Tag: Vancouver Canucks

Sharks drop fourth straight

Published on by Ivan MakarovLeave a comment
Vancouver Canucks' Brad Richardson (15) is congratulated after scoring against the San Jose Sharks during the first period of an NHL hockey game on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Vancouver Canucks’ Brad Richardson (15) is congratulated after scoring against the San Jose Sharks during the first period of an NHL hockey game on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Ivan Makarov

SAN JOSE, CA – Counting last year’s playoffs, San Jose Sharks have beaten Vancouver Canucks in nine straight games. The streak came to an end on Thursday night as Sharks were defeated 4-2 and have lost their fourth game in a row.

Sharks fell two goals behind in the first half of the game, and while correcting some of the weaknesses in their game, they were unable to execute a come back.

The scoring in the game got off to a quick start as both teams exchanged goals early on. Sharks scored first on a strange bounce around the net. Joe Thornton was passing the puck along the boards inside Canucks territory but it bounced off the top netting, and into the goal off the Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo’s back. Canucks responded with a tying goal by Brad Richardson who scored from close range after Sharks turned the puck over inside their zone.

Sharks defensive woes continued when Mike Santorelli made it 2-1 for the visiting team by scoring yet another goal in front of Antti Niemi that saw Sharks defense got caught in the middle of the change and could not stop a developing fast attack by Vancouver.

But Sharks responded only a minute later with Mike Brown scoring his first goal in the Sharks uniform after a breakaway attack and a great pass from James Sheppard that found him all alone in front of Luongo. Brown put the puck high and say Luongo’s blocker to tie the game at 2-2.

Sharks continued to struggle on the defense, and allowed what was perhaps the most embarrassing goal of their season so far at the end of the first period. In a situation that appeared safe Jason Demers was on his own blue line but bobbled the puck while trying to pass it to Scott Hannan. It was easily intercepted by Alexandre Burrows and in the confusion of all and scrambling to get the puck back Sharks defensemen fell on top of each other, allowing Chris Higgins to face Antti Niemi all alone and put the puck into the net, giving Canucks 3-2 lead going into the first intermission.

Second period did not start any better for San Jose, as Canucks doubled their lead on a goal by Zack Kassian on a redirect from Kevin Bieksa shooting all the way from the blue line. The goal made it 4-2 and forced Sharks to switch their goaltenders as Antti Niemi headed to the bench and got replaced by Alex Stalock after allowing four goals on 12 shots.

Stalock’s presence improved Sharks focus and their play on defense. Having only put 11 shot on goal in the first two periods, it wasn’t until the third that San Jose picked up their game offensively. They held the puck more, and started winning the battles in the tight areas. As their play improved, so did the play of Roberto Luongo who was on time to the puck and poisoning himself well each time.

With two minutes remaining in the game, Todd McLellan pulled the goaltender for extra skater in the zone. That helped generate chances, but none of them were realized by the Sharks, and they lost yet again.

After three home games in a row, the Sharks will travel to Canada where they will face the Jets, Flames, Canucks and Oilers with the last stop in Chicago before returning to SAP Center for five game home stand in the second half of November. It may be a good time to get on the road again where coaches can spend more time with the players, address some of the bad habits that are starting to creep into the team’s play, and simplify their game, as they do when playing away from their home crowd.

Larry Levitt on the NHL

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

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by Larry Levitt

SAN JOSE–The Youth coming into the NHL now has such talent it’s really amazing to see there’s so many teenagers and 21 year olds coming in here in the first year and they are not intimidated by the game or the speed or the pace and they’re actually holding their own. Of course Tomas Hertl of the Sharks is also one them.

The Anaheim Ducks are near the bottom in penalty kills but the Ducks are on the move and are in first and statistics can be skewed a little. When you have a very bad penalty kill and your not doing well and yet your doing great five on five, your playing five on five more than your killing penalties hopefully so there are more full strengths than making it up on the other end.

The Sharks looked pretty good against Phoenix the other day in a shoot out loss 3-2 at SAP arena last Saturday night the way I would explain this game they have moments where they fall asleep and lose their focus and those moments are when good teams capitalize on you and the Coyotes are a very good team this year.

Every team in the west is very well rounded but the team that the Sharks usually have trouble with the Coyotes being one of them is because of the great goaltending of Mike Smith. They took advantage of him in the first game when he was really off his game but when he’s on his game he’s a tough guy to beat. They could have beat him it’s the Sharks own fault they had some loses of focus and allowed some really cheap goals but it is what it is and they’ll take the one point out of it as a gift.

My biggest fear is Buffalo their an NHL team, yes they play in the east and their record is 2-13-1 so they’re really playing poorly on the stat sheet but their actually a pretty good team. They’re a young team they have four young rookies on their team that are doing actually quiet well. The problem is when the Sharks face a team like the Sabers you don’t want to mail a game like that in.

You need to go out there and play your game, the way the Sharks need to look at that game last Tuesday night and say “let’s use this as a real good fine tune to get our focus and get our system in place and get ready for Vancouver Thursday night” but you can not look past Buffalo. You got to play that game and you got to really bear down and if it happens to be a blow out then use your third and fourth lines.

If it’s not a blow out you really need to stay focus because they’re an NHL team and in any game, any team, can win on any given night. The Canucks are no exception but I don’t know if they’re buying into head coach Mike Tortorella’s system and it’s going at the one step that Phil Kessler and and the Sedin twins are one, two and four for forwards time on ice in the NHL. So the Canucks top line is logging a lot of minutes.

Larry Levitt does NHL and ECHL hockey commentary each week for Sportstalk Radio

Sharks dominate in season opener

Published on by Ivan MakarovLeave a comment

by Ivan Makarov

San Jose Sharks' Tommy Wingels (57) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period of an NHL hockey game on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
San Jose Sharks’ Tommy Wingels (57) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period of an NHL hockey game on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

SAN JOSE, CA – It’s a new beginning for the Sharks as they opened their season against Vancouver Canucks. With several new players in the lineup, they started with a bang and the 4-1 victory at home, winning 10th straight against the Canucks.

Brent Burns, Justin Braun, Patrick Marleau and Tommy Wingels scored for the Sharks while Antti Niemi made 21 saves to earn  his first victory in the net this season.

The Sharks didn’t get the big goal advantage until late in the third period, but they played well all throughout the game, and their victory was not surprising.

“I thought the effort was good,” said Sharks head coach Todd McLellan after the game. “Some of the things that we worked on in training camp showed throughout the game, so it’s a good sign. I thought there was some cohesion with the lines, which was good as well. … Everybody found a way to contribute.”

Jason Garrison opened the score in the game half way through the first period as Cancucks went on the power play after Brent Burns was sent to the penalty box after a slashing call against him. Canucks scored quickly after Garrison got a pass from behind the net from Daniel Sedin as he was open in a high slot. He fired the puck on a one-time attempt and put it into the net.

After a slow start in the second period, Sharks woke up 6 minutes into it. Thomas Hertl had the puck in the central circle and some speed. He had Brent Burns on his right and passed the puck to him right as Burns skated past the blue line into the Canucks zone. Burns kept accelerating and as he got to the right point, he fired the puck high and above Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo shoulder into the net, tying the game at 1-1. This was Thomas Hertl’s first NHL point.

“Tommy made a great play as I was coming wide with speed,” said Brent Burns after the game. “I’ve been taking a lot of heat from the coaches for not shooting, so I didn’t know if anybody else was out there and I was just shooting.”

Sharks got another break four minutes later as they went on 5-on-3 power play for two minutes, with two Canucks getting called into the penalty box. They moved the puck well, but not enough to have any scoring chances, putting just three shots on goal during those two minutes.

After more power play frustration throughout the period, Sharks put another goal on board as Justin Braun shot the puck from the blue line, with a group of players in front of him. With Logan Couture screening Luongo, the puck flew into the net, giving Sharks 2-1 lead.

But it was in the third period when things finally started to click for the Sharks, at least on event strength, as Sharks would end the night with 0/8 on the power play. First it was Patrick Marleau at 14:39 who scored from the left circle after Logan Couture stole the puck from one of the Canucks players and set him up to give the Sharks two goal lead. Tommy Wingels sealed the victory for the Sharks little over a minute later as he tipped in a pass from Andrew Desjardins as two were on a breakaway, which made it 4-1 for the Sharks with just four minutes remaining in the game.

It was a great way to open the season for the Sharks against a divisional rival. They’re back in action on Saturday as they host Phoenix Coyotes.

Sharks thump on the Canucks at home

Published on by Ivan MakarovLeave a comment

by Ivan Makarov

SAN JOSE, CA — A lot of things went right for the Sharks in their preseason game against Vancouver Canucks at SAP Center on Tuesday night.

They got plenty of scoring chances which resulted in a lot of goals. They limited the Canucks scoring chances to close to nothing, which helped Antti Niemi earn a shutout. They avoided the penalty box all night. Their lines seems to gel well together. And they won their game 5-0.

“Once we established [the pace of the game], we were on puck, we were hard,” said happy Sharks head coach Todd McLellan after the game. “The special teams were great tonight.”

Of course, it was just a preseason game with very little on the line. But even then, the coaches are watching and are experimenting with player combinations, tactics and special teams, building the foundation for a long season ahead.

Sharks rookie Tomas Heart opened the score early in the game at 10:37 of the first period. Deep inside the Canucks zone, Scott Hannan shot the puck from a sharp angle just outside the center circle, allowing Hertl, who stood right in front of the net, and puck went off him into the net. This was Hertl’s second goal of the preseason, as he’s getting great looks playing on the top line alongside Joe Thornton and Brent Burns.

Dan Boyle increased the Sharks lead to 2-0 three minutes as he scored on a wrist shot from a pass from Tyler Kennedy as he joined the attack. Kennedy did all the work on that goal, hitting the goalpost earlier, and keeping the puck inside the zone after it rebounded off Canucks goaltender Eddie Lack and then finding Boyle wide open.

Once it started to rain, it began to pour.

Joe Thornton added third goal for the Sharks half way through the second period after he scored on a one timer after a pass by Patrick Marleau on the Sharks power play.

Logan Couture added to the scoreboard on yet another Sharks power play with less then a minute remaining in the second period. Standing right between the face-off circles, he got a quick pass form Joe Pavelski, and fired it on goal and into the net with his signature wrist shot. That made it 4-0 for the Sharks.

This marked two power play goals for the Sharks top power play unit, which McLellan mentioned will stay intact. The second unit had its chances, but McLellan indicated he’ll continue to change who’s playing there.

Thomas Hertl made another case that he belongs in the NHL and on the Sharks top line when he never gave up on the play in the Canucks zone at the start of the third period, and kept on fighting for the puck, eventually putting it in with a wrester, scoring his second of the night, and Sharks’ fifth goal that made it 5-0 for the home team.

“He’s good around the net,” said Sharks captain Joe Thornton when asked about his thoughts on Hertl’s play so far in the preseason. “He scored around the net in the last game too. He’s very competitive. He just goes to the net and is not afraid of that area.”

As for the Canucks, they looked disorganized, undisciplined, and almost as if they didn’t want to play in that game. They did not look like a team that will be competing for a playoff spot next season.

Vancouver offers fine dining at Bridges Restaurant

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

photo (3)August 9, 2013

VANCOUVER, BC — For a first time traveler to Canada, Vancouver was a great place to dip my feet in and get a feel for the place. Just a mere two hours (unless you get stopped at the border… *grumble*) from Seattle, Vancouver had so much to offer. Upon first glance, it seemed it had the same two seasons you see in Illinois; Winter and Construction. Once you get through the traffic and avoid all the tourists, Vancouver became a beautiful and extraordinary place.

From the “stadium city”, where the Whitecaps, BC Lions, and Canucks play, the Science Centre where I learned far too much about sexuality, and Convention Centre where a Pokemon Championship was being held, there wasn’t a day I spent in Vancouver I wasn’t in awe. The hospitality provided was just as I hoped for, and our hosts at Bridges Restaurant were no exception!

Located on Duranleau Street in Vancouver, Bridges Restaurant welcomed the four of us with open arms and warm hearts. When I think “Bridges”, the first thing that comes to mind is Mrs. Doubtfire and Robin Williams, but now I have a whole new memory to recall. Our waitress, Nicole, was exceptional. She laughed with and at us, cracked jokes, and even participated in our radio show, to which we are very grateful! The owner, Damien, stopped by and told us his story on air and even threw in a few jabs about the Canucks and Sharks!

The food was, simply put, amazing. The entrees we had around the table all came out perfectly. Fresh Oysters, Caeser Salad with grilled prawns, Caprese Pizza, and the fish and chips, all brought smiles to our faces and filled our stomachs. But wait, there’s more! We couldn’t leave without getting dessert! I had hoped to get a small slice of chocolate cake, but that just wasn’t in the cards… Do you remember in the movie Matilda where that kid had to eat the entire chocolate cake in front of everyone? I swear, the cake was that big, but WOW was it good. It came with raspberry sauce and a blob of ice cream, and sadly, extra spoons for the vultures around the table. If you are ever in Vancouver, look up Bridges. Head to Duranleau street and check out the scene… you won’t be disappointed.

One of the great opportunities Sports Radio Service provides me is the chance to meet new people and go new places. Bridges Restaurant, Nicole and Damien, and Vancouver, British Columbia will forever be one of the first things that come to my mind when I think of this trip. Not the fact the SJ Earthquakes lost, not the traffic or rain, but the friendship we created with people who extended the hospitality to us and joined in on something we care about deeply. That’s one of the special things sports can offer you; the chance to go somewhere you’ve never been and bond and relate with people you’ve never met.

So thank you Nicole, thank you Damien, and thank you Bridges Restaurant. Like our former Governor once said, We’ll be back.

Visit Bridges Restaurant