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Sharks Fall 5-3 to Golden Knights, Trail in Series 3-2

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell behind in their second round playoff series with a 5-3 loss in Las Vegas Friday. Vegas took a 4-0 lead with goals from James Neal, Eric Haula and two from Alex Tuch. Jonathan Marchessault scored an empty-netter in the final seconds to seal the win. The Sharks’ three third period goals came from Kevin Labanc, Tomas Hertl and Mikkel Boedker. Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves for the win. In the Sharks’ net, Martin Jones made 27 saves before being pulled in the third period, and Aaron Dell finished the game with seven saves.

After the game, Sharks Captain Joe Pavelski described the team’s sense of the game:

It felt like the game was there at all times. When that score was within two or three, you feel in it. And we knew we had to get in there and create a little bit more. But, game went to four, Deller went in, all of a sudden we bang in one or two and you know it’s still there. So I don’t know, did we fell in it? We thought we had a chance for sure. Were we playing good enough? Not at some moments for sure, but the game got better at the end. So that needs to continue now, it doesn’t matter what we felt.

“We have to play harder for a longer stretch than we did tonight. We didn’t play hard enough for long enough and that’s why we lost,” said Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer. Each team killed three of four penalties. Vegas outshot the Sharks 39-30, with the biggest difference in the first period. Vegas also edged the Sharks in faceoffs, winning 51% of them. The hit count favored the Golden Knights by a big margin at 53-35.

The Golden Knights outshot the Sharks 15-7 in the first period, but Sharks goaltender Martin Jones held them off the board until the final minute. James Neal scored with just three seconds left off a rebound created by Shea Theodore’s shot from the blue line. Theodore and David Perron got the assists.

The Sharks started the second period with an early power play but could not score. They had only two shots on goal and Vegas came back with a power play of their own just 12 seconds after the Sharks power play expired.

The Vegas power play did not last long, as Alex Tuch scored at 4:52, again off a rebound. This one was created by a close in shot from Reilly Smith. It was not much of a rebound but Tuch was right on the doorstep to knock it in. Assists went to Reilly and Jonathan Marchessault.

The third Vegas goal came from Erik Haula at 8:59. Haula caught a pass from David Perron almost at the goal line. His bad angle shot squeezed under Jones’ pad on the short side. Assists went to Perron and Ryan Carpenter.

Just shy of the half way mark, Marc-Andre Fleury thwarted an excellent chance for San Jose. Marcus Sorensen skated in fast and followed his shot up by crashing the net. He knocked Fleury across the goal mouth and off his skates. The puck was cleared away to the boards, where Brent Burns was on top of it. Fleury got back in position in time to stop the blast from Burns as well.

Vegas had a second power play at 11:02 after Justin Braun was called for tripping. The Sharks started the penaly kill with a good short-handed chance from Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl, but they did not beat Fleury. They had a couple more short-handed excursions into the Vegas zone and killed off the rest of the penalty.

The Sharks’ fourth line had an excellent shift in the final three minutes of the period but that was followed by another Vegas power play. After a line change, Joe Pavelski was called for roughing after a tussle in front of the Vegas net. The Sharks spent most of the rest of the period killing that off.

The Sharks’ second power play came early in the third period after Shea Theodore was called for cross-checking Tomas Hertl. Vegas killed that off, but Theodore was back in the box at 4:11, this time for slashing Hertl. The Sharks were unable to take advantage of either penalty.

Alex Tuch scored his second of the game at 8:36 of the third. The Sharks had just finished an excellent shift in the o-zone, ever frustrated by Fleury. After the offensive zone draw, the Sharks lost the puck to Oscar Lindberg, who got it out of the zone. Alex Tuch carried it across the line and passed it to Cody Eakin. Eakin sent it right back for Tuch to shoot.

Pete DeBoer pulled Martin Jones after that goal and put Aaron Dell in.

The team responded with a a quick power play goal from Kevin Labanc. James Neal was called for slashing at 9:06. 29 seconds into the power play, Logan Couture found Labanc in the slot for a clean shot over Fleury’s left pad. Assists went to Couture and Hertl.

Just over two minutes later, Tomas Hertl scored to cut the Vegas lead in half. Mikkel Boedker made a fast move behind the net and just as he had the puck coming around the post, Hertl was there to knock it in. Assists went to Boedker and Couture.

Boedker added to the Sharks’ tally with a quick shot close in after the puck popped out of a scramble in front of the Vegas net. The time of the goal was 15:44, with an assist to Logan Couture.

With 2:21 and an offensive zone draw for the Sharks, DeBoer pulled Dell for the extra skater. The Sharks spent some precious time defending that empty net before getting the puck back into the Vegas zone for a moment. But with 1:21 left, Jonathan Marchessault got control of the puck and took a shot all the way down the ice for the empty-net goal.

