San Jose Sharks report by Mary Walsh: Sharks Hire Mike Grier as GM

San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier addresses the news media at SAP Center in San Jose on Tue, Jul 5, 2022 (photo from nhl.com)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks announced on Tuesday that they have hired Mike Grier as the team’s fifth General Manager. Grier has the distinction of being the first African American to serve as a general manager in the NHL. Last season, he was a hockey operations advisor for the New York Rangers. His playing career spanned 1,060 games with the Oilers, the Capitals, the Sabres and the Sharks. He was an assistant coach at  St. Sebastian’s Prep School in Massachusetts, a scout with the Chicago Blackhawks, an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils, and a member of USA Hockey’s selection committee.

Grier has a lot to do before the start of the season. In two days, the Sharks will be at the NHL Draft. The Sharks also need a new coaching staff. The Sharks have missed the playoffs for three seasons in a row. Asked what his priorities were for improving the team, Grier said:

“I think we can improve in every facet, to be honest with you. There are some pieces on the roster that we like, that we would like to build around. But I think, overall, there’s not one spot in particular that I think needs work. The draft is No. 1, then we’ve got free agency coming up. We’ll have to dig into that, and Joe and I have already started on that a bit. Then development camp and a coach.”

While Grier did not have specific details to present on the draft or the coaching search, he did talk in detail about his goals for the team culture:

“To me it’s about people… Surrounding yourself with the right people, people who are passionate about their job, who love their job and are selfless, team-first people. That’s what culture means to me and as a general manager it’s for me to find those types of players on the ice and also surround myself with those type of hockey people in our hockey operations department.”

Sharks owner, Hasso Plattner, said in a press release: “Mike’s successful career on the ice speaks for itself, but what impressed me the most were his leadership qualities and his overwhelming desire to win. Mike is aware of the high standards of success that are expected in San Jose and is committed to help us quickly return to that level.”

Grier comes from a family of professional sports executives. His father, Bobby, worked in scouting, player personnel and as an advisor to the New England Patriots and the Houston Texans of the NFL. Grier’s brother, Chris, is the general manager of the Miami Dolphins. Grier described how his father prepared them for their future in the sports business:

“I think the main thing my father instilled in us was his work ethic. The time he put in, he’d often be off to work before we left for school. Sometimes he wouldn’t get home until after dinner or when we were ready to get in bed. So, just the time and effort it took, and his belief that you treat people the right way. If you want to have a winning franchise, it starts with how you treat people. His ability to never leave a stone unturned. Like he would stay up to all hours or go scout wherever it took, whatever he had to do to get the job done.”

Mary Lisa is a San Jose Sharks beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Part Ways With Boughner, Coaching Staff

San Jose Sharks head coach Bob Boughner (right) and assistant coach John Madden (left) talks to the team on Sun Nov 28, 2021 against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center in Chicago. The Sharks fired Boughner and his assistant coaches on Fri Jul 1, 2022 no replacements have been disclosed yet. (AP News file photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks have parted ways with Head Coach Bob Boughner and most of the coaching staff. The announcement came on Thursday, a week before the NHL draft begins. The Sharks announcement read, in part:

“Interim General Manager Joe Will announced today that team has relieved Head Coach Bob Boughner, Assistant Coaches John Madden and John MacLean, and Assistant video Coach, Dan Darrow of their responsibilities.”

No replacements have been named at this time, just as no replacement for Doug Wilson has been named yet. The Sharks announcement continued, saying:

“it has become apparent that the organization is in the process of an evolution,” said Will. “The bottom line is we have missed the playoffs for the past three seasons, which isn’t acceptable to our owner, our organization, or to our fans. As part of this evolution and evaluation, we felt it was in the best interest of the club to allow the next Sharks general manager to have full autonomy related to the make-up of the on-ice coaching staff moving ahead.”

It would be difficult to argue with this logic, but it is also difficult to ignore the timing. With no coaching staff and only an acting General Manager, the team appears deep in limbo with the 2022 draft fast approaching.

The Sharks concluded their announcement by thanking the coaching staff and recognizing that they worked hard despite unusual challenges that they faced with the team. They concluded by saying: “This change is not an indictment of their performance as much as it is a recognition of the complete organizational reset that we feel is in the best interest of the team at this point.”

