Sharks 2023-24 Game 9 Recap: Capitals 3, Sharks 1 (10/29/23)

 San Jose had a solid start, but the wheels fell off heading into the final period as the Sharks extend their skid to nine and conclude their first road trip of the season with a 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals. 

The Sharks ended their scoring drought from the past few games and get on the board first in the opening period on Luke Kunin's first goal of the year and in almost a year, with Ty Emberson recording his first NHL point with an assist on that first goal and Mario Ferraro recording the other assist. In the third period, with the way the Sharks have been playing lately, it came as no surprise that the Capitals stormed back with three goals from Dylan Strome, Tom Wilson, and Evgeny Kuznetsov to complete Washington’s comeback efforts. 

Mackenzie Blackwood received the nod in net for San Jose, totaling 39 saves on 41 shots against. He has been great in net  for the most part for Team Teal but hasn’t received much support on offense once again. 

In other news, Mikael Granlund was activated from the IR prior to this game, while Jacob Peterson and Thomas Bordeleau were reassigned to the Barracuda.

The Sharks 0-8-1 start to their 2023-24 campaign is now tied with the 1993-94 team for the worst start to a season in franchise history. I don’t have much else to say, except that this opening stretch of games this season has been the worst I have ever seen the Sharks perform in my life thus far (I wasn’t alive in the early 90s by the way). Team Teal will return home and are off for the next three days before hosting the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday at 7:30 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, Sharks Audio Network, ESPN, NHL App 

You can further support my blogs by checking out my merch (sample pictured below): CPF Store

Joe Thornton Officially Announces His Retirement From the NHL

 It was just a matter of time before it would happen, but it’s now official: Joe Thornton is officially retiring from the NHL. 

What a playing career it has been for Jumbo Joe: 1,714 regular season games played, 430 goals, 1,109 assists, 1,539 points, four-time all-star, Olympic gold medalist for Canada in 2010, and a Hart Trophy and Art Ross Trophy during the 2005-06 season as MVP and scoring leader in the NHL. His assist, point, and games played totals are good for seventh, 12th, and sixth all-time in the NHL. Thornton was drafted first overall by the Boston Bruins during the 1997 NHL Draft and played a remarkable 24 seasons in the NHL through the 2021-22 season. He was traded to the Sharks during the 2005-06 season and saw his greatest success during his 15 seasons with the Sharks before rounding out his playing career with one season each with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. 

During Jumbo's tenure with the Sharks, San Jose made the playoffs in all but two seasons. He has everything you could ask for in his hall-of-fame-worthy resume except for a Stanley Cup victory, which the closest he came to that was in 2016 when the Sharks made it all the way to the Cup Final but lost to the Penguins in six games. Thornton also helped the Sharks win the Presidents' Trophy in 2008-09 and reach the conference finals in 2010, 2011, and 2019. 

This season and much of last season, Joe Thornton his been involved with and around the Sharks, doing whatever he can to help this team move forward in their rebuild. He is expected to be the next player that the Sharks will retire his jersey and raise to the rafters at SAP Center, which I anticipate will be scheduled within the next two to three seasons. In all, Joe Thornton is an absolute hockey legend, one of the greatest San Jose Sharks of all time, and one of my favorite Sharks of all time. It has been a complete joy watching his NHL playing career pan out, especially when he was one of the faces of the Sharks from 2006 to 2020. 

Sources: ESPN, Multiple Sources via Twitter/X

You can further support my blogs by checking out my merch (sample pictured below): CPF Store

Sharks 2023-24 Game 8 Recap: Hurricanes 3, Sharks 0 (10/27/23)

 The Sharks get shut out for the second game in a row, this time by the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0. 

The Hurricanes teed things off in the first period on two goals by Teuvo Teravainen. Early in the second period, Nico Sturm took a shot from the point to the side of his head in a scary incident, was down for a bit, and helped to the dressing room. Luckily, Sturm was able to return to the game later that period. 

Teuvo Teravainen completed the hat trick in the third period with his third goal of the game, and Teravainen’s hat trick was all that was necessary for the Hurricanes to hand the Sharks their eighth straight loss. 