Game 6 will be in San Jose on Sunday at 4:30 pm PT.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: Sharks Take 2-0 Series Lead, Beat Ducks 3-2

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks took a 2-0 series lead over the Anaheim Ducks in the NHL Playoff quarterfinals with a 3-2 win Saturday. Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture and Marcus Sorensen scored for the Sharks, while Martin Jones made 28 saves. For Anaheim, goals came from Jakob Silfverberg and Hampus Lindholm, with 32 saves from goalie John Gibson. It was the first time that Anaheim lost two home games in a row since November 24.

The Ducks started the scoring just 40 seconds in. Jakob Silfverberg had just carried the puck over the line when he took a long shot that must have surprised Jones, as it went right by him. Hampus Lindholm got an assist.

The first penalties went to Evander Kane and Jakob Silfverberg, matching roughing penalties at 6:12. Each team added a shot to their total but neither team scored four on four.

The Sharks tied the game up at 9:41 when Brenden Dillon’s blue line shot came off the boards behind the net and went right to Marcus Sorensen next to the goal mouth. He tapped it in for his first playoff goal.

Near the 15 minute mark, the Sharks were trapped in their own zone for long time, including two icing calls. Mikkel Boedker finally got the puck out and seconds after the much needed change, Melker Karlsson drew a hooking penalty from Brandon Montour at 13:37.

The Sharks took the lead at 14:41 with a goal from Logan Couture on the ensuing power play. Kevin Labanc caught Couture with a pass across the slot as Couture was skating hard for the net. Couture pulled the puck across the crease and away from Gibson’s poke-check before putting it away with a backhand. Assists went to Labanc and Joe Pavelski.

At the end of the period, the Ducks mustered sustained pressure against the Sharks, almost catching up on the shot clock. That count was 9-8 Sharks after the first.

That late-period pressure from the Ducks did not phase the Sharks as they jumped into the second period. Tomas Hertl scored with a back hand after skating by a couple of Ducks from the blue line to the net. Mikkel Boedker gave him the puck as he came fast through the neutral zone, earning the first assist on the 1:11 goal. Logan Couture got the secondary assist.

Shortly after the goal, Ryan Getzlaf caught a deflected puck to the face. He left the ice only briefly and returned with an ice pack for use between shifts.

Paul Martin was called for slashing at 6:30, giving the Ducks their first 5 on 4 power play of the game. Hampus Lindholm took advantage of Martin Jones being pulled off balance by Brenden Dillon’s skate as Dillon tried to get in front of the net to defend. Jones was helpless to stop the shot. Assists went to Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler.

The Ducks were back on the power play at 6:12 of the third period after Evander Kane’s clearing attempt went over the glass. The Sharks killed that off and got their own power play at 9:17 after Nick Ritchie tripped Marcus Sorensen in the neutral zone. Despite a number of good chances, the score remained 3-2 Sharks.

At 16:17, Corey Perry hit Melker Karlsson while he did not seem to have the puck, knocking his helmet off and spinning him around. He went to the box for interference. The Ducks started their penalty kill with a short-handed opportunity, but the Sharks pushed back and held the zone after that.

The Ducks pulled John Gibson with under two minutes left but the Sharks held them off for the win.

The Sharks finished with 35 shots on goal to the Ducks’ 30.

Game three will be Monday in San Jose at 7:30 pm PT.

Meier Scores Two Goals, Sharks Beat Canucks 5-3

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 at the Rogers Arena on Saturday night, completing a sweep of their Western Canadian road trip. Two goals came from Timo Meier, including the game-winner. Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture and Kevin Labanc also scored three goals for the Sharks. Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell made 28 saves for the win.

Canucks’ goals came from Nikolay Goldobin, Alexander Edler and Bo Horvat. Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom made 25 saves in a losing effort.

Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer described Saturday’s game as a “huge, gutsy performance. You know, when you have the deck stacked, end of a road trip, we lost two men early, down two guys. You know, we were up and then kind of let them back in the game and still found a way to rebound. I thought it was a huge character…gutsy, all those adjectives.”

The game added some injuries to the road trip’s casualty list.

First, Melker Karlsson started the game with Joe Pavelski and Evander Kane, but left the ice in the first four minutes, limping after blocking a shot from Alexander Edler. Marc-Edouard Vlasic left the game about five minutes into the second period, after taking a deflected slap shot in the neck or face area. Neither player returned to the game, and the team had no updates in postgame.

Joonas Donskoi missed his second game since being injured in Edmonton. Joakim Ryan also missed Saturday’s game with an upper body injury.

Vancouver’s Nikolay Goldobin opened the scoring with a power play goal at 10:48. Goldobin’s quick shot around a lot of moving traffic beat Dell on on the right side. Assists went to Derrick Pouliot and Reid Boucher.

San Jose’s Kevin Labanc tied it up at 14:58, also with a power play goal. Pavelski scooped up a skittering rebound created by a Logan Couture shot, then tapped it over to Labanc for a close-in shot.

Couture added to the lead just over a minute later. Tomas Hertl carried the puck over the blue line and sent an ungainly-looking pass in Couture’s direction. Couture was still fighting his way toward the net. The puck reached him just as he started to lose his balance but his backhand shot went home. Assists went to Hertl and Mikkel Boedker.