The draft will start on July 7.

Sharks Shutout 3-0 by Kraken in Game 82

Seattle Kraken center Morgan Geekie (67) looks to pass the puck against San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns (88) at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Fri Apr 29, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Lisa Walsh

The San Jose Sharks were shutout 3-0 by the Seattle Kraken in the Sharks final game of the 2021-22 season. Yanni Gourde, Adam Larsson and Viktor Rask scored for the Kraken. Chris Driedger made 24 saves for the shut-out win. Kaapo Kahkonen made 28 saves in the loss.

After that game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said of the game: “We just couldn’t get it done tonight. I think you could probably see, it’s no secret, there wasn’t a lot of guys who were sharp.”

Boughner also talked about the season as a whole and what comes next:

“For us, it’s just trying to relish the good times that we’ve had this year and I think there has been plenty of them. I think we know we’re not in the spot that we want to be and we know there’s a ton of improvement and that’s on everybody. That’s not on the players, it’s not just on the players and the coaches it’s everybody. We’ll address that but I think everybody needs a little time away to decompress first.”

Yanni Gourde scored his 21^st goal of the season to give the Kraken the lead at 6:17. Dennis Cholowski led the play into the zone up the middle, then passed the puck to Karson Kuhlman on the right wing. Kulman passed it back to Gourde who was trailing Cholowski. As Cholowski screened Kahkonen, Gourde took the shot.

Adam Larsson made it 2-0 at 18:31. Jamie Oleksiak had the puck deep along the right wall and passed it up to Matty Beniers at the point. Beniers made a quick pass to Larsson on the left wing and he scored with a one-timer.

Victor Rask scored into an empty net to make it 3-0 at 19:08 of the third period. Assists went to Riley Sheahan and Will Borgen.

Timo Meier finished the season by blocking a shot to stop an empty net goal at the end of the game.

The Sharks took just one penalty and gave up three shots to the Kraken power play. The Kraken took two penalties close together in the second period, giving the Sharks a five-on-three for a little over a minute. The Sharks got three shots during that power play. In the first period, the Sharks were out-shot 12-4, but bounced back in the second with 11 shots, allowing just six. They lagged again in the third, being out-shot 13-9. The Kraken prevailed in the face-off circle at 58%.

Lane Pedersen was back in the lineup for a last look of the season. He had one shot, one hit and was 40% in the face-off circle in 9:53 of ice time. Jonathan Dahlen was also in the game Friday. He had one blocked shot in 7:32 of ice time.

The Sharks will start next season in Prague, Czech Republic. They will face the Nashville Predators in a pair of games October 7 and 8 as part of the 2022 NHL Global Series.

Sharks Fall 5-4 in OT to Oilers, Gregor Scores 2 Goals 26 Seconds Apart

San Jose Sharks goalie James Reimer (47) makes a save against Edmonton Oilers’ Jesse Puljujarvi (13) at Rogers Centre in Edmonton Thu Apr 28, 2022 (Canadian Press via AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 5-4 in overtime to the Oilers in Edmonton. Ryan McLeod, Kailer Yamamoto, Derek Ryan, Philip Broberg and Zach Hyman scored for the Oilers. Mikko Koskinen made 40 saves for the win. Noah Gregor, Scott Reedy and Nick Bonino scored for the Sharks, with Gregor scoring twice. James Reimer made 26 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said: “We ran into some penalty trouble, killed some penalties at the end of the game. It seemed like every time we got a lead, we squandered it. You know, and three on three is a dangerous game to play with that team.” On the other hand, he also mentioned some positives: “One of our better games offensively, you know, on the cycle, generating chances.”

Sharks Captain Logan Couture said: “Played in their end for the majority of the game, would have liked to score on a few more of the chances that we got but, yeah, tough one to lose.”

Noah Gregor scored his first of the game at 2:42 of the first period with a wrist shot from the circle. An assist went to Sasha Chmelevski.

Gregor scored again at 3:08. Gregor was trying to center the puck for Rudolfs Balcers, who was in front of the net. Instead, the puck went off of a defender’s skate and into the net. An assist went to Thomas Bordeleau.

