NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Thornton to have No.19 jersey retired by Sharks; Blackhawks-Sabres move game to Thursday due to heavy snow; plus more NHL news

Former San Jose Sharks Joe Thornton is jubilant after scoring a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights in game 2 in the first period in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on Fri Apr 19, 2019 at SAP Center in San Jose. The Sharks announced that Thornton will have his No.19 sweater raised to the rafters at SAP Center sometime next season. (AP file photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 San Jose Sharks announced that they will retire the No.19 uniform jersey of former Shark Joe Thornton. The tribute will be held sometime during next season. Thornton will be the second player in Sharks history to have his number retired the first was Patrick Marleau and his number 12. Thornton played in the NHL for 24 seasons. Thornton finished his NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2021-22.

#2 Len, Buffalo has gone through some rugged weather condition and with blizzard like conditions the Blackhawks-Sabres game had been postponed on Thursday night. The city of Buffalo also has imposed travel restrictions. Heavy snow conditions have made it difficult for fans to get to the Sabres game with two feet of snow.

#3 Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois made it very clear on Tuesday that forward and team captain Steven Stamkos will not be traded. Stamkos has 41 points, 28 goals and 23 assists, in 41 games this season. Stamkos is one of the crucial pieces for the Lightning.

#4 Right winger Kasperi Kapanen of the St Louis Blues will be out at least four weeks with a lower body injury. Kaspanen was injured when he tried to block the shot of the Philadelphia Flyers Nick Seeler at 7:25 in the third period on Monday night. The Blues lost the game to the Flyers 4-2. Kapanen is on the injured reserve list and will be reevaluated in four weeks.

#5 The Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel will be out due to a lower body injury. Eichel missed the last two games due to an injury and is listed day to day. Eichel leads the Knights with 19 goals and is tied with Mark Stone in points with 44 assists in 42 games this year.

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

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Canadiens overcome deficit defeat CBJ’s 4-2; Rangers two goal third period defeats Wings 3-2; plus more news

The Montreal Canadiens forward Joel Armia (right) scores on the Columbus Blue Jackets Elvis goaltender Merzlikins (left) and defenseman Erik Gudbranson in third period in Columbus on Wed Nov 29, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len:

#1 Len, the Montreal Canadiens got the hot hand and scored twice in the third period against the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 4-2 win in Columbus. The Habs Joel Armia got the go ahead goal at 17:03 to make it 3-2 for what would be later the game winning goal.

#2 The New York Rangers erased a 2-1 lead against the Detroit Red Wings scoring two goals in the third period to catch the Rangers and get the win 3-2. The Rangers Jimmy Vesey got a rebound and shot a backhanded goal at 4:15 against the Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso for the winner.

#3 The Los Angeles Kings five game win streak came to an end on Wednesday night against the Washington Capitals losing it 2-1 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The Capitals got goals from Connor McMichael and Anthony Mantha and Caps goaltender Charlie Lindgren stopped 37 shots.

#4 The Vancouver Canucks dealt Anthony Beauvillier to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday. Beauvillier had eight points on the season for the Canucks. Beauvillier was dealt to Chciago for a fifth round draft pick going to Vancouver.

#5 The Minnesota Wild acquired defenseman Zach Bogosian from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a seventh round draft pick, the Lightning traded Calen Anderson to the San Jose Sharks for Adam Raska and a 2026 fifth round draft pick.

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

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Sens Stutzle opens up on offense against Leafs; Wild get Bogosian from Lightning; plus more news

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Filip Hronek goes after Ottawa Senators left wing Tim Stutzle who puts the puck on net against the Detroit Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Tue Feb 28, 2023 (AP file photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Len talk about the Ottawa Senators Tim Stutzle scored a goal and picked up three assists. The Senators scored three unanswered goals in 3:11 defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 at Scotiabank in Toronto.

