Tag: sap center

Barracuda fall 3-2 to Heat at SAP Center

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Photo credit: @AHLHeat

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda and Stockton Heat wrapped up their home and home series at SAP Center on Sunday. In case you missed it, San Jose downed Stockton by a score of 5-2 last night. San Jose used a four-goal third period to leave Stockton in shock.

Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer went with Antoine Bibeau, Dylan Gambrell, Vincent Praplan, Francis Perron, Cavan Fitzgerald and Keaton Middleton for his starting lineup.

However, Stockton got on the board first. Andrew Mangiapane scored his second goal of the season with 6:25 left in the first quarter. Oliver Kylington and Tyler Graovac collected the assists on Mangiapane’s goal.

Stockton doubled their lead a little less than two minutes later. Graovac scored his third goal of the season with 4:31 left in the first. Mangiapane and former Barracuda right winger Buddy Robinson collected the assists on Graovac’s goal.

The Heat were fired up and held a 2-0 lead over the Barracuda at the end of the first. Stockton edged San Jose in shots, 9-8.

The second period was chock full of penalties for both teams, but Stockton was the only team who capitalized on a man advantage. Spencer Foo notched his third goal of the season on the 5-on-3 to give the Heat a 3-0 lead with 8:12 left in the second. Graovac collected the assist on Foo’s power play goal.

Also, San Jose struggled to find the back of the net in the second for the first 10 minutes of the second. But the Barracuda avoided a shutout, thanks to Maxim Letunov’s fifth goal of the season with 5:02 left in the second. Praplan collected the lone assist on Letunov’s goal.

The Barracuda made it a one-goal game when Jayden Halbgewachs scored his third goal of the season with 1:11 left in the second.

The Heat still held a 3-2 lead over the Barracuda at the end of the second. Shots were even at 20 apiece.

The Heat were unable to capitalize with the man advantage on both Barracuda penalties, but they managed to hold on for a 3-2 win in the second game of the home-and-home series. Heat goalie Tyler Parsons stopped 26 of 28 shots for the road win, while Barracuda goalie Antoine Bibeau made 26 saves on 29 shots in a home loss.

Notes 
The San Jose Sharks announced that the club reassigned center Dylan Gambrell to the San Jose Barracuda. Gambrell played today.

Barracuda goalie Antoine Bibeau played in his 150th AHL game today.

There’s a Second Harvest food drive going on at SAP Center. This is one of the most difficult times of the year, so if you have any canned goods, please donate them at a Barracuda home game to help families in need.

Up Next 
The Barracuda head out on the road to take on the San Antonio Rampage on Friday, October 26 at 5:30 pm PT.

Sharks Rout Islanders 4-1

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks defeated the visiting New York Islanders 4-1 Saturday night. Sharks’ goals came from Timo Meier, Joonas Donskoi, Brent Burns and Logan Couture, while Tomas Hertl earned three assists. Sharks goalie Martin Jones made 22 saves for the win, while Islanders goalie Robin Lehner made 37 saves on 41 shots in a losing effort.

The lone Islanders goal came from Brock Nelson. The Islanders did not take the loss quietly. As if in tribute to the Elton John tune, the game devolved into numerous fights and skirmishes before it was over.

The Sharks scored first as Timo Meier notched his fourth of the season at 7:59. Despite two Islanders crowding him, and eventually helping him fall to the ice, Tomas Hertl got the puck to Logan Couture at the top of the faceoff circle. Couture sent a quick pass to Meier, who was right at the edge of the blue paint. Lehner stopped Meier’s first shot but Meier was able to pick the puck back up and put it over Lehner’s outstretched pad. Couture and Hertl got the assists.

After a busy but unsuccessful power play at 16:59, San Jose gave up a goal with just 33 seconds left in the period. Josh Bailey skated into the Sharks’ zone and neatly avoided Justin Braun to make a pass to Brock Nelson. Nelson had avoided Burns and wound up with a clear shot at the net, which he took and hit his mark. Assists went to Bailey and Anders Lee.

