Sharks Game 34 Recap: Sharks 4, Wild 3 (SO) (3/29/21)

 The Sharks needed eight rounds in the shootout to settle this one against the Wild, winning 4-3. 

Leading up to the shootout, San Jose had scored in every period. The first Sharks goal was a blast from the point from Radim Simek. It also appeared as if Dylan Gambrell had deflected the puck on its way to the net on that play, but it is credited as Simek's goal until further notice. Ryan Donato got the second assist on the first goal. 

Jeffrey Viel made his NHL debut versus the Wild Monday night and dropped the gloves with Luke Johnson in his second shift of the game. Viel is one of three players in Sharks history to record a fight in his NHL debut, joining Brad Staubitz and Jeff Odgers. 

Patrick Marleau has now passed Mark Messier for second on the NHL all-time games played list skating in his 1,757th game. After Patty completed his first shift on the ice in the first period, this feat was recognized by Danny Miller, the Sharks' PA announcer, and by stick taps from both the Sharks and Wild benches. It would've been more lively had there been fans in attendance at SAP Center. 

The Wild had scored two goals of their own in the first to lead 2-1 at the first intermission. The first one was from Marcus Johansson while the second one was from Nick Bonino. 

The difference-maker in this game was Erik Karlsson's two goals during regulation, specifically one in the second and one in the third. The first EK65 goal in the second came off a beautiful feed from Evander Kane, while the second EK65 goal in the third was a clapper from the blue line. Ryan Donato got his second assist of the game on Erik Karlsson's second goal of the game, while Dylan Gambrell recorded the secondary assist on that same goal. This is Erik Karlsson's first two-goal game as a Shark.

What led to overtime and and a shootout was Kevin Fiala's game-tying goal for the Wild minutes after Erik Karlsson's second goal of the game. This was created by a turnover by Tomas Hertl in the Sharks' own end of the ice.

The Sharks' best chance in overtime was a shot from Timo Meier that hit the crossbar. In addition, the Wild almost won the game, but luckily what would've been the game-winner was waved off due to a high touch on the play. 

Onto the shootout. In the second and third rounds, Logan Couture and Kevin Labanc scored on their attempts, while Kevin Fiala and Mats Zuccarello evened things up by scoring on their attempts. It wasn't until the eighth round that Erik Karlsson took the slapshot approach and scored the game-winner, which was absolutely amazing. This would technically mean he scored a hat trick, but it didn't officially count as one.

Martin Jones was solid in net, stopping 22 of 25 shots against. Another great thing about Monday night's game is that the Sharks stayed out of penalty trouble, which has been an issue for them in several games this season. They did, however, draw one penalty in the second on a puck-over-the-glass delay of game by the Wild.

Overall, the Sharks had a great effort in this game. Hopefully Team Teal can continue to perform well heading into the second game of this miniseries on Wednesday at 7:30 pm PT. 

I certainly want to see more performances like this from Erik Karlsson and more consistency in his game, which is very possible, but we'll have to wait and see.

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App

Sharks Game 33 Recap: Coyotes 4, Sharks 0 (3/27/21)

 The Sharks were shut out in the second leg of their back-to-back Saturday night, 4-0, in one of their worst performances of the season. 

Unlike the first game in this miniseries, the Sharks' offense didn't show up at all in this game. They were hit with several penalties and spent most of the third period killing off those penalties. San Jose also couldn't figure out Adin Hill, who is the Coyotes' third-string goalie since both Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper are out with injuries. From what I last heard, the Sharks are fourth in the NHL in penalty minutes this season, which is not good. 

Most notably, Kurtis Gabriel took more penalties than anyone else in this game: one for charging against Drake Caggiula, one for roughing against John Hayden, a five-minute major for interference against Johan Larsson, and a ten-minute game misconduct. I think his attempts to stir the pot have gone too far lately. 

As for the Coyotes, Clayton Keller scored the first goal in the second, followed by a natural hat trick from Phil Kessel, which began late in the second and went into the third. 

Devan Dubnyk wasn't terrible in net, but he wasn't great either, stopping 23 of 26 shots against. On the bright side, Patrick Marleau played in his 1,756th career game, tying Mark Messier for second on the NHL's all-time games played list. 

Overall, the Sharks were god awful in this game, and it was almost as if they weren't even trying for much of it. I don't feel like it's necessary to go into any more details regarding this one because they aren't beneficial to the Sharks. They return home from their brief roadie in Arizona to face the red-hot Minnesota Wild on Monday and Wednesday. Since the trade deadline is in a few weeks, it won't be long before the Sharks sell off some pieces and look towards the future.

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App

Sharks Game 32 Recap: Coyotes 5, Sharks 2 (3/26/21)

 The Sharks dropped their miniseries opener to the Coyotes 5-2 Friday night. 

Most of the effort from the Sharks in this game seemed lackluster, especially on both sides of the puck. The Coyotes jumped ahead in the first period on Christian Dvorak's first goal of the game. The crazy and disappointing thing about the first period was that the Sharks only registered four shots on goal, which is absolutely pathetic. This also is a result of San Jose spending most of the period in their end of the ice. 

