Canadiens Shut-Out Sharks 4-0

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen (34) shutout the San Jose Sharks as the Sharks center Tomas Hertl’s (48) shot is stopped in front of the net by Allen during the first period at SAP Center on Thu Oct 28, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 4-0 to the Montreal Canadiens in San Jose Thursday. It was the Sharks’ third loss in a row. It was Montreal’s first win in San Jose since 1999. Brendan Gallagher, Mike Hoffman, Alexander Romanov and Josh Anderson scored for Montreal and Jake Allen made 45 saves for the shut-out win. Adin Hill made 28 saves for San Jose in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about the loss: “Our power play is not… you know, it’s generating shots and chances, we’re just not getting a bounce and that would have been a, both the last two games, that would have been a difference.” When asked about whether the Sharks are being aggressive enough in front of the goalie, he said: “We were there but we weren’t quite in his lap where we’re supposed to be.”

Sharks forward Timo Meier said: “We had some chances. It’s just, you know, we made it easy on their goalie, and in front of the net, we didn’t find the rebounds to put them in. So we didn’t do enough to win this game.”

The Canadiens scored the only first period goal at 12:09. Mike Hoffman was on his way to the net when Brett Kulak took a shot that created a rebound in the slot. Hoffman swept the puck around Adin Hill and tucked it in the net. Assists to Brett Kulak and Nick Suzuki.

The first period shots were nearly even at 10-9 Montreal. The Sharks had two power plays in the period and six shots with the man advantage. The Sharks had a slight advantage in the face-off circle, winning 53% of the draws.

The Canadiens scored again at 8:53 of the second period. It was Montreal’s first power play of the game. Alexander Romanov defelcted a hard shot from Jonathan Drouin at the point.

Brendan Gallagher made it 3-0 at 12:54, scoring his first of the season. Assists went to Josh Anderson and Nick Suzuki.

The Sharks led the second period in shots 16-10. Each team had two power plays in the period. The Sharks penalty kill only allowed two shots and their power play managed seven shots on goal. The Sharks won 62% of second period the face-offs.

Midway through the third period, Jake Allen stopped three quick shots in close from Dahlen, Balcers and Couture. It was a good example of how frustrating the game was for the Sharks. Allen was indeed in the zone on Thursday.

The Sharks pulled Adin Hill for an extra attacker with a little over three minutes left. Josh Anderson scored an empty netter at 17:52. Assists went to Tyler Toffoli and David Savard.

Near the mid-point of the third period, William Eklund took a shot off of his wrist. He required some attention on the bench but did return to play.

That Sharks out-shot the Canadiens 20-12 in the third. The Sharks took one penalty in the third, apart from a flurry of penalties in the final three seconds of the game. The Sharks penalty kill gave up three shots.

The Sharks next play on Saturday, in San Jose against the Winnipeg Jets at 4:00 PM PT.

Sharks Fall to Predators 3-1; Loss is second in a row for Sharks

San Jose Sharks defenseman Mike Ferraro (38) skates around the back of the net in the second period against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Tue Oct 21, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks were defeated 3-1 by the Predators in Nashville Tuesday. Nashville goals came from Matt Duchene, Filip Forsberg and Mikael Granlund. Juuse Saros made 28 saves for the win. Timo Meier scored for the Sharks, and James Reimer made 23 saves in the loss.

The Predators scored less than two minutes into the game, on a very early power play. Duchene skated right down the slot, with Brent Burns in front of him. His shot slipped around Burns’ stick and past Reimer at 1:20. Assists went to Roman Josi and Ryan Johansen.

That was only penalty the Sharks’ took in the game. The Sharks power play had two shots on goal in the first, and the teams were dead even in shots for the first period at nine each. In the face-off circle, the Predators had an edge with a 52% win percentage.

Filip Forsberg made it 2-0 Predators at 12:31 of the second period. Roman Josi held the puck around the face-off dot until two Sharks and their goalie moved to defend against his shot. Then he found Forsbeg in the slot with a centering pass. Forsberg’s shot went between Mario Ferraro’s legs and over Reimer’s glove. Assists went to Josi and Dante Fabbro.

The Sharks had a slight edge in shots during the second period, 12-10. Their pwoer play got four shots in two tries. They improved in teh face-off circle to 57%.