At the end of the period, the Sharks had a slight lead in shots, 11-6, but a significant advantage in the faceoff circle at 67%-33%.

Evander Kane and Timo Meier both had good chances early in the second, but it was Joonas Donskoi who got the first second period goal at 4:59. Antti Suomela rushed the net and took a shot that was blocked by a sliding Scott Mayfield and Lehner’s stick. Suomela was too far beyond the goal line to get a good shot, so he sent it in front of the net. Donskoi was there in a flash to tap it over the line. Suomela got the only assist.

Just past the halfway mark, a scuffle followed a collision with Lehner in the Islanders’ net. After it was sorted out, Kane went to the box for roughing and Mayfield went to the box for cross-checking Kevin Labanc. The teams played four-on-four for two minutes. With three seconds left in that, Brent Burns took the puck and skated away from Jordan Eberle on the boards, and then took a shot around Tomas Hickey and Lehner to give the Sharks a 3-1 lead. Assists went to Hertl and Donskoi.

With 3:50 left in the period, Barclay Goodrow and Scott Mayfield engaged in some fisticuffs, then left for intermission early.

The Islanders got a late power play when Kane was called for slashing at 17:29. The Sharks’ penalty killers did an exceptional job in the first 1:15 of the penalty, spending a lot of time in the Islanders’ zone. That was thanks in large part to Hertl getting the puck across the line and carrying it all the way down and around the offensive zone.

At the end of the second period, San Jose had the 3-1 lead, a shot advantage of 26-14 and were still ahead in the faceoff circle, winning 61% of the draws.

Hertl helped Couture score the Sharks’ fourth goal. Hertl bounced the puck off of the back of the net while he made a quick reversal to lose an Islanders defender. Free of that burden, he was able to get back in front of the net and took a shot that went under Lehner and out the other side. Couture was there waiting for it and put it over the line. Assists went to Hertl and Joakim Ryan.

At 9:52 of the third, Kane was given a four minute roughing penalty after being taken down at the blue line and objecting strongly. His objection drew like responses from Lee and Mayfield, who each got two minutes for roughing against Kane.

At 12:08, a Cal Clutterbuck hit inspired just about everyone on the ice joined in to the fighting/roughing club: Clutterbuck, Burns, Matt Martin and Casey Cizikas all received misconducts. Burns also got a tripping penalty. Martin and Clutterbuck also got roughing penalties.

The sum total of the penalties put the Sharks on a power play, but it did not produce any more goals.

Shortly after Kane’s penalties expired, Kane was back on the ice and challenged Lee to fight right off the next faceoff.

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

Couture Hat Trick, Revamped Power Play Key to 5-1 Sharks Win over Sabres

Published on by Matthew Harrington

Photo credit: @EMISports

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN JOSE–The San Jose Sharks power play clicked in a big way Thursday night, pushing team teal to a 5-1 win over the visiting Buffalo Sabres. Logan Couture scored his third career hat trick, Joe Pavelski picked up a power play strike and Joonas Donskoi also lit the lamp a man up to give the home team a win in the debut of their new Stealth jerseys. Jake McCabe lit the lamp for Buffalo, the only shot out of 25 to beat Sharks netminder Martin Jones.

With early season power play woes leading to a bottom-five power play for the Sharks entering play Thursday, changes were made to the first power play unit. It’s safe to assume assistant coach Steve Spott, power play coach for San Jose, found the right mix.

Kyle Okposo drew a double-minor for high sticking just 1:45 into the game, giving the Sharks their first man advantage. With time expiring on the first minor, Joonas Donskoi potted his second goal of the season 3:35 into the game. Logan Couture fired back rapid fire, beating Buffalo keeper Carton Hutton for his second goal of the campaign just 27 seconds later for a 2-0 Sharks edge and two power play goals on two opportunities.

