Tag: Timo Meier

Sharks Beat Canucks 3-2, Erik Karlsson Returns

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 Saturday. The win matches Calgary’s Saturday win to keep the Sharks tied in points with the Western Conference leaders to the North. Sharks goals came from Timo Meier, Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski, who happened to be playing on the same line. Martin Jones made 32 saves for the win. Vancouver got goals from Antoine Roussel and Brock Boeser, while Jacob Markstrom made 23 saves in the loss. Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson made his return from injury with an assist and 24:44 time on ice.

Timo Meier put the first goal on the board at 3:45 of the first on a power play. The second power play unit of Meier, Evander Kane, Joe Thornton, Erik Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic moved the puck well all around the offensive zone for some time before Karlsson found Meier in front of the net. Assists went to Karlsson and Evander Kane.

Antoine Roussel tied it up for Vancouver 57 seconds later, when the Sharks lost track of him in the neutral zone and Alex Biega found him with a good pass. He broke away ahead of the Sharks defense and beat Martin Jones before anyone could catch up with him.

At the end of the first period, the Sharks had scored on one of two power plays, while Vancouver had not scored on either of their power play chances. The shot count was 11-8 for the Sharks and the Sharks had won 52% of the faceoffs.

The score remained 1-1 until Logan Couture scored for the Sharks 11:08 into the second period. the play developed after Erik Karlsson broke up a Canucks rush across the Sharks blue line. After breaking up the pass, he sent the puck the other way for Burns to move it through the neutral zone. He sent it to Pavelski, who got it across the blue line line and handed it off to Couture. Couture carried it to the net, waited for his shot and took it.

That goal was followed up by a fight between Barclay Goodrow and MacEwen at 11:10.

The Canucks out shot the Sharks in the second period 18-6. The Sharks killed almost two penalties, the second being cut short by a high sticking penalty to Vancouver. That 90-second power play for San Jose was the only penalty Vancouver had to kill in the second period. The Sharks faceoff win percentage improved to 58% by the end of the second.

The Canucks tied it up again at 4:31 of the third. Brock Boeser bought the puck out from behind the Sharks net and paused as if to make a pass. This lured Martin Jones into moving forward and away from his post. As no one prevented it, Boeser put the puck between Jones and the post. Assists went to Elias Pettersson and Derrick Pouliot.

The Sharks took the lead back with a goal from Joe Pavelski at 13:06. Timo Meier took a shot as he moved across in front of the net but Markstrom kicked that back out. Pavelski was in Meier’s wake and that rebound came right to him for the shot. Assists went to Meier and Logan Couture.

The Canucks pulled Markstrom for the extra skater with just under two minutes left in regulation. Final score, 3-2 Sharks. The Sharks won the faceoff battle 61% of the time, with Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl responsible for most of those.

Marcus Sorensen had to leave the ice for a spell after taking a stick to the face in the final five minutes of the second period. He returned to play for the start of the third period.

The Sharks next play on Monday in San Jose against the visiting Boston Bruins at 7:00 PM PT.

It’s Two Times the Timo in Sharks’ 3-2 Win Over Stars

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Jerry Feitelberg

The San Jose Sharks scored three unanswered goals to comeback from a 1-0 deficit before hanging on for 3-2 win over the visiting Dallas Stars Thursday night at the SAP Center. San Jose has now won three games in a row after losing their previous four. Timo Meier scored a pair of goals to continue his torrid stretch and Joe Thornton scored his fifth of the season. Logan Couture had a multi-assist night, his 14th and 15th points in 13 games, and Martin Jones 20 made saves.

Both teams engaged in a defensive standstill after 20 minutes, allowing a combined eight shots on goal with zero goals. Dallas broke through early in the second, with Radek Faksa scoring his fifth goal 3:35 into the middle frame.