Meier gave the Sharks a 3-1 lead less than two minutes into the second period. Right off an offensive zone faceoff, Brenden Dillon took a shot from the blue line and Meier tipped it in from the hashmarks.

Bo Horvat trimmed the Sharks lead at 5:23 with another Vancouver power play goal. Sam Gagner looked like he would take the shot, but instead passed the puck to Horvat, who was right on the doorstep. Assists went to Gagner and Alexander Edler.

Edler tied the game up with yet another power play goal. A Meier penalty was about to expire when Paul Martin went to the box for high sticking. The 16 second five-on-three was killed off by Braun, Tierney and Dillon, but with 34 seconds left in the second penalty, Edler’s slap shot found its way by Dell. Assists went to Gagner and Daniel Sedin.

The tie held until 8:07 of the third, when Meier took a great shot from above the faceoff dot and beat Markstrom on the right side. Assists went to Labanc and Braun.

Hertl put the nail in the coffin with an empty-net goal at 19:35. He carried it all the way from the Sharks’ net to the Vancouver zone, avoiding some defenders on the way before taking the shot.

The win puts San Jose five points ahead of Los Angeles and Anaheim, as well as the two current wild card teams, Dallas and Colorado. They still trail the Pacific Division’s first place Las Vegas by six points.

Paul Martin played his first NHL game in four months. Despite taking a penalty, he seems to be ready to step in. Tim Heed is another possibility to fill in on the blue line, playing currently with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday against the visiting New Jersey Devils, who are on a bit of a tear right now. They have won three in a row against Western Conference teams, including that noteworthy 8-3 win over Las Vegas. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 pm PT.

 

Sharks Defeat Oilers in Overtime 4-3

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photo from nydailynews.com: The San Jose Sharks Eric Fehr (16), Joakim Ryan (47) and Brendon Dylan celebrate a third period goal against the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night at Edmonton

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks started a three-game road trip with a 4-3 overtime win in Edmonton. Two Sharks goals came from Tomas Hertl, including the overtime game winner. Logan Couture scored a power play goal in the second period and Brenden Dillon scored the tying goal in the third. Oilers goals came from Drake Cagguila, Oscar Klefbom and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 25 saves, while Al Montoya made 36 saves for the Oilers.

Joonas Donskoi left the midway through the third period after an awkward hit from Ethan Bear. Donskoi has been playing very well with Joe Pavelski and Evander Kane. Evander Kane also left the game briefly but returned to play. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Pete DeBoer was unwilling to speculate on the severity of the injuries. Of the game, he said:

It was a gutsy effort, it was a grind out there. We had a lot of things going on, we had some chances we didn’t cash in on and they got a stick on a couple tips and we had the goalie interference one go against us. And we lost a couple guys to injury at different points but we kept battling and found a way and, you know, that’s kind of been the story of our group all year.

The Sharks came back three times in the game, after trailing by a goal. Sharks forward Logan Couture described the team’s approach to coming back like that: “I think we always know on the bench that we got a chance to come back. They took three one-goal leads and the bench doesn’t deflate. Guys stay positive and keep the pressure on, play in their end and we were able to respond each time.”

The Sharks power play scored, a good sign that they have cured what ailed them during the long drought that ended a few games ago. Their faceoff percentage also improved to 52% for this game, perhaps a sign that they are addressing what has been a shortcoming lately.

Drake Cagguila scored just 2:39 into the first period to give the Oilers their first lead. He caught Zack Kassian’s pass from behind the net and put it away with a lighting quick flick of the wrist. Assists went to Kassian and Jujhar Khaira.

Tomas Hertl tied it up at 8:03. Mikkel Boedker intercepted a Leon Draisaitl pass in the Sharks’ zone and sent the Sharks the other way at speed. Boedker gave the puck to Logan Couture, who went in two n one with Tomas Hertl. Hertk went to the net and caught Couture’s pass to score. Couture and Boedker got the assists.

Midway through the second period, Oscar Klefbom took a shot from the blue line off a pass from Connor McDavid to give the Oilers their secon lead. The shot went off the left post and in. The Sharks challenged the goal due. From one camera angle, you could see that Pontus Aberg clipped Jones’ skate and stick, pulling him right just before Klefbom’s shot went left. The goal was upheld. Assists went to McDavid and Aberg.

Drake Cagguila was called for high-sticking Donskoi and drawing blood at 9:43 of the second. The Sharks did not need the four minutes to score. Logan Couture scored 18 seconds into the penalty off a pass from Brent Burns. Assists went to Burns and Pavelski.

Before the second penalty expired, Timo Meier was called for high-sticking Klefbom, and the power play ended early.

The Sharks ended the second period on another power play that carried over into the third period. Moments after it expired in the third, Klefbom shot again from the blue line. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins deflected in and it went off the post, this time the right one. Assists went to Klefbom and McDavid.

Midway through the period, Tomas Hertl passed the puck to Brenden Dillon at the Oilers blue line. Dillon took the shot but it was blocked. The puck went right to Boedker, who gave right back to Dillon. Dillon shot again and this time it went in.