San Jose didn’t score in the second and Buffalo’s McCabe scooped up a rebound for his first goal of the year 1:35 into the period to cut the Sharks lead to 2-1. The Sharks dominated the third though, with Logan Couture scoring the lone even strength Sharks goal of the game 4:54 into the third for his second of the game.

Joe Pavelski scored San Jose’s third power play goal of the night over a whopping seven opportunities, moving San Jose to 19th in the league with a 17.8 percent success rate. Couture capped the hat trick off with an empty-net goal with 1:47 left in regulation.

Buffalo went 0-for-5 on the power play to cap a great special teams night for the Sharks. Evander Kane and Brent Burns each had a pair of assists. The Sharks welcome another team from the Empire State to the Shark Tank Saturday night. The Islanders come to town after shellacking the Los Angeles Kings Thursday night.

Barracuda shoot down the Roadrunners in 3-2 shootout win

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Alex True was the only one to score in the shootout and that was enough for the San Jose Barracuda (4-0-0-1) as they came back to defeat the Tucson Roadrunners (3-0-0-1) 3-2 in a shootout victory at SAP Center on Monday evening. This is the best start to a season in the Barracuda’s history.

The first period didn’t feature much action as both teams combined for just 15 shots. San Jose had two descent chances to take the lead. Dylan Gambrell, just recalled back from the Sharks, had his short-handed back hand attempt stopped by Roadrunners goalie Hunter Miska (1-0-1) with eight minutes left in the first period. Manny Wiederer had his shot from the slot ring off the post with five minutes remaining in the opening frame.

Gambrell broke the deadlock late in the second period. Nick DeSimone won a battle along the right boards, fed a pass over to Francis Perron who then one-timed a quick pass over to Gambrell skating in from the point and he wired a shot into the left corner of the goal for his third goal of the season at the 14:43 mark.

“I think we were getting kinda too cute at the blue line,” said Gambrell. “We started chipping pucks in (getting them) below the goal line getting stuff to the net. (The goal) shifted the momentum of it.”

Dakota Mermis would get the equalizer for Tucson just under two minutes later when he was able to keep the puck inside the Cuda zone on the left side of the blue line. He then sent in what looked like an innocent looking shot on goal that sneaked past Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (2-0-1) for his first goal of the season at the 16:15 mark.

Former Cuda forward Adam Helewka, who was sent to the Arizona Coyotes in the June trade for defenseman Kyle Wood, would come back to haunt San Jose when he tipped in a pass by Laurent Dauphin just 51 seconds after Mermis’ goal. Helewka was able to skate in past the Cuda defense and was all alone to tip the puck past Bibeau for his fourth goal of the season at 17:06.

San Jose came back in the third period to tie the game up at 2-2, thanks to a delay of game penalty that sent them on a power play. They would need only nine seconds to convert as Perron rifled a wrist shot from the middle of the slot past Miska into the upper left corner of the goal for his fourth goal of the season at the 12:20 mark. Gambrell and Jeremy Roy received assists.

“It was a scrambling puck, a battle in front of the net,” said Perron. “(There was) a good screen in front of the goalie and I just picked my spot and it went in. It was a huge goal for us.”

Helewka had a breakaway attempt with under three minutes left in the overtime period, but Bibeau stood his ground and made the save on Helewka’s backhander.

San Jose had a glorious chance to end it in overtime. A slashing penalty on Kyle Capobianco with 1:47 left in overtime gave the Cuda a power play to finish out the game. Then Dauphin took a tripping penalty with 41 seconds left to give the Cuda a two-man advantage. However, San Jose was unable to capitalize.

“I think so,” said head coach Roy Sommer when asked if this was the most satisfying win on the season thus far. “When you’re down and you find a way to tie it up and then you win it in overtime, it makes it a little special.”

Both goalies put on a clinic in the shootout. Bibeau, who was perfect in the shootout, finished the game with 31 saves on 33 shots for the victory. Miska had 34 saves on 36 shots in suffering the defeat.

“I was hoping we would score in overtime,” said Bibeau. “I didn’t want a shootout after what happened last game. I was ready and I wanted to be aggressive tonight and dictate their play of their shootout attempt.”

GAME NOTES: San Jose went 1/5 on the power play. Tucson was 0/3.

Cuda defenseman Zach Frye was injured halfway through the second period when a puck hit him in the face. He did not return to the game.

Fisticuffs!
Tucson’s Trevor Cheek took exception to a clean hit by San Jose’s Jeffery Viel and the two had a spirited brawl at center ice with just under three minutes left in the third period.

The announced attendance was 2,095.

UP NEXT: The Cuda travel up to Stockton on Saturday, October 20 to begin a home and home series with the Heat at 6:00 pm PT at Stockton Arena.

Lakers down the Warriors 119-105 to finish the preseason

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Photo credit: @Lakers

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN JOSE — The Los Angeles Lakers, who were without LeBron James, Brandon Ingram, and Kentavius Caldwell-Pope, rallied in the second half to down the Golden State Warriors 119-105 at SAP Center on Friday night.

The Warriors did not play Kevin Durant or Andre Iguodala. Steph Curry played the first period for Golden State and was done for the night. Klay Thompson did not play in the second half. Draymond Green, who had not played since September 29th, saw 14 minutes of action and scored just one point.

Curry played most of the first quarter and tallied 16 points, including four three-point shots. He looked as if he was in mid-season form. Thompson finished the night with 21, and he looked ready to go. The Warriors won the first half by 13 (67-54). Damian Jones had a good first half as he knocked down 15 and appears to be the starting center for the Warriors until DeMarcus Cousins is ready to play.

The second half belonged to the Lakers. Kyle Kuzma was on fire as he and Svi Mykhailuk led the Lakers to a comeback win as they outscored the Warriors 61-38. The Warriors used Draymond Green in the third quarter and Shaun Livingston in the fourth quarter. The rest of the players were trying to show the Warriors’ coaching staff that they belonged in the NBA. The Warriors will have to make decisions soon on which players will start the season in Oakland and who will be assigned to the G-League.

Game Notes: The Warriors still have not agreed to a contract with Patrick McCaw. McCaw would be starting his third season with the Warriors, and he could help this year’s edition. There are question marks regarding Damian Jones, Jordan Bell, Jacob Evans, Jonas Jerebko, and Marcus Derrickson.

The Big Four consisting of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green are set. Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Kevon Looney, and Quinn Cook will make up the second unit.

Up Next: The Warriors open the season at Oracle Arena on Tuesday night at 7:30 pm PDT versus the Oklahoma City Thunder. Moreover, the Warriors’ championship banner will be unfurled, and the players will receive their championship rings.

Condors end Barracuda’s win streak with 3-2 shootout win

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Bakersfield Condors (2-1-0-0) received goals from Cooper Marody and Tyler Benson as well as good goaltending from Al Montoya in the shootout to snap the San Jose Barracuda’s (2-0-0-1) two-game winning streak with a 3-2 shootout victory at SAP Center on Wednesday evening.

San Jose would draw first blood early in the first period. Manny Wiederer won a battle just to the right of the goal line. He then fed a pass back up to the point to Keaton Middleton, who fired a shot into a traffic jam in front of the net. Alexander True was in the middle of the scrum where the puck glanced off his stick that rolled past Montoya into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. True’s second goal of the season came at the 4:21 mark.

Evan Polei, who made his season debut for the Condors, evened up the score when he was able to redirect a pass from Josh Currie past Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau. Polei had two point-blank chances stopped by Bibeau a short time earlier, but the third time was a charm, as it led to Polei’s first goal of the season at the 12:36 mark of the first period.

Bakersfield enjoyed a 16-5 shot advantage as San Jose came out flat in the first period, but Bibeau held down the fort and kept the game even at 1-1 heading into the first intermission.

