Sharks Game 18 Recap: Blues 7, Sharks 6 (2/27/21)

 It was a back-and-forth high-scoring affair between the Sharks and Blues Saturday night. Although the Sharks scored the most goals they had in a game this season, they still found a way to lose as they fell to the Blues 7-6. 

The Sharks had a great first period, starting with Timo Meier's first of the game 17 seconds in, with assists from Dylan Gambrell and Rudolfs Balcers. Following Timo's first goal was the first of many times the other team answered back after getting scored on, this time by Marco Scandella to tie it at one. Evander Kane scored his first goal of the game minutes later on the power play to put the Sharks ahead 2-1 before the end of the first period, with assists from Logan Couture and Brent Burns. 

The scoring continued in alternating fashion early in the second period starting with Sammy Blais to tie the game at two for the Blues. Team Teal answers back with Timo Meier's second of the game to get their lead back 3-2. The Blues tie the game again about a minute later on a goal by Brayden Schenn. Not long after it was tied at three, Evander Kane tallies his second of the game to go ahead 4-3. Jordan Binnington was then pulled from the game, and on his way off the ice and into the dressing room, he shoved Radim Simek, fake-punched Erik Karlsson, and had a brief confrontation with Devan Dubnyk after Dubnyk told Binnington to get off the ice, almost instigating a goalie fight. I understand that Binnington was frustrated after getting pulled in the second period, but his actions following getting pulled were completely unnecessary and unwarranted. 

Following Binnington's exit and the insertion of Ville Husso in net for the Blues, Zach Sanford ties the game yet again, with the score remaining tied at four at the end of two. 

The Sharks looked great and kept St. Louis in check through two periods, but the first half of the third was the turning point in this game. Early in the third period marked the first time the Sharks were trailing in this game after Mackenzie MacEachern scored to make it 5-4 in favor of the Blues. Kevin Labanc gets the equalizer about a minute later to tie it at five, getting assists from John Leonard and Timo Meier. Soon after, Ryan O'Reilly gives the lead back to the Blues 6-5. Like with most of this game, the same theme reigns supreme as Logan Couture ties the game at six with his team-leading 11th goal of the season. Brent Burns and Mario Ferraro got the helpers on the last Sharks goal of the game. Last but not least, Marco Scandella netted his second goal of the game, second goal of the season, and the game-winner at the 7:14 mark of the third to make it 7-6. I thought there would possibly be additional scoring in the second half of the final period, but there wasn't. I was somewhat amazed that the Sharks scored as many goals as they did in this game considering how inconsistent their offense has been this season. 

In addition, last night's game tied an NHL record for the most game-tying goals in a regular-season game with six. Like in many games this season, the Sharks defense looked terrible in this game, especially in the third period. Bob Boughner should've considered pulling Devan Dubnyk after he gave up seven in last night's contest, but I feel like the Sharks' confidence in in either Martin Jones or Alexei Melnichuk's ability to keep the goals against intact after giving up that many goals has dwindled. Speaking of Melnichuk, the Sharks stated that they don't plan to start him anytime soon as they fear that starting him in a game this season with the team in front of him would stunt his development. 

The biggest lineup change in last night's game besides Dubnyk in net was Erik Karlsson and Radim Simek's return to the lineup as the third defense pair.

Overall, last night's game was very frustrating after San Jose still found a way to lose despite having plenty of offense to go around. However, this was a crazy and interesting game to say the least. Things aren't looking good for the Sharks right now, but there should be no giving up on the season just yet. 

The Sharks' next miniseries is against the Avalanche starting on Monday at 7:30 pm PT and concluding on Wednesday at the same time, followed by two games against the Golden Knights on Friday and Saturday. If the Sharks can at least split each of their next two miniseries this coming week, that would be great. 