Almost three minutes into overtime, Tomas Hertl fought the puck away from Leon Draisaitl in the way into the Oilers’ zone. He left the puck off for Logan Couture to pick up and then got to the slot where he caught Logan Couture’s pass and put it away with a one-timer.

The win puts the Sharks three points ahead of third-place Los Angeles and fourth place Anaheim in the Pacific Division, and two and three points ahead of the current wild cards Dallas and Minnesota. The Sharks next play on Friday at 6:00 pm PT against the Flames in Calgary.

Blue Jackets move into second wild card as they snap Sharks’ winning streak with 4-2 win

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 at SAP Center on Sunday night.

So far, the Blue Jackets were having a disappointing California road trip, losing in Anaheim and Los Angeles. Two of the Blue Jackets’ goals came from Artemi Panarin, with one from Nick Foligno and one from Sonny Milano. Columbus goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky had an outstanding game, making 33 saves for the win. For the Sharks, Martin Jones made 10 saves on 13 shots before Aaron Dell came in and made 14 saves on 14 shots. Sharks’ goals came from Joonas Donskoi and Evander Kane.

The first period was an odd one. The Sharks had three chances on the power play, outshot the Blue Jackets for most of the period, yet gave up two goals. Both goals came right at the end of power plays.

Sharks forward Logan Couture described the trouble the Sharks had in the first period: “They broke out too easy and we didn’t. They forechecked harder than us and we were a little slow getting to pucks. Just didn’t look like our quick selves. We’ve been playing fast the last few games, we were a little slow tonight.”

Ten seconds after the first power play expired, David Savard got by Kevin Labanc, causing something of a distraction in the middle of the Sharks’ zone. As the Blue Jackets closed on the net, they seemed to outnumber the Sharks. Nick Foligno’s shot touched Jone’s sleeve on its way by. Assists went to Matt Calvert and Jack Johnson.

The Blue Jackets’ second goal came after another breakdown just under a minute after the Sharks’ third power play. Near the Sharks’ blue line, a puck came away from the boards, just out of reach of Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s stick.

Right as the puck floated free, Boone Jenner skated in and carried it over the line. Dylan DeMelo tried to come across to help Vlasic out, but Sonny Milano was coming around behind him to catch Jenner’s pass across the slot. Jones could not get across in time. Assists went to Jenner and Oliver Bjorkstrand.

The third Columbus goal came 5:32 into the second, this time nowhere near a power play. Artemi Panarin tipped an Ian Cole shot from the blue line. No one was directly screening Jones, but the change of direction tricked him. Assists went to Cole and Cam Atkinson.

Sharks coach Pete DeBoer made the decision to switch goaltenders at that point and brought in Aaron Dell. The change gave the Sharks time to reset and their play improved significantly. After the game, Forward Evander Kane shared some thoughts about how the Sharks’ game improved later in the game: “We put pucks in the right place, we broke down their defense by getting pucks towards the net, and you know you saw the result. So I think if we come out and do more of that early on we’ll have more success.”

The Blue Jackets had their first power play at 7:26 of the second. The Sharks did not allow any good shots on goal during that penalty, though one shot did hit a post.

The Sharks finally got on the board in the final two minutes of the second period. Dylan DeMelo took a shot from the blue line that looked like it would have gone well wide it Joonas Donskoi had not tipped it in. It was a tricky shot to make, evidently the sort of shot the Sharks needed to beat Bobrovsky. A second assist went to Evander Kane.

After another power play and another penalty kill, the Sharks squeezed a second goal out of the third period. 10:04 in, Joe Pavelski picked up the puck after it bounced off an official’s torso in front of the benches. He carried the puck over the blue line and found Evander Kane in the middle of the ice. It was Kane’s first goal as a Shark since being acquired on February 26.

The Sharks made a final push at the end of the third, pulling their goalie for the extra man. But the Blue Jackets–who appeared more energized throughout the game–escaped their zone and Artemi Panarin scored an empty-netter to make it 4-2 with 53 seconds left in regulation.

Sharks forward Tomas Hertl talked about how disappointed he was with his own performance. While coming back from an injury poses some challenges, he said he feels fine, but he is still trying to get his game back after missing several. Of being moved down the lineup mid-game Sunday, he said: “It’s tough because I wasn’t there for the guys today, you know I [lost] a couple easy pucks. After [the] change they looked a little bit better.” Hertl even said that he felt he deserved to be benched in the third for his poor play, before explaining that he now has three days to refresh and find his game again.

Presumably, he is not the only Sharks player thinking that.

Up Next: The Sharks next play on Thursday at 7:30 pm PT as they host the St. Louis Blues.

Sharks give up lead to Oilers, but storm back to win 6-4

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Photo credit: nhl.com/sharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks took a three-goal lead, gave it up and fell behind and then came back to beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-4 at the SAP Center on Saturday night.