Early in the second, Tomas Hertl ties it up at one while shorthanded, with Erik Karlsson getting the lone assist on that play. This also marked Hertl's 300th NHL point. Towards the end of the second, Nick Schmaltz scored to retake the lead for the Coyotes. This began a series of four consecutive goals by the Coyotes, three of which occurred in a few-minute span in the third. The second Coyotes goal in the third by Dryden Hunt was challenged for goaltender interference, but the challenge was unsuccessful. The others consisted of Christian Dvorak's second goal of the game and Phil Kessel's 11th goal of the season to give the Coyotes a 5-1 advantage. 

Luckily the Sharks got one back later in the final frame, scored by Patrick Marleau on the power play. It was initially misplayed by Adin Hill, and Patrick Marleau took advantage of that by tucking it in to lessen the Sharks' deficit to three goals. Assisting on the Patty goal were Mario Ferraro and Timo Meier. It was also his 564th career goal, tying Mats Sundin and Joe Nieuwendyk for 23rd on the NHL all-time goals list. 

Before Marleau's goal in the third, Nick Schmaltz was called for boarding against Radim Simek, sending Simek hard into the boards and shaking him up in the process. It was announced today that Schmaltz was fined $5,000 by the NHL Department of Player Safety as a result. From what I last heard, Simek seemed to have recovered quickly from the dangerous hit and should be ready to go for tonight's game in Arizona. 

Martin Jones had a drop-off in his performance from the previous miniseries against the Kings, making 23 saves on 28 shots against. This was more so that the rest of the team left him out to dry than anything else. However, Jones did make some great saves throughout this game.

Last night's game marked the first game this season and the first time in a while that Sharks assistant coach John Madden coached from the Sharks' bench. 

San Jose continues to get outshot and pass the puck around more than shoot it. These problems were exacerbated in last night's game. In addition, the Sharks are two points behind the Kings and three points behind the Coyotes in the West Division standings. If the Sharks had won last night, they would've had a chance to pass both the Kings and Coyotes in the standings after this weekend miniseries. Another interesting stat: the Sharks are 7-1-1 this season against their Southern California rivals, the Kings and Ducks, while they are 6-13-3 against the rest of the West Division. 

We want and need to see the Sharks improve tonight in the second leg of their back-to-back in Arizona. Devan Dubnyk will get the start in net tonight, with puck drop at 7 pm PT. Kurtis Gabriel is also expected to return to the Sharks' lineup tonight in the second game of this back-to-back miniseries.

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App

Sharks Game 31 Recap: Sharks 4, Kings 2 (3/24/21)

 The Sharks took care of business as they defeated the Kings 4-2 and sweep the early week miniseries to close out their current homestand. 

Not much significant occurred in the first period, except the Sharks had a few opportunities on the man-advantage that they weren't able to capitalize on. The scoring began early in the second period by Rudolfs Balcers from a beautiful feed from Marcus Sorensen to put the Sharks on the board first, with Dylan Gambrell getting the other assist on that play. During the second half of the second frame, Evander Kane scores his first of two in this game to give the Sharks a two-goal advantage, with great passing from Brent Burns and Kevin Labanc to complete the play. Towards the end of the second, Alex Iafallo scores to cut the Kings' deficit to one. 

It only took 21 seconds into the third period for Evander Kane to score his second goal of the game and his 14th of the season tipping in a shot from Mario Ferraro at the point. In addition, Brent Burns gets his second assist of the game on Evander's second goal of the game. Shortly after, Tomas Hertl scores his ninth of the season to give the Sharks their biggest lead of the night at 4-1, with Marc-Eduoard Vlasic and Radim Simek getting the assists on that play. Following Hertl's goal a few minutes later were the Kings getting one back via Adrian Kempe from Drew Doughty. With less than three minutes remaining in this game, Logan Couture goes down after taking a high stick to the face from Jeff Carter. Hopefully Couture doesn't have to miss any extended period of time after that incident. It has also been determined that Jeff Carter won't face any additional discipline from the NHL after the high-sticking incident last night. 

Martin Jones had another stellar performance, recording 42 saves for his second straight 40+ save game. He is also the first Sharks goalie since Arturs Irbe in April 1993 to make 40+ saves in consecutive games. 

Another great effort from the Sharks against a team they should beat and are capable of beating on most nights. I couldn't be more satisfied with the way this miniseries against the dreaded rival Kings has gone. The Sharks continue on their compacted stretch of games this season (roughly 4-5 games in 7 days) with their next miniseries on Friday and Saturday in Arizona against the Coyotes. The Coyotes are another team the Sharks are chasing in the West Division standings that they should be able to beat, and hopefully the Sharks can keep playing well and winning games like these. 

Sources: NBCSN, NHL App

Sharks News & Notes (3/23/21)

 There have been some news and trade rumors surrounding the Sharks that have been released recently. Here they are: 

• Bob Boughner has been fined $5k, while Kurtis Gabriel has been fined $3k and the Sharks as a whole were fined $25k after an altercation that occurred during warm-ups Monday night between Kurtis Gabriel and Kurtis MacDermid. The altercation during warm-ups started when Gabriel cross-checked MacDermid. The two were also seen exchanging words during warm-ups, which led to them dropping the gloves and fighting during the first period of Monday night's game. There have been at least a few other instances this season where Kurtis Gabriel has gotten into altercations with opponents before and during games. 
• The Sharks are looking into trading Marcus Sorensen before this year's trade deadline, which occurs on April 12. Sorensen has gained some interest from a few teams in the North Division, such as the Calgary Flames. He is on the final year of his current two-year deal and becomes an unrestricted free agent this offseason. So far this season, Sorensen has a goal and two assists for three points in 17 games.
  
• Reports suggest that Patrick Marleau would "seriously consider" a trade to a contender before the deadline if it means he can get another opportunity to chase his first Stanley Cup. However, it has yet to be determined if he will be dealt before the deadline. This is currently Patty's third stint with the Sharks. He was in a similar scenario last season when the Sharks were out of the playoff picture and they traded him to the Penguins before the deadline. Marleau is set to break Gordie Howe's all-time record for the most games played in the NHL April 19 against the Golden Knights in Vegas, which will be one week after the trade deadline. It remains to be seen if Patty remains with the Sharks when he ultimately breaks that record, but it would be quite unusual to see him break that record in a different uniform. 
• The NHL has announced some revisions to their format of the draft lottery. Starting this year, the team finishing dead last in the league and with the least amount of points won't be drafting lower than third overall. Beginning next year, there will be 11 teams instead of 16 who will be able to win the draft lottery, and no team can win the draft lottery more than twice within a five-year span. These revisions should make things more fair for teams participating in the draft lottery and from the standpoint of the entire league, but there will still be some fans who will complain about this and say the draft lottery is rigged. 

Stay tuned to CPF Hockey for more Sharks news and updates. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NBC Sports

Sharks Game 30 Recap: Sharks 2, Kings 1 (3/22/21)

 The Sharks got back into the win column Monday night as they defeated the Kings 2-1. 

San Jose got off to a great start, getting the first goal of the game on Logan Couture's 14th of the year, which went in after deflecting off Kurtis MacDermid. Kevin Labanc and Evander Kane were credited with the assists on the Couture goal. A few minutes after the first goal, Kurtis Gabriel and Kurtis MacDermid dropped the gloves and fought, which followed after an incident between the two during warmups. Gabriel got the brunt of the fight as he headed straight to the dressing room instead of the box after the scrap. 

Matt Roy ties the game for the Kings in the second period with his first of the season. This was also following his recent signing of a new three-year contract. 

Early in the third, Ryan Donato scored the game-winner to put the Sharks ahead 2-1. This was his fifth goal of the season on a wrap-around from John Leonard and Nikolai Knyzhov. 

The brightest spot on the ice for the Sharks in this game was Martin Jones, who had one of his best performances of the year making 41 saves and only giving up one goal. In his past three starts, Jones is 2-0-1 with a .970 save percentage and a 0.97 goals against average. His latest hot streak is a stark contrast from his early season slump this year.

Rudolfs Balcers was back in the lineup Monday night and placed on the fourth line after missing the past few games with a lower body injury. 

The only significant downside in this game from the Sharks' perspective is that they got into some penalty trouble throughout the game, including two against Nikolai Knyzhov. Fortunately, none of these penalties proved costly as San Jose's penalty kill was excellent against the Kings' power play unit. 

It always feels amazing when the Sharks beat the Kings in their match-ups no matter what the circumstances are.The Kings are a team that the Sharks should be able to beat on most nights, and Team Teal got the job done Monday night. Hopefully the Sharks can do the same on Wednesday night in the second game of this miniseries at 7:30 pm PT, which will be nationally televised on NBCSN. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App

Sharks Game 29 Recap: Blues 5, Sharks 2 (3/20/21)

 The Sharks dropped the second game in their back-to-back and season finale against the Blues 5-2. 

San Jose got the start they were looking for in this game early in the first with Dylan Gambrell's second goal of the year, with Brent Burns and Ryan Donato getting the assists. Following up the Sharks' first goal were two straight goals by Vince Dunn and Jordan Kyrou for the Blues. Mike Hoffman almost gave the Blues a two goal lead, but thankfully it was overturned because the Blues went offside on that play. 

In the second, Tomas Hertl tied the game at two on a great feed from Timo Meier, who received a great pass from Nikolai Knyzhov. The Sharks had a great middle frame, except they did get into a bit of penalty trouble after Hertl's goal with an over-the-glass delay of game and another Kevin Labanc tripping minor. 

The game remained tied at two heading into the third period. The Sharks took an awful and controversial faceoff violation penalty early in the third, which proved costly for them as the Blues took advantage of this and scored three unanswered, specifically by Ryan O'Reilly, Jordan Kyrou, and David Perron. After the faceoff violation, which was served by Patrick Marleau, the Sharks were playing catch-up from there, resulting in another frustrating loss for Team Teal. The last thing I want to mention about the faceoff violation is that I didn't see anything when it happened that made it worthy of calling a minor penalty for it.

Devan Dubnyk was mediocre in this game, but he isn't the main reason why the Sharks lost, recording 16 saves on 20 shots against. There were many unfortunate bounces and defensive miscues by the Sharks in this one like there have been in plenty of games this season.

Matt Nieto didn't play Saturday as he is dealing with a lower body injury. In addition, Rudolfs Balcers still remains out of the lineup with a lower body injury. Kurtis Gabriel was scratched on Saturday as well. In their place on Saturday were Fredrik Handemark and Antti Suomela. 

San Jose has wrapped up their season series with the Blues with a 3-3-2 record against them. This was the only game between these two this season that wasn't decided by one goal. Another stat worth mentioning is that the Sharks are now 0-4 when wearing their Reverse Retro Jerseys, which aren't as nice as some other jerseys they have worn previously or are currently using. I also now begin to question if I even want a Sharks Reverse Retro Jersey in my jersey collection anymore. 

The Sharks' next miniseries is on Monday and Wednesday against the Kings. If Team Teal doesn't get it together soon, they will certainly be sellers at the upcoming April 12 trade deadline and miss the playoffs for a second straight season. With the way things look right now for the Sharks, this outlook would not be surprising at all, but anything can happen in the second half of the season, and I want to remain optimistic about this Sharks team. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App

Sharks Game 28 Recap: Blues 2, Sharks 1 (SO) (3/19/21)

 The Sharks blew their lead in the third period and ultimately fell to the Blues 2-1 in the shootout to lose their third straight game. 

The first period was fairly quiet, although the Sharks took a few reckless too many men penalties. Oskar Sundqvist collided awkwardly with his teammate Kyle Clifford in front of the Sharks' net and headed straight to the dressing room with an apparent knee injury. 

Scoring didn't come until the second period when Ryan Donato scores to put the Sharks on the board first, with Marcus Sorensen and Tomas Hertl getting the assists. San Jose lost its lead in the third when Tyler Bozak ties the game for the Blues while shorthanded. Kyle Clifford had shot the puck at the net and it deflected off Bozak's shin pad for the game-tying goal that forced overtime and a shootout. In addition, the Sharks' all-around play got sloppy towards the end of this one. 

In the shootout, Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko both made their attempts to earn the Blues the extra point in this contest and end their recent skid. On the other hand Logan Couture had a successful attempt in the shootout, while both Ryan Donato and Kevin Labanc's attempts were unsuccessful. 

Martin Jones was solid in his start last night, making 33 saves. In addition, this marks Matt Nieto's 500th NHL game, becoming the third California-born player in NHL history to skate in at least 500 games. 

The Sharks have officially hit the halfway point in their 2021 campaign with their record standing at 11-13-4. Despite their current skid, I agree with Bob Boughner that the Sharks have become a more difficult team to play against right now. I also want to see the Sharks shoot the puck more than pass it around. They resume their current and final miniseries against St. Louis tonight at 6 pm PT. Hopefully the Sharks can step up from their past few games and turn their fortunes around for the better. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App

Sharks Game 27 Recap: Golden Knights 5, Sharks 4 (3/17/21)

 The Sharks looked great through the first two periods, but fell apart in the third as the Golden Knights stormed back to defeat the Sharks 5-4. San Jose remains winless through five games against Vegas this season. 

Despite giving up the first goal of the game to Shea Theodore, the Sharks' defense and goaltending were pretty strong in the first two periods. The first period also featured a great hit by Radim Simek on Ryan Reaves. Team Teal had one of its best periods all season in the second where they scored three straight to take a commanding 3-1 lead through two periods. It all started by Matt Nieto off a pretty pass from Timo Meier at the 6:21 mark. Soon after, Mario Ferraro scores his first goal of the season, which could not have been set up any better. The third Sharks goal came at the 15:07 mark on Kevin Labanc's eighth of the season.

In between the Sharks' second and third goals in the second, Ryan Reaves nearly tied the game at two, but the goal was disallowed after William Carrier interfered with Devan Dubnyk's ability to make a save on that play. 

The Sharks controlled the momentum in this game and looked like they headed for a huge win in Vegas until the first 15 minutes of the third period. Defensive woes, poor goaltending, and penalty trouble by San Jose led to four unanswered goals by the Golden Knights, specifically by Cody Glass, Nicolas Hague, Ryan Reaves, and Alec Martinez. Evander Kane gets a goal back for the Sharks with about four minutes remaining, but San Jose was unable to salvage any more after that. 

Tomas Hertl recorded two assists in this game and his first career fight in the third. His first fight occurred after Timo Meier took a blindside hit by Mark Stone that sent Meier into concussion protocol. This was Hertl's way of standing up for Timo by dropping the gloves and going after Mark Stone. It was certainly unusual to see those two players fight, but I applaud Tomas Hertl for sticking up for his teammates and not letting Stone's hit go unnoticed. What was even crazier was that in the same third period, Logan Couture dropped the gloves with Jonathan Marchessault, which marks the third fight of Couture's NHL career. 

John Leonard substituted for Rudolfs Balcers in the Sharks lineup for this game and tallied an assist on Mario Ferraro's first goal of the year in the second. Evander Kane added two assists in addition to his late goal in the third. Mario Ferraro assisted on Labanc's goal in the second to make this his third career two-point game. Erik Karlsson got an assist on Evander Kane's late goal to round out the Sharks' scoring. 

Devan Dubnyk was outstanding until he gave up four unanswered in the third, recording 32 saves. With the way he's been playing lately, I wouldn't be shocked if Dubnyk gets traded to a contending team before the trade deadline next month. 

The Sharks and Golden Knights don't face each other again until three straight games on April 19, 21, and 23. I've basically accepted that the Knights are a step above the Sharks this season in nearly every aspect of the game. Despite getting swept in this miniseries in Vegas, the Sharks have been coming together and buying into the system, which I very much enjoy seeing. San Jose's next miniseries is their last miniseries against the Blues this season, which takes place Friday and Saturday at SAP Center. Each of their next two games start at 6 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL app

Sharks Game 26 Recap: Golden Knights 2, Sharks 1 (3/15/21)

 The Sharks hung in there and played very well, but it wasn't enough as they lose to the Golden Knights 2-1 and snap their three-game win streak. 

One of the biggest components that kept the Sharks in this game was their goaltending, specifically Devan Dubnyk. Dubnyk had another outstanding performance in net, stopping 34 of 36 shots against and making some incredible saves throughout the game. 

San Jose had several great opportunities in front of the net, but they still couldn't figure out Marc-Andre Fleury for the most part. The Sharks did get into some penalty trouble in this game, and Vegas made them pay early on in this game via Max Pacioretty's 14th of the season. The only other goal that Vegas needed to stay on top of this one was Mark Stone's tenth of the season early in the third. However, later in the third, Timo Meier finally got one past Fleury in brilliant fashion to avoid getting shut out of this one, with Brent Burns getting the only assist on the Sharks' lone goal of the game. 

Another significant factor in this game that was detrimental to the Sharks were missed calls by the officials, including a missed interference by Max Pacioretty in the first and embellishment by Jonathan Marchessault that the refs somehow didn't notice. This was at least the third game this season that the officials seemingly favored the Sharks' opponents when making calls. The officials didn't call a penalty against the Golden Knights until 25 seconds remaining in the game, which was ridiculous. In addition, Tomas Hertl had a few heated altercations with the officials at the end of the second period. 

Other than Dubnyk starting in net, the only major change to the Sharks' lineup was Rudolfs Balcers' return after not playing in their previous miniseries in Anaheim. 

In all, the result was disappointing, but it could've been worse. The reality is that the Golden Knights are one of the top teams in the entire NHL with very few flaws. On the other hand, the Sharks are still performing fairly well as of late and should continue to improve from here. The second game in this current miniseries in Vegas is on Wednesday at 7 pm PT, with Devan Dubnyk hopefully starting in net. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL app 

Sharks Game 25 Recap: Sharks 3, Ducks 1 (3/13/21)

 The Sharks defeat the Ducks 3-1 to win their third straight game and sweep the weekend miniseries in Anaheim. 

The scoring came in every period for the Sharks, starting in the first by Evander Kane finding a hole on Ryan Miller. This was Kane's third-straight game scoring a goal, and he now leads the team with 23 points. 

Early in the second, Max Jones ties the game for the Ducks, but San Jose answers back shortly after with one from Kevin Labanc to retake the lead. Tomas Hertl made an unbelievable diving wraparound pass to Labanc to make it 2-1. The Sharks added extra insurance to their lead in the third on Dylan Gambrell's first goal of the season. Gambrell had several attempts in front of the net this season and finally got one to find the back of the net. In addition, Mario Ferraro, Ryan Donato, and John Leonard each recorded one assist in this game. 

Martin Jones was excellent in net against the Ducks Saturday night, stopping 26 of 27 shots against. One of his best saves came in the first period, which was a diving stop on a 2-on-0 opportunity for the Ducks. Jones has shown that he is more likely to thrive when starting periodically in net compared to having multiple consecutive starts.

Team Teal had another great all-around effort in their second game of their weekend miniseries in Anaheim and capitalized on a struggling Ducks team all miniseries long. This has been their first miniseries sweep this season, and their record now stands at 11-11-3 and a .500 win percentage. Over the Sharks' past few games, the team has come together and bought into the system, which has led to amazing results. Not to mention Kurtis Gabriel's presence has the Sharks firing on all cylinders. 

Next up, the Sharks travel to Vegas to play the Golden Knights on Monday and Wednesday. Like every other matchup against the Knights, this will be no easy task for the Sharks. Both games on Monday and Wednesday start 7 pm PT, and T-Mobile Arena is expected to allow more fans in attendance than in the past few weeks starting this coming week. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL app

Sharks Game 24 Recap: Sharks 6, Ducks 0 (3/12/21)

 Six different Sharks find the scoresheet as San Jose shuts down the Ducks 6-0. 

Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier both made their return to the lineup tonight and each recorded a goal and assist. Hertl's goal came in the first period while Meier's goal was one of four consecutive goals in the third period. In addition, Kevin Labanc gets a goal and assist tonight after being benched in the third period of the Sharks' previous game on Monday, in which his goal came towards the middle of the third period. 

Evander Kane scored his tenth of the season early in the second period and tallies an assist on Labanc's goal in the third along with some great passing plays. Brent Burns also made some incredible passes in this game, recording two assists on the night. 

