Sharks 2022-23 Game 4 Recap: Blackhawks 5, Sharks 2 (10/15/22)

 The Sharks scored the first two goals but proceeded to allow five unanswered as the lowly Chicago Blackhawks earn their first win of the season on Doug Wilson Tribute Night 5-2. 

This was terrible. In fact, I didn’t watch this game as I was out last night attending a college football game. I will give this recap based on highlight reels and notes. 

Let’s begin: The Sharks scored the first two goals of the game in the first period via Nico Sturm and Erik Karlsson to lead 2-0 at the end of one period. Erik Karlsson and Mario Ferraro picked up assists on the first Sharks goal, while Logan Couture and Steven Lorentz picked up assists on the second Sharks goal. 

Like in the first three games, the Sharks had yet another lazy second period. In addition, they gave up goals to Jonathan Toews and two shorties to Sam Lafferty to now trail 3-2 through two. 

To make matters worse, the Blackhawks added on two more goals in the third period via Taylor Raddysh and Jason Dickinson. 

Kaapo Kahkonen made 20 saves, but it wasn't entirely his fault why this game went the way it did. 

The biggest positive from this game is the Sharks honoring Doug Wilson with a pregame ceremony and raising his banner to the rafters. Both the Sharks and Blackhawks also wore #24 during warmups to honor Doug Wilson. 

My and everyone else's expectiations for this year's Sharks team were low, but they look worse than I had anticipated. On a more positive note, the college football game I was at last night certainly went better than this game, and the Dodgers getting eliminated in the MLB postseason helped ease the pain from the Sharks' first four games of this season. 

Next up, Team Teal will embark on a five-game road trip to the east coast, specifically to New York and Philadelphia, with their first stop in New York against the Islanders on Tuesday at 4:30 pm PT. My confidence in this Sharks is now at an all-time low, but I will still watch games and follow them closely because I love them to death and cling to the hope that they'll turn things around at some point. 

Source: NHL App 

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Sharks 2022-23 Game 3 Recap: Hurricanes 2, Sharks 1 (10/14/22)

 The Sharks lose a close one to the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1in their actual home opener and in Brent Burns’ return to the Tank. 

This was certainly an interesting one, despite the pretty-much-expected undesirable end result. On a more positive note, the Sharks scored first late in the first period on a no-look shot from Evgeny Svechnikov for his first goal in teal. Jaycob Megna and Erik Karlsson were credited with the apples on the Sharks’ only goal of the game. 

The Canes tied the game at one late in the second period via Martin Necas. As for the Sharks in the second period, the offense practically did nothing as they left James Reimer to do all the work to keep the Sharks afloat, and the team was outshot significantly. 

Late in the third period, Noah Gregor and Jalen Chatfield dropped the gloves and fought near center ice, but it wasn't much of a fight as Chatfield quickly took down Gregor. With just under two minutes remaining in regulation, Sebastian Aho redirected a shot from Brett Pesce past James Reimer for the game-winning goal for the Hurricanes. 

James Reimer was great in net for this goaltending duel despite the loss, recording 33 saves. 

San Jose honored Brent Burns in his return to SAP Center with a great pregame tribute and a well-deserved standing ovation from the crowd.

This was nothing more than the Sharks beating themselves, which we have all grown accustomed to many times over the past few seasons. They are now winless in their first three games of the season, and tomorrow night would be a perfect time for the Sharks to get their first win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Doug Wilson Tribute/Banner Raising Night, with puck drop at 7 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App 

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Sharks 2022-23 Global Series Game 2 Recap: Predators 3, Sharks 2 (10/8/22)

 The Sharks performed better in the second game of the Global Series, but their efforts weren’t enough as they lose to the Predators 3-2 and get swept in this two-game set in Prague. 

San Jose opened the scoring in the first period with a goal from Luke Kunin off his own rebound on the man advantage against his former team. Oskar Lindblom and Mario Ferraro picked up assists on the first goal by Kunin. 

The Predators answered back early in the second period via Nino Niederreiter, with the Sharks regaining their lead ten seconds later on Logan Couture's first goal of the season. Mario Ferraro recorded his second assist of the game, while Steven Lorentz picked up an assist on the Sharks' second goal. It was a few minutes after the Sharks scored their second goal of the game that things began to dismantle for them, as the Predators scored the next two goals via Filip Forsberg and Nino Niederreiter's second of the game to take their first lead of the game. As for the third period, Team Teal played catch-up and couldn't muster up a goal to save their lives. 

Kaapo Kahkonen was given the start in net in the second game of the Global Series and performed fairly well, making 15 saves. Head Coach David Quinn has yet to decide who will primarily be starting in net this season between James Reimer and Kaapo Kahkonen. In addition, during both Global Series games this season, the net seemed to dislodge more easily than in most games at NHL arenas. 

In all, the Sharks' offense showed up more so in the second game than in the first game of the Global Series in Prague, but it wasn't enough to secure a win. Despite losing these first two games, this year's Global Series in Prague created new experiences and unforgettable memories for many of the Sharks players and coaching staff, especially for Tomas Hertl playing in front of his family, friends, and fans in his hometown. On a side note, hopefully three of the Sharks' most promising young players, William Eklund, Thomas Bordeleau, and Ryan Merkley, can be inserted into the roster and getting some ice time in games sooner rather than later.

Next up, the Sharks return back home to San Jose, where they will have roughly five days to readjust, regroup, and get back into their regular routines before their official home opener on Friday against Brent Burns and the Carolina Hurricanes at 7:30 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App

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Sharks 2022-23 Global Series Game 1 Recap: Predators 4, Sharks 1 (10/7/22)

 The Sharks drop their first game of the 2022-23 season and the first of a back-to-back set as part of the NHL Global Series in Prague to the Nashville Predators 4-1. 

Things were pretty even between the Sharks and Predators through the first period, but the Preds took control during the rest of the game. Kiefer Sherwood scored one minute into the start of this contest to put the Predators on the board first, while none other than the hometown guy Tomas Hertl ties the game for the Sharks seven minutes later. Timo Meier and Luke Kunin picked up assists on the Sharks’ only goal of the game. 

Early in the second period, Nashville regained their lead on a goal from Eeli Tolvanen. Shortly after, Jonah Gadjovich and Mark Borowiecki dropped the gloves and got into a scrum at the corner, leading to five-minute majors for both Gadjovich and Borowiecki. Later on in the middle frame, Nino Niederreiter scored his first in a Preds uniform to extend the Preds' lead to two. The Predators capped off their victory in the first game of the Global Series late in the third on an empty-netter from Matt Duchene. 

James Reimer made some big stops in big moments, recording a total of 28 saves. However, the Predators' offense and Sharks' subpar defense didn't help his cause. 

Although the Sharks' showed flashes from last year's team in the opening game loss, this was a very meaningful and significant game for Tomas Hertl, who received an overwhelming amount of support from the crowd in his native Czech Republic. It was only fitting that he scored not only on his home turf, but the first goal of the season for the Sharks. 

Luckily this is only San Jose's first game of the new season. Team Teal is looking to bounce back against the Preds in the second and final game of the Global Series at O2 Arena in Prague tomorrow, with puck drop at 11 am PT. I will consider the Global Series in Prague a success for the Sharks if they can split this two-game set with the Predators tomorrow. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App 

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Sharks Defeat Eisbaren Berlin 3-1 in 2022 NHL Global Series Challenge

 The Sharks played their final exhibition game before the official 2022-23 campaign in interesting fashion, defeating Eisbaren Berlin 3-1 at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin. 

The Polar Bears scored the first goal in the second period via Giovanni Fiore before the Sharks tallied three unanswered soon after. The first two Sharks goals were scored by Tomas Hertl from Timo Meier and a deflection by Steven Lorentz on a shot from Erik Karlsson. The added insurance came in the third period via Luke Kunin from Mario Ferraro. Despite the Sharks dominating much of this game, Eisbaren put up a solid fight in this exhibition match. 

James Reimer made nine saves before he was replaced by Kaapo Kahkonen in the middle of the second period, who made nine saves as well. 

Although this game didn't have any significant meaning attached to it, this was still a fun game to watch, and exhibition games like this where an NHL game faces off against a top team in a different league overseas occur roughly once in a blue moon. As for Eisbaren Berlin, they have been the best team in the DEL, the top hockey league in Germany, for the past few seasons and are expected to remain that way this coming season. In all, the Sharks finished this preseason with a 5-1 record. 

San Jose opens their regular season with a home-and-home set on Friday and Saturday against the Predators in Prague, with each game starting at 11 am PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App 

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My 2022-23 NHL Regular Season Standings Predictions

 

The NHL regular season is just around the corner, and to prepare for the upcoming season, it's time to give my standings predictions. Like in the past two years, I will predict how each NHL team finishes at the end of the regular season in their respective divisions. However, I won't consider how many total points each team will end up with come the end of the regular season. As usual, the top three teams in each division make the playoffs, and two additional teams from each conference get in via the wild card. 

In addition, I don't expect every prediction of mine to be correct due to the NHL's wildly unpredictable nature. Due to how the past three seasons went for the Sharks and the moves they made this past offseason, I don't expect San Jose to be a playoff team, but I hope they prove me wrong and surprise many in the hockey world. Without further ado, presenting my 2022-23 regular season standings predictions: 

Atlantic

1) Tampa Bay Lightning

2) Florida Panthers

3) Toronto Maple Leafs

4) Boston Bruins

5) Ottawa Senators

6) Detroit Red Wings

7) Buffalo Sabres

8) Montreal Canadiens

Metropolitan

1) Carolina Hurricanes

2) New York Rangers

3) Pittsburgh Penguins

4) Washington Capitals

5) New York Islanders

6) Columbus Blue Jackets

7) New Jersey Devils

8) Philadelphia Flyers

Central

1) Colorado Avalanche

2) St. Louis Blues

3) Nashville Predators

4) Minnesota Wild

5) Winnipeg Jets

6) Dallas Stars

7) Arizona Coyotes

8) Chicago Blackhawks

Pacific 

1) Calgary Flames

2) Edmonton Oilers

3) Los Angeles Kings

4) Vegas Golden Knights

5) Vancouver Canucks

6) Anaheim Ducks

7) San Jose Sharks

8) Seattle Kraken 

Although my expectations for the Sharks are lower than before, I can't wait for another exciting and eventful NHL season!

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Sharks News & Notes (10/1/22)

 Nearly all of the Sharks' preseason games have wrapped up, in addition to a few updates worth discussing with the season less than a week away. Let's begin: 

Here's how the past four Sharks preseason games went down: 

• Sharks 5, Ducks 4 (9/27/22) 
• Sharks 3, Kings 1 (9/28/22) 
• Sharks 7, Golden Knights 3 (9/30/22) (Capped off by a Danil Guschin hat trick)
  
• Ducks 4, Sharks 1 (9/30/22) 

Team Teal's last exhibition game is Tuesday against Eisbaren Berlin in Berlin, Germany before they begin their regular season Friday in Prague. 

Update 1: Despite the Czech Foreign Ministry initially stating that Russian NHL players wouldn't be welcome in Prague during the Global Series games next week due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it will now allow Russian NHL players to participate in the Global Series games after all, which is the right decision. 

Update 2: After being added to the Sharks on a professional tryout and performing well during training camp, defenseman Scott Harrington was signed and added to the roster on a one-year, two-way deal worth $750k at the NHL level and $350k at the AHL level. 

In addition, the Sharks announced five new members of their hockey operations staff. They are as follows: 

• Domink Zrim, Director of Salary Cap Management/CBA Compliance (also co-founder of popular hockey business/transaction site CapFriendly) 
• A.J Bernstein, Hockey Analytics Coordinator 
• Martin Uhnak, European Scout (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Switzerland) 
• Cody Ward, Assistant Video Coach 
• Brian Ganz, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach 
• Stephen DiLustro promoted to Director of Strength and Conditioning 

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

Multiple sources contributed to this post. 

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