In a topsy-turvy contest, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski earned four points, while defenseman Joakim Ryan scored his first two NHL goals, including the game-winner late in the third period. Tomas Hertl and Barclay Goodrow rounded out the Sharks goal-scoring and goalie Aaron Dell made 27 saves for the win.

Zack Kassian scored two goals for the Oilers. The other two coming from Leon Draisaitl and Brandon Davidson. Goalie Al Montoya made 24 saves.

Ryan had waited some time for those goals.

“It took me about 45 games to get a goal so definitely nice to get that first one and then getting that second one is even better,” Ryan said after the game.

Of Ryan, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said:

I was really happy for him. He shows up every day, doesn’t say much, just works hard. You know, we’ve been asking our defensemen all year all of them to get up in the play and help us create offense. You know, playing with Burnzie it’s easy to kind of sit there and just watch him go. It was nice to see Jok take advantage of that. I mean Todd and that staff know Burnzie, you know they really key on him when we play them and tonight Jok recognized that and jumped into a few holes at the right moment and showed a lot of maturity.

The Sharks had an impressive first period. They outshot the Oilers 14-9. Despite taking one penalty, they outdid their opponent in every respect from hits to takeaways.

Joakim Ryan opened the scoring with his first NHL goal just 1:15 in. Joonas Donskoi, deep in the offensive zone, turned quickly and made a pass back to Ryan on the blue line. Ryan’s quick wrist shot was partially screened by Oilers defenders moving in front of their goalie. Assists went to Donskoi and Pavelski.

Pavelski added another at 7:21. Pavelski’s goal was listed as unassisted, but it did get a little help from an official. E88’s pass to E25 seemed to deflect off the official’s skate, making 25 reach to catch it. Then when 25 tried to pass it back to 88, the puck again changed direction in the vicinity of the official’s skate, causing it to go into the side of the net, where Pavelski picked it up and put it in the net.

The Sharks also started the second period well. Jannik Hansen forced a turnover near the Sharks blue line, which allowed Barclay Goodrow to pick up the puck in the neutral zone. He skated into the Oilers’ zone and took his shot from the top of the faceoff circle at 2:30 of the second. It was Goodrow’s fifth goal of the season. Hansen got the lone assist.

At 11:11 of the second period, Chris Tierney and Mikkel Boedker flubbed a two-on-one in the Edmonton zone. The puck ended up in neutral ice and was picked up by Zack Kassian for a breakaway. His goal was unassisted.

After the game, Boedker said: “I tried to make aplay up towards our bench for the guys jumping on. And I missed and unfortunately it ended up in our net. The same with Tierns, he was trying to make a play. Those things happen but we’ve got to limit those mistakes.”

The Sharks got their only power play of the game at 9:46. The Edmonton penalty kill was effective, just like it has always been on the road so far this season.

Aaron Dell faced a Connor McDavid breakaway a couple of minutes after that penalty expired, as he escaped the Sharks in the neutral zone and was almost at the Sharks’ net before anyone caught up to him. Dell was able to get in front of the shot and the rebound was picked up by his defenseman.

The Sharks goaltender was less successful when faced with another breakaway at 14:20. Kassian broke away during a poorly executed change on defense and scored a second goal. Assists went to Yohann Auvitu and Kris Russell.

By 18:02 of the period, the Sharks’ game seemed to be coming entirely unraveled. They had only taken four shots by the time Leon Draisaitl scored Edmonton’s third goal. An assist went to Oscar Klefbom.

The Sharks ended up getting credit for five shots in the second period, while the Oilers had nine, just like they did in the first period.

Just 1:21 into the third period, a Draisaitl pass across the goal mouth found defenseman Brandon Davidson and his shot gave the Oilers their first lead of the game. Assists went to Draisaitl and Michael Cammalleri.

Tomas Hertl responded at 3:41. He scored his 15th of the season with a backhand shot that tied the game. Assists went to Logan Couture and Kevin Labanc.

The Oilers had another chance on the power play at x, when Couture was called for goaltender interference. They had almost killed that off when Brent Burns lost part of his stick and did not seem to realize it. He was called for playing with a broken stick, giving the Oilers a seven second five-on-three.

By the time the Sharks killed those penalties off, there was just under four minutes left in regulation.

With under three minutes left, Ryan scored again. He skated down the slot and took a shot. That one did not go in, but it generated a perfect rebound for his to put home. Assists went to Pavelski and Timo Meier.

At 18:48, Pavelski put the puck in the empty net to give the Sharks a 6-4 lead. Assists went to Tierney and Melker Karlsson.

Jannik Hansen, after sitting out for seven games, drew into the lineup after Joel Ward was sidelined in Thursday’s game against the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Ward’s injury is described as day-to-day and, from the look of the hit, is in the shoulder region.

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

Sharks Use Speed and Defense to Beat Penguins 2-1

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Saturday, in a close, fast contest. The Sharks’ goals came from Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl. The Penguins’ lone goal came from Conor Sheary.