Kurtis Gabriel engaged in a scrap for his third consecutive game in the first, this time against Nicolas Deslauriers. Gabriel was fired up after the tilt when headed to the box with a few cuts on his face. He has added more grit and toughness to this Sharks team, especially in San Jose's past few games. 

Erik Karlsson scored his second goal of the season early in the third on a rocket from the point, and something about EK65 scoring goals hits different. Later in the third after John Gibson was pulled, Fredrik Handemark topped off the Sharks' scoring with his first NHL goal. Logan Couture, Matt Nieto, and Mario Ferraro each tallied one helper in Team Teal's shutout and high-scoring affair. 

Two of the Sharks' six goals tonight came on the power play, which has seen a huge improvement over their past few games compared to the rest of their season so far. 

Devan Dubnyk had undoubtedly his best performance tonight against the Ducks, recording his first shutout of the season and the 33rd shutout of his career. He only needed 34 saves to do so and should be starting more games in net over Martin Jones at this point moving forward. 

This was also the Sharks' first win streak this season. Tonight's win felt absolutely amazing with so many positives from the Sharks offensively, defensively, and in goal. I hope they can continue to play this well down the stretch, but we'll have to wait and see. Team Teal wraps up its current miniseries against the Ducks tomorrow at 7 pm PT. 

In other news, the Sharks-Golden Knights game originally scheduled for February 25 that was postponed due to COVID protocol has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 23 at 6 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL app

Sharks Game 23 Recap: Sharks 3, Blues 2 (OT) (3/8/21)

 The Sharks come from behind to defeat the Blues 3-2 in overtime to close out their current homestand and end their three-game skid. 

The beginning of this game saw another tilt involving Kurtis Gabriel, this time against Kyle Clifford. Their fight stemmed from discussions they had during warmups. There were plenty of huge swings between the two before they were escorted to the box for five minutes each. 

Scoring in the first period was limited to Niko Mikkola's first NHL goal for the Blues to give them a 1-0 advantage. The Sharks tied the game at one in the second period on Marc-Eduoard Vlasic's first goal of the year, with assists from Ryan Donato and Patrick Marleau. It was a marvelous play and great to see Pickles go top shelf  and get on the scoresheet. St. Louis got their lead back late in the second on a tip-in by Brayden Schenn originally shot by David Perron to make it 2-1 Blues. 

San Jose had difficulty staying out of the penalty box for the first two periods. Most notably, Kevin Labanc took two consecutive penalties in the second for high-sticking and tripping. As a result, Labanc was benched in the third period and the Sharks stayed out of penalty trouble for the rest of the game. 

Team Teal ties the game at two in the third on Logan Couture's team-leading 13th goal of the season. There was an official review following Couture's goal to see if there was goaltender interference or a distinct kicking motion, but it remained a good goal. Assisting on the game-tying goal were Ryan Donato and Rudolfs Balcers. Balcers was arguably the best forward on the ice last night. This goal ultimately sent the game to overtime, where Evander Kane scores the game-winner 41 seconds in on a beautiful feed from Erik Karlsson, completing the Sharks' comeback.

Devan Dubnyk was also a significant factor keeping the Sharks in this game, stopping 24 of 26 shots against for a .923 save percentage. In addition, the Sharks' penalty kill has been strong in this game and as of late. 

The Sharks finished their latest stretch of home games with a 2-4-1 record, considering they faced some tough opponents during this homestand. Their next game isn't until Friday against the Ducks in Anaheim, which is the first of their next four games on the road in Anaheim and Vegas. Tomas Hertl has been taken off the NHL's COVID Protocol list and is expected to be available for the Sharks' next game. 

Other News & Notes: 

• The Sharks have reassigned forwards Noah Gregor and Alex True to the Barracuda in the AHL. 
• The NHL has reached a seven-year deal with ESPN to become one of their US broadcast partners starting next season. This comes as the NHL's current deal with NBC is set to expire after this season. I find this new broadcast deal exciting as it will help grow the game of hockey and reach wider audiences in the US. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL app, Sportsnet Canada 

Sharks Game 22 Recap: Golden Knights 4, Sharks 0 (3/6/21)

 The Sharks couldn't figure out Marc-Andre Fleury as they were shut out 4-0 by the Golden Knights Saturday night, getting swept in this weekend miniseries. They only have one win in their current and longest homestand this season and two home wins all season. What's more humiliating is that the Golden Knights now have three wins at SAP Center this season, more than the team that calls SAP Center home. 

Scoring came in every period from the Golden Knights: one from Mark Stone, two from Alex Tuch, and one from Reilly Smith. All Marc-Andre Fleury needed was 24 saves to win it and record a shutout for the Knights. Vegas has been one of the top teams in the NHL this year, and they've been performing that way for much of the season, not just last night. The Knights are also a popular favorite to win the Stanley Cup this year among many NHL fans and experts. 

As for the Sharks, other than their lack of offense in this game, Timo Meier was a late scratch before the start of this game as he is dealing with a lower body injury; he is listed as day-to-day. Devan Dubnyk wasn't the main issue as he recorded 28 saves and made some great stops throughout this game. 