Jayden Halbgewachs would give the Cuda the lead eight seconds into a power play in the second period. Jeremy Roy fired a shot in from the top of the point that was initially saved by Montoya. After whacking at the puck, Halbgewachs was able to collect the rebound and back hand the puck past Montoya for his second goal of the season at the 7:51 mark. Vincent Praplan was credited with the secondary assist.

“We got a young team and we want to play with speed every game,” said Halbgewachs. “That’s a big part of my game, creating offense. If I use my speed, opportunities are going to be there.”

Joe Gambradella gave the Condors the equalizer just seconds after a penalty to Nolan Vesey expired. Gambradella won a battle along the boards near center ice and escaped with the puck skating in all alone against Bibeau and snapped home a wrist shot to the right corner of the goal that beat Bibeau for his first goal of the season at the 7:28 of the third period. Patrick Russel and William Lagesson were both credited with assists.

Halbgewachs had the best chance to end it in overtime. After breaking up a 2-on-1 break by Bakerfield, he skated out of the defensive zone and received a pass that sent him on a breakaway attempt, only to have Montoya out wait him and make the save on his back hand attempt.

“He’s not the biggest guy but he plays on the inside,” said captain John McCarthy about what Halbgewachs brings to the team. “That’s huge especially when you don’t have the size to muscle people around. Like you saw tonight he gets a lot of chances that way.”

The Cuda earned a late power play late in overtime, but weren’t able to capitalize on the abbreviated man advantage.

“We were lucky to get a point tonight,” said head coach Roy Sommer. “A lot of turnovers, (we played) kind of sloppy. They had more jump than we did tonight.”

Montoya (2-0) earned the victory with 23 saves on 25 shots. Bibeau (1-0-1), despite playing a strong game, suffered the loss after making 33 saves on 35 shots.

GAME NOTES: San Jose went 1-for-5 on what was an uninspiring power play. Bakersfield went 0-for3.

Fisticuffs! Cuda forward Jeffery Viel exchanged pleasantries with Polei just inside the Condors’ zone at the 15:58 mark of the first period.

The announced attendance was 2,527.

UP NEXT: San Jose will travel up Highway 5 to take on their NorCal rival Stockton Heat on Saturday, October 13 at Stockton Arena at 6:00 pm PT.

Barracuda take down Reign 4-1 on AHL Opening Night

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Dylan Gambrell made an immediate impact in his first AHL game. Gambrell’s first two career AHL goals sparked the San Jose Barracuda (1-0-0) on AHL Opening Night to defeat the Ontario Reign (0-1-0) 4-1 victory on Friday evening at the SAP Center.

Newly acquired Francis Perron, who came along part of the blockbuster trade that brought Erik Karlsson to the San Jose Sharks, sent a pass over to Gambrell, who snapped a one-timer over the shoulder of Reign goalie Carl Petersen (0-1) on his first shot for a 1-0 lead at the 4:23 mark of the first period.

“It was nice, it’s kind of weight off the shoulders,” said Gambrell on his two-goal performance. “You know get some more confidence, feel more comfortable out there.”

Gambrell delivered his second goal on just his second shot just under four minutes later on the power play. Defenseman Kyle Wood slid over a cross ice pass to Gambrell at the left point and he bombed one past Petersen to double the Cuda lead at the 8:19 mark. Captain John McCarthy received the secondary assist.

“We’ve practiced with each other a couple of times together,” said Gambrell, regarding playing with Perron. “But I think we were reading off each other really well.”

Perron would increase the lead to 3-0 when he was able to clean up a rebound off  a wrap-around attempt from Gambrell. Petersen made the initial save on Gambrell, but wasn’t able to get back in position to stop Perron’s first goal of the season at the 15:53 mark.

“It was a great first period obviously,” said Perron. “I think Dylan had a lot of jump in the first. Me and Vinnie (Vincent Preplan) just followed him and it worked out pretty well.”

San Jose outshot Ontario 14-7 in the first period and controlled the tempo throughout the frame.