Aaron Dell made 31 saves for the Sharks. Dell has been stellar as backup this season, but due to an injury to regular starter Martin Jones, Dell will start again tomorrow in Anaheim. “That’s what I’m here for, ” Dell said during his postgame interview. “If they need me for three more games, they need me for one game, I’ve just got to take it as it comes.”

Casey DeSmith made 34 saves in a losing effort to Pittsburgh.

Two days ago in Colorado, the Sharks lost 5-3 after a slow start that put them in a hole they fought to get out of.

Taking the positives from that game into Saturday was vital. After Saturday’s win, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said:

I thought we played a real solid game. That’s a real good team, obviously and we picked up where we left off at the end of the Colorado game. I thought we really got on our toes and battled and played a real solid sixty minutes.

The Penguins started the scoring early with a Conor Sheary goal at 3:31. He caught Dominik Simon’s pass from behind the net and had a clear shot at the net. Assists went to Simon and Sidney Crosby.

It took the Sharks most of the period to get that goal back but Timo Meier tied it up at 17:44. Brent Burns made a pass from the Sharks’ zone that Joe Pavelski caught near the opposite blue line. Pavelski pulled up just across the line and sent the puck across the ice to Timo Meier, getting by three Pittsburgh defenders. Meier took a quick shot and beat DeSmith over the left pad. Assists went to Pavelski and Burns.

The Sharks outshot the Penguins 14-8 in the first.

Burns went to the box for tripping, giving the Pens a second power play at 2:12 of the second. The Sharks cleared the puck four times while killing the penalty. They came out of it and earned their own power play less than two minutes later. The Sharks were unable to get through the neutral zone for the first 50 seconds, but once they got through, they were there to stay and created a couple of chances. The power play was cut short when Dylan Demelo was called for hooking.

As the teams transitioned from a 4-on-4 to a Penguins power play, Chris Tierney and Joonas Donskoi held the puck in the Penguins’ zone, taking a bite out of the Penguins’ power play time. As the Demelo penalty wound down, the Penguins did make a good push and Dell had to make few stops, including a point-blank shot from Evgeni Malkin.

Kevin Labanc had a very good chance near the 10-minute mark when he scooped up a rebound and took a shot before DeSmith could reset. He tried to push it under DeSmith’s pads, but the Penguins goaltender closed the gap with a glove and made the save.

Sheary caught a Burns shot in his forearm and left the ice with 5:08 left in the second.

Through the second period, the Penguins had the advantage in shots, 16-11.

Joonas Donskoi drew a cross-checking penalty to give the Sharks a power play at 1:49 of the third. In the offensive zone, Pavelski won the first faceoff of the power play and Burns took the puck to the point. Pavelski redirected Burns’ shot, but it did not get through. Tomas Hertl was on the doorstep to grab the loose puck and push it through at 1:53. Assists went to Pavelski and Burns.

The Sharks kept the pressure on for the next several minutes. Labanc had a nice breakaway chance at the 11:39 mark, but DeSmith was up to the challenge.

The next dozen minutes of play looked like a track meet with nearly constant movement up and down the ice, pausing only for one-and-done’s at both ends. Hardly a whistle blew and the puck rarely stopped. In all that, the Sharks were outshooting the Pens 11-6, with only one of those coming on that very short power play.

The speed of that stretch and most of the third period was remarkable. “They’re a fast team,” said DeBoer. “They play fast and I thought we did too tonight. It was a good hockey game, I thought it had a playoff feel to it.”

The game did not slow down much after the television break. Tensions erupted after Patric Hornqvist cross-checked Hertl. Hertl reciprocated and that led to more jostling, and finally, a cross-check from Malkin put him in the box. Hertl also sat with just over three minutes left. The Penguins pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker.

The Sharks had several chances at the open net, but had to settle for the 2-1 win.

Hertl was very happy after the game, saying that it was “was a really good game for all three periods, all four lines. Deller he played really great in net, you know he saved a lot of chances and it’s a huge point against a team that is really hot now.”

Up Next: The Sharks next play on Sunday in Anaheim against the Ducks at 6:00 pm PT.

Sharks’ road woes continue as Matt Duchene quickly scores game-winner to lift Senators to 6-5 win in OT

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost in overtime 6-5 to the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre Friday night. Three third period goals propelled the Senators into the extra period, where Matt Duchene scored the game-winner just seven seconds in. The loss is the third for the Sharks on this five-game road trip. San Jose has just one win since they hit the road on New Years Eve 2017.

Tomas Hertl did his part for San Jose, scoring twice. Additional goals came from Brent Burns, Chris Tierney and Melker Karlsson. For Ottawa, Matt Duchene scored twice, including the overtime winner, while Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, Ryan Dzingle and Derick Brassard scored the balance of the Ottawa goals. Aaron Dell made 37 saves for San Jose, while Craig Anderson made 30 saves for Ottawa.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski talked about the team’s third period breakdown:

Positives are there, you know, you come out, you get that lead, we played well. We get a point out of tonight but obviously what we’re focussed on right now is that third period and that was uncharacteristic of us. We’ll have to be aware of the situation and next time we’re in it we got to, you know, establish our game better. We always talk about it: it doesn’t matter if we have the lead or not, we got to play a certain way in the third and you can’t sit back. We might have a little bit too much tonight.

The first goal of the game was scored short-handed by Hertl at 6:29. Brent Burns snuck a pass to Logan Couture along the wall and Couture hit Hertl as he crossed the San Jose blue line for the breakaway.

Dzingle tied it up after Stone picked off a Kevin Labanc pass to Logan Couture on the Senators’ blue line. Stone and Brassard got away from the Sharks defense and no one was there to cover Dzingle as he came down the slot late. He arrived just in time to catch a clean pass from Stone and slip the puck around Dell at 10:05. Assists went to Stone and Brassard.

Karlsson answered three minutes later, tipping a blue line shot from Joakim Ryan. A second assist went to Jannik Hansen.

The Sharks seemed to run away with the game in the second period with two power play goals in a row. The first came in the final seconds of the power play. Joonas Donskoi, Chris Tierney and Timo Meier entered the zone fast with a pass from Tierney to Donskoi. Donskoi’s shot came off of Anderson’s pads right to Tierney who kicked the puck to his stick and took the shot. Assists went to Donskoi and Tim Heed.

The next goal came less than two minutes later, on yet another power play. Joe Pavelski carried the puck in and had to pass the puck back to Couture at the point. Couture redirected the puck to Burns along the blue line and he wasted no time on the shot. Couture and Pavelski had the assists.

The Senators started the climb back with a power play goal from Mark Stone just over a minute later. Erik Karlsson took a shot from the blue line that broke Couture’s stick. The dead shot trickled to Hoffman. He quickly passed it to Stone who put it by Dell on the short side.

At 13:27, Hertl extended the Sharks lead again, with a desperate wrap around shot while falling to the ice. The puck went off of Anderson’s stick, but assists went to Couture and Brenden Dillon.

Derick Brassard scored just 26 seconds into the third period. His shot came from a bad angle and went off of Dell’s skate through a gap by the post. Assists went to Stone and Karlsson.

The shots were 11-1 for the Senators in the third, when Matt Duchene scored off a rebound created by Bobby Ryan’s shot from the slot. Matt Hoffman also had an assist.

Hoffman followed that up by tying the game at 10:48. Dell could not get across quickly enough to stop Hoffman’s one-timer off Duchene’s pass. Assists went ot Duchene and Bobby Ryan.

Hoffman won the faceoff and went right into a two on one with Duchene. His last-moment pas across the goal mouth left Duchene with an almost open net.

The Sharks next play on Sunday in Winnipeg against the Jets at 12 pm PT.

Sharks Come Back to Pick Up Point, Lose to Wild in OT 4-3

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Minnesota Wild’s Nino Niederreiter, left, celebrates his game-winning goal with teammate Eric Staal during overtime of an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

by M. Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks fell in overtime to the Minnesota Wild 4-3 at SAP Center on Sunday night. The point was hard won as the Sharks had to come back from a three goal deficit. Eric Staal scored twice for Minnesota, Ryan Murphy added another goal and Nino Niederreiter notched the overtime winner. Brent Burns and Tomas Hertl scored two goals for the Sharks. San Jose goaltender Martin Jones made 20 saves on 24 shots, while Minnesota goaltender Alex Stalock made 31 saves for the win.

After the game, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said:

It was a gutsy effort by us. It was our sixth game I think in ten nights, including traveling back from the East last week. Back to back, against a team that was rested and waiting for us. I knew we would probably start slow, we didn’t expect to be down three but I thought it was a gutsy effort to get some points tonight.

Three times in the past four days, the Sharks fell behind by three goals and came back to tie the game. In Sunday’s game, there was no back and forth in the score. It was all Wild, then all Sharks.  DeBoer was asked why the Sharks tend to score in bunches after falling behind by two or more goals:

We have a resilient group, a confident group. In all those situations, we’ve shortened the bench and we have our top players are top players. And when they get that extra ice time and the ability to play without worrying about the score, thy have the ability to create some offense and put a lot of pressure on the other team. Unfortunately though you can’t ride those guys 25 minutes a night. So we’ve got to stop putting ourselves in those holes and for me, get a little but more out of the depth of the lineup.

The Sharks gave up two goals early in the first period. The first was a power play goal from Ryan Murphy at 4:19 with assists to Jason Zucker and Eric Staal. Murphy scored after a beautiful two pass sequence starting at the blue line, then going to the goal line and back up to the far side of the net. The execution was perfect, but the Sharks probably should have gotten in the way of one of those passes.

The second goal came at 10:27 from Eric Staal with assists to Ryan Suter and Mikael Granlund. A key factor was a bump to Brent Burns near the blue paint from Staal. He pushed Burns into Jones and the two Sharks both went down. Staal retrieved the puck and took the shot before Jones could get back in position.

The third Minnesota goal was a wraparound from Staal. Staal jammed the puck between Jones’ skate and the post. The NHL reviewed the play and confirmed it. DeBoer followed up with a challenge for goaltender interference, but it was rejected. Assists went to  Murphy and Granlund.