With the Ducks 5-4 OT win over the Avalanche, the Sharks now find themselves in last place in the West Division. I'm really hoping the Sharks can pull out of this and get back into the thick of the playoff race. I am usually pretty confident and optimistic when it comes to the Sharks, but more of reality has set in and I have lost some of that confidence and optimism I previously had for them. However, I still haven't given up on Team Teal and remain heavily invested in them. There are plenty of games left to be played this season, and anything can happen between now and the beginning of May. 

The Sharks' next game is on Monday as they take on the St. Louis Blues to close out their current homestand at 6 pm PT. One major change with the Blues since the Sharks last played them is that St. Louis recently got Vladimir Tarasenko back in their lineup after recovering from offseason surgeries.

On a side note, the Golden Knights were kicked out of their hotel in San Jose the other night. The reason for this is that the Fairmont Hotel in Downtown San Jose, where the Golden Knights and many NHL teams stay at if and when they play the Sharks at SAP Center, filed for bankruptcy and shut down effective immediately for the next few months. This was kind of funny when I first heard the headline and given the unusual circumstances involving one of the Sharks' biggest rivals, but at the same time, it is no laughing matter when it comes to the Fairmont San Jose itself. Hopefully everything surrounding this situation gets sorted out properly and without any additional drama. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL app

Sharks Game 21 Recap: Golden Knights 5, Sharks 4 (OT) (3/5/21)

 The Sharks' comeback effort falls short as they end up losing 5-4 in overtime to the Vegas Golden Knights. 

Despite the unfavorable outcome, the Sharks played a great game and were very much in it, even though they trailed 3-0 early in the second period. 

 Besides two quick goals from Vegas in the first period, there was an apparent interference by Max Pacioretty on Logan Couture which the officials somehow missed, leading to a scuffle between the two players and Logan Couture going to the sin bin for roughing. Couture was fired up by this non-call and responded the way he should've to that interference non-call. For some reason, the refs have been favoring the Sharks' opponents in their officiating recently, and it doesn't make any sense.

The Sharks' comeback began towards the middle of the second period when Brent Burns scored on the power play to put the Sharks on the board. At the time the Sharks' first goal was scored, no one realized it had happened until it went under further review and the NHL's situation room in Toronto took a closer look at it, having hit the post and crossed the goal line for a split second. Assisting on the first Sharks goal were Timo Meier and Ryan Donato. Later on in the second, Matt Nieto tallies his fourth of the season to put the Sharks within one. In addition, Erik Karlsson records his first primary assist of the game. Through two periods, the Sharks went from trailing by three early in the second to now trailing by one. 

Right as the third period began, Kurtis Gabriel and Ryan Reaves dropped the gloves and went at it, which looked fairly even. I would've preferred Gabriel knock out Reaves, but we didn't get that exactly. The two were exchanging words pregame, which eventually led to them dropping the gloves. As they headed to the box for five minutes each, they continued to chirp each other from there. It would aslo be a matter of time before Kurtis Gabriel's skate catches the inside of Ryan Reaves' leg and Reaves had to be carried off the ice.

Just 26 seconds into the third period, Alex Tuch scores to extend the Knights' lead to two. Roughly six minutes later, Logan Couture scores to put the Sharks back within one. Erik Karlsson gets his second primary assist of the game on the Couture goal, while Evander Kane gets the secondary assist. With about a minute remaining in regulation, Kevin Labanc has a breakaway chance and pokes it past Oscar Dansk to tie the game at four. 

Labanc's unbelievable game-tying goal ultimately sends the game to overtime. It wasn't long before defensive miscues led to Max Pacioretty scoring the game-winner for the Golden Knights. The great news is that the Sharks got a point out of this game, and it could've been worse. We saw a great overall effort by the Sharks down the stretch, but they didn't get their desired outcome. 

Martin Jones started in net, but was pulled early in the second after he gave up three goals. Devan Dubnyk finished the rest of this game and performed well, stopping 17 of 19 shots against. This was the fifth time in 15 starts this season that Martin Jones has been pulled from the net. 

Before the start of last night's game, Marcus Sorensen was unavailable as he joined Tomas Hertl on the NHL's COVID Protocol list. Speaking of Hertl, he will be out for the Sharks' next two games before he can be removed from COVID Protocol and be placed back in the Sharks' lineup. 

San Jose's current miniseries against the Golden Knights will resume tonight at 7:30 pm PT. Looking ahead at their schedule, Team Teal will be playing every Friday and Saturday for the next six weeks. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL app

Joachim Blichfeld Suspended Two Games

 The NHL Department of Player Safety has suspended Sharks forward Joachim Blichfeld two games without pay for an illegal check to the head of Nathan MacKinnon in the third period the other night. 

For anyone who saw the hit that Blichfeld laid on MacKinnon last night, this punishment shouldn't come as much of a surprise. The NHL DoPS also ruled that MacKinnon's head was "the main point of contact" and the hit was "avoidable." 

Blichfeld only had 5:21 of ice time in the Sharks' previous game before he was ejected after being assessed a match penalty and a five-minute major. The disciplinary actions handed to Blichfeld were a bit harsh considering that he isn't an NHL regular, having only played in four NHL games last season before Wednesday's game against the Avalanche. 