Kaapo Kahkonen was given the nod in net for Team Teal against the Canes tonight and was the primary factor keeping the Sharks in this game, recording a total of 36 saves. The Sharks’ offense came up empty once again, with William Eklund and Jan Rutta leading the team with three shots each. This Sharks team has mustered only eight goals in their first eight games of this season. We knew they would have trouble scoring goals this season, but this is still a very troubling sign. In addition, Marc-Eduoard Vlasic and Ryan Carpenter were back in the Sharks lineup, while Thomas Bordeleau and Matt Benning were healthy scratches. 

Team Teal concludes its first road trip of the season in Washington, D.C. against the Capitals on Sunday at 2 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, ESPN, NHL App

You can further support my blogs by checking out my merch (sample pictured below): CPF Store

Sharks 2023-24 Game 7 Recap: Lightning 6, Sharks 0 (10/26/23)

 It was complete and utter obliteration in this one by the Tampa Bay Lightning as they blank the Sharks 6-0. 

The Lightning got things going early in the first period on two quick ones by Brayden Point and Mikey Eyssimont. Tampa extended its lead to three on a two-man advantage via Steven Stamkos late in the first as well. 

 The Bolts weren’t done there, as they scored three more goals by Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul in the second period and Luke Glendening in the third. 

Mackenzie Blackwood started again in net for Team Teal but was simply left out to dry, making 16 saves before being subbed by Kaapo Kahkonen in the second period after giving up five goals. Kahkonen then recorded nine saves in relief of Blackwood. 

The Sharks came up empty-handed in Tampa tonight, and Team Teal’s best effort on offense came from Tomas Hertl, who led the team with four shots on goal. On the other hand, Alexander Barabanov was placed on the injured reserve and is currently week-to-week with a broken finger suffered during Tuesday’s game in South Florida. In his place, Ryan Carpenter was called up from the Barracuda. 

In short, the Sharks were outworked and out-skilled by the Lightning in Tampa tonight. San Jose will recover from this, and it seems like it will be an eternity before that happens, but crazier things have happened after long and tough stretches of games. Team Teal is back at it tomorrow, traveling to Raleigh to face the Carolina Hurricanes at 4 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, Sharks Audio Network, ESPN, NHL App 

You can further support my blogs by checking out my merch (sample pictured below): CPF Store

Sharks 2023-24 Game 6 Recap: Panthers 3, Sharks 1 (10/24/23)

 The Sharks have dropped their second road game of the season and still remain winless, losing to the Florida Panthers 3-1. 

Team Teal opened the scoring in the second period via Fabian Zetterlund on the man advantage on a great pass from William Eklund. Thomas Bordeleau collected the other assist on what would be the only goal scored by the Sharks in this game. In unsurprising fashion, the Panthers would take over from there, scoring the next three goals via Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart later in the middle frame and an empty-netter from Kevin Stenlund late in the third. 

Mackenzie Blackwood made his fourth start of the season for the Sharks, recording a total of 32 saves on 34 shots against. 

Besides the solid performances from Eklund, Zetterlund, and Blackwood, the Sharks had little to nothing else to show for in South Florida. Team Teal travels to Tampa to play the other Florida team, the Lightning, in their next game on Thursday at 4 pm PT. 

Sources: ESPN, NHL App 

You can further support my blogs by checking out my merch (sample pictured below): CPF Store

Sharks 2023-24 Game 5 Recap: Predators 5, Sharks 1 (10/21/23)

 The Sharks didn’t have a whole lot going for them in Nashville, as they drop their first road game of the season 5-1 to the Predators. 

The Predators got things going right away and were too much for the Sharks to contain. Nashville scored the first four goals of the game and they went as follows: Samuel Fagemo in the first, Tommy Novak and Kiefer Sherwood in the second, and Tommy Novak’s second of the game early in the third. Later in the third period, Tomas Hertl put the Sharks on the board with his first goal of the game, with assists from Mario Ferraro and Nikolai Knyzhov, only for Luke Evangelista to score soon after to regain the Predators’ four-goal lead. 

Mackenzie Blackwood was back in the crease for the Sharks against the Preds, recording a total of 29 saves. In addition, Luke Kunin and Kiefer Sherwood dropped the gloves during the first period, Marc-Eduoard Vlasic was benched halfway through the second period, and Ty Emberson made his NHL debut for Team Teal. On top of that, during the third period, Roman Josi had ran into Mackenzie Blackwood when trying to put the puck in the back of the net, and while Blackwood was down and the play was blown dead, Filip Forsberg body-slammed Blackwood. Luckily Blackwood was okay, but to make matters worse, neither Josi or Forsberg were penalized for their subsequent actions on what was a blatant goalie interference, and the Sharks had nothing to show for it in terms of any sort of retaliation. Absolutely ridiculous. 