Ryan McLeod got the Oilers on the board at 9:17 of the second period with a power play goal. Kailer Yamamoto redirected a shot from Evan Bouchard that did not hit the mark. McLeod was on hand to collect the rebound and put it away.

Yamamoto tied the game 2-2 at 12:52. Leon Draisaitl carried the puck in and then dropped it to Yamamoto for the shot. The puck squeezed through between Reimer and the post. Assists went to Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman.

Scott Reedy gave the Sharks their second lead of the game at 15:35, redirecting a shot from Brent Burns on the power play. Assists went to Burns and Logan Couture.

Derek Ryan tied the game 3-3 at 9:37 of the third period. Tyson Barrie sent the puck to the net and it was redirected by Ryan high in the slot. The puck then hit Jayson Megna’s skate and went pin-balling into the blue paint before slipping over the line.

Nick Bonino gave the Sharks their third lead of the game at 10:40 with a neat shot from low in the slot. He caught Couture’s pass from below the goal line. Assists went to Couture and Matt Nieto.

Philip Broberg tied the game 4-4 at 11:45 with a wrist shot from the circle. It was his first NHL goal. Connor McDavid set him up with a pass from all the way down by the post. Assists went to McDavid and Jesse Puljujarvi.

Zach Hyman scored the game winner 1:37 into overtime. He trailed Ryan-Nugent Hopkins into the zone. Nugent-Hopkins passed the puck to Hyman behind the Sharks defenders. Reimer could not get across in time to stop the shot om his stick side. Assists went to Nugent-Hopkins and Brett Kulak.

The Sharks out-shot the Oilers in every period except overtime. In the first, the count was 8-1 by the midpoint. In the face-off circle, the Sharks won 58% of the draws, with rookie Thomas Bordeleau winning 60% of his draws. The Sharks had one power play and scored with one shot. They had three penalties to kill, one a double-minor. They penalty kill gave up one goal and eight shots.

The Sharks will play their final game of the season on Friday in Seattle against the Kraken at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Fall 5-2 to the Ducks in Final Home Game of 21-22 Season

Anaheim Ducks left wing Max Comtois (44) gets a floating corner shot top shelf goal against San Jose Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen (34) at SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Apr 26, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks fell 5-2 to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. The Ducks got goals from Trevor Zegras, Max Comtois, Josh Mahura, and Zach Aston-Reese. Anthony Stolarz made 31 saves for the win. Brent Burns and Scott Reedy scored for the Sharks. Kaapo Kahkonen made 26 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about the loss:

“I just thought the longer the game went on, I was okay with our game, I really was. It felt like they capitalized on their chances and we didn’t. Stolarz played well. I just thought it was one of those games, it would have been nice to win our last home game but I think that we just couldn’t find that goal we needed early.”

Scott Reedy has now played 33 games with the Sharks and has six goals. He scored four of those since April 14, showing major improvement at the NHL level. Boughner talked about what Reedy brings to the team:

“He’s got a knack around that net. Sometimes you can’t teach that, that hand-eye. He sticks around there. He scored 18 in 30-something games in the American League, and he comes here and he’s got six all of a sudden. You’d like to see what he could do at this level for a whole year.”

Trevor Zegras gave the Ducks an early lead with a power play goal at 4:05. His shot went over Kahkonen’s shoulder on the short side and lodged between the net and the camera, so hardly anyone realized he had scored until they could not find the puck out on the ice. Adam Henrique got an assist.

At 6:47, Troy Terry seemed to score but the goal was called back after a review. The puck had been directed with a distinct kicking motion.

Max Comtois made it 2-0 for real at 5:26 of the second period. Comtois carried the puck into the zone and then dropped it back to a trailing Kevin Shattenkirk. Shattenkirk passed it back for Comtois to take the shot. The puck went up over Kahkonen’s shoulder on the short side, again. Assists went to Shattenkirk and Simon Benoit.

Sonny Milano made it 3-0 less than a minute later. Troy Terry brought the puck into the zone and then made a drop pass to Milano in the slot. Milano used a backhand shot to send the puck over Khkonen’s right shoulder and in. Assists went to Terrry and Dominik Simon.

Brent Burns got the Sharks on the board at 15:32 with a power play goal. It was his second shot from the middle of the blue line in just a few seconds. Assists went to Logan Couture and Thomas Bordeleau.