On a side note, Stefan Noesen recently cleared waivers and will be getting at least a few games in for the Barracuda in the AHL as there isn't really a spot for him on the Sharks' roster right now. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL app

Tomorrow's Sharks-Golden Knights Game Postponed

 The Sharks announced today that their next game on Thursday against the Golden Knights has been postponed after one Sharks player entered the NHL's COVID-19 protocol. This led the Sharks to abruptly cancel their morning practice and close their training facilities. 

In addition, this move was made out of an abundance of caution. The player on the Sharks who entered the NHL's COVID protocol hasn't been disclosed. Thursday's game will be rescheduled at a later date, but that has yet to be determined. 

This is now the 40th game the NHL has had to postpone and reschedule this year, with four of them resulting from severe weather and power outages in the Dallas area. 

I certainly wasn't expecting or wanting this to happen, but game postponements are a normal part of playing a season during a global pandemic, and the health and safety of players, coaches, and team personnel always comes first. 

Stay tuned for more updates and developments on this story. 

Source: Statement via San Jose Sharks 

Update: It has been confirmed that Tomas Hertl is the Sharks player that has been placed on the NHL's COVID Protocol list. 

Update 2 (2/26/21): The Sharks did not receive any additional positive COVID tests and will play Saturday's game vs. the Blues as scheduled. Tomas Hertl will be out for 14 days due to the NHL's COVID protocol guidelines after he tested positive the other day; hope he and his family stay safe and have a speedy recovery.

Sharks Game 17 Recap: Wild 6, Sharks 2 (2/22/21)

 I may be a day late with this recap, but the Sharks dropped their homestand opener to the Minnesota Wild 6-2. 

Despite the end result, San Jose got the start they wanted on a highlight-reel goal by Brent Burns on a breakaway chance, deke, and backhand shot. It was in similar fashion to the game-winner he scored the last time the Sharks faced the Wild before last night on January 24, which was absolutely incredible. In addition, this was Brent Burns' fourth goal of the year, while the rest of the Sharks' defense corps haven't scored any goals yet this year. 

After the first goal, it all fell apart for the Sharks, starting with a game-tying goal by Mats Zuccarello for the Wild and the go-ahead goal by Kirill Kaprizov immediately following the game-tying goal. Towards the end of the first period was the Sharks' first fighting major of the season between Nikolai Knyzhov and Marcus Foligno. Once Knyzhov was bleeding from his face, Foligno signaled the refs to come in and separate the two, ending their tilt. This was a classy move by Marcus Foligno and respect him greatly for this; it's not that often when a player signals to the officials to separate them from the other challenger after dropping the gloves. 

The second period saw two more goals from the Wild by Ian Cole and Marcus Foligno before Martin Jones was pulled from the game after giving up four goals before the end of the second period. In addition, this game featured the first Gordie Howe hat trick given up by the Sharks in eight years after Marcus Foligno recorded a goal, assist, and fight in last night's game. Devan Dubnyk was inserted into the game soon after the score became 4-1 in favor of Minnesota. Fortunately, Logan Couture scored the Sharks' second goal of the game off the feed from Evander Kane behind the net to lessen Team Teal's deficit to two goals. Timo Meier, Rudolfs Balcers, and Kevin Labanc each recorded one assist in last night's contest along with Evander Kane. Logan Couture now leads the Sharks with ten goals on the season. Devan Dubnyk then proceeded to give up one more goal by Jonas Brodin late in the second period. 

The Wild topped off their scoring late in the third period on an empty-netter by Victor Rask. Last night's game was arguably the most winnable for the Sharks out of their current eight-game homestand, but that certainly wasn't the case based on how they performed for most of it. 

Injury update: Erik Karlsson's status has now changed to week-to-week with his ongoing groin injury, and the Sharks are in no hurry to get him back in the lineup. 

Overall, it was another disappointing loss for the Sharks, and their current homestand isn't going to get any easier from here. San Jose's next game on their current homestand, which is the longest of the season, is Thursday at 7:30 pm PT against the Golden Knights. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area, NHL app

Sharks Game 16 Recap: Sharks 5, Blues 4 (2/20/21)

 The Sharks held on for a hard-fought win against the Blues 5-4, earning three out of a possible four points in their miniseries in St. Louis. 

