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Jones Shuts Out Golden Knights 4-0; Sharks Even Series 2-2

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Photo credit: @PR_NHL

By Matthew Harrington

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks turned their best-of-seven series against the Vegas Golden Knights into a best-of-three, beating the visitors 4-0 Wednesday night at the SAP Center to even the series 2-2. Martin Jones authored a 34-save shutout, his second of the playoffs, while helping San Jose’s penalty kill go 5-for-5.

Tomas Hertl scored his team-best fifth goal of the playoffs, Joonas Donskoi lit the lamp in his return to the lineup after a one-game layoff and Marcus Sorensen scored the game-winner. Joe Pavelski broke out of his mini-slump with his first goal since Game 3 of the Anaheim Ducks series and Logan Couture dished a pair of assists.

The spring of Sorensen continued, with the Swede forward scoring his fourth goal of the playoffs 15:37 into the first period in a superhuman effort. Sorensen circled the Vegas net, working his way back into the slot before losing his balance on a Colin Miller trip to Fleury’s right. He still managed to fire the puck mid-fall à la Bobby Orr top-shelf before the Golden Knights’ keeper could ever make his push across the net for a 1-0 San Jose lead.

“It was huge,” said Sharks coach Peter DeBoer on the game-opening strike. “We’ve been chasing the lead the whole series. We talked about it, but it’s easier said than done. We’ve had chances in the last two games to get out front but [Marc-Andre] Fleury’s been exceptional early in games in order to keep us off the board. It’s nice that we stuck with it. Hopefully, we see some cracks.”

The Sharks looked like they were going to head to the locker room with a one-goal lead, but another fantastic individual effort from a San Jose forward led to a 2-0 cushion with just six seconds left in the first. Joonas Donskoi, absent from the lineup in Game 3, went coast-to-coast before beating Fleury over his glove with Vegas’ Brayden McNabb and Nate Schmidt trying to close in on him in the slot. Brenden Dillon picked up his second assist of the game after serving up a helper on Sorensen’s strike as well.

Tomas Hertl had arguably his best game of the series, firing three shots on net over 18:58 minutes while being a force around and behind the Vegas net. The Sharks forward scored his team-leading fifth goal of the postseason after parking himself in front of Fleury and shoveling a loose puck past through the scrambling netminder 5:35 into the second. Mikkel Boedker picked up an assist after firing the initial shot and Logan Couture had a secondary assist with the Sharks leading 3-0.

Joe Pavelski scored his first goal of the series, just his second of the playoffs, on the powerplay late in the third period after Fleury challenged Pavelski on the edge of the crease. Pavelski jammed at the puck till it flipped around Fleury’s left pad for a 4-0 lead with 8:17 in regulation. Couture drew his second assist on the goal while Brent Burns picked up a helper as well.

“They won the netfront battle at both ends,” said Vegas coach Gerard Gallant. “When you do that you win the game.”

Vegas vented its frustration in the final minutes, collecting a pair of penalties to put the Sharks on a 5-on-3 man advantage as time expired, but Team Teal couldn’t convert. In total, Vegas committed 22 minutes worth of penalties, with post-season hits leader William Carrier drawing a 10-minute misconduct to go with a roughing double-minor with 1:52 left in regulation.

The Sharks lineup remained a mystery up till puck drop, with Evander Kane missing the morning skate and Joe Thornton and Barclay Goodrow flanking Joe Pavelski on the top line at the morning practice. Ultimately, the only lineup change besides the return of Donskoi was the insertion of Joakim Ryan in Paul Martin’s place at defense. Martin was victimized most notably on William Karlsson’s overtime winner in Game 3 while Ryan showed promise in Game 4, including covering for Brent Burns to breakup a breakaway in the first period. Ryan finished the night with one blocked shot over 11:55 of ice time in his first career postseason contest.

“He did a good job,” said DeBoer of Ryan. “We didn’t win tonight because of Ryan, we didn’t lose last time because of Paul Martin. Our team game the last three games has been really good. The difference tonight was they were 0-5 on the power play and we snuck some goals in.”

The series shifts to Vegas Friday night, but the Sharks victory assures at least one more home game. If the Sharks were to win Game 5 in Vegas, they’d have a chance to finish out the series on home ice Sunday. The best guess will be that DeBoer rides the same 18 skaters for Friday’s tilt.