After that, it was Timo time. The Swiss sophomore blasted a point shot past Stars goalie Anton Khudobin with 3:40 left in the second. He potted San Jose’s next goal 12:50 into the 3rd, driving hard to the net and redirecting a Logan Couture pass into goal for a 2-1 lead. Meier now has eight points in his last six games.

Joe Thornton scored an easy redirect just over five minutes later for his fifth goal of the season after Radim Simek’s point shot hit a blocker and ricocheted to the future Hall of Famer. Marcus Sorensen also added an assist on the Sharks 3-1 goal. Thornton was a game-time decision after missing practice Wednesday.

Miro Heiskanen scored his seventh of the year, victimizing the Sharks with 7:36 left in regulation on a bad line change, but San Jose would hold with the net empty for Dallas to pick up the win. They next travel to Chicago to face the reeling Blackhawks Sunday at 4:00 pm PST.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Timo Time pays off for Sharks; Jones like wall in net as Sharks win four of last five

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Photo credit: @sharks_fanly

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Last Monday against New Jersey, the San Jose Sharks were able to take advantage, scoring three goals when Timo Meier scored twice and Radim Simek scored his first goal of the season helped the Sharks get a three-goal win over NJ 5-3.

#2 Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl also had two-point nights for the Sharks.

#3 The Sharks had been a little slow on picking up the pace, but were able to open things up against New Jersey with Timo Meier firing up the offense.

#4 Tomas Hertl added a power play goal at 5:38 in the third period and goaltender Martin Jones stopped 22 shots.

#5 Thursday night, the Dallas Stars are at SAP and the Sharks hope to get some of the same support they got on Monday.

Mary Lisa does the Sharks podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks find their offense again with a four-goal win over Carolina

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Photo credit newsobserver.com: San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl, from the Czech Republic, right, scores a goal past Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Curtis McElhinney (35) during the first period of an NHL hockey game at SAP Center in San Jose Wednesday night

On the Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The San Jose Sharks won their second straight game against the Carolina Hurricanes at SAP Center on Wednesday night with a four-goal win.

#2 This was a demonstration of their healthy offense coming back as opposed to some of the four tough loses they had on their last road trip.

#3 The Sharks Joe Thornton and Timo Meier each had three points against the Canes and Radim Simek picked up his first career NHL goal.

#4 The Sharks goaltender Martin Jones stopped 39 out of 40 shots and faced a lot of offense from the Canes, but stood on his head for the win.

#5 Up next, the Sharks are back on the road to face the Dallas Stars on Friday and Arizona on Saturday.

Mary Lisa does the Sharks podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Jones Saves 39, Sharks Top Canes 5-1; That’s two straight wins for Sharks

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photo from nhl.nbcsports.com: San Jose’s Joe Pavelski goes for the victory skate in front of the Sharks bench after scoring his season’s 18th goal as the Sharks defeated the Carolina Hurricanes at SAP Center on Wednesday night

By Matthew Harrington

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks won on the road for the second-straight game, shelling the Carolina Hurricanes 5-1 at SAP Center on Wednesday night. Well, not quite. Despite the Sharks wearing the road whites and feeling the parts of weary travelers, they were actually the home team.

Joe Thornton and Timo Meier each had three points for San Jose, Martin Jones made 39 saves and Radim Simek picked up his first career NHL point in just his second game. Joe Pavelski scored his team-leading 18th goal and Meier, Marcus Sorensen, Tomas Hertl and Barclay Goodrow all scored for Team Teal. Lucas Wallmark scored the lone goal for the Canes.

The Sharks returned from a six-game road swing Sunday night, playing their first home game since November 23rd, but their bags really never had a chance to be unpacked, with San Jose off to Dallas for a Friday night contest before a trip to the Desert for a Saturday showdown with the Coyotes.

Both teams entered play 1-2 in high-danger scoring chances, so offensive fireworks were expected. The fact that they were completely one-sided came as a bit of a surprise though. Goodrow opened the scoring taking a Kevin Labanc feed and going top shelf just 3:44 into the game for his fourth goal of the year. Tomas Hertl scored a power play strike after Logan Couture’s cross-ice pass to Labanc pulled NHL journeyman Curtis McElhinney to his left. Labanc connected with Hertl just to the right of the netminder in the crease for the easy redirect and a 2-0 lead halfway through the first period. The Canes would pepper Jones with 17 shots in the frame but he stood tall to hold down the shutout after 20 minutes.

Timo Meier continued to blossom as San Jose’s best power forward since Owen Nolan, buzzing McElhinney right as Simek ripped a point shot. The naked eye gave Simek his first career goal, but by the grace of video review, Timo Meier was awarded his 14th goal. Simek had to settle for an assist for his first NHL point and a 3-0 Sharks lead 8:42 into the second. Thornton would pick up his first of three assists, notching the secondary helper on the final three San Jose goals.

Joe Pavelski scored what has to be the most fortuitous goal of his season, attempting to flip a puck on McElhinney that looked like it would be harmless. Instead the puck glanced off Jordan Staal and redirected into the Canes net for a 4-0 Sharks edge.

Carolina would finally crack Jones in the waning minute and a half of the middle stanza with Wallmark beating Jones glove side on the power play to score on the Hurricanes 26th shot of the contest. Marcus Sorensen got the goal pack after Meier threaded a pack hand pass that allowed the Swede to rip a shot past McElhinney with just 4:17 left in regulation.

San Jose has now collected a point in three-straight home games and is on a two-game win streak after a five-game skid. They’re off to the Big D for a showdown with Tyler Seguin and the Stars next.

Sharks Sink Flyers in Overtime 4-3

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in overtime Saturday. In the process, Timo Meier scored two goals, breaking Patrick Marlowe’s team record by scoring 11 goals in the first 14 games of the season. Goalie Martin Jones played his 200th game with the Sharks, the third goaltender to do so. He made 23 saves for the win. Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton also scored for the Sharks. For the Flyers, Nolan Patrick, Jordan Weal and Jakub Voracek scored, while their goalie Calvin Pickard stopped 31 shots.

For the first time in 10 games, the Sharks gave up the first goal just 37 seconds in. Philadelphia’s Nolan Patrick carried the puck through the neutral zone, passed it to Oskar Lindblom on his left, who passed it back across behind Patrick to Travis Konecny on the right wing. Konecny found Patrick at the edge of the blue paint, and Patrick pulled the puck across in front of Jones, putting it under Jones as Jones moved left. Assists went to Konecny and Lindblom.

Meier tied the game at 3:15. Vlasic sent the puck in around the boards, where Hertl caught it behind the net. He carried it back over the goal line and made a pass almost behind him. Meier met the puck right in front of the blue paint and took the shot before Pickard could get across. Assists went to Hertl and Vlasic.

The Flyers took the lead again at 16:40 of the period with a goal from Jordan Weal. Wayne Simmonds brought the puck out from behind the net and centered it for Weal. Weal turned and took the shot quickly, with Dale Weise screening the goalie.

The Sharks started the second period with eleven seconds of penalty yet to kill. They had a second penalty to kill at 2:47. Midway through the kill, Brenden Dillon started an impressive short-handed attack with Couture and Burns. They created some good chances but did not score during the Flyers power play.

The Sharks tied the game at 10:35 of the second, on the power play. Kevin Labanc made a pass that looked enough like a shot for the goalie to commit to stopping it. Pavelski, below the faceoff circle across the ice from Labanc, caught the pass and took the shot too quickly for Pickard to get across. Assists went to Labanc and Burns.

A few minutes later, Hertl took a hit from Christian Folin and looked shaken up. Folin and Hertl appeared to have bumped helmets. There was was no call on the play and Hertl did not return to the game. Melker Karlsson took Hertl’s spot with Meier and Couture.

Jakub Voracek gave the Flyers another lead with just 30 seconds left in the second. Brent Burns had just taken a penalty and the Flyers were playing with delayed penalty time. Lindblom sent the puck up from below the goal line to Voracek high in the slot. Voracek took a quick shot and beat Jones glove side. Assists went to Lindblom and Ivan Provorov.

The Sharks had a power play early in the third period. The Sharks showed some urgency but the Flyers penalty killers were very aggressive and made it hard for the Sharks to come through the neutral zone or do much in the offensive zone. The Sharks made amends for that power play a few minutes later with an impressive shift in the Flyers’ zone. They kept the Flyers scrambling for what seemed like minutes. They got credit for two shots in that spell.

It ended with a too many men on the ice call as the Sharks slipped up trying to change. The Sharks made another short-handed attempt right at the start of that penalty kill, keeping the Flyers busy in their own zone for nearly a minute. They finished the kill off in a more traditional manner.

Thornton tied the game again with a strong shot from above the faceoff cirle, his first goal since January. An assist went to Labanc, who had carried the puck across the blue line and into the slot. His path blocked, he made the pass across to Thornton for the shot. The second assist went to Dillon.

At the end of regulation, the Sharks led in shots 34-25, though the big difference there came in the first period. In the second and third, the Flyers had just one less shot than the Sharks.

Meier ended the game just 13 seconds into overtime. Logan Couture bulled his way by Voracek to bring the puck into the offensive zone where he found Meier skating down the slot. Meier took the pass and the shot without hesitation.

Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer made some line adjustments prior to Saturday’s game. The successful trio of Couture, Meier and Hertl was reunited. Antti Suomela sat out while Rourke Chartier came in on the third line with Labanc and Joonas Donskoi. On defense, Erik Karlsson started with Dillon while Vlasic was paired with his partner of many seasons, Justin Braun.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday at 7:30 PM PT, hosting the Minnesota Wild.

Meier gets his second goal after all; Sharks pull off OT win 4-3 over Ducks

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Photo credit: @NBCSSharks

By: Pearl Lo

ANAHEIM, Calif. — After an overturned goal, Timo Meier scored the game-winner in a 4-3 victory Sunday over the Ducks.

It was Meier’s second career multi-point game and fourth straight game with at least one goal. Meier scored his second of the night at 13:06, but it was ruled offsides after a Coach’s Challenge.

In overtime, Meier passed behind to Joonas Donskoi before falling after he was hit by Ryan Getzlaf. Meier then received the pass after getting back and shot at goalie John Gibson. The three Anaheim players on the ice plus Donskoi also got involved in the battle of the puck before Meier won at 2:12.

Joking occurred in the locker room after, as Evander Kane interjected, “You’re welcome for dinner last night,” and Meier echoed that was the “…success. That’s what helped…”

It was a bit of familiar territory with San Jose’s second straight game beyond regulation after losing a two-goal lead.

Head coach Peter DeBoer commented, “I don’t know about a comeback. I thought we deserved to win. There was a big swing in the second period when our goal was disallowed and then they got the ‘seeing eye’ one. I thought we had an opportunity there to probably put them away and we wouldn’t have come down to what it did, but that’s hockey. You gotta give them credit for hanging around. Gibson gave them the chance to do that. I liked our 60 minutes. Unlike Carolina, where we started to panic a little with the puck and feed into what they were doing, I thought we did a much better job tonight.”

The Sharks got back to their shooting ways, sending 49 pucks Gibson’s way after putting up 23 shots on net versus the Hurricanes.

It was a game that pitted two teams at both ends of the shot spectrum.

The Ducks went back to three years ago, having now lost five in a row like that stretch as they fell beyond .500. During their current stretch in a game, Sunday’s three goals are the most they have scored, but they are also still giving up at least three. San Jose now have points and have scored at least three goals in their last five games. It was Martin Jones’ fourth straight win in net, as he made 27 saves on 30 shots.