Scott Reedy brought the Sharks within one at 18:36, redirecting a shot from Jaycob Megna. Assists went to Megna and Sasha Chmelevski.

Josh Mahura made it 4-2 at 10:47 of the third. His shot went just past Kahkonen’s glove, off the post and in. Assists went to Milano and Comtois.

Zach Aston-Reese scored and empty net goal at 19:18, with an assist going to goaltender Anthony Stolarz.

The shot counts for the Sharks went down with each period. They started out 17-7 in the first, then were even at 10 in the second, and the Ducks out-shot them 14-6 in the third. That last number is misleading as the Sharks had a lot of chances and pressed hard to start the third, but hit some posts.

In the face-off circle, the Ducks prevailed, winning 52% of the draws. The Sharks had two penalties to kill and gave up the one goal and no other shots. They had three power plays and had four shots and one goal.

The Sharks will play next on Thursday in Edmonton against the Oilers at 6:00 PM PT.

Sharks Win 5-4 in SO Over Vegas, Bordeleau Scores Shoot Out Winner; SJ’s third win in last four games

San Jose Sharks right wing Timo Meier (28) congratulates Thomas Bordeleau (23) who scored the shootout goal against the Vegas Golden Knights at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas on Sun Apr 24, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won a nail-biter in Las Vegas Sunday, winning 5-4 in the shootout. Thomas Hertl, Nick Bonino (2) and Timo Meier scored for San Jose, and Thomas Bordeleau scored the shoot-out winner. James Reimer made 42 saves for the win. Chandler Stephenson, Max Pacioretty, William Carrier and Nicolas Roy scored for Vegas. Logan Thompson made 25 saves in the loss.

Thomas Hertl gave the Sharks a lead by cleaning up a rebound at 11:43 of the first period. Assists went to Alexander Barabanov ands Jaycob Megna.

Chandler Stephenson tied it at 14:23 on a power play, cleaning up a rebound from a Max Pacioretty shot. Assists went to Pacioretty and Alex Pietrangelo.

Pacioretty gave Vegas a 2-1 lead with a shot from the right circle at 7:46 of the second period. An assist went to Shea Theodore.

William Carrier made it 3-1 at 9:59 with a one-timer off a pass from Keegan Kolesar. Assists went to Kolesar and Nicolas Roy.

Nick Bonino cut the lead back down to one at 18:55, redirecting a Jaycob Megna shot. Ab assist also went to Matt Nieto.

Nicolas Roy made it 4-2 for Vegas at 6:35 of the third period with a shot off a William Karlsson pass. Assists went to Karlsson and Shea Theodore.

Nick Bonino scored his second of the night to make it 4-3 at 17:54 with a shot from the point.

Timo Meier tied the game 4-4 with one second left. Brent Burns took and initial shot from the blue line and Couture and Meier took turns trying to knock it into the net.

The game went through a scoreless overtime and into the shootout. The only skater to score was Sharks rookie Thomas Bordeleau, the sixth and final shooter.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday at home against the Anaheim Ducks at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Beat Blackhawks 4-1, Ten Sharks Earn Points

San Jose Sharks center Nick Bonino, center left, is congratulated by defenseman Brent Burns (88), center Thomas Bordeleau, center right, and center Scott Reedy (54) at the SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Apr 24, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Saturday. The Sharks showed some good depth in scoring, with ten Sharks in all earning points in the game. Jasper Weatherby, Tomas Hertl, Timo Meier and Nick Bonino scored for the Sharks. Kaapo Kahkonen made 27 saves for the win. Tyler Johnson scored for Chicago and Kevin Lankinen made 15 saves in the loss.

The Sharks announced the Bay Area media’s selections for end-of-year award winners after the game. Timo Meier was named player of the year, Jonathan Dahlen was named rookie of the year. Brandon Coe was named prospect of the year and James Reimer won for Media Good Guy.

On Saturday, the Sharks got goals from both Meier and Hertl, something that has not happened for a while. It is likely that the return of linemate Alexander Barabanov had something to do with that. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said that he would like to see Barabanov, a free agent this summer, return next season: “I think that that line works together, I think that he’s a guy that provides offense and, you know, this is a team that could use that. Now, I’m not on the business side, the numbers side, so that’s a different story but yeah, I like him as a player.”

