a power play that even bled into overtime.

The Flames killed off their penalty in OT, but it was a Mario Ferraro holding penalty that led to Ilya Solovyov to score in a mix up in front of the net, power play goal, 3-2 Flames and Calgary wins.

Next game for San Jose will be in Seattle against the Kraken, Thursday, April 11th.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Troy Ewers: Sharks and Flames battle at SAP Center tonight

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San Jose Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun (3) and the Arizona Coyotes right wing Dylan Guenther (11) battle for the puck in the second period at SAP Center on Sun Apr 7, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Troy:

#1 Lawson Crouse, Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller of the Arizona Coyotes (33-39-5) each had a goal and an assist apiece in which contributed in defeating the San Jose Sharks (18-51-8) 5-2 on Sunday.

#2 In the third period with the score 2-2 tied the Coyotes broke it wide open with three goals from Dylan Guenther, Nick Schmaltz, and Keller which made it 5-3.

#3 The Sharks got a goal a piece in the first and second periods from Luke Kunin and Henry Thrun. It was all the Sharks would get in their scoring efforts for the afternoon.

#4 The Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood was spent after facing numerous shots and giving up three goals in the third period allowing five and saving 23 shots in loss.

#5 Sharks host the Calgary Flames (34-37-5) tonight here at SAP Center. The Flames have lost three straight games and have lost eight of their last ten games. Meanwhile the Sharks have now dropped 12 of their last 14 games. How do you see this match up tonight?

Troy Ewers is a San Jose Sharks beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks Lose 5-2 To Arizona Coyotes; Sharks have lost 12 of last 14 games

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San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood can’t stop an Arizona Coyote goal in the third period at SAP Center in San Jose on Sun Apr 7, 2024 (AP News photo)

Sunday, April 7th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

SAN JOSE–In Day 2 of back to back games, the San Jose Sharks (18-51-8) lost to the Arizona Coyotes (33-39-5) 5-2 at SAP Arena on Sunday afternoon . The Sharks were coming off a huge day, in their last game Saturday against the Blues that not only saw an overtime win 3-2, but historic firsts for the locker room. 

William Eklund (3g, 0a) netted his first career hat trick, his first NHL multi-goal game and sixth-career multi-point effort, to lead the Sharks to a season sweep of the St. Louis Blues. He extended his home scoring streak to 10 games (6g, 7a), the 10th time in team history that a Shark has found the score sheet in 10 consecutive games on home ice. Mikael Granlund (0g, 1a) pushed his point streak to seven games (2g, 6a), a season-long. Devin Cooley earned his first career win, making 34 stops on 36 shots faced, and Collin Graf made his NHL debut in the game. 

Game recap: First period was interesting to say the least for Henry Thrun. Thrun started the game with a delay of game which led to a power play goal for Arizona. Lawson Crouse hit a one timer in the slot for an opening goal, 1-0 Arizona.

A interference penalty for Arizona led to a power play goal from Henry Thrun. A slap shot from the blue line ties up the game and Granlund, who got an assist, extends his point streak to eight games making it 1-1.

Lawson Crouse ended up in the penalty box after elbowing Thrun and even though nothing was capitalized on for the Coyotes, it was a wild period for Thrun. Liam O’Brien scored a go ahead goal for Arizona that seemed to be knocked in by a Shark, but it didn’t matter, 2-1 Coyotes. 

Second period Luke Kunin evened it out with a wrist shot, but the highlight was the scuffs that the Sharks were engaging in. By the second intermission it was 2-2 and San Jose had a lot of energy approaching the final period. 

Third period the wheels fell off for San Jose as the Coyotes scored three straight goals to end the game. Dylan Guenther scored the first goal with a quick wrist shot past Mackenzie Blackwood, 3-2 Coyotes. Crouse got his second point of the day with an assist on that goal. Clayton Keller made it 4-2 with a big slap shot, assisted by Nick Schmaltz through the legs. Final goal for Arizona came from an empty netter by Schmaltz that ended the game at 5-2. Coyotes win.  

Next game for the Sharks will be on Tuesday April 9th against the Calgary Flames at SAP Center in San Jose.

Eklund’s Hat Trick Secures 3-2 Victory For San Jose Sharks Over St. Louis Blues

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San Jose Sharks left winger William Ecklund (72) wearing the Hat Trick hat is surrounded by his happy teammates at SAP Center in San Jose for defeating the St Louis Blues on Sat Apr 6, 2024 (AP News photo)

Saturday, April 6th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

SAN JOSE– The St. Louis Blues faced off in the Tank against the San Jose Sharks in this weekend showdown. The Sharks defeated the Blues to end a nine game win streak back on Sat Mar 30. The Sharks once again who had lost 11 of their last 12 defeated the Blues 3-2 at SAP Center in San Jose on Saturday.