Meier also had an assist, Logan Couture had a goal and assist and rookie Rourke Chartier scored his first career NHL goal. For Anaheim, Pontus Aberg scored two goals to bring Anaheim back into the game, Josh Manson scored and Ryan Getzlaf had two assists for the second time this season. The last time was versus the Sharks.

The first two periods had goals in the second and fourth minutes.

San Jose outshot the Ducks 19-8 in the first and had 11 of their shots blocked as both sides had early goals.

Couture led off at 2:34, scoring as the puck went off Gibson’s back. Tomas Hertl passed along the left boards to Brent Burns near the point, who bounced the puck to Couture off the boards. Hertl made his return from injury after missing the third period of the previous game.

Less than two minutes later, Manson potted his first goal of the year from the slot as it went through traffic on Jones’ stick side.

The Sharks started the second with another second minute goal to retake the lead. It started as Chartier won the race to the puck and passed to Hertl at the end boards. Hertl tried a wraparound goal and from Hertl’s rebound off Gibson, Chartier spun around in front of the net to score at 2:13.

San Jose then extended their advantage, unlike the first period. Meier shot from the slot through traffic, as the puck glanced Gibson’s upper left arm.

Aberg made it 3-2 when he took a pass from Getzlaf and shot, touching Burns and poked the top left corner of the net. It was Aberg’s first goal for Anaheim as a former Edmonton Oiler.

Aberg relayed, “I got a lucky bounce on the first goal. It was a confidence builder. It’s been a while since I’ve scored in this league. I’ve shown I can [score] in the American [Hockey] League.”

The Sharks fought off their first penalty that resulted in a power play starting at 4:02 of the third.

A scary moment happened when a puck hit Ryan Kesler up high with 13:33 left. Luckily, he was able to get up on his own power, but headed to the dressing room.

Aberg re-tied the game with his second goal of the night at 8:36, putting the puck behind Jones who was in front of the crease.

Less than a minute later, San Jose had opportunity as Brandon Montour took a hooking penalty. Kesler returned during the penalty kill with 9:56 left.

The Sharks outshot the Ducks 5-0 in overtime.

Up Next: San Jose returns home for four games, kicking things off against the New York Rangers Tuesday at 7:30 pm PT.

Sharks Fall to Hurricanes in Shootout 4-3

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks were defeated 4-3 in a shootout by the Hurricanes in Raleigh, North Carolina. Carolina goals came from Dougie Hamilton, Brock McGinn and Teuvo Teravainen, with the shootout winner also scored by McGinn. Petr Mrazek made 20 saves on 23 shots for the win. Sharks goals came from Timo Meier, Antti Suomela and Tomas Hertl. Aaron Dell made 38 saves on 41 shots for San Jose. The Hurricanes outshot the Sharks and beat them in the faceoff circle 61%-39%.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski talked about the overtime point the team earned:

We win in a shootout there, you know we feel a little better about ourselves but we still understand that they took over the second half of the game. If we had the first, they took over the second. These points are big though.

Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said:

What a tale of two games! I walked out at the end of the first period, I thought we could have been up four-nothing. And then we never won another race or a battle the rest of the night, or shift. So I guess the lesson in that is the NHL still plays 60 minute games not 20 minute games and our goalie got us a point for playing 20 minutes.

By the end of the first period, the Sharks had a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Antti Suomela and Timo Meier. Suomela’s goal, his first in the NHL, followed some pretty skating around two Carolina defenders. He took the shot while hopping over some skates for a nice flourish. Assists went to Evander Kane and Brent Burns.

Meier’s goal came on the power play at 8:16. Burns’ shot rebounded off the goalie’s pads and Meier was right in position to clean it up. The goal extended a six game point streak for Meier and was his sixth of the season. Assists went to Burns and Erik Karlsson.

Carolina started the second period very well, with a goal just 1:16 in from Hamilton. The Hurricanes had been in the Sharks’ zone for some time, moving the puck well and refusing to be pushed out. Micheal Ferland pulled the puck away from the boards and skated to the slot, then passed it to Hamilton who was ready just above the circle. His hard shot beat Dell over the shoulder. Ferland got the assist.