The Sharks got a surprising opportunity during a penalty kill with less than three minutes left in the second period as Dylan DeMelo was in the box when Eric Staal and Ryan Murphy went to the box at the same time. Murphy’s penalty was delayed and Staal’s holding penalty came during the delay. With just six or seven seconds left in the five-on-three portion of the power play, Burns took a shot from the faceoff circle and scored. Assists went to Joe Thornton and Tomas Hertl.

Two minutes into the third period, Gustav Olofsson went to the box for tripping. Forty seconds into the penalty, Burns took a shot from the center of the blue line and beat Al Stalock over the left shoulder. The lone assist went to Joe Pavelski.

The Sharks tied the game after a series of three astonishing attacks on the Minnesota net. Tim Heed took a shot that Stalock stopped, but he dropped the puck and it was in play again–with the Sharks swarming. Finally, Hertl’s shot found its mark. Assists went to Kevin Labanc and Dylan DeMelo.

At the end of regulation, the shot count was 33-22 Sharks, with the third period count 14-7 in favor of the Sharks.

Overtime started with some energy from the Sharks, but in the second minute it fell into a lull with the Wild, circling the Sharks in the Sharks’ zone. After what seemed an interminable period, the Sharks finally broke out, but they had barely been able to change when Niederrieter broke in and took a shot for the win.

The Sharks next play on Thursday in Calgary against the Flames at 6:00 pm PT.

Sharks Score Five Again, Shut Out Slumping Sens 5-0

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Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

by M. Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks handed the Ottawa Senators a resounding defeat to the tune of 5-0 at SAP Center on Saturday night. The win followed up a surprising 5-4 overtime win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night, when the Sharks led a furious comeback after trailing by three goals. Saturday’s goals came from Logan Couture, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Melker Karlsson, Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl. Couture, Pavelski, Brent Burns and Kevin Labanc all had multi-point games and back-up goaltender Aaron Dell made 25 saves for the Sharks’ shutout win. At the other end of the ice, Craig Anderson made 45 saves on 50 shots in a losing effort for the Senators.

Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said that San Jose’s goal was to start fast against Ottawa, avoiding the slow start that marked their previous game: “I liked our game. Compared to the game against Carolina, I thought we were really sharp and really carried over the way we played in the third period against them into tonight.”

The Sharks checked a lot of boxes in Saturday’s game, killing four of four penalties and scoring on two of seven power plays. Tim Heed returned after dealing with an upper body injury, and Paul Martin is scheduled to start a conditioning stint with the Barracuda. So much rosy news begs the question of whether the Sharks have reached a turning point in the season.

DeBoer would not say that it is a turning point, but he did say that the goals are important for more than the score: “It was nice to score some goals, nice to get some power play goals. Guys have been working awful hard, we generate a lot of chances and we haven’t finished enough this year. So it was nice to have a night like that. Whether we can do that again tomorrow night I don’t know. But confidence is a big part of scoring and there was a lot of guys feeling good about themselves tonight.”

Logan Couture opened the scoring near the midpoint of the first period. The Sharks had outshot the Sens 10-0 at the 12-minute mark. Dell had just fought off the Senators’ first couple of shots in a flurry of activity on the edge of his crease. After Hertl won a defensive zone faceoff, the Sharks went the other way fast, with Labanc making a lovely pass so Couture could beat Anderson as he moved across. Assists went to Labanc and Justin Braun.

At the end of the first period, the shot count was 16-6 San Jose.

Early in the second period, the Sharks had just come off of a power play when Vlasic blasted a shot past Anderson. Tim Heed caught a pass from Kevin Labanc from behind the net, and sent the puck across the ice to the waiting Vlasic.

The Senators were keeping pace at least in shots past the midpoint of the period, but the Sharks did not let up. Joe Thornton passed the puck backward behind the net to a trailing Pavelski, who quickly sent it back up above the goal line for Melker Karlsson to pop into the net.

The Sharks’ power play came to life in the third period with two goals, one early and one late. The first third period power play resulted from a fight between Marcus Sorensen and Ryan Dzingel, when Dzingel was given an extra minor for roughing. Pavelski tipped a quick Couture shot from high in the slot. A second assist went to Brent Burns.

The Senators appeared to have scored at 5:12, in a power play that followed soon after the Sharks’ fourth goal. Braun was in the box for slashing. Matt Duchene took a shot from the face off dot and Bobby Ryan pushed it in. The official waved it off and did not even stop play. On later review, the NHL concluded that the puck had not crossed the line before Vlasic swept the puck back out.

The final power play of the game came when Alex Burrows used the butt end of his stick to bloody Dylan DeMelo’s face. Burrows was ejected with a fighting major and a roughing minor. DeMelo received roughing minor as he went to the dressing room to be patched up. Tomas Hertl scored after catching a bouncing puck off of Erik Karlsson’s hand. Assists went to Brent Burns and Logan Couture.

The Sharks next play on Sunday at 6:00 pm PT against the Minnesota Wild.