#2 In a trade on Wednesday the Minnesota Wild got Zach Bogosian from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a seven round draft pick in 2025, and Calen Addison to the San Jose Sharks for Adam Raska and a 2026 fifth round draft pick.

#3 The Colorado Avalanche Ross Colton forward was fined $5000 which is the maximum under the Collective Bargaining Agreement for cross checking New Jersey Devils forward Timo Meier on Tuesday night. The penalty came at 10:44 in the second period and Colton was hit with a major penalty and a game misconduct.

#4 The Chicago Blackhawks Connor Bedard is finding his way around goal creases, Bedard has three goals and five assists and has been a force with Nick Foligno and Philipp Kurashev on the same line. How crucial is Bedard for the Blackhawks.

#5 The San Jose Sharks picked up their first win of the season after losing 11 straight games. The Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood stopped 39 Flyers shots to save the night. The Sharks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 after getting blasted by the Vancouver Canucks 10-1 and Pittsburgh Penguins 10-2. The Sharks defense looked far more improved against the Flyers can you talk about the improvements?

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

Sharks Shut Out 6-0 by Lightning; San Jose remains winless at 0-6-1

The San Jose Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen (36) replaces Sharks starting goalie MacKenzie Blackwood in the second period at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay on Thu Oct 26, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks, still winless after seven games, fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-0 in Thursday. Brayden Point, Michael Eyssimont, Steven Stamkos, Brandon Hagel, Nicholas Paul and Luke Glendenning scored for the Lightning. Jonas Johansson made 31 saves for the shutout win, his second shutout in a row. Mackenzie Blackwood made 16 saves on 21 shots before Kaapo Kahkonen replaced him in the net. Kahkonen made 9 saves on 10 shots.

Though not their first loss of the season, this was the first time the Sharks were shut out. After the game, Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro said: “Not good, not good at all. Weren’t hard enough to play against, too much time and space for them. It wasn’t a good game for us. No, we’re not happy about that one, there’s nothing positive to take out of that.”

When asked what the team needs to do to improve offensively, Ferraro said: “I think we just as a team have to stop worrying about that.” He later elaborated on that:

“I think maybe we’re thinking too much on what we got to do offensively and how to create and I think just narrowing it down to the little things, our compete and being good teammates and working hard every night. Until we’re consistent with that, we can’t worry about scoring.”

Brayden Point scored the first of the game at 1:41 of the first. Mikhail Sergachev made a pass from the left side of the blue line down tot the right circle and Point shot it to the far side over Blackwood’s shoulder. Assists went to Sergachev and Nick Perbix.

Michael Eyssimont scored next, at 6:03, tipping a blue line shot while falling in front of the net. That shot came from Calvin deHaan. Perbix also got an assist.

Steven Stamkos made it 3-0 with a goal in the final minute of the period, during a 5-on-3 power play. Assists went to Nikita Kucherov and Mikhail Sergachev.

Brandon Hagel made it 4-0 with a break away goal at 4:01 of the second period. Assists went to Alex Barré-Boulet and Victor Hedman.

Nicholas Paul added another at 7:29, with a back-hand on a rebound in traffic. Assists went to Stamkos and Hedman.

The Sharks pulled Blackwood after that goal and sent Kaapo Kahkonen into the net.

The sixth goal of the game came from Luke Glendenning at 5:44 of the third period. Connor Sheary’s shot was deflected by Glendenning and then went off of Matt Benning and Kyle Burroughs before bouncing into the net. Assists went to Sheary and Darren Raddysh.

The Sharks had just seven shots in each of the first two periods and nine in the third. They had two unsuccessful power plays and killed three of four penalties. The Sharks won 61.5% of the faceoffs. The Sharks were again without Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Alexander Barabanov was out due to injury.

The Sharks next play on Friday at 4:00 PM PT in Raleigh against the Carolina Hurricanes.