At 4:28, Lucas Wallmark went to the box for slashing Logan Couture, putting the Sharks on their second power play of the game. Burns kept the puck in as Carolina tried to clear it, and got it to Kevin Labanc along the boards. Labanc got it to Couture across the ice, who passed it quickly to Hertl, right in front of the blue paint. He to knocked it in before Mrazek could get across to stop him. Assists went to Couture and Labanc.

The Sharks successfully killed a slashing penalty to Karlsson, followed by a brief chance for Karlsson and Marcus Sorensen. The Hurricanes intercepted the pass and went the other way for a shot that Dell stopped. The Hurricanes then took up residence in the offensive zone and the Sharks could not get things going the other way.

Dell had just returned to the net after passing the puck to Karlsson up the boards. Karlsson sent it back around to Dillon on the other side of the net but it went off Dillon’s stick to the front of the net. In the scramble that ensued, Dell went down and Brock McGinn put the puck over him into the net.

Carolina completed the comeback at 15:14 when Kane’s pass went awry, right to Sebastian Aho, who gave it to Teravainen. Teravainen took a shot from the top of the faceoff circle and it went right by Dell, who had some traffic in front of him. Aho got the one assist, extending his point streak to ten games.

In the process of outscoring the Sharks 3-1 during the second period, the Hurricanes outshot the Sharks 16-5.

Hertl was missing at the start the third period, triggering some line adjustments.

After the game,  DeBoer said of Hertl’s absence: “He’s been dealing with something here most of the year. He’s been playing through it and he just re-aggravated it.”

Couture took the first faceoff between Kane and Joonas Donskoi. Pavelski then took a faceoff between Meier and Labanc. Each line generated a chance right away but the score remained tied. Suomela centered Sorensen and Karlsson.

At 7:13, Couture lost an edge and went into the back of the net. He consulted with the trainer and returned to the ice. Dell was busy early in the period, facing a couple of breakaways and some other good chances for Carolina. By the middle of the period, the Sharks were being outshot 6-1. The Sharks managed a flurry of offense near the midpoint, registering a couple of shots and wearing down the Hurricanes defense. Carolina pushed right back after the next line change, keeping the Sharks on their heels.

With 5:29 left, the Sharks had been trapped on defense for too long when they were called for icing. The Sharks got a partial change after Couture cleared the puck, but still needed some good saves from Dell to keep the game tied. They still had just three shots in the period. Their fourth and fifth came in the last two minutes of the period.

DeBoer put Karlsson, Pavelski and Meier out to start overtime against Jordan Staal, Warren Foegele and Brett Pesce–all of whom started for Carolina.

With 44 seconds left in overtime, Dell went down after Foegele caught him in the neck with his stick while trying to cut across the crease. After having the goalie checked out, play resumed with no penalty.

The Sharks got credit for two shots during overtime. It was their goalie who held them in it, making four important saves.

Justin Williams shot first for Carolina: a wrist shot right into Dell’s pads. Couture shot next: a very similar shot trying for the five hole.

McGinn shot second for Carolina: a hard shot through Dell, just inside his arm. Pavelski shot second for San Jose, trying a quick shot from in close, but he hit the post.

Aho tried the same thing, shooting third for Carolina. He also hit the post. Donskoi shot third for San Jose, trying his signature backhand from in close, but he missed the net.

The Sharks next play on Sunday in Anaheim against the Ducks at 5:00 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.

Sharks Preseason 2018: Vegas Beats Sharks 5-2 With 3 SHG

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

With a 5-2 loss Sunday to the Vegas Golden Knights, the San Jose Sharks finished the 2018 preseason with four losses in a row. Vegas goals came from Nick Holden, Reilly Smith, Tomas Nosek (2), and Max Pacioretty. Those last three mentioned goals were short-handed. For San Jose, Erik Karlsson and Kevin Labanc scored, both on the power play.