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

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Photo credit: @sliccardo

By Jerry Feitelberg

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Barracuda defeat Condors 4-3 for fifth straight win; stay alive for AHL playoffs

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Barracuda (33-26-4-4) are doing their part to keep their post season aspirations alive with another thrilling one-goal victory. They swept the home-and-home series against the Bakersfield Condors (30-27-9-1) with their 4-3 win on Thursday evening at SAP Center. They are currently on a five-game winning streak.

On Fan Appreciate Night and final home game of the regular season, the Cuda gave their fans some hope and a reason to pay attention to the season finale on Saturday by scoring two-third period goals and holding off the Condors’ threat late in the game. They now have to play the waiting game to see what the outcome of the San Diego Gulls at Tuscon Roadrunners game tomorrow night. If the Gulls get a point, San Jose is eliminated from the playoff contention.

“We put ourselves in this hole,” head coach Roy Sommer said about his team not controlling their own fate. “We just kinda have to live with it. You can’t say anybody has thrown in the towel here. I’m really proud of the way they’ve been playing.”

Bakersfield drew first blood in the first period. Tyler Benson fed a pass over to Kyle Platzer who fired a shot top-shelf past Cuda goalie Stephon Williams (3-1-0) for his eighth goal of the season at the 8:45 mark. Dmitri Samorukov received the secondary assist.

San Jose would stay red-hot on the power play as the were able to get the equalizer goal when Emerson Clark fed a cross-ice pass over to Manny Wiederer, who came crashing in from the right slot and one-timed a shot top-shelf past Condors goalie Nick Ellis (9-10-2) for his ninth goal of the season at the 16:43 mark of the first period. Radim Simek received the secondary assist. It was the 10th consecutive game the Cuda converted on the man advantage.

“That (goal) kinda got us jump started,” said Sommer. “The power play has scored in 10 straight games. A lot of good things are happening for us right now. I just hope it’s enough (to make the playoffs).”

The Cuda would gain the lead in the second period when Rourke Chartier fed a pass at the blue line up to Rudolfs Balcers that led to a 2-on-1 with Ivan Chekhovich. Balcers fed a perfect pass over to Chekhovich and he buried the puck past Ellis for his third goal in five games for the Cuda at the 7:46 mark.

Bakersfield would tied the game on the power play when Cooper Marody pinched in from the point to punch home a rebound that pinballed off David Gust to the left side of the crease where Marody was set up. Marody’s first professional goal of his career came at the 13:48 mark of the second period.

San Jose would go up 3-2 in the third period after a wild play in front of Ellis. Maintaining pressure inside the Condor zone, Colby McAuley put on a shot on net that created a mad scramble in front of the net with four Barracuda players that swarmed in front of the net. In a sea of madness, Radim Simek was able to poke home the puck past Ellis for his seventh goal on the season at the 6:43 mark. Alex True received the primary assist.

Sasha Chmelevski gave the Cuda what proved to be the game-winning goal when he was able to anticipate a clearing attempt in the Condor zone. He was able to strip the puck off the Condor defenseman, skate toward the middle of the ice and from the right slot lasered the puck in the upper left hand corner of the net for his third goal in five games at the 12:50 mark.

“The D was coming right at me, so I made a move around them,” said Chmelevski after the game. “Shot across the grain, it was a good shot. Anytime I like to cut across the ice, I feel more comfortable doing it. It’s more instinct than anything.”

Bakersfield wouldn’t go away quietly. Joey Leleggia cut the lead to the one when he scored his 14th goal on the season. Zach O’Brien skated into the Cuda zone, passed it over to Benson, who one-timed a pass over to Leleggia. With Noah Rod draped all over him, Leleggia snapped a shot past Williams with exactly five minutes left in the period.

Williams made 15 saves on 18 shots to earn the victory. Ellis made 30 saves on 34 shots in valiant effort in the defeat.

“The beautiful thing about hockey is, it’s not always perfect,” said Williams. “It’s about the team who buys in the most and wants it. I think it showed in the final scoreboard.”

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/4 on the power play. Bakersfield scored on their only power play opportunity.

All-Star goalie Antoine Bibeau was called up to the San Jose Sharks for their first round playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks. Nick Cafrelli served as the backup goaltender.

Balcers’ four-game goal streak was snapped.

The announced crowd for the final regular season home game was 6,250.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda travel up to Stockton for the final game of the regular season against the Heat on Saturday, April 14 at 7 pm PT.

Sharks Hit 100-Point Mark With 4-2 Win Over Avs

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Photo credit: nhl.com/sharks

By Matthew Harrington

The San Jose Sharks chose the perfect time to pull out of a four-game losing skid, winning game No. 81 Thursday night at the SAP Center to keep Southern California foes Los Angeles and Anaheim at bay. San Jose topped the visiting Colorado Avalanche, a team clinging to the final Western Conference playoff spot by a point, 4-2 to stay two points ahead of the Kings for second place in the Pacific Division with just one game left to play in the regular season.

Justin Braun, Logan Couture, Joonas Donskoi and Tomas Hertl scored for San Jose and Martin Jones made 23 saves for his 30th win of the season. Mikko Rantanen and Blake Comeau scored for the Avs.

Braun opened the scoring in the first with a point shot that beat netminder Jonathan Bernier for a 1-0 lead 2:58 into the game. Braun’s fifth goal of the season, a career-high, would be the only action from either team until the third period.

The two teams traded power play goals, with Rantanen (4:43) and Couture (6:00) scoring on cross passes that resulted in open nets. Couture leads the Sharks with a career-best 34 goals.

Donskoi would add the game-winning goal 10:14 into the period after picking up a Dylan Demelo point shot rebound and backhanding it in the crease past Bernier. Comeau would score to pull Colorado within one with just under seven minutes left, but Tomas Hertl’s empty netter with two seconds left iced the game.

Game Notes: With a Kings overtime win Thursday, San Jose sits two points ahead of the Kings with one game to play. The Kings hold the tie-breaker with 43 regulation or overtime wins to San Jose’s 40. Anaheim (97 points) is three points behind San Jose, but has two games in hand and will face the Dallas Stars and Arizona Coyotes.

Los Angeles also draws the Stars who will wind up being one of the first teams out of the playoff race with only 90 points. The California team with the most points will host the first round, while the last place team will likely face division winning Vegas in the first round.

If San Jose wins Saturday night against Minnesota, they will host a first round match up.

Up Next: The Sharks host the Minnesota Wild this Saturday, April 7th at 7:30 pm PT.

Barracuda get two debut goals to shoot down Gulls in a 4-0 shutout victory

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The saying goes you only get one chance to make a good first impression. For the San Jose Barracuda (29-26-4-4), the debuts of Sasha Chmelevski and Ivan Chekovich couldn’t have come at a better time for the team. Both scored in their Cuda debuts to help the Cuda dominate the San Diego Gulls (35-24-3-1) in a 4-0 shutout victory on Wednesday evening at the SAP Center.

Both players got the first two goals of the game for the Cuda. Adam Helewka started a 3-on-1 rush inside the Gulls zone. Captain John McCarthy then sent over a sweet backhand pass over to Chmelevski, drafted by San Jose Sharks in sixth round of 2017 draft (185th overall), who was wide open in between the circles. Chmelevski then made a nifty move around Gulls goalie Kevin Boyle (18-11-2) and buried the puck into the empty net for his first AHL career goal at 5:15 of the first period.

“I saw that I had a lot of ice so I just screamed for it (the puck),” said Chmelevski about his goal. “Luckily he (McCarthy) got it over to me and I was able to be creative and score a goal. It’s pretty surreal. It’s something you dream about as a kid to play professional hockey and I couldn’t be more happy.”

Chekovich, who was drafted by the Sharks in the seventh round of the 2017 draft (212th overall), was able to pick-pocket the puck off Julius Nattinen that bounced over to Rourke Chartier. Chekovich was able to get the puck back and fired a wicked wrist shot past Boyle into the lower right corner for his first goal of his AHL career at the 14:50 mark. Chartier received the only assist on the goal.

“The kids did real well (in their debuts),” said head coach Roy Sommer. “It’s hard to score in this league. Both of them got their first goals in the first period. So that was nice to see.”

“I just closed my eyes and shot the puck,” Chekovich said jokingly about his goal. “My first experience (playing) in a pro league, I was pretty excited.”

San Jose had a chance to increase their lead with a minute left in the first period with two great scoring chances by Heleweka and Rudolfs Balcers. Helewka skated in around the Gulls defense for a point-blank shot saved by Boyle. Balcers then had an empty net to shoot at seconds later only to be stoned by Boyle. The Cuda dominated the play in the first period, outshooting the Gulls 14-5.

Antoine Bibeau (20-14-4) made a sprawling leg save on Nattinen with just over 10 minutes left in the second period.  A shot ricochet over to Nattienen and his wrap around attempt was stopped by the Cuda netminder.