NHL Stanley Cup Finals podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Knights could wrap it up Tuesday at T Mobile Arena

Florida Panthers defenseman Josh Mahura (28) and Vegas Golden Knights center Chandler Stephenson (20) fight during the third period in Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Saturday, June 10, 2023, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP News photo)

On the NHL Stanley Cup Final with Marko Ukalovic:

#1 The Vegas Golden Knights are on the cusp of winning their first Stanley Cup Final in their first six years of existence and Tuesday could be the night as they host the Florida Panthers in game 5.

#2 The Knights got a narrow 3-2 win over the Panthers on Saturday night in Sunrise Florida, the Knights were able to stop a shot and get a big save to win game four to go up 3-1.

#3 Marko, game 4 got physical and the Panthers who were on their home ice and needed this win bad didn’t want to go back to Vegas two games down and resorted to pushing and shoving and glove dropping in the last few seconds of Saturday’s game.

#4 Knights forward Nicolas Roy said the Panthers have been pushing and shoving all series long and that it’s not a surprise. With the Panthers down one goal they felt the frustration and it all came out in the final seconds of game 4.

#5 It’s a big night Tuesday in Vegas as the Knights host game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals at the T Mobile Arena needing just one game to become champions for the first time in the franchise history.

Marko Ukalovic did the NHL Stanley Cup Final podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast with Len Shapiro: Pavelski is a game time decision for Stars; Markar suspended 1 game for interference hit; plus more

Dallas Stars forward Joe Pavelski will be a game time decision for game 6 against the Minnesota Wild on Fri Apr 28 in Minnesota according the Stars head coach Peter DeBoer. (photo from nhl.com)

On the NHL podcast with Len:

#1 There will be a game six in Tampa Bay against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Lightning came away with a 4-2 win tonight the Leafs lead the series 3-2. Game six Saturday.

#2 After suffering a game 1 concussion against the Minnesota Wild Joe Pavelski has not played since April 17th and the Stars head coach Peter DeBoer says that Pavelski would be a game time decision for Friday night for game 6. Pavelski was checked by Wild defenseman Matt Dumba, Pavelski also was hit in the face with a stick by Wild forward Ryan Hartman and got caught between Dumba and Hartman.

#3 Len, talk about the check by the Colorado Avalanche Cale Makar for an interference on the Seattle Kraken’s forward Jared McCann. McCann was skating into the corner when the puck was hit into the netting behind the goal and Makar had lightly push McCann then when they got near the boards Makar shoved McCann into the boards which caused an injury to McCann.

#4 Len, talk about New Jersey Devils goaltender Akira Schmid who held the New York Rangers to just one goal on Monday night at Madison Square Garden in the Devils 3-1 win. New Jersey the win tied the series 2-2. Schmid stopped 22 of 23 shots which was key as the defense and Schmid’s performance was stellar.

#5 Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele will sit out against the Vegas Golden Knights for game 5. Scheifele was injured at during game 4 Monday night when got a upper body injury. Jets head coach Rick Bowness said that Scheifele will be out for game 5 who has one goal in four playoff games. Scheifele lead the Jets with 42 goals during the regular season.

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

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Rangers closing in on second place; Flames win ties them with Jets for Wild Card spot; plus more

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) stands near the goal as the New York Rangers celebrate a goal by Chris Kreider during the third period at Madison Square Garden in New York on Wed Apr 5, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len:

#1 The New York Rangers Chris Kreider and Tyler Motte scored a goal each in the Rangers win over the Tampa Bay Lightning to notch closer to second place in the Metro Division. The Rangers picked up a 6-3 win at Madison Square Garden and are now just three points behind first place New Jersey Devils.

#2 The Calgary Flames are in a tie with the Winnipeg Jets for a second wild card for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Western Conference. The Flames defeated the Jets 3-1 at Canada Life Centre Wednesday night. You wanted to say something Jacob Marston.