Both teams had their starting goaltenders in net, with Martin Jones for the Sharks and Marc-Andre Fleury for the Golden Knights. The rest of the lineup for the Sharks looked much as it might for Wednesday’s opening game, including Finnish newcomer Antti Suomela. Jones stopped 22 of 27 shots for the Sharks, while Fleury stopped 33 of 35 for the win.

The first goal came late in the first period. Joakim Ryan tried a pass behind the net to Brent Burns, but Jonathan Marchessault was right behind him to snatch the puck away and get it to Holden, who had just pinched in from the blue line. The shot went over Jones’ glove and in at 18:44.

The Sharks responded early in the second period during a power play. Ryan Reaves was in the box for throwing a broken stick into Joe Pavelski’s path. It was either subtly done or accidental, but the whistle blew nonetheless. The Knights’ penalty killers pushed the Sharks out after a couple of shots and then stopped them at the blue line as they tried to re-enter, twice in quick succession. Finally, the Sharks got their power play set up and Labanc played catch with Karlsson a little before Karlsson was able to score from just above the goal line at 5:41. Labanc and Timo Meier got the assists.

At 12:58 of the second, Marc-Edouard Vlasic went to the Sharks’ room after being called for unsportsmanlike conduct. Kevin Labanc served the minor penalty in Vlasic’s place. Vlasic did not return until the start of the third period.

The Sharks killed off the Vlasic penalty but Vegas pushed back hard in the middle minutes of the period, leaving the Sharks’ special teams in a shambles.

Pacioretty broke Evander Kane’s stick with a slash, cutting their own power play short by some seconds. The Sharks power play was at work in the o-zone when Burns tripped along the blue line. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare picked up the loose puck and got it to a breaking Nosek. Now two-on-none with Bellemare, Nosek carried it in and beat Jones under the blocker at 9:39.

Vegas scored just seven seconds into a power play at 11:25. Joe Pavelski was in the box for hooking. The puck came high out of the corner, William Karlsson’s pass ramping off of Brenden Dillon’s stick. If fell to Reilly Smith in front of the net and he put it by Jones without hesitation. Assists went to William Karlsson and Ryan Miller.

With under five minutes left in the second period, the Sharks started a power play after Marchessault went to the box for slashing Marcus Sorensen. The power play went pretty well for the first minute, with the Sharks entering the zone without too much trouble. They were retrieving the puck after shots and moving around well. In the second minute, the puck got by Erik Karlsson at the blue line and the Sharks had to retrieve it. Vegas was doing an excellent job of keeping them out and the Sharks were on their second try when Pacioretty stripped the puck from Hertl who was already being pressured by Paul Stastny. Pacioretty skated to the Sharks’ net with Meier and Burns closing in on him. He got a shot off close to the blue paint, then tapped his own rebound around Jones’ skate. The short-handed goal was unassisted at 17:10.

The Sharks had another power play 1:25 into the third period. Just 16 seconds into that, Nosek and Bellemare struck again. Bellemare broke up a play and knocked the puck out of the zone and chased it down in the Sharks zone. While Couture and Burns closed in on him, he sent the puck out to the zlot where Nosek was moving in. Nosek put the puck over Jones’ blocker. Karlsson had spotted Nosek, but did not catch him quickly enough to stop the shot.

The Sharks survived two more power plays and a penalty kill in the third, without giving up another goal. At 14:33, Collin Miller was called for tripping and the Sharks started their fifth power play of the game. The second unit was on the ice, with Labanc, Kane, Hertl, Meier and Vlasic. With six seconds to go in the power play, Labanc was just above the goal line, almost at the wall when he drove the puck through the short side. Assists went to Vlasic and Hertl.

The Sharks will play their season opener on Wednesday in San Jose against the Anaheim Ducks at 7:30 PM PT.