Balcers increased the lead to 3-0 at the 12:19 mark of the second period when he was rewarded for crashing the net. Tim Heed, sent down by the Sharks today, made a nice play by keeping the puck inside the blue line. He then sent a pass over to Radim Simek who one-timed the puck from the middle of the point. Balcers who was screening Boyle on the play was able to push home the rebound after Boyle failed to freeze the puck. It was Balcers’ team-leading 19th goal of the season.

The Gulls tried to climb back in the game early in the third period with Simek in the sin bin for tripping. Kalle Kossila, the Gulls leading scorer, was all alone in the left slot when he took a cross-ice feed, however, his shot that was headed into an empty net was sticked away at the last second by Bibeau, in what arguably could be the save of the year for Cuda.

“I didn’t have time to get my whole body (over to the left side),” said Bibeau. “I just tried to put some equipment in front and made the save.”

Baclers would get his second of the game and team-leading 20th of the season on a 5-on-3 power play. Chmelevski won the faceoff that Helekwa was able to kick over to Balcers, who lasered a wrist shot past the five-hole of Boyle at the 10:04 mark. The goal came just two seconds after Corey Tropp went into the penalty box to produce the 5-on-3 opportunity.

“(After) I scored, I was laughing (afterward),” said Balcers. “The puck just came out to me, the d-man was there and I just tried to whack it on the net and it just went through his legs.”

Bibeau was spectacular in the net, stopping all 27 shots he faced for his fifth shutout of the season. Boyle stopped 29 out of 33 shots in the loss.

“He was really good tonight,” said Sommer about his goaltender. “Especially on that save on the penalty kill (on Kossila). He deserved the shutout, well deserved.”

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/5 on the power play.

While San Diego, the league’s best power play, went 0/2.

“We talked about it. You gotta stay out of the box against them as that’s the key against that team. They can light you up,” said Sommer on limiting San Diego’s power play opportunities.

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT! Emerson Clark and Mike Liambas exchanged fisticuffs 16 seconds into the second period. Clark also got into it with Boyle later on in the second period after Boyle shoved Clark in attempt to help out his teammate who was tussling with Clark after the whistle had blown. Colby McAuley and Corey Tropp also exchanged pleasantries with one another at the 12:23 mark of the third period.

The announced crowd was 3,395.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda travel up to Stockton to take on their NorCal rival, the Heat, to start a home and home series on Friday, April 6 at 7 pm PT.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda need to answer the bell tonight against San Diego after getting KO’d in Rockford

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sjbarracuda.com photo: The Rockford Ice Hogs center Matthew Highmore (9) and San Jose Barracuda goaltender Stephon Williams (29) look stickside for the puck last Saturday night at BMO Harris Bank Center in Rockford

On the SJ Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic:

#1 How concerned should the Barracuda be after facing the Rockford Ice Hogs in their last game to four unanswered goals in a 5-3 loss?

#2 Do the Barracuda figure rookie goalie Stephon Williams’ lack of experience playing in his second game was part of the reason for some of the unanswered goals. Williams stopped 25 shots last Saturday in Rockford.

#3 Earlier on, the Cuda had a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes of play when they got goals from Brandon Mashinter and Caleb Herbert.

#4 It didn’t hold as Rockford in the third period got a goal from left winger Lance Bouma and Hendrik Samuelson who scored a game-tying goal at 17:49. The Ice Hogs’ Luc Snuggerud scored a go-ahead goal, which turned out to be the gamer.

#5 The San Diego Gulls skate against the SJ Barracuda tonight at SAP Center. What will the Cuda expect in this matchup?

Marko Ukalovic is the San Jose Barracuda beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Stars Score Four Unanswered, Stun Sharks 4-2

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Jerry Feitelberg

Through two periods Tuesday night, the San Jose Sharks were a juggernaut. Unfortunately, there are three in a game, and a three-goal third period by the Dallas Stars sent the stunned Sharks down with a 4-2 loss at the SAP Center.

Dallas trailed 2-0 up until the final half minute of the second period and were being outshot 30-11 then the Stars reeled off four unanswered goals.

Jamie Benn potted a hat trick for Dallas, Mike McKenna subbed in for Kari Lehtonen midgame and picked up the win and John Klingberg picked up his 57th assist. Brent Burns tied Klingberg for second in defenseman scoring on a pair of assists (65 points apiece). Logan Couture scored his career-high 33rd goal of the year and Timo Meier scored his 20th of the year but the Sharks failed to put space between themselves and the Los Angeles Kings in the race for home-ice advantage to open the playoffs.
One game after an abysmal showing by the power play, the man advantage proved a benefit. Logan Couture used a perfect screen from Tomas Hertl to beat Lehtonen 9:21 into play for his 33rd goal of the year. Timo Meier added to the lead 2-0 with 4:44 left in the first after he drove to the net on a Burns point shot, scooped up a rebound and beat Lehtonen from the sharp angle for his 20th goal of the season.
The Sharks would continue to bombard Lehtonen until he exited the game 15:54 into the second period on a stinging shot. In stepped Mike McKenna, Dallas’ third string goalie dressed thanks to a Ben Bishop injury. McKenna hadn’t played in the NHL since his lone appearance in the 2014-15 season, a 5-2 loss as a member of the Arizona Coyotes against the Colorado Avalanche on February 16th, 2015. McKenna was perfect in his return to the show Tuesday, stopping 17 Sharks shots for his first win since December 23rd, 2013.
The Stars, out of the playoffs in a disappointing finish to a season they thought they were all in on, rallied back after the appearance by McKenna. Klingberg fired a perfect shot-pass from the point to Benn who was crashing the Sharks net on the far post. All Benn had to do was redirect the puck past Sharks goalie Martin Jones, something the former Hart Trophy candidate did with ease with just 31 seconds left in the second period.
Gemel Smith scored Dallas’ second goal of the game with 5:18 left in the third after Devin Shore lost the puck while driving to the net and trying to place the puck on his backhand. The puck slid out to Smith waiting on the halo for the faceoff dot. Smith hammered the puck past Jones before he could recover from Shore’s attempt to tie the game.
It didn’t take long for Dallas to break the Sharks down. Benn scored his second goal of the game after Tomas Hertl turned the puck over at the Sharks blue line. Hertl was skating out with the puck, but Benn managed to poke the puck off his stick then finish off the breakaway with a backhander to beat Jones. Benn finished off the hattrick on a empty-netter from the boards in his own end to pick up his 32nd goal of the year.
Though the Sharks clinched a playoff berth while in active Monday night, San Jose now sits just two points ahead of the Kings with two games remaining on the schedule for both teams. The winner of the standings race would get home ice in the probable first round playoff meeting.

Couture helps Sharks take 2-1 OT win over Golden Knights

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Photo credit: @TheSpearSJSU

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks welcomed the Pacific Division-leading Las Vegas Golden Knights to their home ice at SAP Center Thursday night. The Sharks brought a five-game win streak into Thursday’s game compared the Golden Knights’ two-game streak, but the biggest storyline was that the Knights had a chance to clinch a playoff berth that night.

The Knights got down to business when Tomas Tatar fired the puck past Sharks goalie Martin Jones for an early 1-0 lead at the 16:13 mark of the first period. Assists went to Jonathan Marchessault and Shea Theodore.

Shots were 13-11 in favor of the Sharks, but they trailed the Knights 1-0 after 20 minutes of play.

The Sharks tied the game at one apiece when Brent Burns fired a slap shot that went past traffic and into the net, beating Knights goalie Malcolm Subban for his 11th goal of the season at the 16:33 mark of the second period. Assists went to Paul Martin and Jannik Hansen.

Sharks rookie Kevin Labanc put some of his offensive skills on display, but he gave the puck to a Knights player and missed out of a chance that might’ve led to a scoring opportunity for San Jose.

The score was tied at one apiece after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 31-15 in favor of San Jose.

The score remained tied at one apiece after 60 minutes of play. Shots were 43-22 in favor of San Jose.

Logan Couture scored the game-winning goal, his 31st of the season, just 39 seconds into the overtime period to lift the Sharks to a 2-1 victory over the Knights. Jones finished with 24 saves for San Jose. Subban made 42 saves in a losing effort for Vegas.

Regardless of the outcome, Vegas made history as an expansion team after hitting the 100-point mark as the game went into overtime.

Notes
Sharks’ starting lineup: 
Evander Kane – Joe Pavelski – Melker Karlsson
Tomas Hertl – Logan Couture – Mikkel Boedker
Timo Meier – Chris Tierney – Kevin Labanc
Barclay Goodrow – Eric Fehr – Jannik Hansen

Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon – Dylan DeMelo

Martin Jones

Aaron Dell

Scratches: Tim Heed, Joel Ward, Joonas Donskoi and Marcus Sorensen.

Knights’ starting lineup: 
Jonathan Marchessault – William Karlsson – Tomas Tatar
David Perron – Erik Haula – James Neal
Ryan Carpenter – Cody Eakin – Alex Tuch
Tomas Nosek – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – Ryan Reaves

Brayden McNabb – Nate Schmidt
Shea Theadore – Deryk Engelland
Jon Merrill – Colin Miller

Malcolm Subban

Oscar Dansk

Scratches: Brad Hunt, Oscar Lindberg and Zach Whitecloud.

 

Up Next
The Sharks host the Calgary Flames this Saturday at 1:00 pm PST.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Be very careful, Vegas is coming to SAP Center with the conference’s best record

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

The New Jersey Devils who paid the San Jose Sharks a visit on Tuesday night were caught off guard, getting crushed 6-2. You can’t take the Sharks for granted against the Sharks you have to play steady and play a good defensive game that what the Sharks really need. If they get into one of these 11-goal games, it’s going to be a fun game to watch, but that’s a little too risky. Defense is the Sharks’ key to success. Last night’s game was a good model, but we don’t know if the Devils were all they can be.

As a model, the Sharks have to play a good defensive game and shooting every time they stand in range of the net is a good idea. The Vegas Golden Knights, who lead the Western Conference, are eight points ahead of the Sharks, who are in second place, and it’s a question of whether or not the Sharks can catch them. It’s certainly worth trying. It’s better than losing points. The only goal in front of the Sharks right now is catch Vegas.

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

 

Fourth Line Leads Way in Sharks’ 6-2 Win Over Devils

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Matthew Harrington

Tuesday night was a feel-good night for the San Jose Sharks all around. Sure, the Sharks won 6-2 over the visiting New Jersey Devils to run their win streak to five, but how they did it was far more exciting than what they did.

The Sharks’ fourth line members each scored a goal apiece, Jannik Hansen lit the lamp for the first time this season and Paul Martin picked up his first NHL point of the 2017-18 season. Logan Couture scored his 30th goal, crossing the triple-decade club for the third time in his career and first since 2012. The power play scored not once, but twice in a game, and to cap it all off, coach Peter DeBoer picked up his 350th win.

That Joe Thornton was spotted skating earlier in the morning, or that the Los Angeles Kings lost in overtime earlier in the night to fall back four points behind team teal for second in the Pacific Division were just icing on the cake.

New Jersey came into the contest on an impressive run, having beaten Vegas, Nashville and Los Angeles before falling to the Ducks in the previous quartet of games. San Jose put the Devils on their heels early though, thanks to fourth liner Eric Fehr’s third goal of the year 5:32 into the game.

Brent Burns fed Paul Martin, up with the big club and playing largely thanks to injuries to a number of blueliners with Tuesday’s victim being Joakim Ryan, who then teed up a point shot. The shot whistled wide of the net to keeper Corey Schneider’s right but ricocheted off the back wall to Fehr on the opposite post. Fehr went top corner of Schneider’s shoulder for the 1-0 lead.

Hart Trophy candidate Taylor Hall breathed life into the Devils devils at the 11:19 mark after Justin Braun failed to clear up an aerial pass. No. 9 scooped the puck up on a hop and scored easily on the breakaway for his 32nd goal of the season.

Joe Pavelski scored the most Joe Pavelski-like goal just over a minute later on the power play, tipping a Kevin Labanc shot past Schneider for his 19th goal of the year and a 2-1 lead.

Jannik Hansen, the “beneficiary” inserted onto the fourth line due to injuries to Joel Ward and Joonas Donskoi, used his speed to get a breakaway on former Vancouver Canucks teammate Schneider, scoring his first goal of the year with 4:46 left in the first period.

The final member of the fourth line to Barclay Goodrow chased Schneider from the game after scoring his career-best seventh goal of the season 10:38 into the second period.

Logan Couture then put the Sharks up 5-1, beating relief netminder Keith Kinkaid on the first shot he faced with 8:42 left in the period. Brendan Dillon assisted on both goals.

The Sharks would take advantage of another power play opportunity, with Mikkel Boedker scoring his 14th goal of the year with 1:40 left in the second. Brent Burns assisted on the goal for his third point, all assists, of the game. In total, San Jose was a perfect 2-for-2 on the man-advantage.

New Jersey would beat goalie Martin Jones just once more over the duration of play, with Blake Coleman scoring an even strength goal with 1:36 left in regulation for the final score of 6-2. Jones made 26 saves.

San Jose now sits four points ahead of LA and five ahead of second wild card team Anaheim. They sit behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the division lead though, eight points back with nine to play. If San Jose hopes to gain ground, they’ll need a victory over the expansion team when they visit the Shark Tank Thursday night.