At the end of the day, the NHL has been and is still aiming to eliminate head shots, and the league will come down hard on anyone who makes contact with another player's head regardless of players' disciplinary histories. 

Source: NBC Sports Bay Area/California

Sharks Game 20 Recap: Avalanche 4, Sharks 0 (3/3/21)

 The Sharks basically had the opposite of the other night as they were shut out by the Avalanche 4-0. 

The first period was fairly quiet for both teams, but as the game progressed, it seemed to get further away from the Sharks. Their best scoring chance of the entire game was late in the second period when Evander Kane's shot hit the goalpost. 

As for the Avalanche, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog each recorded four points in this game.  Rantanen accounted for the first and last goals of the game in the second and third periods respectively and assisted on the first two goals of the third period by Sam Girard and Gabe Landeskog. In addition to his goal in the third, Landeskog assisted the other three goals scored by the Avalanche in this game. 

Another significant factor contributing to the Sharks' loss last night was Joachim Blichfeld's shoulder check to the head of Nathan MacKinnon. Blichfeld made his season debut for the Sharks in this game, and it will be best remembered by him getting a five-minute major and a match penalty for his actions against MacKinnon in the third, although I'm pretty sure the hit wasn't intentional. The severity of Nathan MacKinnon's injury after that hit is unknown at this time, and this will also play a factor in the disciplinary actions handed to Blichfeld by the NHL Department of Player Safety, which we will find out in the coming days. I would be shocked if Blichfeld doesn't get suspended at least a game or two. I also wonder whether it was a mistake for the Sharks to call up Joachim Blichfeld from the Barracuda and insert him in the lineup so soon. Hope Nathan MacKinnon isn't out for an extended period of time after that hit by Blichfeld. 

Despite the losing effort, Martin Jones shouldn't be blamed for the result of last night's game, recording  34 saves and keeping the Sharks in it for a significant portion of the game. When there is a lack of offense, it becomes very difficult to win games. The Sharks' offense has been bipolar for a good chunk of this season, scoring a bunch on certain days while being absent on others. In addition, with the absence of Tomas Hertl, San Jose has been struggling in the faceoff circle during the past few games and hasn't been winning too many faceoffs. 

The Sharks' record stands at 8-10-2 through 20 games this year and won't face the Avalanche again until late April when they will be playing each other for four straight games through early May. Maybe the Sharks should continue to wear their Heritage jerseys like they did on Monday for as long as possible because they seem like a good luck charm for them. In the meantime, Team Teal's next miniseries is on Friday and Saturday against the Golden Knights. Puck drop for each of their next two games is at 7:30 pm PT, and the Sharks will be wearing their Reverse Retro jerseys for the first time this weekend. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL app

Sharks Game 19 Recap: Sharks 6, Avalanche 2 (3/1/21)

 This has to be the Sharks' best win they've had all season as they scored six unanswered goals to defeat the Avalanche 6-2. 

It all began when the Sharks were trailing 2-0 through the first 30 minutes of last night's game. At this point it seemed like we would be in for a long night, but the opposite occurred. It went as follows: 

• Radim Simek scores his first goal of the season to put the Sharks on the board at the 6:13 mark of the second period. Assisting on the play were Marc-Eduoard Vlasic and Rudolfs Balcers. 
• Kevin Labanc scores to tie the game at two roughly ten minutes later, getting helpers from Evander Kane and Logan Couture. 
• Early in the third, Rudolfs Balcers is credited with his second goal of the season to give the Sharks their first lead of the game after Nazem Kadri appeared to have put it in his own net. Assisting on the play were Dylan Gambrell and Timo Meier. 
• Erik Karlsson scores his first goal of the season at the 7:53 mark in the third to increase the Sharks' lead to two. This one felt the best after all the adversity Karlsson has gone through this season so far, playing like the Erik Karlsson we all know and love. 
• John Leonard scores an absolute beauty on the breakaway a few minutes later for his third goal of the year to extend the lead to three. In addition, Timo Meier records his third assist of the night. 
• Evander Kane finds the empty net with about a minute remaining to seal the deal for the Sharks, with Brent Burns getting an apple on the empty-netter. 

Besides the six unanswered goals, Martin Jones had arguably his best performance of the season, stopping 33 of 35 shots from the Avalanche and equating to a .943 save percentage. 

Alex True made his season debut last night, recording two shots, one hit, and four penalty minutes.

A huge theme in this game was greater production from more of the defense corps, not just Brent Burns. Overall, this win felt amazing, and I really hope the Sharks can keep up their level of production that we saw last night for as long as possible. They are now 8-9-2 on the season and still have opportunities to gain more ground in the West Division and turn their season around. Their next chance to do so is tomorrow night against the Avalanche at 7:30 pm PT. 

Other Sharks news: 

• Logan Couture was named the NHL's West Division First Star of February along with medical assistant Martha Godinez of San Jose. 
• Joachim Blichfeld, Joel Kellman, Josef Korenar, Nick DeSimone, and Kurtis Gabriel have been assigned to the taxi squad in a flurry of roster transactions announced today. In addition, Stefan Noesen, Sasha Chmelevski, Noah Gregor, Alexei Melnichuk, and Nicholas Meloche have been sent down to the Barracuda in the AHL.
  

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL app