Sharks 2023-24 Game 58 Recap: Ducks 6, Sharks 4 (2/29/24)

 The Sharks and Ducks were pretty close in many ways during this game, but the Ducks maintained an edge for the entirety of this game and prevailed 6-4. 

The Sharks scored the first goal of the game via Anthony Duclair early in the opening period, with assists from Fabian Zetterlund and Nikita Okhotiuk, only for the Ducks to tie it on a redirection from Leo Carlson on the following shift and go ahead 2-1 on a shorthanded goal from Brett Leason soon after. 

Early in the second period, Anaheim went up by two via Alex Killorn. About five minutes later, the Sharks got back within one on Mike Hoffman’s  ninth goal of the season on the man advantage, with assists from Fabian Zetterlund and Mikael Granlund. Team Teal evened the game up at three on William Eklund’s ninth goal of the year, with assists from Anthony Duclair and Mikael Granlund. It didn’t remain tied for long, as the Ducks scored two power play goals from Frank Vatrano and Adam Henrique to go up 5-3. 

Anthony scored his second goal of the game in the third period on a 4-on-3 advantage to make it 5-4, with assists going to Mikael Granlund and Mike Hoffman. With 24 seconds remaining, Isac Lundestrom put this one away with an empty-netter to regain the Ducks’ two-goal lead. 

Kaapo Kahkonen recorded 24 saves on 29 shots against in the Sharks’ fifth straight defeat. On the other hand, Ty Emberson left the game and didn’t return after the second period due to injury concerns, and the Sharks placed Mackenzie Blackwood on the IR and called up Magnus Chrona form the Barracuda to back up Kahkonen for the time being. 

Next up, the Sharks will hit the road for their next two games to face Central Division teams, starting in Dallas against the Stars on Saturday at 5 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App 

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 57 Recap: Devils 7, Sharks 2 (2/27/24)

 The Sharks had a decent opening period but fell apart during the remaining two periods, as they get dismantled 7-2 by the New Jersey Devils.

The Sharks got off to a great start late in the first period, when Alexander Barabanov set up Nico Sturm for his fourth goal of the year to put them on the board heading into the first intermission. Mackenzie Blackwood exited the game with a few minutes remaining in the first period due to an undisclosed injury, with Kaapo Kahkonen taking over in the Sharks' net and Blackwood finishing his night with 13 saves. Early in the middle frame, the Sharks lost their lead by giving up to quick goals to the Devils via Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes. Timo Meier scored in his return to the Shark Tank to make it 3-1 Devils, only for the Sharks to challenge it for offside and the goal to be overturned. However, the Devils would regain their 3-1 lead soon after when Kevin Bahl wound one up and slapped one home for his first goal of the year. Things completely unraveled for the Sharks in the third period, with New Jersey scoring four more goals from Colin Miller, Brendan Smith, Dawson Mercer, and Nico Hischier to extend deficit to six goals. The Sharks were able to squeak in one more goal late in the third period on Justin Bailey's fifth goal of the season, with assists from Ryan Carpenter and Henry Thrun, but the hole was still too deep to climb out of for Team Teal. 

Kaapo Kahkonen compiled 24 saves on 31 shots against in the second and third periods in relief for Blackwood. 

The Devils have struggled at times this season, but they played with a greater desperation effort and are trying hard to get back into the playoff picture, so the way this game ended up playing out shouldn't come as much of a surprise. The Sharks conclude their current five-game homestand on Thursday, when they host the Anaheim Ducks at 7:30 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, San Jose Mercury News, NHL App 

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 56 Recap: Predators 4, Sharks 2 (2/24/24)

 A late comeback effort by Sharks was for not as they fall 4-2 to the Nashville Predators, as Team Teal is still searching for their first win in their Cali Fin alternate jerseys. 

San Jose was chasing this one from the get-go. The Predators struck first in the opening period via Kiefer Sherwood's first goal of the game. Nashville extended its lead to two late in the second period via Filip Forsberg on the Preds' power play. Team Teal began its comeback efforts early in the first period, with Mikael Granlund getting the Sharks on the board with his seventh goal of the season and Ty Emberson picking up the lone assist on this goal. About two minutes later, Kiefer Sherwood scored his second goal of the game to regain the Preds' two-goal lead. The Sharks weren't done yet, getting within one once again about seven minutes later on Filip Zadina's eighth goal of the season, with Jan Rutta recording the lone assist on the Sharks' second goal of the game. However, with 12 seconds remaining, Gustav Nyquist put this one away with an empty-netter to preserve Nashville's two-goal lead. 

Kaapo Kahkonen finished his night with 31 saves on 34 shots against. In other news, earlier this week, Jacob MacDonald was placed on waivers, cleared waivers, and was re-assigned to the Barracuda in the AHL. In addition, Givani Smith was activated from the injured reserve, while Marc-Eduoard Vlasic is currently day-to-day with an upper-body injury, with Kyle Burroughs taking the place of Vlasic in the Sharks lineup Saturday night versus the Predators. 

The Sharks put out a decent comeback effort in the third period at home against Nashville, but it wasn't enough to win, and I'm not shocked at all by the end result. Team Teal's current homestand continues on Tuesday, when they host Timo Meier and the New Jersey Devils at 7:30 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App, Sharks Audio Network, Curtis Pashelka via X 

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 55 Recap: Golden Knights 4, Sharks 0 (2/19/24)

 This afternoon matchup was completely one-sided as the Vegas Golden Knights shut out the Sharks 4-0 and sweep the season series in this once heated rivalry. 

The Golden Knights got off to a fast start in this one, scoring the first two goals early in the opening period via Michael Amadio and William Karlsson. Later in the first period, the Knights extended their lead to three on Mason Morelli’s first NHL goal in his first NHL game, which considering his backstory and surrounding circumstances, many of us could see this coming from a mile away. Vegas added one more late in the second period via Keegan Kolesar, with Mason Morelli recording an assist on this goal for his second NHL point. 

Mackenzie Blackwood recorded 22 saves on 26 shots against in the Sharks’ second straight defeat. In addition, Henry Thrun was activated from the IR and back in the lineup, while Logan Couture was placed in the IR. 

The Sharks’ offense had opportunities to find the back of the net today, but couldn’t execute. On top of that, officiating in this game was pretty bad, which certainly didn’t help the Sharks’ cause. Fortunately, the Sharks won’t have to face the Golden Knights again this season, but all we can do is pray on the Knights’ downfall and hope they don’t repeat as Cup champions this season. Team Teal has the next four days off before they host the Nashville Predators on Saturday at 7 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App 

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 54 Recap: Blue Jackets 4, Sharks 3 (2/17/24)

 It was a close match for the most part, but a last-second goal by Columbus near the end of regulation gives the Blue Jackets a 4-3 victory over the Sharks to spoil Team Teal’s Cali Fin jersey on-ice debut. 

The Sharks struck first early in the opening period on Anthony Duclair’s first goal of the game and tenth of the season. Later in the first period, the Blue Jackets took over for a bit, scoring their first two goals of the night from Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko to gain their first lead of the night. 

Early in the middle frame, Johnny Gaudreau scored to make it 3-1 in favor of Columbus, only for the Sharks’ coaching staff to challenge it for offsides and the officials to successfully overturn it. However, the Blue Jackets would get their third goal back about six minutes later via Dimitri Voronkov, only for Anthony Duclair to score his second goal of the game seconds after to put the Sharks back within one, with assists going to Fabian Zetterlund and Calen Addison. San Jose was able to even it up at three before the end of the second period when Fabian Zetterlund scored his 15th goal of the season on the power play, with assists going to Calen Addison and Mikael Granlund. 

The contest remained tied at three through much of the third period, and things appeared to be headed to overtime, but the Blue Jackets had other ideas, with Boone Jenner scoring the game-winner with 13 seconds left in regulation to give Columbus the win. 

Kaapo Kahkonen recorded 37 saves on 41 shots against in the tough loss to the Blue Jackets. In addition, Kevin Labanc was back in the Sharks’ lineup after he was a healthy scratch in their previous eight games before tonight. 

The Sharks' current five-game homestand continues on Monday when they host the Vegas Golden Knights at 1 pm PT. 

Sources: Sharks Audio Network, NHL App 

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 53 Recap: Sharks 6, Flames 3 (2/15/24)

 Big second and third periods, along with a career-best four-point night for Filip Zadina, propelled the Sharks to bounce back from last night in a 6-3 victory over the Calgary Flames.

Nazem Kadri got the Flames on the board first in the opening period, scoring on the rebound off of the initial shot by Martin Pospisil. The Sharks followed up a mostly quiet first period with three unanswered goals in the second period, starting with a patient goal by Mikael Granlund and a give-and-go scored by Justin Bailey. Filip Zadina recorded the assists on both of the Sharks’ first two goals of the second period and this game. Later in the second period, Luke Kunin scored his first goal of the game to give the Sharks a 3-1 lead. This goal was under review to ensure that the puck completely crossed the goal line, which was confirmed by the refs on the ice. However, the Flames cut the Sharks’ lead down to one via Mikael Backlund before the end of the second period. This goal was challenged by David Quinn for goalie interference, but the goal stood, and the Sharks were assessed a minor penalty for delay of game. 

Early in the third period, Filip Zadina scored twice for the Sharks to top off a career-high four-point performance. Justin Bailey assisted on both Zadina goals, while Nico Sturm assisted on the first Zadina goal, and Marc-Eduoard Vlasic assisted on the second Zadina goal. Later in the final frame, Luke Kunin scored his second goal of the game to put up the Sharks’ sixth goal tonight, followed by Andrei Kuzmenko scoring to squeeze in one more goal for the Flames. This one ended by Blake Coleman shoving Filip Zadina down onto the ice in frustration, resulting in a large scrum ensuing between players on both teams. 

Mackenzie Blackwood may have given up three goals to the Flames tonight, but his offense gave him a much-needed boost in the win, recording a total of 31 saves. 

The Sharks’ offense stepped up big time to lead Team Teal to a rather improbable win in Calgary, and this is always great to see. Hope to see more impressive performances and wins from this Sharks team, especially without their top two forwards in Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture. Next up, the Sharks return home to host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday at 7:30 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App 

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 52 Recap: Jets 1, Sharks 0 (2/14/24)

 The Sharks were blanked 1-0 by the Winnipeg Jets in their return from their All-Star break and extra week off. 

The Jets struck first in the opening period on a deflection by Morgan Barron, which ended up being the only goal needed to win this game. On top of that, Nico Sturm was hit into the end boards by Logan Stanley early in the third period and fell hard to the ice, knocking Sturm out of this game with yet another injury for Team Teal. 

Kaapo Kahkonen practically stood on his head throughout the entirety of this game, compiling 38 saves on 39 shots against, but was on the losing end of this one due to zero support from his offense. 

In addition, Mario Ferraro and Mikael Granlund were activated from the IR prior to this game and were back in the lineup tonight in Winnipeg. 

To be fair, I was unable to watch this game, and based on what I’ve heard about it, I have no regrets about it, especially with how lifeless the Sharks offense was in Winnipeg on Valentine’s Day. Next up, Team Teal travels to Calgary to face the Flames tomorrow at 6:30 pm PT. 

Sources: NHL App, Curtis Pashelka via X 

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Sharks News and Notes (2/12/24)

 The Sharks resume the remaining 31 games of their 2023-24 campaign this week, but before that happens, let's get you up to date on a few significant headlines surrounding Team Teal that have occurred recently: 

Right as the entire team and forward core started coming together and winning games, the injury bug bites again. Tomas Hertl reportedly re-aggravated a prior injury against the Sabres prior to the All-Star break, will undergo surgery to remove loose cartilage in his left knee, and will miss "several weeks." In addition, Logan Couture had a relapse of the lower-body injury that was nagging him for much of the first half of the season and is considered week-to-week. As a result, don't be shocked if the Sharks begin another lengthy losing streak and accelerate their tank for Macklin Celebrini in the coming weeks. 

In addition, Leon Gawanke was placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination last week. This was due to Gawanke determining that he would rather return to and play in his home country of Germany. He will play for Adler Mannheim of the DEL for the remainder of this season. 

Regularly-scheduled Sharks game reviews will return Wednesday after the Sharks visit the Winnipeg Jets on Valentine's Day.

Sources: San Jose Mercury News, NHL Discussion via Instagram 

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2024 NHL All-Star Weekend Recap (From the Sharks’ and My Perspective)

 The 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend has wrapped up, and as in year's past, I want to give my thoughts on select aspects of what went down at this year's NHL All-Star festivities in Toronto, along with how the Sharks' representative performed during the main event. 

Although the All-Star festivities have no implication on the regular season or the playoffs and is purely a revenue grab and for the fans, especially those who attend them, I caught most of the skills competition on TV on Friday and the entirety of the actual all-star game on Saturday. I want to start with how Tomas Hertl performed during the main event. Hertl was selected to Team McDavid during Thursday's All-Star Player Draft, who wore white jerseys and was led by Captain Connor McDavid, Assistant Captain Leon Draisaitl, and Celebrity Captain Will Arnett. He registered an assist in the first semifinal game on Team McDavid's first goal of the match scored by Boone Jenner. Team McDavid would come from behind to defeat Team MacKinnon 4-3 in a shootout to advance to face Team Matthews in the All-Star Game Final. As for the ASG Final, Hertl registered a goal late in the second half, but Team McDavid would lose to Team Matthews in the All-Star Game Final. None other than Auston Matthews was awarded the All-Star Game MVP in front of his home crowd in Toronto. Still a solid performance by Tomas Hertl in his second All-Star Game. 

A few of my other favorite moments from the 2024 NHL All-Star festivities include Michael Buble admitting that he took a micro dose of shrooms before the player draft and felt he was in Blades of Glory that night, which was hilarious, and Tate McRae from an eye candy standpoint. I wasn’t a fan of the All-Star jersey designs from this year, which were made in collaboration with Justin Bieber’s Drew House brand, but after seeing them on the ice during the main event, they grew on me a bit. In addition, it’s great that best-on-best hockey will be returning starting next year with the Four Nations Tournament between the U.S., Canada, Sweden, and Finland, and the NHL’s return to the Olympics in 2026 and 2030. 

Looking forward to more meaningful hockey and the trade deadline bonanza approaching soon! 

Sources: ESPN, NHL Discussion via Instagram

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