Zach Mitchell was able to get Ontario on the board with his first goal of the season in the second period when he was able to tip in a shot from Kale Clague fired from the left point. Mitchell planted himself in front of Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau to get in position for the tip in that came at the 6:30 mark on the power play.

Maxim Letunov gave back the three goal lead to Cuda late in the second period. After winning a battle behind the goal against Mitchell. He then circled around in between the circles, where he snapped home a back-hander to the left corner of the goal for his first career AHL goal at the 15:43 mark. Jayden Halbgewachs and Nick DeSimone received assists.

Despite being out shot 18-8 in the second period, San Jose carried a 4-1 lead into the second intermission.

“You know (with) 12 rookies (on the roster), I think at this point in the year you take a win anyway you can get them,” said head coach Roy Sommer.

Things got chippy toward the end of the third period when Kurtis MacDermid went after Alexander True after True was called for a boarding penalty. A brief scuffle ensued with six players involved. MacDermid was given a instigator penalty and a game misconduct that resulted in a five-minute power play for San Jose.

Bibeau stopped 30 of 31 shots for his first victory on the season. Petersen suffered the loss, making 23 saves on 27 shots.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/1 on the power play. Ontario was 1/4.

San Jose has only 11 players returning from last season in a team that features 11 new players.

Defensemen Zach Frye and Thomas Gregoire were healthy scratches for San Jose.

UP NEXT: San Jose travels down south to take on their Pacific Division rival Bakersfield Condors on Saturday, October 6 at Rabobank Arena at 7:00 pm PT.

Barracuda to kick off the 2018 AHL season vs. Reign

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Ana Kieu

Minor league hockey fans can rejoice as the San Jose Barracuda kick off the 2018 AHL season at SAP Center versus the Ontario Reign on Friday night.

Here’s everything to know about the rivalry matchup.

Friday’s meeting
Friday’s meeting marks the first of eight rivalry meetings in 2018. San Jose went 2-5-1-0 a season ago against the Reign and are 10-13-5-0 since the Pacific Division was established in 2015. Ontario is the only team San Jose isn’t .500 or better against all-time.

Frenemies
Former teammates and Calder Cup Champions with the Maine Mariners (AHL) during 1983-84, Roy Sommer and Mike Stothers have enjoyed a friendship off the ice and a heated rivalry on it since Stothers took over as the head coach of the Kings’ top affiliate during 2014-15, where he propelled the Manchester Monarchs to a Calder Cup Championship in his first year. Over five years, Sommer is 14-20-5-1 against Stothers’ teams.

Dynamic duo
The L.A. Kings re-acquired Peter Budaj from the Tampa Bay Lightning this offseason, pairing him with Cal Petersen as a one-two punch in the AHL. Budaj was the AHL’s Goaltender of the Year (Baz Bastien Memorial Award) in 2015-16 as a member of the Ontario Reign, leading the league in GAA (1.75), SV% (.932), shutouts (9), and wins (42). As a rookie 2017-18, Petersen, an AHL All-Star, went 4-0-1 against San Jose in five games.

Youth movement
The Barracuda open up the 2018-19 season as the AHL’s youngest roster with an average age of 22.7 years old, which is comprised of 10 rookies. Ontario is the AHL’s 20th youngest roster at 24.38 years old. 13 players on San Jose’s 25-man opening night roster skated in at least one game for San Jose last year.

Big trade
On June 14, Sharks GM Doug Wilson traded forward Adam Helewka to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for the 6-foot-5, 235-pound defenseman Kyle Wood. Two seasons ago, Wood was named to the AHL All-Rookie team after collecting 43 points (14 goals, 29 assists) from the blueline.

National pride
With the offseason signings of Vincent Praplan (Switzerland) and Lukas Radil (Czech Republic), along with the return of Barracuda captain John McCarthy, San Jose’s opening night roster will be comprised of three different skaters who competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

If you bring your entire family tonight, then you won’t have to pay any fees and you can save $18 at the Threat Metrix Ticket Office. In addition, the Intermission Player Signings–presented by Will Party–will happen during the second intermission tonight. Barracuda players to be announced. Enjoy the game!