The first goal of the game came from Jasper Weatherby and the Sharks’ all-rookie fourth line at 6:03. Sasha Chmelevski carried the puck in and around a defender before taking a shot. Scott Reedy picked up the rebound and sent it back at the net for Weatherby to redirect in.

The Blackhawks out-shot the Sharks 9-4 in the first period. They also beat them in the face-off circle, winning 56% of the draws.

Tomas Hertl made it 2-0 at 1:08 of the second period. Timo Meier carried the puck into the zone two-on-one with Hertl and made the pass just above the circle. Goalie Kevin Lankinen could not get across in time to stop Hertl’s shot. Assists went to Meier and Jaycob Megna.

Timo Meier added a third for the Sharks at 10:34. Meier and Alexander Barabanov entered the zone only to be blocked by Blackhawks. Meier pushed the puck through Alex Vlasic to Barabanov, who had to battle Seth Jones for control of the puck. Barabanov managed to move the puck to the net and Meier caught up to it at the corner of the net where he tapped it in with an outstretched stick.

Tyler Johnson broke the shut-out at 15:38. Jonathan Toews got away from Megna behind the net and made a backhand pass from just below the goal line. The pass got to Johnson up the slot for a clear shot. Assists went to Toews and Seth Jones.

The first penalty of the game came in the second period, and it went to the Blackhawks. The Sharks power play got one shot and gave up one short-handed shot. Chicago again out-shot the Sharks, 10-7, and beat them on the draw, winning 57% of the face-offs.

Nick Bonino scored on the power play to make it 4-1 at 6:19 of the third. With Scott Reedy screening the goaltender, Bonino had some time to pick his spot through traffic. Assists went to Brent Burns and Logan Couture.

The third period saw more penalties, with two for each team. The Sharks power play got the goal and three shots. Their penalty kill gave up three shots and had one short-handed shot. The final shot count was 28-19 Blackhawks and the final face-off tally was 28-18 Blackhawks.

The Sharks next play on Sunday in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Fall 3-1 to Blues, Gregor Scores Second in Three games

St. Louis Blues defenseman Nick Leddy, left, and defenseman Justin Faulk, right, battle for the puck against the San Jose Sharks left winger Rudolfs Balcers (92) in second period action at the SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Apr 21, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks the St. Louis Blues Thursday at SAP Center. Dakota Joshua, Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich scored for the Blues. Jordan Binnington made 20 saves for the win. Noah Gregor scored for San Jose and James Reimer made 25 saves in the loss. It was likely to be a tough game for the Sharks. The Blues have now won ten of their last eleven games and the Sharks have lost ten of their last eleven.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“You know, it was a challenge for us tonight, to try and match them. And you know there was times I thought we did a decent job but you’re not going to win a game scoring one goal and you’re not going to win against these guys if the power plays are 5-1 at the end of the night and you certainly aren’t going to win against these guys unless you’re best players are your best players. And all three of those things didn’t happen.”

Boughner talked about the development of forward Noah Gregor, who scored his sixth goal of the season Thursday, and his second in three games: “Noah’s now into his third year pro and you can see the switch starting to go on and it’s definitely a process and he’s no different than a lot of the guys.”

Gregor talked about playing the last few games on a line with Rudolfs Balcers and Thomas Bordeleau: “It’s been working out pretty well for us. Me and [Rudolfs] are pretty north and south and [Bordeleau] is able to make plays to us and hit us with speed and so far in the games we’ve played together we’ve played pretty solid.” The trio have eight points between them in the last three games.

Gregor scored to give the Sharks a lead 3:05 into the first period. Rudolfs Balcers lifted the puck into the zone and Gregor caught up with it in the circle before taking a quick shot that went under Binnington. Assists went to Balcers and Brent Burns.

It did not take long, a little more that two minutes of play, for Dakota Joshua to tie the game. Logan Brown chased the puck down near the goal line and then passed it back to Joshua for the shot. Assists went to Brown and Nathan Walker.

The Sharks took two penalties in the first period. They gave up two shots to the Blues power play and had one short-handed shot.
The shot count for the period close, 11-9 Blues.