Game recap: The first period was scoreless, but it was an even time seemingly in possession. The Sharks pressured the Blues as much as possible. 

The Sharks in the second period took the lead in the second period, thanks to “Slippery Pete” himself, William Eklund. Eklund scored two goals, both of them in power plays. He at this point had 14 goals on the season and the Sharks themselves had the most dangerous lead in hockey, a two goal lead. 

The wheels came off for San Jose in the third as the Sharks let two goals sneak past them. First one from Jordan Kyrou on a power play early in the third period, 2-1 with the Sharks still up. Later in the period, Brayden Schenn scored his 18th goal of the season and the tying goal of the game. 2-2 and we would see overtime. 

Overtime went all the way down to the final minute, but Eklund would make a moment in his career he would never forget as he would score his third goal of the night, securing a hat trick, 15 goals on the season, and a win for San Jose. 3-2 Sharks. 

Post game notes: Last game the LA Kings beat San Jose 2-1 in the SAP Center on Thursday night, Klim Kostin (1g, 0a) lit the lamp for the second consecutive game and third time in the last five contests. Mikael Granlund (0g, 1a) extended his scoring streak to six games (2g, 5a), tying his seasonlong. William Eklund (0g, 1a) pushed his home point streak to nine games, three shy of the Sharks’ team record. Jack Studnicka played in his 100th career NHL game.

Next game for the Sharks is Sunday Apr 7th against the Arizona Coyotes a 3:00pm PDT matinee and the second of back to back games at SAP Center. Coach Quinn can be proud of his young sniper, WIlliam Eklund for a big win.

San Jose Sharks Lose 2-1 At Home To The Los Angeles Kings

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Los Angeles Kings right winger Adrian Kempe (9) scores on San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blacwood (29) in the first period at SAP Center in San Jose (AP News photo)

Thursday, April 4th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

SANJOSE–Even though the San Jose Sharks were the hosts, there were an abundance of Los Angeles Kings fans in the house and the Kings gave that portion of the Tank something to cheer for edging out the Sharks 2-1 at SAP Center. Adrian Kempe scored the opening goal on a breakaway, his 25th of the season, 1-0 Kings 11 minutes into the game.

Shortly after the Kempe goal, Akil Thomas scored his first points of the season and the second goal of the game with a wrist shot while embracing a hit, 2-0 Kings. The cheers for the Kings from their fans overshadowed the boos from the Sharks fans in attendance and the 1st period ended with a 2-0 score and the Kings in the middle of a power play. 

A better second period for the Sharks, but only because the Sharks were more physical. A fight between Luke Kunin and Andreas Englund had a fight that woke the crowd up including the home fans. No goals this period, but a sign of hope as San Jose got more chances and had better possession time.

Third period was a nothing period as the Kings played the clock and the Sharks looked defeated as soon as the period started. Klim Kostin scored a goal that gave fans some sense of hope, but it was too little too late, 2-1 Kings to end the game.

Game notes: Two division rivals on opposite sides of the coin face off as the last place in the Pacific Division San Jose Sharks host the 4th place in the Pacific Division Los Angeles Kings. Last game for the Sharks was a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken on April Fool’s Day. Fabian Zetterlund (1g, 1a) netted his team-leading 21st goal of the season, a power play tally to open the home team’s scoring in his ninth multi-point game of the season.

Klim Kostin (1g, 0a) scored his fourth goal with the Sharks, his seventh of the season. Mikael Granlund (0g, 1a) extended his point streak to five games (2g, 4a) with an assist on Zetterlund’s goal, and William Eklund (0g, 1a) pushed his home point streak to eight games (3g, 6a) with the secondary helper on the same score. SJS Goals: Zetterlund (21 pp), Kostin (7) . 

Next game for the Sharks will be at home Saturday against the St. Louis Blues.

Bjorkstrand key in Kraken 4-2 win over Sharks at SAP

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The Seattle Kraken center Yanni Gourde (37) attempts to get a stick on the puck, San Jose Sharks defenseman Calen Addison (33), goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29), and center Nico Sturm (7) try to defend the net in the third period at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Apr 1, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Titus Wilkinson

The Seattle Kraken’s (31-30-13) Oliver Bjorkstrand scored a goal and an assist and the Kraken had a three goal rally in the first period that eventually did in the San Jose Sharks (17-49-8) at SAP Center in San Jose 4-2. For Bjorkstrand it was his 20th goal of the season.

The Kraken also got a goal from Jared McCann, Marty Beniers, and Shane Wright. Veteran Shane Eberle picked up his 700th career point when he got an assist. Meanwhile Kraken goaltender Phillip Grubauer stopped 24 Sharks shots.

The Sharks dropped their tenth in 11 games, that’s 19 loses in 21 games so far. The Sharks Fabian Zetterlund picked up a goal and assist and left winger Klim Kostin scored a goal, William Granlund extended his point streak to five games when he picked up an assist.

Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood stopped 28 shots but allowed four goals and the first period kept him on his skates with three goals against in that opening period. Sharks head coach David Quinn said that they needed to be physically engaged to have a chance against a team like the Kraken. Quinn said they were not focused in the first 20 minutes of the game.

Next up: The Sharks host the Los Angeles Kings (35-25-11) Thursday night at SAP Arena in San Jose. The Kings are fourth in the Pacific Division and are on a three game losing streak. Face off is at 7:30pm PDT.

Titus Wilkinson is an NHL writer at http://www.sportrsradioservice.com

Sharks End Losing Streak, Shut Out Blues 4-0

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The St Louis Blues Pavel Buchnevich (89) and the San Jose Sharks Ryan Carpenter (22) battle for the puck in third period action at the Enterprise Center in St Louis on Sat Mar 30, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks shut out the St Louis Blues 4-0 on Saturday at the Enterprise Center in St Louis. The win ended a nine-game losing streak for San Jose and dimmed the Blues’ playoff hopes. Filip Zadina, Mikael Granlund, Luke Kunin and Jan Rutta scored for the Sharks. Mackenzie Blackwood made 37 saves for the shutout win. Joel Hofer made 16 saves for the Blues.

After the game, Sharks forward Luke Kunin talked about how the team shifted gears from a lackadaisical first period to a very successful second period: “All the things we were doing well in previous games, as far as getting out of our zone, breakouts, we were just not doing any of that. Talked it over there, after the first, and I think you saw it got a lot better throughout the rest of the game.”

In a penalty-free and scoreless first period, the Sharks had just three shots to the Blues’ eleven. The first goal of the game came almost half way through the second period, from Filip Zadina. He stole the puck from Zack Bolduc in the corner and skated back to the slot where he scored with a quick wrist shot.

Mikael Granlund made it 2-0 at 12:05. Granlund followed Fabian Zetterlund’s shot to the net. When the puck bounced off the post and landed behind the goalie in the blue paint, Granlund was there to scoop the puck over the line. Assists went to Zetterlund and William Eklund.

Luke Kunin made it 3-0 at 17:58. Justin Bailey beat a defender to the puck with Hofer out of the net, but he didn’t manage a shot. Nonetheless, he caused the defender to dive for the puck. The puck trickled away, into the path of Kunin, who was racing into the zone. He gathered up the puck for a wrist shot.

The Sharks outshot the Blues twelve to three in that second period. The Sharks took one penalty but that penalty kill was abbreviated when the Blues took an overlapping penalty 40 seconds in. The Blues took two more penalties in the period but no one scored on the power play.

In the first seven minutes of the third period, the Blues managed eleven shots on goal to the Sharks’ two. The Blues pulled their goaltender with just under four minutes to go. Less than a minute later, Jan Rutta took a shot shot next to the Sharks net and scored in the empty net at the other end. An assist went to Nico Sturm.

The Sharks next play on Monday at home against the Seattle Kraken at 7:30 PM PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks hoping to end 9 game skid tonight in St Louis

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The San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29) and defenseman Jon Rutta (84) defend as the Minnesota Wild’s center Joel Eriksson Elk (14) tries to find the back end of the net in the first period on Thu Mar 28, 2024 at XCel Energy Center in St Paul MN (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Minnesota Wild broke 1-1 deadlock when they ended up scoring two goals in the third period to win it 3-1 handing the San Jose Sharks their ninth loss in a row.

#2 The Wild’s Matt Boldy scored a tie breaking goal to put the Wild in front at 18 seconds into the third period. The Sharks were hoping to get a win and snap out of their loss streak but rather than move ahead Boldy and the Wild held and took the game.