Heading into this season, I already had little faith in and low expectations for this Sharks team, but man this team looks worse than I and anyone else had anticipated. It’s only five games into the new season, the Sharks are still searching for their first win, I am already massively disappointed, and I continue to lose more and more hope with every game. They will come out of this mess better and stronger, but it’ll probably be at least a few more years before that happens at this rate. 

Next up, the Sharks travel to Florida for their next two games, with their first stop in the Sunshine State in Sunrise to visit the Panthers on Tuesday at 4:45 pm PT. 

Sources: Sharks Audio Network, San Jose Hockey Now, ESPN, NHL App 

You can further support my blogs by checking out my merch (sample pictured below): CPF Store

Sharks 2023-24 Game 4 Recap: Bruins 3, Sharks 1 (10/19/23)

 The Sharks close out their season-opening homestand winless, losing 3-1 to the Boston Bruins. 

The Bruins kicked off the scoring late in the first period with two quick goals from Brad Marchand and James Van Riemsdyk. The second Bruins goal that was initially credited to Frederic should’ve been challenged for goalie interference after Kaapo Kahkonen was pushed into the net by the stick of James Van Riemsdyk in the process, but David Quinn and the Sharks coaching staff opted not to use their challenge. Earlier on in the first period, Milan Lucic checked Matt Benning near the blue line, making contact with Benning’s head and shaking him up. This hit resulted in Benning heading off to the dressing room to be spotted for a possible concussion, but he was able to return for the start of the second period. 

Late in the middle frame, the Bruins extended their lead to three on an unusual goal by David Pastrnak while being back-checked by Marc-Eduoard Vlasic. The Sharks finally got on the board in the third period after Anthony Duclair scores on the backhand and gets a lucky bounce off of Linus Ullmark for his first goal as a Shark. Tomas Hertl collected the lone assist on the goal by Duclair. 

Kaapo Kahkonen recorded 33 saves in the Sharks’ fourth straight defeat. The rest of the Sharks played better in front of Kahkonen tonight, but their efforts weren’t enough to get the win. 

Kevin Labanc drew back into the lineup tonight after being a healthy scratch in the Sharks’ first three games of the season. An initial report suggested that Labanc was being placed on waivers this morning, but this wasn’t the case. In addition, the Sharks re-assigned Henry Thrun to the Barracuda yesterday and placed Radim Simek on waivers earlier today. 

In all, the Sharks had their best performance and the most opportunities on offense tonight against the Bruins more than their first three games this season, but they have still yet to get over the hump during this tough stretch of games. With the Seattle Kraken’s 7-4 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, the Sharks stand alone as the only winless team remaining in the NHL this season. Next up, Team Teal embarks on its first road trip of the season, starting with the first stop on Saturday in Nashville against the Predators at 5 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, ESPN, Curtis Pashelka via Twitter/X 

You can further support my blogs by checking out my merch (sample pictured below): CPF Store

Sharks 2023-24 Game 3 Recap: Hurricanes 6, Sharks 3 (10/17/23)

 The Sharks played well for the first two periods, but fell apart in the third and allowed four straight goals from the Carolina Hurricanes to fall 6-3, dropping their third straight contest.

Team Teal got off to another great start early in the first period, as Fabian Zetterlund goes top corner for his first goal as a Shark, getting an assist from Tomas Hertl. The Hurricanes evened it up at one soon after via Seth Jarvis. Frederik Andersen was the starting goalie for the Canes, but he left the game while still early in the first frame after being hit in the mask with a shot, with Antti Raanta taking Andersen's place in the Canes net. Still in the first period, Jalen Chatfield laid a dangerous hit on Tomas Hertl into the boards, and Filip Zadina went right after Chatfield, with Zadina being the only player penalized during that scrum. It was great seeing Zadina stick up for Hertl during that moment.