The Sharks notched two goals in the first period, the first from Evander Kane and the second from Logan Couture. Kevin Labanc assisted on both first period goals. 

Early in the second period, Rudolfs Balcers scores his first goal with the Sharks to take a 3-0 lead; Tomas Hertl got the assist on the Balcers goal. However, Brayden Schenn gets the Blues on the board about a minute later to trim their deficit to two. The Sharks answered back with Patrick Marleau's first of the year on a cross-ice pass from Evander Kane to get them back to a three-goal lead. Following Patty Marleau's first of the season were three consecutive goals from the Blues, scored by Zach Sanford, Ryan O'Reilly, and Jordan Kyrou, to tie it at four before the end of the second period. 

Despite blowing their lead in the second, San Jose remained resilient and got the game winner in the middle of the third on Logan Couture's second goal of the game. Rudols Balcers may have appeared to deflect it in, but it was still Logan Couture's second of the game after it was concluded that the puck didn't make contact with Balcers' stick. 

Although he allowed four goals in the second period, Devan Dubnyk got his first win with the Sharks, recording 28 saves in the process. This game was the fifth time the Sharks blew a multi-goal lead this season and the fourth time they won while doing so. In addition, Team Teal hasn't had a win yet where it was by a significant margin. Thankfully this game was won in regulation rather than overtime or shootout, but the primary focus is to get two points in any way, shape, or form regardless.

In addition, like the game on Thursday, there were a few missed calls and bad calls that didn't go in the Sharks' favor. The good news is that these mistakes by the referees didn't have a huge impact on the result of this game. 

The Sharks' record now stands at 7-7-2, roughly one to two points out of a playoff spot. They begin an important eight-game homestand on Monday against the Wild at 7:30 pm PT. 

In other news, although the Sharks weren't invited to play in the outdoor games at Lake Tahoe this weekend, the Sharks' PA announcer Danny Miller served as the PA announcer for those two outdoor games. It may have been a blessing in disguise for the Sharks to not be playing in Tahoe this weekend as the first game between the Golden Knights and Avalanche was delayed for nine hours after the first period due to poor ice conditions. The Avalanche had a 1-0 lead though one period of play before the game was delayed, and they were able to hang on and defeat the Golden Knights 3-2 in the first outdoor game at Lake Tahoe once it resumed at 9 pm PT. The second outdoor game at Lake Tahoe between the Bruins and Flyers is scheduled for Sunday at 4:30 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL app

Sharks Game 15 Recap: Blues 3, Sharks 2 (OT) (2/18/21)

 The Sharks performed well until the last minute of regulation as they fell to the Blues 3-2 in overtime. They received one point from this game when they should've had two; disappointing, but it could've been worse. 

The Sharks didn't get the start they wanted in this game when they gave up the first goal in the first period to Mike Hoffman on the man advantage. 

Team Teal had another great second period and continues to improve in middle periods. The Sharks scored both the equalizer by Noah Gregor and the go-ahead goal by John Leonard through the five-hole in the second, giving San Jose a 2-1 lead. Nicholas Meloche recorded his first NHL point by assisting on the first Sharks goal. Dylan Gambrell, Patrick Marleau, and Ryan Donato each tallied one assist in this game. 

The third period looked great, and the Sharks were about to hold on to get a huge win in regulation until Brayden Schenn ties the game at two with 39 seconds remaining to force OT. Martin Jones flashed the glove on the first play of OT for an incredible save. However, the Sharks had a few bad calls go against them towards the end of the game, and David Perron ultimately netted the game-winner for the Blues. 

Despite the OT loss, San Jose was excellent for most of the game and will build on that heading into their current stretch of games against tough opponents. They had plenty of opportunities in front of the net, many of which hit the post, missed, or couldn't get past Jordan Binnington. Martin Jones continues to get better as this season progresses and is stating his case to remain the Sharks' top and primary goaltender this season. Jones stopped 42 of 45 shots from the Blues in his latest nod, some of them being amazing, highlight-reel saves. Bob Boughner has been more flexible with his lines and pairings, allowing the young guys to get more ice time and opportunities and further their development. 

As for injury updates, Erik Karlsson and Radim Simek will remain out of the lineup for the Sharks' quick two-game road series in St. Louis. It has been confirmed that Erik Karlsson suffered a groin injury and did not travel with the team to St. Louis. However, Radim Simek did travel with the Sharks to St. Louis for conditioning purposes. Both of their status is day-to-day, and it is unknown when Karlsson or Simek will return to the Sharks' lineup.

The Sharks' record now stands at 6-7-2, sitting three points out of a playoff spot. They conclude their current series and road trip Saturday against the Blues at 4 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, ESPN

Sharks Game 14 Recap: Sharks 3, Ducks 2 (2/15/21)

 The Sharks are back in the win column, this time in regulation, as they defeat the Ducks 3-2 to end their three-game skid. 

It first seemed like we would have a repeat of the past few games when the Ducks scored 50 seconds into the first period to get on the board first. The first goal for the Ducks was actually deflected off of Mario Ferraro's skate but credited to Sam Steel. Later on in the first period, John Leonard scored his first NHL goal on the power play to tie it at one, with Timo Meier and Mario Ferraro assisting on the game-tying goal in the first. In addition, Ryan Donato created an effective screen in front of John Gibson to allow the puck to find the back of the net. 

Early in the second period, Kevin Labanc banked it off of John Gibson behind the net to give the Sharks their first lead of the game, his first goal in ten games. Later on in the second, Logan Couture scored to make it 3-1 after Gibson initially made contact with the puck and then lost control of it. Couture also recorded an assist on the Labanc go-ahead goal along with Evander Kane. So far, Couture has been the Sharks' most consistent player this season. The Sharks broke the curse of the second period last night and played their best second period this season by carrying a two-goal lead at the end of two and only allowing four shots on goal from the Ducks. 

Not long into the third period, another unfortunate bounce off of Mario Ferraro, this time off his stick, got the Ducks within one. Despite another mishap from Mario Ferraro, the second Ducks goal was credited to Max Comtois. The Sharks improved to 6-7-1 through 14 games; a quarter of their season has now been completed and has gone by pretty quickly. This was also Bob Boughner's 100th win as an NHL head coach.

Although the Sharks played well without Erik Karlsson and Radim Simek in the lineup, it has yet to be determined if the team can keep up their level of performance seen in their most recent game and how sustainable playing without Karlsson and Simek is for the Sharks. 

Martin Jones' performance has improved significantly from his past few starts, stopping 26 of 28 shots from the Ducks. Devan Dubnyk was available as a backup if necessary. Fredrik Claesson and Stefan Noesen were inserted into the lineup last night, while Marcus Sorensen was a healthy scratch. 

The Sharks begin a critical stretch of nine games against the top three teams in the West Division: the Blues, Avalanche, and Golden Knights, starting with a quick two-game road series against the Blues in St. Louis. The first game in the Blues series in St. Louis is Thursday at 5 pm PT. 

On a side note, the NHL announced today that the Sharks vs. Wild game originally scheduled for April 23 has been moved to Monday, February 22 at 7:30 pm PT at SAP Center. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, ESPN, NHL.com

Sharks Game 13 Recap: Golden Knights 3, Sharks 1 (2/13/21)

 The Sharks had their first home game of the year and first game against the Golden Knights this afternoon, but they ended up dropping it 3-1. Vegas has blown out San Jose in some of the times they have faced each other in the past, but thankfully this game didn't end in blowout fashion. 

The Knights jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first on a goal from Jonathan Marchessault. Later in the first period, both Evander Kane and Ryan Reaves were assessed minor penalties and continued to chirp each other while in the box, which never gets old. Having most of the glass from the penalty box removed and no fans in attendance made it easier for Kane and Reaves to talk trash towards each other. 