Timo Meier scored for San Jose 11:54 into the third period. After an offensive zone draw, Meier jumped on a rebound and managed to get the puck in the net before tripping over Juuse’s outstretched left arm. Assists went to Jonathan Dahlen and Logan Couture.

Mikael Granlund scored into an empty net at 19:07, with a shot from his own net front. An assist went to Alexandre Carrier.

The Sharks finished with a 29-26 edge in shots and won 54% of their face-offs.

The Sharks next play on Thursday, at home in San Jose against the Montreal Canadiens at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Fall to Bruins 4-3; Win streak ends at four

The Boston Bruins Brad Marchand (63) gets congratulations from teammates after scoring 28 seconds into the first period as the San Jose Sharks Logan Couture (39) skates away at the TD Garden in Boston on Sun Oct 24, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost Sunday by a score of 4-3 to the Bruins in Boston. Bruins goals came from Brad Marchand, Derek Forbort, David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk. Linus Ullmark made 23 saves for the win. Jasper Weatherby, Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier scored for San Jose. Adin Hill made 10 saves on 14 shots before being replaced by James Reimer, who stopped 20 of 20 shots.

The game represented the team’s first loss of the season, and the first two periods were fairly grim. Nonetheless, the fact that the Sharks came back from a three-goal deficit was a positive. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“I thought that battling back at the end was important. We talked about that in between the second and the third, is trying to get back to a little bit of our identity so we could at least take that into the Nashville game and see what happens in this game.”

Brad Marchand scored for Boston just 28 seconds into the first period. David Pastrnak won the race to the puck below the goal line, and passed it back to Patrice Bergeron, also by the goal line. Bergeron’s pass found Marchand arriving on the doorstep for a quick shot over Hill’s glove.

Derek Forbort made it 2-0 at 3:18 with a shot from the point. Assists went to Marchand and Connor Clifton.

Pastrnak scored Boston’s third of the game at 16:12 on the power play. A pass from Bergeron came smoothly across the ice and Pastrnak buried it from the face-off dot.

Jasper Weatherby scored the Sharks’ first of the game at 16:44 of the period. Weatherby and Jonah Gadjovich played some catch as they skated into the zone, before Weatherby took the shot and beat Ullmark on the short side. Assists went to Gadjovich and Andrew Cogliano.

Jake DeBrusk scored the only goal of the second period at 5:41. Oskar Steen went to dump the puck in but it hit DeBrusk instead. DeBrusk followed the puck into the zone and got past Radim Simek before taking a shot that went by Hill on the glove side. Assists went to Steen and Forbort.

Jacob Middleton and Trent Frederic fought three minutes into the third period.

Tomas Hertl scored for the Sharks at 13:19 of the third, deflecting Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s shot from the blue line. Assists went to Vlasic and Alexander Barabanov.

Timo Meier scored at 15:08 to bring the Sharks within one. Meier deflected Couture’s shot from the point, knocking the shot down and under Ullmark. Assists went to Couture and Brent Burns.

The shots per period were very close except for the second, when Boston out-shot San Jose 11-5. The game total was 34-26 Bruins. In the face-off circle, the Bruins won 52% of the draws. The Sharks penalty kill gave up one goal and five shots. The Bruins penalty kill allowed five shots, all in the first period.

William Eklund and Lane Pederson were out of the line-up, replaced by Alexander Barabanov and Jonah Gadjovich, both making their season debuts. No injuries were mentioned.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in Nashville against the Predators at 5:30 PM PT.

Sharks Defeat Maple Leafs 5-3; Sharks undefeated at 4-0

The San Jose Sharks Logan Couture goes for the victory skate in front of the Sharks bench after scoring a second period goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Fri Oct 22, 2021 (Canadian Press photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won their fourth in a row, beating the Maple Leafs 5-3 in Toronto. Sharks goals came from Timo Meier, Erik Karlsson and Jonathan Dahlen and two from Logan Couture. Adin Hill made 30 saves for the win. Jason Spezza, Ondrej Kase, and John Tavares scored for Toronto. Michael Hutchinson made 26 saves in the loss.

In a scoreless first period, the teams were tied in shots at 11 each. They each had one single-shot power play.

Logan Couture got the scoring started at 2:31 of the second period. He was the beneficiary of a dogged play by Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Off the face-off, Vlasic skated down and took a shot. The shot rebounded but he was already there to collect it, carry it behind the net to try for a wrap-around. That needed a little help and Couture was there to finish it off.