Towards the midway point of the second period, Carolina went ahead on a Jaccob Slavin shorthanded goal, while Filip Zadina responded with a power play goal to even things up at two. Fabian Zetterlund recorded the assist on the Zadina power play goal. Later on in the middle frame, William Eklund scored his first goal of the season and first power-play goal in the NHL to reclaim the lead for San Jose. Tomas Hertl and Henry Thrun were credited with the assists on this third goal. Fast forward to the third period, when the Hurricanes scored four consecutive goals from Stefan Noesen, Seth Jarvis, Martin Necas, and Brett Pesce to gain complete control of this game. 

Mackenzie Blackwood received the nod in net and was the primary factor keeping the Sharks in it for most of this game, recording 36 saves on 42 shots against. He now has the record for the most saves by any Sharks goalie during his first two starts of the season after making 28 saves in the first two periods, bringing his total to 79. In addition, Marc-Eduoard Vlasic didn't play in this one due to a lower-body injury. 

The Sharks have began their 2023-24 campaign 0-2-1 thus far, which isn't any bit shocking considering their low expectations and the current state of their franchise. If they continue to play like they did against the Canes down the stretch of this one, wins will be few and far between for this Sharks team this season. Team Teal concludes its first homestand of the season on Thursday against the Boston Bruins at 7:30 pm PT. 

Sources: Sharks Audio Network, Curtis Pashelka via Twitter/X, NHL App 

You can further support my blogs by checking out my merch (sample pictured below): CPF Store

Sharks 2023-24 Game 2 Recap: Avalanche 2, Sharks 1 (SO) (10/14/23)

 The Sharks set the tone and controlled the tempo for most of the game, but things unraveled late in regulation as they would lose 2-1 in a shootout to the Colorado Avalanche. 

Despite the less-than-ideal end result, San Jose had plenty of great things going for them in tonight’s contest. The Sharks kicked things off with a bang as Thomas Bordeleau scores his first NHL goal off a deflection for the first goal of the game. Assists were credited to Matt Benning and Mike Hoffman, the latter’s first point as a Shark. 

The game managed to stay 1-0 Team Teal for most of regulation mainly due to the Sharks’ excellent penalty kill. However, late in the third period with less than two minutes remaining, it wouldn’t stay this way as Cale Makar would score to tie it at one to force bonus hockey. The difference-maker came in the skills competition, as Mikko Rantanen would score on his shootout attempt to win it for the Avs. 

The next biggest moment in this game was Mackenzie Blackwood’s first start in teal. Blackwood stopped a total of 51 shots in his Sharks debut, the most for a goalie making his debut with a team since the 1955-56 season and one shy of his career high. This is very impressive, and if he keeps this up, Mackenzie Blackwood should be the primary starter in net for Team Teal. 

In addition, Marc-Eduoard Vlasic exited the game after the first period due to what I believe is an undisclosed injury. Before this game, Mikael Granlund was placed on the IR and is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. In a corresponding move, Jacob Peterson was called up from the Barracuda. 

Overall, this game had an outcome all too familiar to this Sharks team, but there was plenty to be proud of. It was only a matter of time before Thomas Bordeleau would score his first NHL goal, and I’m stoked that he accomplished this huge feat in only the second game of the new season. Next up, the Sharks host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday at 7:30 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, San Jose Sharks PR, NHL App 

You can further support my blogs by checking out my merch (sample pictured below): CPF Store

Sharks 2023-24 Game 1 Recap: Golden Knights 4, Sharks 1 (10/12/23)

 The San Jose Sharks have officially played their first game of the 2023-24 regular season, falling 4-1 to the defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights. 

It’s great that Sharks hockey is back in full swing, but their season opener went about as I had expected it would go all along. Early on in the opening period, Kyle Burroughs and Keegan Kolesar dropped the gloves and engaged in a decent tilt after Burroughs laid a solid clean hit on Michael Amadio. Later on in the first period, Amadio scored to put the Knights on the board, while the Sharks responded with Filip Zadina’s first goal in teal, assisted by Henry Thrun and Tomas Hertl. 

The Golden Knights retook the lead late in the second period on goals from Nicolas Hague and Nicolas Roy, while Brayden Pachal sealed the deal early in the third period for Vegas to prevail 4-1. 

Kaapo Kahkonen was given the start in net for the Sharks’ season opener, recording 28 saves in the loss. 