#3 The Edmonton Oilers are having a great season and their closing in on first place in the NHL Pacific Division picking up their sixth straight win defeating the Anaheim Ducks 3-1. The Oilers Ryan Nugent-Hopkins reached 100 points and goaltender Jack Campbell stopped 27 shots. The Oilers extended their points streak to 12 games.

#4 The Minnesota Wild Kirill Kaprizov got to practice on Wednesday for the first time since Mar 8th due to a lower back injury. Kaprizov wore a non contact sweater during the practice. Kaprizov will sit out Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. However Kaprizov could return on Saturday against the St Louis Blues.

#5 The Washington Capitals will miss their first post season for the first time in eight years It’s the first time the Caps have missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2013-14 season. The Capitals played .500 hockey (34-34-9) but was not good enough to make the playoffs. The Caps are in 13th place in the Eastern Conference.

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

Red Wings Take 3-2 OT Win Over Sharks, San Jose Loses Third In A Row

Detroit Red Wings center Andrew Copp (18) celebrates his goal against the San Jose Sharks during overtime in an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, at Little Caesars Pizza Palace in Detroit (AP News photo)

By Matthew Harrington

San Jose twice found responses to the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday night at little Caesars Arena, but Andrew Copp scored 25 seconds into overtime to hand the Sharks (14-25-10) their third loss in a row and sixth loss in seven games.

Erik Karlsson assisted on both Sharks goals, strikes by Logan Couture and Timo Meier and James Reimer made 32 saves in the loss. Ville Husso made 28 saves in net for the Red Wings (20-18-8), Michael Rasmussen had a goal and an assist and Adam Erne also lit the lamp for the Winged Wheel.

Copp’s game winner, his fifth of the year, came on a net front scramble after a Rasmussen shot bounced off Reimer. With Reimer down and all skaters searching for the puck, Copp picked up the loose change to end the game.

Erne opened the scoring on a tip-in 2:17 into the second period, but Timo Meier was able to cash in on a wrap around from behind the net to Husso’s left, scoring his 28th goal of the year 7:58 into the period. Karlsson and Tomas Hertl assisted on the goal.

While Little Caesars may not have the lively boards that Joe Louis Arena was known for, the Wings still can benefit from a Detroit bounce from time to time.

That was the case for Rasmussen’s goal, after a clearing attempt off the glass by a Sharks defender found its way right back into the slot on an unexpected carom. Rasmussen was there to wire it home past Reimer for a 2-1 Detroit lead with 3:31 left in the second.

Couture tied the game in the closing seconds of the middle frame, beating Husso with just seven seconds remaining before the second intermission. Karlsson took a pair of shots that took healthy bounces off a pair of Wings defenders. Couture, waiting to Husso’s left, managed to bat the puck out of mid-air for his 17th goal of the year.

Nico Sturm nearly won the game for San Jose on a breakaway after a dogged back check forced a Wings turn over, but Husso was able to shut the door to set up Copp’s heroics.

The Sharks continue the arduous roadie, heading to Carolina to face Brent Burns Friday night. They’ll then head to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins in a back-to-back before adjourning for the All-star Break. They’ll open post break with contests against the Lightning and Panthers on the road , finishing up with another road game in Washington D.C. Sunday the 12th. In total, that’s four playoff teams of five with the Panthers also waiting in the playoff wings.

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Alfredsson, Luongo, Sedin Twins on the way to the Hall of Fame; Milano’s two goals helps Caps defeat Bolts; plus more news

Daniel Alfredsson former Ottawa Senator, Roberto Luongo, Daniel Sedin and Hendrik Sedin former Vancouver Canucks are all heading for enshrinement into the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame (NHL.com file photo with NHL.com writer Nick Cotsonika insert)

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 Three names came up and are on the way to be in the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto Daniel Alfredsson, Roberto Luongo, Daniel Sedin and Hendrik Sedin. Alfredsson almost won the Stanley Cup Championship with the 2007 Ottawa Senators, Luongo and the Sedin Twins nearly won a cup when they lost to the Boston Bruins in Vancouver in game 7 in 2011. All are going to the Hall of Fame.