#3 Boldy said that guys in the dressing room are playing the game the right way and it’s coming out to wins. The Wild’s Joel Eriksson Elk got a goal, Ryan Hartman picked up an empty netter, and Kirill Kaprizov picked up two assists.

#4 Sharks head coach David Quinn said after the contest that the Sharks are dying for a win and he feels for the players but said you have to play for 60 minutes not 40 minutes.

#5 The Sharks face off against the St Louis Blues tonight at Enterprise Arena in St Louis. The Blues are fourth in the NHL Central at 39-30-4 and have won seven of their last ten games. How tough will this one be for the Sharks in St Louis and trying to end that nine game losing streak?

Catch the San Jose Sharks podcasts each Saturday with Mary Lisa at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Struggling Sharks fall 3-1 to Wild; Defeat extends San Jose’s loss streak to nine games

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San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29) puts the stop on a shot by Minnesota Wild center Joel Eriksson (14) in the first period at the XCel Energy Center in St Paul on Thu Mar 28, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum

Thursday, March 28, 2024

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A long season for the San Jose Sharks didn’t get any shorter on Thursday at Xcel Energy Center, as a Minnesota Wild team, playing with desperation, defeated the rebuilding Sharks 3-1 to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

The Wild (35-28-9, 79 points) are in a scramble for an NHL Western Conference playoff berth, trailing Vegas by nine points and idle St. Louis by three in the Wild Card race with 10 games to play. San Jose (16-48-8, 40 points) is mired in eighth place in the Pacific Division, one point behind Anaheim.

“We’re dying for a win here, and I feel for our guys,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “But you have to play 60, you can’t play 40. We’re in that mode of playing the first two periods really well and struggle in the third. We kind of reversed that a little bit tonight.

“It says a lot. We continue to battle, and in those last two periods, it would have been easy to pack it in after the first period. We did anything but that.”

The Sharks have lost their last nine games, and were looking to bounce back from a 6-3 loss to Dallas on Tuesday.

“It was a good effort. It’s frustrating when the guys are playing hard, playing the right way,” Sharks goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood said. “Obviously the first period didn’t go our way, but I thought we responded well and deserved better than no points tonight.”

The Wild wasted little time scoring the go-ahead tally at 18 seconds of the third period. Matt Boldy made it 2-1 Minnesota when he circled behind the net, took a feed from Kirill Kaprizov and swatted the puck behind Blackwood, who found himself out of position.

Minnesota’s Ryan Hartman tacked on an empty-net goal at 19:06, his 19th.

“I give our team a lot of credit for getting back on track with a good second period and an even better third period,” Quinn said. “I liked an awful lot of what I saw in those two periods.”

Minnesota had two power plays in the first period while outshooting the Sharis 15-1, and had one goal – Joel Eriksson Ek’s 30th of the season, Eriksson Ek took a centering pass from Kirill Kaprizov and flipped a wrist shot to the top shelf over Blackwood’s right shoulder.

“I thought we did some good things physically in the first period,” Quinn said. “But I thought we were really out of it mentally. The penalties didn’t help us because (the Wild’s) power play can move the puck around pretty good. We were fortunate to get out of that period down 1-0.”

The Sharks came up with the equalizer at 16:01 of the second period, tying the game at 1-1. Mikael Granlund took a feed in the slot and stuffed the puck into the lower corner of the goal past Filip Gustavsson’s glove for his 11th goal of the season. Jan Rutta and Marc-Edouard Vlasic got the assists.

“I think our response was better in the second and third period,” Sharks forward Justin Bailey said. “Between periods, we were reminded to clean up some little things and make sure we were getting to the puck. (Minnesota) is a fast team, a quick team, and make them earn all the defense they got. I think we did that tonight.”

Quinn felt his fourth line of Filip Zadina, Ryan Carpenter and Kevin Labanc had a strong third period that helped keep the Sharks in the game.

“The first two periods were okay, but the third period was their best,” Quinn said. “I thought they gave us a real good period. We had some chances, but we just couldn’t get one by in that third period.”

Gustavsson stopped 27-of-28 San Jose shots on goal, while Blackwood made 29 saves on 31 Wild shots.

“I felt a lot sharper tonight,’ Blackwood said. “I was seeing the puck better and I had better positioning. It felt good to get back into a better rhythm and feel like myself again.”

SHARK BITES: San Jose scratches were D Jacob McDonald, RW Givani Smith and LW Alexander Barabanov. … The Sharks travel to St. Louis on Saturday before returning home for an April 1 contest with the Seattle Kraken.