In addition, William Eklund and Thomas Bordeleau made the Sharks’ opening night lineup, and their further development is one of the biggest things I am looking forward to this season for the Sharks. Team Teal's most recent waiver claim, Ty Emberson, also made the big-league roster but was a healthy scratch along with Nikolai Knyzhov and Kevin Labanc. On the other hand, Oskar Lindblom, Ryan Carpenter, and Jacob Peterson were a few notable names that will be starting this season in the AHL with the Barracuda. San Jose was without its captain Logan Couture to start the 2023-24 season, as he is currently week-to-week with a lower-body injury that was sustained during training camp. 

It also went about how I expected it to in the fact that the Golden Knights are fresh off of winning the Stanley Cup last season and the Sharks are rebuilding, creating plenty of mismatches. This is only the start of a tough eight-game stretch for the Sharks to kick off their 2023-24 season, with their next game on Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche at 7 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App 

You can further support my blogs by checking out my merch (sample pictured below): CPF Store

My 2023-24 NHL Regular Season Standings Predictions

 The preseason is coming to a close, and the start of the 2023-24 NHL regular season is only a few days away, so that can only mean one thing: time for my annual standings predictions! As per usual, I will give my regular-season standings predictions for every NHL division based on how I objectively see and feel about every NHL team heading into the new season. Compared to last season, I anticipate that some teams will bounce back and take the next step, while others will drop off. In addition, there are always at least a few surprises every season due to the general nature of the NHL, so I expect some of these predictions to be wrong at the end of the season. At the end of the day, these are just for fun and shouldn't be taken too seriously. Can't wait to see what's in store for the new NHL season!

Without further ado, let's begin: 

Atlantic Division:

1) Toronto Maple Leafs

2) Florida Panthers

3) Tampa Bay Lightning

4) Boston Bruins

5) Ottawa Senators

6) Buffalo Sabres

7) Detroit Red Wings

8) Montreal Canadiens

Metropolitan Division:

1) Carolina Hurricanes

2) New Jersey Devils

3) Pittsburgh Penguins

4) New York Rangers

5) New York Islanders

6) Washington Capitals

7) Columbus Blue Jackets

8) Philadelphia Flyers

Central Division:

1) Colorado Avalanche

2) Dallas Stars

3) Minnesota Wild

4) Winnipeg Jets

5) Nashville Predators

6) St. Louis Blues

7) Arizona Coyotes

8) Chicago Blackhawks

Pacific Division:

1) Vegas Golden Knights

2) Edmonton Oilers

3) Los Angeles Kings

4) Seattle Kraken

5) Calgary Flames

6) Vancouver Canucks

7) Anaheim Ducks

8) San Jose Sharks

 

You can further support my blogs by checking out my merch (sample pictured below): CPF Store

Sharks News & Notes (10/4/23)

 Nearly all of the Sharks' preseason games are in the books, and Team Teal made a notable waiver claim recently. It has been a bit since I last wrote a news & notes post, so let's dive in: 

The Sharks have recently claimed defenseman Ty Emberson off of waivers from the New York Rangers, and he is now a full participant at Sharks practices and training camp. Last season, Emberson scored seven goals and 20 assists for 27 points in 69 games for the Hartford Wolfpack of the AHL, ranking third on the Wolfpack among defensemen in points and assists and second among team skaters in plus/minus. In total, Emberson has 12 goals and 27 assists for 39 points in 132 AHL games with Hartford and the Tuscon Roadrunners.

Here's a quick recap of the preseason games the Sharks have played thus far heading into the 2023-24 season: 

Game 1: Sharks 5, Golden Knights 2 (9/24/23) 

Game 2: Ducks 4, Sharks 2 (9/26/23) 

Game 3: Ducks 4, Sharks 2 (9/27/23) 

Game 4: Kings 2, Sharks 1 (OT) (9/30/23)

Game 5: Sharks 2, Golden Knights 0 (10/3/23) 

Next up, The Sharks play their final preseason game on Thursday against the LA Kings in Salt Lake City before officially opening their 2023-24 regular season at home against the Vegas Golden Knights on October 12. 

UPDATE: Right after I initially published this post, the Sharks signed their late first-round pick from this year, Quentin Musty, to a three-year, standard entry-level contract. 

Sources: ESPN, Sharks + SAP Center App 

You can further support my blogs by checking out my merch (sample pictured below): CPF Store