Jason Spezza tied it up with a quick shot from the slot at 3:27. The Sharks stopped several shots and attempts before Spezza’s got through. Wayne Simmonds got the assist.

Timo Meier gave the Sharks another lead less than 20 seconds later. His shot from the wall zipped through before Hutchinson could even see it.

Those three goals were scored in the space of just one minute and 13 seconds.

Ondrej Kase tied the game again at 10:44. After a flurry of activity in the Maple Leafs’ zone, Kase broke away for a clear shot at Hill. A little fake before a backhand shot tricked Hill and the puck went past the prone goaltender. The Sharks looked outmatched in the face-off circle, winning just 35% of the draws.

Erik Karlsson scored a little over a minute later to give the Sharks their lead back. Karlsson took the shot from the blue line and it went by a few bodies before sneaking into the short side top corner. An assist went to Middleton, who kept the puck in after Karlsson’s first shot and then got the puck back to Karlsson for the scoring shot.

The teams were tied in shots again in the second period, this time 12-12. In face-offs, the Sharks improved a bit, to a win percentage of 47. There were no penalties in the period.

25 seconds into the third period, Logan Couture passed the puck back from the goal line to the front of the net for Jonathan Dahlen. Dahlen put the puck in the net for San Jose’s fourth of the night. Assists went to Couture and Meier.

John Tavares got one back for Toronto at 13:39. William Nylander’s shot hit Adin Hill up high and spun into the air. It landed and hit Tavares’ skate before bouncing off of Middleton and into the net. Assists went to Nylander and Jake Muzzin.

Logan Couture scored into the empty net with 40 seconds left in the period. Andrew Cogliano got the assist.

The third period was by far the Sharks’ best in the face-off circle. They won 61% of those draws for a game total of 48%. Their power play got three shots on goal and their penalty kill gave up three shots. The final shot count for the game was 33-31 Toronto.

The Sharks next play on Sunday in Boston against the Bruins at 10:00 AM PT.

Sharks Shut Out Canadiens 5-0 in Montreal

San Jose Sharks rookie Jonathan Dahlen (76) holds up the stick after scoring a second period goal on the Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen (34) the Sharks Nick Bonino (13) and the Canadiens David Savard (58) look on during Tue Oct 19, 2021 game at the Bell Centre in Montreal (Canadian Press photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks (2-0) won their first road game of the season, 5-0 against the Montreal Canadiens (0-4). Jonathan Dahlen scored his first and second NHL goals, the fastest first two goals from a rookie in Sharks history. Erik Karlsson, Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc scored the balance of the goals. Adin Hill made 21 saves in the shut-out win. Jake Allen made 20 saves for the Canadiens.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about how Dahlen fits on the line with Logan Couture and Timo Meier: “Dahlen is a real smart player and I think he’s a good complement to that line. He’s a guy that’s new to the league but you can put him out in situations, like we want to have [Couture] against the other teams’ top lines.”

Sharks Captain Logan Couture also talked about how well his line is working: “Timo’s playing so well and Dahls is such a smart player, easy to play with. I think we read really well off each other.”

Jonathan Dahlen scored the first Sharks goal at 1:22 of the first. Brent Burns caught a pass up the boards from Logan Couture and sent it right down the slot. The puck went off of Timo Meier first, the Dahlen’s stick sent it in. The goal was initially given to Meier,until the second deflection was spotted on review. Meier and Burns got the assists.

Dahlen scored again a little more than two minutes later. Couture carried the puck down the slot and took a shot that hit Allen in the pad. Dahlen arrived just in time to catch the rebound and put the puck in the empty net. The skaters celebrated as if it were Dahlen’s first NHL goal. Evidently he was not sure about the first one either. Assists went to Couture and Meier.

Erik Karlsson made it 3-0 in the final minute of the period. Karlsson’s shot from the blue line snuck through a bit of traffic in front of the net, perhaps even touching a defender. Assists went to Matt Nieto and Mario Ferraro.

The Sharks had to kill one penalty in the first period, giving up no shots, and they had three shots in their one power play. The Sharks out-shot the Canadiens 12-3 in the period, and won 63% of the face-offs.