Vegas added another one in the second period from Mark Stone, while the Sharks got one back from Tomas Hertl's third in the past two games, making it 2-1 in favor of the Knights. Rudolfs Balcers recorded his first Sharks point with an assist and great pass on the Hertl goal, while Marc-Eduoard Vlasic recorded the secondary assist on the same goal. Continuing in the second period, Jonathan Marchessault went after Radim Simek once and shook up Simek. Marchessault then proceeded to crosscheck Simek, forcing Simek to leave the game with an upper body injury. What made matters worse was that the refs didn't call a penalty on Marchessault for his crosscheck to Simek, which is inexcusable. The two hits by Marchessault came after Simek laid a hit on Reilly Smith moments prior. In addition, none of the Sharks players retaliated after Marchessault crosschecked Simek; way to stick up for your teammates. 

In the third period, Chandler Stephenson scored to give the Golden Knights a 3-1 lead. Erik Karlsson didn't play for the last 11 and a half minutes of the game as he left due to a lower body injury. Karlsson is expected to be day-to-day as a result. 

Overall, despite increased production from Tomas Hertl, it was another rough outing for the Sharks. Martin Jones made 23 saves on 26 shots from the Golden Knights. The heavier of a workload that Jones receives in net, the greater his performance level tends to decrease. On another note, Kurtis Gabriel made his Sharks debut against the Knights this afternoon.

It would be great to see more consistency from the Sharks this season, but consistency will be hard to come by if Bob Boughner is always shuffling the forward lines and defense pairs. Boughner and the coaching staff should try to stick to a few forward lines and d-pairs for some time and see hoe they perform down the stretch. If there are any forward lines and d-pairs that have been and remained productive for the Sharks, then those should remain intact. 

I also found out some behind-the-scenes drama on why Erik Karlsson and Marc-Eduoard Vlasic aren't performing well right now, but that discussion will be for another time. 

No one really knows how long this rough patch for the Sharks will continue. Team Teal will return to action on Monday against the Anaheim Ducks at 7:30 pm PT, with Alexei Melnichuk expected to get the start in goal. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area, ESPN, The Athletic 

My NHL Logo Rankings From Least Favorite to Favorite

 I plan to rank more aspects of NHL teams than just overall least favorite to favorite. The next ranking I want to get into is team logos. This ranking list is primarily based on an average of all of the logos a specific team is using, but the teams' main logos are the biggest indicators of where teams are ranked on this list. Without further ado, let's begin: 

Disclaimer: this may be one of, if not the only post on CPF Hockey that borrows photos from the web. In this case, they will be of NHL team logos. None of these logos are terrible or ugly by any means; some of them may be boring compared to others, explaining their lower rankings. I feel like having the logos pictured here will do a lot of the explaining in this list. If you want a further explanation of any particular logo ranking, feel free to ask me in the comments.

 32) Washington Capitals

31) Los Angeles Kings 

30) Toronto Maple Leafs

29) Montreal Canadiens 

28) Calgary Flames 

27) Boston Bruins 

26) Dallas Stars 

25) Buffalo Sabres 

24) New York Islanders

23) Anaheim Ducks 

22) Edmonton Oilers 

21) Vancouver Canucks 

20) Philadelphia Flyers 

19) New York Rangers 

18) Arizona Coyotes 

17) Ottawa Senators 

16) Tampa Bay Lightning 

15) Florida Panthers 

14) Columbus Blue Jackets 

13) New Jersey Devils 

12) Seattle Kraken 

11) St. Louis Blues 

10) Pittsburgh Penguins 

9) Winnipeg Jets 

8) Carolina Hurricanes 

7) Vegas Golden Knights 

6) Colorado Avalanche 

5) Detroit Red Wings 

4) Chicago Blackhawks 

3) Nashville Predators 

2) Minnesota Wild 

1) San Jose Sharks