Sharks fall to Golden Knights 5-4 in a shootout

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks were back to business at the SAP Center versus the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night. In case you need a refresher, San Jose was knocked out by Vegas in the second round of the 2018 NHL Playoffs after sweeping the Ducks in the first round that postseason.

The official introduction of star defenseman Erik Karlsson broke the internet this week. The Karlsson trade changed the Sharks’ defensive pairings, as Karlsson will likely join a fifth in 2018. Karlsson also made headlines for not speaking to the Ottawa Senators’ management since last November when they asked for his no-trade clause. And, of course, the fact the CBA could derail Karlsson’s future in San Jose.

But, let’s focus on what happened on Saturday night inside the SAP Center.

Both teams picked up where they left off. The Sharks and Golden Knights played with a lot of grit, and at times, physicality. Vegas drew first blood as Max Pacioretty scored the opening goal just 43 seconds into the first period. Assists were handed to Erik Haula and Paul Statsny. San Jose, however, tied the score 1-1 just 40 seconds later. Brent Burns scored the game-tying goal. Assists were handed to Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier.

The Sharks took a 2-1 lead with 5:45 left in the first period. Meier’s goal helped put the Sharks in front. A lone assist was handed to Hertl.

Both teams played fairly rough, but the Sharks led the Golden Knights 2-1 after 20 minutes of play. Shots were tied 10-10. But the score wasn’t the only positive for San Jose, who got their first in-game sighting of Karlsson, who spoke to in-game host Jon Root for an entertaining interview.

Sharks fans gave a standing ovation as soon as Joe Thornton made his first appearance since January 23rd to open the second period. Thornton was happy to be back on the rink.

Barclay Goodrow scored a penalty shot goal to extend the Sharks’ lead to 3-1 at the 13:27 mark of the second period. The Golden Knights quickly made it a one-goal game as Oscar Lindberg made a top corner shot. A lone assist was handed to Alex Tuch.

Sharks goalie Martin Jones made a noteworthy glove save to fend off a potential Golden Knights goal with 2:11 left in the second period.

The Golden Knights’ Erik Brannstrom was called for holding, and as a result, the Sharks went on the power play. Logan Couture then worked his magic with a short-handed goal with just 58 seconds left in the second period. A lone assist was handed to Hertl.

The Sharks carried a 4-2 lead to the locker room after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 18-16 in favor of San Jose.

The remaining 17 seconds of Joe Pavelski’s slashing penalty was carried over into the third period. The Sharks killed off their captain’s penalty, but the Golden Knights gave the home team a hard time as they pulled within one again. Lindberg earned credit for the goal, which was his second of the night, 5:05 into the third period.

The Golden Knights weren’t far from quitters, as Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored a short-handed, game-tying goal to tie the score 4-4 (and his team killed their penalty, too) with less than two minutes left in the third period.

The score remained in a 4-4 tie, and both teams went to overtime for the first time this preseason.

Neither team was able to score in overtime, so the game had to be decided by a shootout.

In round one, Pavelski was the first shooter, but Golden Knights goalie Maxime Lagace made a notable save to prevent a potential Sharks point. In round two, both Couture and Tuch scored. In round three, neither Pacioretty or Evander Kane scored. In round four, neither Hertl or Brandon Pirri scored. In round five, neither Burns or Lindberg scored. In round six, Thornton missed his shot, while Brannstorm scored the shootout winner to lift the Golden Knights to a 5-4 win over the Sharks.

Notes
Sharks’ starters: Brenden Dillon, Joe Pavelski, Evander Kane, Joe Thornton and Justin Braun.

Sharks’ scratches: Ryan Merkley and Sasha Chmelevski.

Tonight’s featured player was Logan Couture.