#2 Sonny Milano helped the Washington Capitals get a win on Friday night with two goals over the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Capital One Arena in DC. The Caps got great goaltending from Darcey Kuemper who stopped 28 shots in the 5-1 win.

#3 Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets will be out for the rest of the season after attempting to make a check but missed and hit the boards separating his shoulder and tore a labrum at 17:01. Werenski scored a goal and got an assist before leaving the game.

#4 Matt, with the war in Ukraine going and no end in sight the NHL and the NHLPA have canceled the World Cup of Hockey saying it’s not feasible for a return for 2024. It was reported that it is uncertain for Russia to have a team as the NHL has suspended all business with Russia during the war.

#5 Timo Meier scored a goal in five straight games doing it again against the Dallas Stars and helping the San Jose Sharks defeat Dallas 5-4. The Sharks got a goal each from Alex Barabanov, Logan Couture, and Tomas Hertl and goaltender James Reimer stopped 24 shots.

Join Matt for the NHL podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Back and forth affair between Sharks and Lightning ends with Tampa getting victory by score of 4-3

Photo credit to San Jose Sharks twitter. Sharks Logan Couture skates by the bench while the Sharks goal horn goes off at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Oct 29, 2022

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

In what was a very close affair the San Jose Sharks played host to the Tampa Bay Lightning and lost on home ice by a final of 4-3 on Saturday night.

The start of this game was quite the reverse of last game against the Toronto Maple Leafs were they got off to a solid start. Instead in this one the Lightning would strike very early into the game.

The goal was not quite as quick as Couture’s goal last game but instead 31 seconds in Victor Hedman finished on a nice pass across by Brayden Point.

Unlike last game though the Sharks responded extremely fast as Erik Karlsson who has been absolutely on fire potted his 5th goal of the season. It was a nice feed from Tomas Hertl that let Karlsson skate right in and snipe it past Andrei Vasilevskiy.

After the flurry of goals to kick things off the teams found themselves locked in a stalemate exchanging shots and looks. Both teams also got a power play opportunity in the period though both teams struck out on the chance.

Later in the first though right after the one power play opportunity for the Lightning Alex Killorn shot one from the slot and puck ricocheted right out in front. Waiting there was Ross Colton who deposited into the wide open net past James Riemer.

That ended up being the final goal of the period with the shots ending in favor of the Lightning at 11-6.

It took a little longer to find the first goal of the period but finally Nico Sturm broke the silence on a wrister from far out that made Vasilavskiy look very human. It was one that he definitely would want back while Luke Kunin and Marc-Edouard Vlasic got the assists.

The rest of the second period played out tightly similar to the first period. 18:41 into the second though Killorn got himself on the board again.

This time it would be a goal with Nick Paul and Erik Cernak getting the assists tying the game in the dying moments of the second. Making the score 3-2 heading into the third in favor of the Lightning.

Despite the late goal the Sharks started off the third period on a positive note drawing a penalty. With Karlsson getting another opportunity to shine he did just that.

Right off the opening faceoff of the power play the puck was won back to Karlsson who skated right into the slot and ripped another one home. Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl got the assists on the goal while Karlsson’s goal total is now up to 6 on the season.

The third period then played out in a very methodical fashion with both teams making sure not to make a mistake.

For the Sharks though they ended up making a crucial mistake in the dying minutes.

With Brayden Point skating in the Sharks defense backed up and let him feed it across to Brandon Hagel who then fead it right back across to a wide open Nikita Kucherov. He tapped it in and the Lightning took the lead with only 56.2 seconds remaining on the clock.

The Sharks tried to get the late tying goal but the effort would not be enough as they skated off the ice with the loss.

The San Jose Sharks next game is at home against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.