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 to Blackhawks 5-4 in Shootout

Chicago Blackhawks center Dylan Strome (17) scores against San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer, left, at the United Center in Chicago on Thu Apr 14, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 5-4 in a shootout to the Blackhawks in Chicago on Thursday. Patrick Kane, Taylor Raddish, Calvin DeHaan, and Dylan Strome scored for Chicago. Kevin Lankinen made 33 saves for the win. Timo Meier, Scott Reedy, Rudolfs Balcers, and Jaycob Megna scored for San Jose.

James Reimer made 28 saves in the loss. Going into the game, the Sharks had lost seven in a row and the Blackhawks had lost eight in a row. The win was fortuitous, as the game was the last for long-time (39 years) Chicago broadcaster Pat Foley.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about missed opportunities in this game and other recent losses. He said he would like to know “how many breakaways we’ve had probably in the last ten games, either five-on-five, short-handed. Shoot-outs, all those situations, you know, two nights ago in Nashville, Tommy Hertl. We missed a few breakaways in Vancouver. So those are golden opportunities to shift the momentum and we haven’t been able to take advantage of that.”

Patrick Kane gave the Blackhawks a lead at 2:03 in a three-on-one attack. Kane, arriving at the side of the net received, the pass from Dylan Strome and tapped the puck over the line. Assists went to Strome and Alex Debrincat.

Timo Meier tied it up at 4:45. Brent Burns took a shot from the point. Tomas Hertl redirected it and it went off of a Chicago defender, bouncing right to Meier, who shot it in off of the far post. Assists went to Hertl and Burns.

Taylor Raddish scored for Chicago on the power play at 13:35 of the second period. Assists went to Seth Jones and Patrick Kane.

Scott Reedy tied it 2-2 at 15:53. Matt Nieto passed the puck to a trailing Reedy who took the shot up the slot through traffic. The puck went in off of the crossbar. Assists went to.

The NHL reviewed a play at 17:14 after the Blackhawks celebrated, thinking they had a goal. But Reimer twisted around to reach for the puck and sweep it out while it was still on the red line. Before play resumed, Nicolas Meloche and Jake McCabe seemed ready to fight but the officials intervened and gave them each four minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Blackhawks scored during the ensuing four-on-four at 18:42. Patrick Kane sent the puck at the net just as Calvin DeHaan was passing in front of the blue paint for a neat redirection. Assists went to Kane and Debrincat.

Dylan Strome made it 4-2 Chicago at 4:45 of the third. Four Blackhawks entered the zone, and four passed the puck across the ice before Strome took the shot from just below the circle. Assists went to Seth Jones and Alex Debrincat.

Rudolfs Balcers cut the lead back down to one with a goal at 5:40. With a scramble going on in front of the Chicago net, Balcers found the puck out front. He took his time to set up and shoot the puck up over the prone goaltender. Assists went to Logan Couture and Erik Karlsson.

Jaycob Megna tied the game at 16:35, after a flurry of shots from the Sharks late in the third. Megna caught a rebound at the bottom of the circle and shot the puck into the far side. Assists went to Meier and Hertl.

After a scoreless overtime, James Reimer saved shots from Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, but gave up a goal to Alex Debrincat. Kevin Lankinen stopped shots from Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture and Erik Karlsson.

Alexander Barabanov did not skate after he took a body check early in the first period, but he returned for the second period. Radim Simek also left early the first period, returned for two shifts before the end of the period and then did not return for the second. Matt Nieto sustained an upper-body injury at the end of the second period but returned for the third.

The shot count was close in the first and second periods, 22-20 Sharks. In the third, the Sharks stepped on the gas and out-shot the Blackhawks 13-6. In OT, the Blackhawks had four shots to the Sharks’ one. In the face-off circle, the Sharks took a beating, winning only 36% of the draws.

The Sharks next play on Saturday in Dallas against the Stars at 5:00 PM PT.