Robert Thomas gave the Blues the lead 31 seconds into the second period with a power play goal. Tarasenko found Thomas across the ice with a pass and Thomas had a lot of space and time to get the shot away. Assists went to Tarasenko and Pavel Buchnevich.

The Sharks had only five shots on goal in the second period. They had two penalties to kill in addition the carryover penalty from the first period, in which the Blues scored. They gave up four shots to the Blues power play and had one short-handed shot. The Sharks power play had two shots. That left just two shots at even strength from the Sharks.

The Sharks pulled Reimer for the extra skater with a little under two minutes left but could not maintain control of the puck. Eventually, they gave up an empty-net goal from Buchnevich. The assist went to Brayden Schenn.

The Sharks had one penalty to kill in the third period. They gave up no shots to the Blues and had two short-handed shots. The shot count for the period was close again, 8-7 Blues. The Sharks won 53% of the face-offs. Notably, Thomas Bordeleau improved to 60% in ten draws. Matt Nieto led the team in shots with four.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at home against the Chicago Blackhawks at 5:00 PM PT.

Sharks Win 3-2 Against Blue Jackets, Reedy Scores Twice; 10 game loss streak is over for San Jose

San Jose Sharks right wing Timo Meier (28) moves the puck past Columbus Blue Jackets’ Adam Boqvist (27) and Gavin Bayreuther (5) at the SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Apr 19, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2, ending a ten-game losing streak. It was also their first win with Kaapo Kahkonen in net. Scott Reedy scored twice for the Sharks and Rudolfs Balcers added the third goal. Kahkonen made 22 saves for the win. Jack Roslovic scored both of the Columbus goals and Elvis Merzlikins made 25 save sin the loss.

After the game, Sharks Captain Logan Couture talked about finally getting a win for goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen. Couture mentioned the goalie’s work ethic and said that Kahkonen “fits in really well, gets along everyone in the room. Those are the guys you want to play for. He’s played some really really good games, we haven’t been able to score for him. Tonight we were able to get three and hung on there, he made some great saves for us.”

Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about Scott Reedy’s progress with the team:

“I think [Reedy] is a guy that seems to work hard number one, he’s trying to get better every day. And, fairly or unfairly, we’ve switched him from center to right wing, back to center a few times and he’s sort of found a home on right wing there. I think the offensive upside that he has, I think for a team that struggles to score, you want to keep developing these guys that have a touch around the net. You saw that touch tonight.”

Reedy scored the first goal of the game at 4:39 on the power play. Noah Gregor went to the net and took a shot in close. That created a rebound for a trailing Reedy. Assists went to Gregor and Logan Couture.

Rudolfs Balcers scored the next Sharks goal at 8:45. Thomas Bordeleau won a race to the puck and carried it behind the net for a quick pass up to Balcers in front of the net.

The Blue Jackets put the puck in the net at 15:41 but the Sharks challenged it for off side and the challenge was upheld.

Scott Reedy scored his second of the game at 18:14. Sasha Chmelevski sent the puck to the net from high in the zone and Reedy cleaned up the bouncing rebound.

The second period was scoreless but busy for the Sharks’ penalty kill. The Sharks killed three penalties in the period, allowing just two shots.

Jack Roslovic scored the first Blue Jackets goal at 1:32, on the power play. The Sharks were caught up ice on a short-handed bid when the Blue Jackets went the other way and got into the Sharks zone three-on-one. Justin Danforth made a cross-ice pass to Roslovic for the shot. Assists went to Danforth and Kent Johnson.

The Blue Jackets cut the lead to one at 13:33, with another goal from Roslovic. He had the puck behind the net and seemed to be trying to center it for someone else to shoot. But his pass went off of a Sharks and into the short side. Assists went to Jakub Voracek and Jake Bean.

The Sharks out-shot the Blue Jackets 28-24, and their power play had five shots on goal and one goal in two opportunities. In the face-off circle, the Sharks won 55% of the draws.

The Sharks next play on Thursday at 7:30 PM PT at home against the St. Louis Blues.

Sharks Lose 5-4 in OT to Wild, Bordeleau Has Assist in NHL Debut

San Jose Sharks’ Ryan Merkley (6) skates past Minnesota Wild’s Kevin Fiala, center, and Jared Spurgeon (46) after Spurgeon scored the game winning goal in overtime at Xcel Energy Arena in St Paul on Sun Apr 17, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks finished their road trip with an overtime loss, 5-4 to the Minnesota Wild. Dmitry Kulikov, Jared Spurgeon, Matt Boldy, and Kevin Fiala scored for the Wild, with two goals from Spurgeon. Marc-Andre Fleury made 26 saves for the win. Rudolfs Balcers, Matt Nieto, Noah Gregor and Nick Bonino scored for the Sharks. James Reimer made 23 saves in the loss. With this win, the Wild clinched their playoff berth.

In this ten game losing streak, the Sharks lost six games by one goal. Two of their losses by two goals included empty net goals. That is a lot of close games. After this game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“It’s crazy how close we are on a lot of nights. You know, I’ve never been through anything like this as a coach or as a player, you know, losing this many games. And I’m not sure some of those guys in the room have either, the veterans, and certainly my staff. So it’s our job to try and draw on the positives, especially with nine rookies in the lineup tonight, is trying to you know, provide a lot of teaching at this point of the season. There’s a lot of good going on and you’ll never see it in the wins a losses column right now.”

Sharks added a couple more rookies to the mix on Sunday, for a total of seven in the lineup. Forward Thomas Bordeleau had an assist, a shot and was 40% in face-offs. He had 13:14 TOI, skating at center with Noah Gregor and Rudolfs Balcers. Defenseman Santeri Hatakka had a shot, a hit and two blocked shots in 11:44 TOI, skating with Nicolas Meloche.

Of Bordeleau’s first game, Boughner said: “I thought he did a lot of good things. You know, I talked to him after the first. Of course, he was nervous and, you know, he said to me: ‘I’ll be better in the second period,’ but I thought he actually had a pretty good first period.” He went on with the analysis to say “I liked his game, I thought pretty responsible, and for a first game I thought he handled himself very well.”

Dmitry Kulikov scored the first goal of the game at 6:04 of the first period. Kevin Fiala dropped the puck to Kulikov high in the slot. Kulikov’s shot went through some traffic and past Reimer’s glove. Assists went to Fiala and Matt Boldy.

Jared Spurgeon made it 2-0 at 7:29 with a shot from the point that went through traffic and in. It seemed to change direction off of Brent Burns’ stick. Marcus Foligno got the assist.

Rudolfs Balcers got the Sharks on the board at 9:38. Thomas Bordeleau knocked the puck lose below the goal line and Balcers gathered it up and moved up high for a shot from just below the blue line. The puck went under Fleury and in. Assists went to Bordeleau and Noah Gregor.

Matt Nieto tied the game at 1:19 of the second period. Nick Bonino caught the puck after Burns knocked it away from the Wild in the Sharks’ zone. Bonino passed it across the neutral zone to a speeding Nieto who carried it the other way. He got as far as the face-off circle before taking the shot for his sixth of the season.

Matt Boldy got the lead back for the Wild at 6:37, cleaning up a rebound. Assists went to Kevin Fiala and Frederick Gaudreau.

Noah Gregor tied it back up at 11:11. Bordeleau helped out again, this time picking off a pass and getting the puck to Balcers to start the play. Burns took the shot from the point and Gregor knocked in the rebound. Burns and Balcers got the assists.

Nick Bonino scored a short-handed goal at 1:37 of the third to give the Sharks a 4-3 lead. Tomas Herlt broke the puck out and then turned to skate backwards just over the Wild blue line. Bonino went down the boards and Hertl made a pass across the ice to him. Bonino took the shot from bad angle and beat Fleury. Assists went to Hertl and Nicolas Meloche.

Keivn Fiala tied it for the Wild, redirecting a Jordie Benn shot from the point. There was some discussion of goaltender interference, as a Wild player did bump Reimer’s glove. After the game, Boughner explained that the Sharks considered challenging it but, with Reimer outside the blue paint, the call might go against them. Assists went to Benn and Gaudreau.

Jared Spurgeon scored the game winner at 1:05 of overtime with a wrist shot from just above the circle. Assists went to Fiala and Gaudreau.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets at 7:30 PM PT.