Timo Meier made it 4-0 with a power play goal at 3:09 of the second period. Couture’s pass from the slot found Meier at the top of the face-off circle. He took a quick wrist shot that got by Allen on the short side. Assists went to Couture and Karlsson.

The Sharks won 85% of the face-offs in the second period, but were out-shot 11-5 by Montreal. Each team had two shots on the power play.

Kevin Labanc Made it 5-0 with a power play goal at 14:31 of the third period. Labanc caught pass from Karlsson and took his shot from the top of the face-off circle. Jasper Weatherby was helping with a screen when the puck went in. Assists went to Karlsson and William Eklund.

The Sharks won 62% of the face-offs in the game, with Jasper Weatherby taking eight draws and winning six. San Jose out-shot Montreal 25-21. Timo Meier contributed seven of those shots.

The Sharks next play on Thursday in Ottawa against the Senators at 4:00 PM PT.

In other news, the NHL has suspended Evander Kane for 21 regular season games for using a false COVID-19 vaccination card.

Sharks Preseason: Sharks Fall to Kings 4-3

Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick (32) blocks a San Jose Sharks Jasper Weatherby (26) shot with the Kings Austin Wagner (87) trying to keep Weatherby off balance at SAP Center in San Jose Tue Sep 28, 2021 (Bay Area News Group photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks lost 4-3 to the Los Angeles Kings, at the SAP Center in San Jose. Jordan Spence, Kale Clague, Austin Wagner and Lias Andersson scored for Los Angeles. Jonathan Quick made 22 saves in the first half of the game and Garrett Sparks made 13 saves in the second half. Timo Meier, Brent Burns and Tomas Hertl scored for San Jose. James Reimer made 18 saves in the first two periods, and Alexei Melnichuk made 11 saves in the third. Just under 7,000 people attended the preseason game.

Timo Meier scored the only first period goal, with assists to Jonathan Dahlen and Ryan Merkley at 13:39. The Sharks outshot the Kings 19-3 and had two scoreless power plays. They killed one penalty.

The Kings did all the scoring in the second period. Jordan Spence scored early at 5:40 with an assist to Aidan Dudas. The Kings scored two more in the final minute of the period. Kale Clague’s goal came at 19:15, with an assist to Vladimir Tkachev. Austin Wagner scored less than 30 seconds later.

The shot advantage flipped in the second, with the Kings outshooting the Sharks 18-7. The Kings took two penalties and the Sharks took one.

Lias Andersson scored another for the Kings, this time on the power play, at 1:59 of the third period. Alex Iafallo got an assist.

Brent Burns scored for the Sharks at 5:47, with assists to William Eklund and Tomas Hertl.

Midway through the third, Tomas Hertl and Austin Strand were given matching roughing penalties. A few minutes later, Mario Ferarro fought Jacob Doty. Both players received additional misconduct penalties.

In the final minute of the game, the Sharks pulled Melnichuk from the net for an extra skater with less than a minute remaining. Tomas Hertl scored at 19:19, with assists to Eklund and Erik Karlsson. Melnichuk went back in, only to come out again nine seconds later.

Before the necessary reshuffling that followed the third period penalties, the Sharks defensive pairings were: Brent Burns with Mario Ferarro, Mark-Edouard Vlasic with Ryan Merkley, and Erik Karlsson with Santeri Hatakka.

The Sharks play again on Thursday at 7:00 PM PT, in Anaheim against the Ducks.

Sharks Fall 5-4 in OT to Coyotes

San Jose Sharks goaltender Alexei Melnichuk (1) puts the stop on the Arizona Coyotes center Lane Peterson’s (93) putting the puck on net in the second period at SAP Center in San Jose Sat May 8, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 5-4 in overtime to the Arizona Coyotes Saturday. For the Coyotes, it was the last game of the season. Arizona’s five goals came from Christian Dvorak (2), Jan Jenik, Conor Garland and Phil Kessel. Aiden Hill made 44 saves for the win. Rudolfs Balcers, Kevin Labanc, Timo Meier and Alexander Barabanov scored for the Sharks. Alexei Melnichuk made 27 saves in his first NHL start.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner was asked about Rudolfs Balcers. He said:

“He’s another young guy that has probably played, with the schedule, more hockey than he’s ever been used to. And you can tell that some of these guys are hitting a little bit of a wall, physically and mentally. You know, I think once Rudy goes back in the offseason and trains and puts on a little more muscle and comes back after three months or three and a half months, and gets a regular training camp, I think you’re going to see even a better Rudy. He’s made major strides.”

Christian Dvorak scored during some four-on-four time at 3:32 of the first period. After skating away from the Sharks defense, he made his way to the slot and put a shot over Melnichuk’s shoulder. Assists went to Phil Kessel and Oliver Ekman-Larssen.

Rudolfs Balcers tied the game at 6:44. Alexander Chmelesvki carried the puck in along the boards and found Balcers in the slot with a pass. Balcers took the shot and the puck snuck under Hill and trickled over the line. Assists went to Chmelevski and Dylan Gambrell.

Dvorak scored his second of the period on a power play at 11:36. Christian Fischer set Dvorak up with a pass from below the goal line. Dvorak’s shot went by Melnichuk’s glove and in. Assists went to Fischer and Phil Kessel.

Kevin Labanc tied it back up at 15:28. Labanc skated into the zone with the puck while Erik Karlsson drew some attention from the defense. Labanc took the shot above the face-off circle and the puck flew around a defenseman and past Hill, just inside the post.

The Sharks out-shot the Coyotes 19-8 in the first period. The Coyotes had one shot in two power plays, and the Sharks had one shot in one power play in the first period.

Timo Meier gave the Sharks a lead at 5:26 of the second period. Meier caught a pass for Kevin Labanc as he skated into the zone. Fending off Alex Goligoski with one arm while driving to the net, Meier skated in front of the blue paint and pushed the puck around the goalie. Labanc got the assist.

Jan Janik tied it up again with a shot from a bad angle. The puck went behind Melnichuck’s head and hit just inside the far post. Assists went to Christian Fischer and Victor Soderstrom.

The Coyotes out-shot the Sharks 17-14 in the second period. The Sharks’ power play had two shots on goal in the period.

Conor Garland gave the Coyotes another lead at 16:07 of the third period. Garland skated around the defense for a pass in front of the goal. He was able to tuck the puck over the line into the far side. Assists went to Goligoski and Jakob Chychrun.

Alexander Barabanov tied the game again with 49 seconds to go in regulation. With the net empty and an extra skater for the Sharks, Evander Kane sent the puck to Tomas Hertl at the net, and Hertl passed it over to Barabanov just above the goal line. Barabanov took a quick shot into an open net. Assists went to Hertl and Kane.

The Sharks out-shot the Coyotes 14-4 in the third period, and had two shots on one power play.

Phil Kessel scored the game winner 2:30 into overtime. Kessel intercepted Dylan Gambrell’s pass to Erik Karlsson in the neutral zone. He skated into the Sharks zone and put a shot under Melnichuk before the goalie knew where it was.

The Sharks will play their last game of the season on Wednesday in San Jose, against the visiting Vegas Golden Knights at 6:00 PM PT.

Sharks Fall 5-2 to Coyotes, Kessel Scores 900th Point

The Arizona Coyotes Phil Kessel (81) tries to quickly handle the puck against the San Jose Sharks Marc Edouard Vlasic (44) at the SAP Center in San Jose on Fri May 7, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks gave up a 2-0 lead to lose 5-2 to the Arizona Coyotes Friday. Phil Kessel scored his 900th NHL point in the game with a break-away goal in the third. Other Coyotes goals came from Victor Soderstrom, Conor Garland, Michael Bunting and Jan Jenik. Darcy Kuemper made 26 saves for the win. Erik Karlsson and Timo Meier scored for San Jose and Josef Korenar made 29 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked a little about what he had seen from the younger players during the last several games: “They’re a little bit in and out, and then they’re still learning the ropes and how to come every night and prepare and be consistent at the NHL level.” Boughner mentioned Noah Gregor, Rudolfs Balcers and Alexander Chmelevski as players in this category.

Erik Karlsson scored the only first period goal at 3:47. With some traffic in front of Kuemper, Karlsson took a shot from high in the slot. Tomas Hertl got an assist.

At the end of the first period, John Leonard fell, face-first, into the boards by the benches. After some attention from the trainer he was helped from the ice and into the dressing room. He did not return to the game. There were no specific updates about his condition after the game. Boughner did say that “he looked like he was in pretty rough shape,” during the first intermission.

The Sharks out-shot the Coyotes 9-6 in the first, with two of those coming on the power play.

The Sharks’ second goal came from Timo Meier off the rush with linemates Alexander True and Ivan Chekhovich. Meier took the shot from above the face-off dot for his 11th of the season at 3:30 of the second. Chekhovich earned his first NHL point, an assist in his second NHL game.

Victor Soderstrom cut into the Sharks’ lead, scoring for the Coyotes at 4:59. He took a shot into the far side of the net through traffic around the net. Assists went to olive Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland. It was Soderstrom’s first NHL goal.

Conor Garland tied the game at 4:59, during a 5-on-3 power play. Garland and Jakob Chychrun played catch across the ice before Garland slapped the puck past Korenar. Chychrun got the assist.

The Coyotes out-shot the Sharks 13-9 in the second period, with three of those coming on the power play. The Sharks had one power play that generated two shots.

Phil Kessel broke the tie 4:53 into the third period. Kessel was already behind the Sharks defense when Dvorak’s pass found him. He broke away and beat Korenar on the glove side. Assists went to Christian Dvorak and Alex Goligoski.

The Sharks seemed to have tied the game at 7:46 with another goal from Erik Karlsson but it was called back as an off-side play.

Michael Bunting gave Arizona a two-goal lead at 9:57. Evander Kane broke his stick on a shot and immediately had to hustle back to defend one-on-three. He was unable to give his goaltender much help. Conor Garland got an assist.

Jan Jenik made it 5-2 into an empty net, in the final second of the game. That was his first NHL goal, in his first NHL game.

The Coyotes out-shot the Sharks 15-10 in the third. In the face-off circle, the Sharks won 54% of the draws. Evander Kane had 6 shots on goal, and Tomas Hertl and Erik Karlsson each had five. For Arizona, Jakob Chychrun and Michael Bunting each had five shots.

The Sharks next play on Saturday, again in San Jose, against the Coyotes at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Lose 5-2 in Vegas; losing streak swells to seven games

The San Jose Sharks Ryan Danato tries to get the puck into the net sliding with Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury behind to defend on Wed Apr 21, 2021 at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell to the Vegas Golden Knights by a score of 5-2 Wednesday. Jonathan Marchessault (2), Mark Stone, Alex Tuch and Mattias Janmark scored for Las Vegas. Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves for the win. Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl scored for San Jose, with Josef Korenar making 35 saves in his second NHL start. The win was the eighth in a row for the Golden Knights, and the seventh loss in a row for San Jose. The Sharks have also lost seven in a row to Las Vegas.

Timo Meier scored the first goal of the game at 2:38. Joel Kellman’s shot went off of Meier skate while Meier was being swept through the blue paint between two Vegas defenders. Kellman got the assist.

Jonathan Marchessault tied the game at 6:51 of the period. He skated through a gap in the defense and was able to take a shot right in front of Korenar. Korenar stopped that one but Marchessault caught the tiny rebound and swept the puck around the goalie’s skate and in. Assists went to William Karlsson and Alec Martinez.

The Golden Knights outshot the Sharks 19-8 in the first period. Each team had one power play, and two minutes of four-on-four time. The two-minute Golden Knights power play had two shots and the ninety-second Sharks power play had one.

The Sharks took the lead again at 11:07 of the second with Tomas Hertl’s 14th goal of the season. He gathered up a rebound and shot it in from just below the face-off dot to Fleury’s right. Assists went to Patrick Marleau and Erik Karlsson.

Mark Stone tied the game back up at 12:52 with a power play goal. Max Pacioretty sent the puck down to Stone on the goal line and Stone swept the puck all the way around in front of Korenar and into the far side of the net. Assists went to Max Pacioretty and Shea Theodore.

Alex Tuch gave Vegas the lead at 19:10. He shot from the same spot on the goal line where Stone scored from, but he took the shot over Korenar. Assists went to Theodore and Marchessault.

The Sharks led in second period shots 12-10. They had one shot on their one power play. The Golden Knights had two power plays and got two shots in those.

Marchessault scored his second of the game 13:18 into the third period. Mattias Janmark was circling high in the face-off circle with his back to the net when he gave the puck to Marchessault, who was skating into the zone. Marchessault took the shot right away and beat Korenar before the goalie could adjust. Janmark got the assist.