Tonight’s attendance was 15,496.

Sharks Fan Fest will be held on Sunday, September 23 from 1-7 pm PDT. More information can be found at sjsharks.com/fanfest.

The San Jose Barracuda will begin the 2018-19 AHL season on Friday, October 5. More information can be found at www.sjbarracuda.com/news/detail/barracuda-home-opener-two-weeks-away-oct-5.

Up Next 
The Sharks head to Calgary to take on the Flames in a preseason tilt on Tuesday, September 25 at 6:00 pm PDT.

Sharks rout the Ducks 4-1 in preseason game No. 1

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Photo credit: @SiriusXMNHL

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — No, the regular season hasn’t started yet, but the San Jose Sharks opened up the preseason at SAP Center versus the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night.

For the Sharks, the recent acquisition of Ottawa Senators star defenseman Erik Karlsson might signal the dawn of a new era in San Jose. The Sharks welcomed Karlsson to San Jose with a full page color ad in Monday’s edition of The Mercury News. The Sharks reportedly will offer Karlsson an eight-year contract extension.

Karlsson revealed that he never wanted to leave Ottawa after a season full of controversy, but I’m almost certain that he’ll get comfortable with California now that he’s expected to practice with the Sharks on Wednesday.

In other news, Mike Hoffman’s fiancee, Monika Caryk, said she won’t sue Karlsson’s wife, Melinda Currey, over allegations of cyberbullying.

For the Ducks, there has been a lot of debating over questions surrounding their training camp. The Ducks’ recent trades may or may not change the balance of power in the Pacific Division, but I’ll wait for the regular season to start before commenting on that.

Anyhow, let’s get to the Sharks vs. Ducks preseason game.

Despite an action-packed first period, the game was in a scoreless tie. Shots were 14-6 in favor of San Jose.

Just moments after Gibson’s penalty expired, Brenden Dillon was called for tripping at the 16:30 mark of the second period. And, to make things worse, Anton Rodin gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead with his first power play goal of the preseason at the 15:31 mark of the second period. Assists were handed to Corey Tropp and Brandon Montour.

But the Sharks bounced back nicely. Rourke Chartier scored the game-tying goal at the 12:23 mark of the second period. A lone assist was handed to Ivan Chekhovich.

The Ducks pulled Jared Coreau in favor of Kevin Boyle with 8:06 left in the second period. However, the Ducks’ decision didn’t work in their favor.

The Sharks took a 2-1 lead with 4:35 left in the second period. Chekhovich scored his first goal of the preseason. A lone assist was handed to Barclay Goodrow.

The Sharks brought a 2-1 lead to the locker room following a gutsy second period. Shots were 29-15 in favor of San Jose.

The Sharks were feisty late in the third period. Barclay Goodrow tallied a goal–his first to extend the Sharks’ lead to 3-1 with 1:49 left in regulation. Assists were handed to Tim Heed and Radim Simek. Shortly after, Chekhovich scored his second goal of the game (and preseason) to expand the Sharks’ lead to 4-1. Assists were handed to Goodrow and Dylan Gambrell.

The Sharks defeated the Ducks 4-1 in their first preseason game of 2018.

Notes
Tonight’s attendance was 13,926.

Sharks’ roster 
Forwards: Dylan Gambrell, Marcus Sorensen, Barclay Goodrow, Joonas Donskoi, Antti Suomela, Vincent Praplan, Tomas Hertl, Lukas Radio, Sasha Chmelevski, Rourke Chartier, Kevin Labanc, Ivan Chekhovich and Maxim Letunov.

Defensemen: Brenden Dillon, Ryan Merkley, Joakim Ryan, Radim Simek, Nick DeSimone, Tim Heed and Jeremy Roy.

Goalies: Antoine Bibeau and Zachary Emond.

Up Next
The Sharks head to Anaheim to take on the Ducks in a preseason rematch on Thursday, September 20 at 7:00 pm PDT.