Mattias Janmark made it 5-2 with a goal into an empty net at 19:04. Marchessault got the assist.

The Sharks got two shots in their third period power play and led 13-11 in shots during the final frame. The Sharks did show improvement in the face-off circle Wednesday, winning more than 50% in each period and 58% overall. All of the Sharks penalties were taken by defensemen: Brent Burns, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Mario Ferraro and Erik Karlsson.

The Sharks next play on Saturday against the Minnesota Wild in San Jose at 6:00 PM PT.

Kings Defeat Sharks 4-2

The Los Angeles Kings right winger Dustin Brown (23) tries to control the puck behind the net as the San Jose Sharks defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov (71) on Sat Apr 10, 2021 at SAP Center in San Jose (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 4-2 to the Los Angeles Kings Saturday. Kings goals were scored by Jeff Carter, Andreas Athanasiou, Alex Iafallo, and Dustin Brown. Jonathan Quick made 26 saves for the win. Sharks goals were scored by Dylan Gambrell and Timo Meier. Martin Jones made 15 saves in the first two periods and Josef Korenar made 7 saves in the third period for the Sharks.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“Some nights, when things aren’t going your way and it’s a back-to-back situation, you simplify your game. And it didn’t look like we were ready to simplify that. We looked like we were still trying to play a skilled game and make plays through people and mismanage the puck and not take control of the game on our power play.”

He also pointed out that the team had some trouble shooting: “The biggest issue for me is we missed the net. In the second period we didn’t get a five-on-five shot on net. We had one power play shot and two short-handed shots. We had eight attempts and we missed the net on every one of them.”

The Kings struck first, with a Jeff Carter goal 11:43 into the game. Los Angeles had just successfully killed a penalty when Carter came out of the penalty box. The Kings held the Sharks up in the neutral zone and went on the attack. Mikey Anderson’s shot from the point hit Andreas Athanasiou and bounced over Martin Jones. It landed in the blue paint where Carter could nudge it across the line.

The Sharks tied it up at 16:54 with a goal from Dylan Gambrell. The Kings had killed off another Sharks power play moments before when Christian Jaros took a shot from the boards. It went off of John Leonard and Jonathan Quick thought he had it. Instead, it trickled out in front of the net and Gambrell swept it in.

The Sharks out-shot the Kings 12-6 in the first period, and had two shots in two power plays.

Athanasiou gave the Kings their lead back at 2:28 of the second period. Jeff Carter looked like he was going to carry the puck to the net from the point and instead made a pass to Anthanasiou for a deflection right in front of the net. Assists went to Carter and Olli Maatta.

Alex Iafallo made it 3-1 Kings less than two minutes later. Anze Kopitar passed the puck between Nikolai Knyzhov’s legs and Iafallo caught it on the far side of the net. Jones moved to cover the shot but Iafallo instead kept moving and used a backhand to put it around him. Assists went to Kopitar and Dustin Brown.

Dustin Brown scored a power play goal at 19:52 to give the Kings a three-goal lead. Three Sharks were in the offensive zone on a short-handed bid and had to hussle back when Brown caught the puck in the neutral zone and went the other way. He took a shot past Radim Simek to beat Jones on the short side. It was Brown’s 16th of the season.

The Kings out-shot the Sharks 13-4 in the second period, including five shots in three power plays. The Sharks had one shot in two power plays.

The Sharks changed goaltenders for the third period, putting Josef Korenar in net for his first NHL appearance. Boughner talked about putting 23-year old Josef Korinar in goal for the third period:

“I think he did great. I think good time to put him in. Our team was completely flat in the second period. You know, they got one goal late in the period there and it looked like we just needed some kind of injection of some energy. And I was hoping that, you know, kid being in his first game, we’d play a little harder around him and maybe rally around him a little bit.”

Timo Meier trimmed the Kings’ lead with a power play goal at 12:31 of the third. Brent Burns took a shot from the slot and Quick got in front of it but could not control the puck. Meier dug it out of a scramble above the crease and pushed it around the goalie for his eighth of the season.

The Sharks out-shot the Kings 12-7 in the third, including three shots on one power play. The Kings had three shots in two power plays. The Kings won 52% of the face-offs in the game. Tomas Hertl won 70% of his face-offs but he was the only Shark to take more than five draws and win more than 42%.

The Sharks next play on Monday against the Anaheim Ducks in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT.