NHL All-Star Game podcast with Len Shapiro: Splash Shot skills happens at Ft Lauderdale beach; Sabers Thompson out with upper body injury; plus more

The NHL All Star Game will host the Splash Shot skill competition at Ft Lauderdale Beach on Fri Feb 3, 2023 (photo from NHL.com)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 The NHL Splash Shot takes place Friday night in the 2023 All Star Skills at Ft. Lauderdale Beach, participants include Sid Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche.

#2 The Atlantic Division added Ramus Dahlin defenceman who will replace Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabers. Thompson is suffering an upper body injury. On Wednesday Thompson sat out at Key Bank Arena in the Buffalo Sabers 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Thompson leads Buffalo with 34 goals and 34 assists.

#2 The Vegas Golden Knights Mark Stone is out indefinitely due to having back surgery on Tuesday. Stone while playing against the Florida Panthers injured his back on Jan 12. Stone has 17 goals and 21 assists in 43 games this season.

#3 The Columbus Blue Jackets Gustav Nyquist suffered a shoulder injury on Jan 25 during overtime against the Edmonton Oilers in a 3-2 win over the Oilers. Nyquist left the game in the first period at 2:56.

#4 The St Louis Blues Vladimir Tarasenko said despite the Blues five game losing streak there is “belief in the room.” Tarasenko is still pushing the Blues to move up in the standings while he’s been part of trade rumors to help another club who are in playoff position.

#5 Len, You’ve been in the NHL a long time and Gary Bettman Commissioner of the NHL was addressing diversity in the league and Emmanuel Umoffia center from the University Florida Memorial basketball team is at the NHL All Star week and said he was surprised to see the number of black people and diversity in the league. You’ve been in the NHL since the 1970s how far has the NHL come along becoming a diverse league?

Join Len for the NHL podcasts regularly Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Vegas’ Stone to sit out for tonight’s game; Leafs Matthews possible for tonight’s game; plus more NHL News

The Vegas Golden Knights Mark Stone is out with a upper body injury and will sit out for tonight’s game against the Edmonton Oilers (photo from NHL.com)

Check out Len on the NHL podcasts weekly:

#1 The Vegas Golden Knights Mark Stone is listed as week to week with an upper body injury. Stone left at 10:42 in the first period against the Florida Panthers on Thursday as the Knights won it 4-2. Stone didn’t practice on Friday and will sit out tonight against the Edmonton Oilers.

#2 Len, the anticipated return of Austin Matthews has finally arrived, Matthews whose been out of the Toronto Maple Leafs line up has missed the last two games. Matthews has been out of the line up since last Sunday and is a maybe for Saturday’s game against the Boston Bruins.

#3 Nick Leddy of the St Louis Blues is set to return on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Leddy a defenseman has 11 assists in 39 games. Leddy has missed the last four games with an upper body injury. Leddy did not play since last Thursday.

#4 Nathan Bastian of the New Jersey Devils could return Saturday night against the Los Angeles Kings. Bastian a forward was injured against the Washington Capitals on Nov 26th. Bastian has eight points, three goals and five assists.

#5 The Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Dallas Stars Jason Robertson, Tage Thompson Buffalo Sabers, and Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals are up for being MVP the season isn’t over yet but these are some top candidates.

Len Shapiro filled in for Matt Harrington for the NHL podcast heard Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Lose 5-2 in Vegas; losing streak swells to seven games

The San Jose Sharks Ryan Danato tries to get the puck into the net sliding with Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury behind to defend on Wed Apr 21, 2021 at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell to the Vegas Golden Knights by a score of 5-2 Wednesday. Jonathan Marchessault (2), Mark Stone, Alex Tuch and Mattias Janmark scored for Las Vegas. Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves for the win. Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl scored for San Jose, with Josef Korenar making 35 saves in his second NHL start. The win was the eighth in a row for the Golden Knights, and the seventh loss in a row for San Jose. The Sharks have also lost seven in a row to Las Vegas.

Timo Meier scored the first goal of the game at 2:38. Joel Kellman’s shot went off of Meier skate while Meier was being swept through the blue paint between two Vegas defenders. Kellman got the assist.

Jonathan Marchessault tied the game at 6:51 of the period. He skated through a gap in the defense and was able to take a shot right in front of Korenar. Korenar stopped that one but Marchessault caught the tiny rebound and swept the puck around the goalie’s skate and in. Assists went to William Karlsson and Alec Martinez.

The Golden Knights outshot the Sharks 19-8 in the first period. Each team had one power play, and two minutes of four-on-four time. The two-minute Golden Knights power play had two shots and the ninety-second Sharks power play had one.

The Sharks took the lead again at 11:07 of the second with Tomas Hertl’s 14th goal of the season. He gathered up a rebound and shot it in from just below the face-off dot to Fleury’s right. Assists went to Patrick Marleau and Erik Karlsson.

Mark Stone tied the game back up at 12:52 with a power play goal. Max Pacioretty sent the puck down to Stone on the goal line and Stone swept the puck all the way around in front of Korenar and into the far side of the net. Assists went to Max Pacioretty and Shea Theodore.

Alex Tuch gave Vegas the lead at 19:10. He shot from the same spot on the goal line where Stone scored from, but he took the shot over Korenar. Assists went to Theodore and Marchessault.

The Sharks led in second period shots 12-10. They had one shot on their one power play. The Golden Knights had two power plays and got two shots in those.

Marchessault scored his second of the game 13:18 into the third period. Mattias Janmark was circling high in the face-off circle with his back to the net when he gave the puck to Marchessault, who was skating into the zone. Marchessault took the shot right away and beat Korenar before the goalie could adjust. Janmark got the assist.

Mattias Janmark made it 5-2 with a goal into an empty net at 19:04. Marchessault got the assist.

The Sharks got two shots in their third period power play and led 13-11 in shots during the final frame. The Sharks did show improvement in the face-off circle Wednesday, winning more than 50% in each period and 58% overall. All of the Sharks penalties were taken by defensemen: Brent Burns, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Mario Ferraro and Erik Karlsson.

The Sharks next play on Saturday against the Minnesota Wild in San Jose at 6:00 PM PT.

Marleau Passes Howe in Sharks SO Loss to Golden Knights 3-2

The San Jose Sharks Patrick Marleau acknowledges the crowd at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas before the start of the game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Mon Apr 19, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks and the NHL celebrated Patrick Marleau’s 1768th game on Monday in Las Vegas. With that game, Marleau passed Gordie Howe and became the all-time leader for NHL games played. The Sharks wore a patch with a silhouette of Marleau against a background of the number 12. Martin Jones wore a mask specially designed for the occasion. After the first stoppage of play, the game was paused for some words from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to Marleau:

“You don’t get to play in one game, let alone 1,768 just because you’re a good guy or a positive role model and beloved by fans, though you are all of those things. To earn a precious spot in an NHL lineup, night after night, year after year, you have to earn it every single game.”

The Sharks lost to the Golden Knights Monday, by a score of 3-2 in the shootout. Mark Stone scored both regulation goals for Vegas and Alex Tuch scored the shootout winner. Robin Lehner made 29 saves for the win. Nikolai Knyzhov and Noah Gregor scored for San Jose and Martin Jones made 38 saves in the loss. The game extended the Golden Knights’ winning streak to seven and the Sharks’ losing streak to six.

Sharks defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov scored at 9:27 of the first. His shot from the point whistled through traffic and over Lehner’s blocker. It was Knyzhov’s second goal of the season.

The shot count for the first was 11-11. The Sharks took two penalties in the first and their p.k. gave up three shots. Tomas Hertl left the ice hastily during the period but returned to finish the game.

Noah Gregor made it 2-0 29 seconds into the second period. Gregor turned and fired from just above the face-off circle and the puck went through Lehner and over the line. That was Gregor’s fourth goal of the season.

Mark Stone cut the lead in half on a power play at 1:22 of the second. Stone tipped a shot from Shea Theodore, sending it into the top corner. Assists went to Theodore and Max Pacioretty.

Each team had one power play and one shot on the power play in the second period. The shot count was 14-7 for the Golden Knights.

Mark Stone tied the game with another power play goal at 3:25 of the third period. Stone brought the puck up from the goal line and lifted it over Jones’ pad. Assists went to Pacioretty and Theodore.

The shot total for the third period was 11-10 Sharks. The Sharks took two penalties and the Golden Knights one. Each power play had one shot in the period. The Sharks won 46% of their face-offs in the game.

The Sharks got credit for two shots in an almost non-stop overtime period. The Golden Knights had five overtime shots.

Patrick Marleau shot first for San Jose. Lehner made the save. Alex Tuch shot first for Vegas and scored. Ryan Donato shot second for San Jose and he was stopped too. Chandler Stephenson shot second for Vegas and missed. Logan Couture shot third for San Jose and he was stopped too.

The Sharks next play on Wednesday, again in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights at 6:30 PM PT.

Sharks Lose 2-1 to Golden Knights; Dubnyk stands on head despite loss

The San Jose Sharks goaltender Devon Dubnyk stops a shot by the Vegas Golden Knights Alex Tuch while on his back at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas on Mon Mar 15, 2021 (AP News photo) 

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell to the Vegas Golden Knights by a score of 2-1 Monday. Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone scored for Vegas. Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves for the win. Timo Meier scored for the Sharks and Devan Dubnyk made 34 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about how an otherwise good game from the Sharks was thwarted by Marc-Andre Fleury’s brilliant play:

“I thought there was a lot of good things to our game. Obviously, in the second period we took on a little water. I thought that Duby was good. I thought that we had lots of chances early on in the game. I thought Fleury was a difference-maker. You know, we had a few break-aways, we hit a few posts. Could have been a little bit of a different game, but he kept them going, he gave them some momentum.”

Boughner went on to say: “I’m proud of the guys, I thought we fought hard, I thought we did a lot of good things so we just gotta get back to work here tomorrow and try and find a way to score some more goals against these guys.”

Sharks captain Logan Couture talked about how the team seems to be getting better goaltending lately:

“The last little while, I think that, you know, we started to pick each other up. We started to play better for each other, play to our system, play better defensively. When a team plays better, tighter defensively, the goaltender’s always going to look better and make more saves. So, yeah, I think we’re starting to do that.”

Max Pacioretty scored the only first period goal, on the power play at 8:35. Evander Kane was in the box for tripping Jonathan Marchessault. It took the Golden Knights just 12 seconds to score. They won the face-off and moved the puck aroud the outside once before Pacioretty scored, from just beyond the face-off dot. Assists went to Mak Stone and Shea Theodore.

The first period shot count was 11-8 Sharks. In the face-of circle, Vegas won 58%.

There were no goals and no penalties in the second period. There was, however, a surprising shot discrepancy, with the Sharks getting credit for just 4 and Vegas notching 16 shots. Oddly, the face-offs went the other way, with the Sharks winning 60% of them.

Mark Stone added a goal for Vegas just 1:02 into the third period. Nikolay Knyzhov did a good job stcking with Pacioretty as he carried the puck down the wall, but he couldn’t stop him from making a pass to Mark Stone who was trailing. No one was in Stone’s way to prevent the shot. Assists went to Pacioretty and Nicolas Hague.

The Golden Knights had a power play when Tomas Hertl was called for sendig the puck over the glass. The Sharks penalty kill allowed just one shot.

Around the 12-minute mark, Evander Kane had a breakaway chance but Marc-Andre Fleury came way out of his net for the poke check. Fleury’s gamble paid off and Kane couldn’t get a shot off.

Not long after that, Kane was sent to the penalty box for interference on Marchessault. Vegas had 3 shots on that power play.

Timo Meier got the Sharks on the board at 14:29. Meier held the puck in the slot as if he would shoot on the forehand, luring Fleury out of the net. Once the goalie was out of the blue paint, Meier switched to the backhand and dragged the puck around Fleury’s outstretched leg to tuck it in the net. Brent Burns got the assist.

The Sharks pulled their goaltender with just under two minutes left. The Sharks had a 25 second power play at the end when Max Pacioretty was called for interference on Timo Meier. That was the only penalty called on Vegas. The Sharks had a few fair chances in those 25 seconds but could not tie it up.

Logan Couture commented on the difficulty of using the extra skater in the last minutes of the game:

“Just at the end there, the puck was bouncing too much to create anything on that 6 on 5 and power play. Which is unfortunate ‘cuz I think we would have had some looks. Just couldn’t get anything tape-to-tape and the puck seemed to be spinning, bouncing, so, tough one to swallow right now for sure.”

The shot count for the period was 12-9 Vegas. The Sharks led in face-off wins at 52% for the third period and in the game.

The Sharks will play the Golden Knights again on Wednesday in Las Vegas, at 7:00 PM PT.

Golden Knights Shut-Out Sharks 4-0

The Vegas Knights Marc Andre-Fleury (left) stops the puck with Nick Holden (22) and the San Jose Sharks Kevin LeBanc (62) behind Fleury in first period at SAP Center on Sat Mar 6, 2021 (AP News photo) 

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 4-0 to the Vegas Golden Knights Saturday. Goals came from Mark Stone, Alex Tuch (2) and Reilly Smith. Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves for the shut-out win. Devan Dubnyk made 28 saves in the loss for the Sharks.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said that the team lost some energy after the first period: “We were a little bit one-and-done. The Sharks are a team that played five games in the last eight days and you could see that as the game wore on.”

Sharks goaltender Devan Dubnyk said: “I thought offensively we generated a lot. Flower [Vegas goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury] played phenomenal and he’s been pretty good all season.”

Vegas scored their first goal fairly late in the first period, at 15:02. Mark Stone scored it, off of a two on one. Assists went to Chandler Stephenson and Max Pacioretty.

Vegas outshot the Sharks 14-8 in the first period and won 64% of the face-offs.

Alex Tuch scored both second period goals. First, Tuch caught a turnover at speed in the neutral zone and raced away for a shot before anyone could get in his way. It was his 11th of the season.

He scored the second at 16:38. Devan Dubnyk had just knocked the puck away but into some traffic. It bounced clear just as Tuch skated to the net and he knocked it in with a backhand.

The Sharks took one penalty in the first period but gave up no shots to the Vegas power play. Vegas won the face-off battle again at 53%, and had 14 shots to the Sharks’ 9.

The final goal of the game came in middle of the third period. Alex Pietrangelo won a board battle below the goal line, allowing Jonathan Marchessault to send the puck to a waiting Reilly Smith up in the slot. The puck went over Dubnyk’s glove and in the net.

The Sharks led in third period shots 7-4 and won 57% of the face-offs. Each team had a power play in the second period. The Sharks had one shot on their power play and Vegas had none.

The Sharks’ forward roster was reduced by one more for Saturday’s game. Timo Meier was out with a lower body injury and is listed as day-to-day. The Golden Knights’ Mark Stone left during the second period with an injury and did not return. Ryan Reaves, who had to be helped off the ice during Friday’s game with a lower body injury, was back in the lineup Saturday.

The Sharks next play on Monday against the St. Louis Blues at 7:30 PM PT in San Jose.

Sharks Lose 3-1 to Golden Knights

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost their first game back in San Jose, a 3-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. Power play goals were scored by Jonathan Marchessault, Mark Stone and Chandler Stephenson. Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves for the win. Tomas Hertl scored the Sharks goal, and Martin Jones made 23 saves in the loss.

Despite some lackluster seasons, the Sharks have maintained a respectable penalty kill. Not since 2009 have the Sharks allowed three or more power play goals in consecutive games, as they did in their last two games. On the season so far, the Sharks are 21st in the league with a 76.9 penalty kill percentage.

After the game, Sharks defenseman Brent Burns talked about what the Sharks need for a better penalty kill:

“In a pk, when it’s successful, you’re just pressuring hard, working, things are hitting you, blocking, you’re just disrupting things and, you know, I think we gotta get a little bit of that back. Taking time and space away, within our system, and making it difficult for them to create stuff. I think it looked a little too easy for them in the last couple games.”

Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about the Sharks’ game even-strength: “We won the five-on-five game. I liked our five-on-five game. I think, you know, obviously I’d like to score more than one but you know, on the other hand we didn’t give them anything five-on-five.”

At 13:13 of the first period, Jonathan Marchessault scored his team’s first power play goal of the afternoon. The puck was bouncing in front of Martin Jones, and went over his head. Marchessault managed to get a stick on it in the air and tap it in. Assists went to Chandler Stephenson and Alec Martinez.

The Sharks had two power plays in the first period, and had two shots in those power plays. In total, the Sharks outshot Vegas 11-7 and came out even in the face-off circle. Vegas had just the one power play and got three shots before scoring.

Mark Stone scored the second Vegas power play goal at 9:56 of the second. Stone was next to the net when Jones moved forward to try to cover a rebound. When it got away from him, Jones was too far out to get back and prevent the goal. Assists went to William Karlsson and Cody Glass.

Tomas Hertl scored his goal at 18:39 of the second. Rudolfs Balcers took a pass from Marc-Edouard Vlasic and carried the puck down the ice two-on-one with Hertl. Balcers made a tidy pass from one face-off dot to the other so Hertl could score with a one-timer. Assists went to Balcers and Vlasic.

The only penalty in the second was the one that led to the Vegas goal, a delay of game penalty for sending the puck over the glass. The Golden Knights again had three shots on the power play before scoring. Vegas edged the Sharks in the face-off circle 55%-45%, and on the shot clock 10-7.

Chandler Stephenson finished the scoring off of his skate at 6:45 of the third, again on a power play. The Golden Knights had just enered the zone and didn’t need to get set up when Alex Tuch’s pass across the slot hit Stephenson’s well-angled skate, sending the puck behind Jones and in. Assists went to Tuch and Martinez.

Each team had two power plays in the third period, with the Sharks giving up three shots and a goal, and Vegas giving up just two shots. The Golden Knights took over the face-off circle, winning 76% of the thirs period draws. Much of that success can be attributed to Chandler Stephenson and William Karlsson, who took the lion’s share of the draws for Vegas. Both of those players won more than 60% of the time. In the end, the Golden Knights won 59% of the draws on Saturday.

Sharks defenseman Radim Simek left the game early in the second period after being cross checked in the mid-section by Jonathan Marchessault. The Sharks shared no further information on his status after the game.

Erik Karlsson’s game also ended early, not playing in the final 11 minutes. After the game, Bob Boughner said “lower body. He’s on the trainer’s table now just getting working on. So I don’t think it’s anything crazy serious. I think he just tweaked something.”

The Sharks next play on Monday at 7:30 PM PT, in San Jose, against the Anaheim Ducks.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 2019: Golden Knights Take 2-1 Series Lead with 6-3 Win Over Sharks

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the San Jose Sharks 6-3, scoring a first-minute goal in all three periods. Three Vegas goals came from Mark Stone, two from Paul Stastny and one from Max Pacioretty. For the Sharks, goals came from Kevin Labanc, Logan Couture and Timo Meier. Marc-Andre Fleury made 25 saves for the Vegas win, while Martin Jones made 34 saves in the Sharks loss.

After the game, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer talked about the high-scoring line of Stastny, Stone and Pacioretty:

They’ve eaten us up here this series so far, so, we haven’t had an answer for them. What do they do well? I mean you’ve got three very good players that are playing at a really high level right now. So, you know, that is part of the issue. We’ve got to find an answer to slow those guys down.

Sharks captain Joe Pavelski talked about the impact of early goals against, summarizing it as: “It’s tough to keep it going or get it back when you do that at the start.” Forward Logan Couture also talked those period starts, saying “they made some nice plays but we’ve got to be ready to start periods.”

On his goaltender’s performance, Couture said: “I think he made a lot of saves. I mean, you look at that game, their power play chances, their chances in the slot, he made a lot of big saves. They could have had eight tonight. Some of their goals, you can’t give up breakaways, two on ones, and let a guy walk past the half way mark in the crease. You’re just asking for trouble.”

Yet again, Vegas scored early the game, putting the Sharks down by one just 18 seconds in. Right off of the opening face-off, Erik Karlsson’s pass missed its mark and ended up on Mark Stone’s stick. Stone charged into the zone, pursued by Sharks, and scored with a back hand. Assists went to Nate Schmidt and Deryk Engellund.

Max Pacioretty gave Vegas a 2-0 lead at 12:16 with a power play goal. Evander Kane was in the box for a four-minute high-sticking penalty. Pacioretty’s shot was the first of the power play and only took five seconds. The face-off was still dispersing when Pacioretty shot from near the point. His shot went through some traffic and between Justin Braun’s legs. Assists went to Shea Theodore and Paul Stastny.

The Sharks got one back late in the period at 15:16. Joe Thornton got to the puck behind the net and made a quick back hand pass up to Kevin Labanc as Labanc skated to the net. Labanc took the shot some feet from the blue paint, then collided with Colin Miller in front of Marc-Andre Fleury. The Golden Knights challenged the goal for goaltender interference but the goal was upheld. Assists went to Thornton and Marcus Sorensen.

The Golden Knights outshot the Sharks 20-12 in the first period, and won 59% of the face-offs.

Paul Stastny restored the Golden Knights’ two-goal lead 21 seconds into the second period. Pacioretty took a shot from the slot and the rebound went to Stastny out beyond the traffic around the net. He took a shot from above the face-off dot and it went by two Sharks defenders and under their goaltender. Assists went to Pacioretty and Stone.

The Sharks got their first power play at 10:02 of the second period. The Golden Knights had already had three.

Stastny added another goal at 16:04, on the sixth Vegas power play. This time, it was Kevin Labanc in the box for interference against Ryan Reaves. The Sharks had killed off most of the penalty when Mark Stone made an impressive pass across the slot, evading skates and sticks, right to Stastny for the shot. Jones was still trying to get across when the puck went in. Assists went to Stone and Theodore.

Las Vegas outshot San Jose 10-7 in the second period, but only won 40% of the face-offs.

The Sharks made some line changes for the third. Gus Nyquist moved to Logan Couture’s line with Timo Meier. Joe Pavelski moved to Tomas Hertl’s line with Evander Kane.

The Golden Knights scored a third first-minute goal in the third, this time 36 seconds in. Mark Stone’s pass to Jonathan Marchessault became a rebound that Stone was in a perfect spot to tap in. Assists went to Marchessault and Stastny.

At 4:57, the Sharks scored on their third power play. William Karlsson was in the box for slashing Tomas Hertl. Early in the power play, Marc-Andre Fleury lost his glove while on his back after a shot almost went in. The whistle went and the delay allowed conflict to erupt, resulting in matching roughing penalties for Brent Burns and Tomas Nosek.

Erik Karlsson’s neutral zone pass found Logan Couture just above the blue line. Couture carried it down the side past the face-off dot and sent the puck to the net where Pavelski was arriving for a deflection. The puck never reached Pavelski as Brayden McNabb’s stick got in the way and directed the puck past his own goaltender. The goal went to Couture with assists to Karlsson and Martin Jones.

Timo Meier scored a third goal for the Sharks at 5:51. Gus Nyquist took a shot from in close created a rebound that went right to Meier in the slot. Meier’s shot was just too quick for Fleury to catch. Nyquist got the assist.

Those two quick goals were followed by a lull in scoring, until Mark Stone got his third of the game at 13:57, restoring the three-goal lead for Vegas. A neutral zone interception sent Stone and Stastny into the Sharks zone. Stastny sent the puck off the boards to Stone, who skated to the net, faked to the right and shot to left with a backhand. Assists went to Stastny and Theodore.

Vegas outshot the Sharks 40-28 in the game and won 53% of the face-offs.

Sharks forward Micheal Haley was injured blocking a shot in the second period and did not return. Marc-Edouard Vlasic, injured the same way in Friday’s game, was not in the lineup Sunday and was replaced by Tim Heed.

Game four will be on Tuesday in Las Vegas at 7:30 PM PT.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 2019: Golden Knights Beat Sharks 5-3; Tie Series 1-1

Photo credit: @GoldenKnights

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the San Jose Sharks 5-3 Friday, tying their first round NHL Playoff series 1-1. Vegas goals came from Cody Eakin, Colin Miller, Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone and William Karlsson. Sharks goals came from Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl and Joe Thornton. Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 34 saves in the win. Martin Jones made four saves on seven shots for San Jose, then Aaron Dell came in to replace him and made 14 saves on 16 shots.

The Sharks had eight power plays in the game while the Golden Knights had just three. The Sharks scored one power play goal and Vegas scored one power play goal and two short-handed ones.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski talked about how the Sharks’ power play failed them: “We would get turned back and try to make the play up top and they would take that away and it would be out of the zone. It can be a little cleaner, a little quicker, a little bit more direct and we’ll go from there.”

The curse of the first five minutes reared its head again for the Sharks. Martin Jones had just saved a Max Pacioretty shot, which wound up behind the net. Following it as it came back around, Jones found himself screened by his own defensemen when Cody Eakin took a shot from the slot. An assist went to Pacioretty.

That was not the end of it. Before five minutes had elapsed, Vegas scored again. 2:10 into overlapping Sharks power plays, Colin Miller emerged from the penalty box to score short handed at 4:37.

Vegas added another at 6:11. Paul Stastny deflected a pass in the neutral zone, and Pacioretty picked it up. He carried the puck in just off the wall and took his shot before passing the face-off dot. The shot went by Jones on the far side and in. Stastny got the assist.

After that goal, Peter DeBoer replaced Martin Jones with Aaron Dell in net.

After the game, DeBoer said: “We were down three-nothing ten minutes in. I didn’t put it on Jonesy. We needed a shot in the arm to kind of change our momentum.”

The Sharks took some time to stem the bleeding. Once they had done that, they engaged their offense.

Logan Couture got the Sharks on the board at 16:59. The Sharks had just finished killing off a two-man advantage for Vegas, and were playing 4-on-4. Erik Karlsson made a pass across the offensive zone to Pavelski, who quickly passed it back across to Couture in front of the net. Couture put it carefully over Fleury and into the net. Assists went to Pavelski and Karlsson.

After the goal, the Sharks had a brief power play and scored again at 17:38. Couture passed the puck from the point along the blue line to Erik Karlsson, who had a long line of traffic between himself and the net. That traffic made an effective screen for Karlsson’s shot, and a deflection by Tomas Hertl made it all the more elusive. It was Hertl’s second of the playoffs. Assists went to Karlsson and Couture.

Joe Thornton completed the comeback at 19:08 of the period. The Sharks had just spent quite a while hemmed in their own zone when Logan Couture flipped the puck out of the zone. Evander Kane took off in hot pursuit though Pacioretty had several steps on him. Kane caught up and pushed Pacioretty off the puck, took it around behind the net and sent it back up to Brenden Dillon on the blue line. Dillon sent it back down to Thornton for a deflection. Dillon and Kane got the assists.

The second period started with another goal against the Sharks in the first five minutes, but only after the Sharks had a goal called back 51 seconds in. The goal did not count as it occurred just after Logan Couture was penalized for goaltender interference. The call was questionable as the contact came well outside the blue paint and appeared to be initiated by the goaltender. Nevertheless, the goal did not count.

On the ensuing power play, Vegas scored at 1:31. Mark Stone deflected a blue line shot from Shea Theodore. Dell stopped the deflection but the puck made its way back out to Stone, who was able to poke it through traffic and in. It was Stone’s third of the playoffs. Assists went to Stastny and Alex Tuch.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic finished his final shift of the game at 1:06, after the face-off for that Vegas power play, so the Sharks finished the game with five defensemen. Vlasic was injured blocking a shot.

Vegas scored a second short-handed goal at 7:35 of the third period. William Karlsson broke away as Reilly Smith was collecting the puck in the defensive zone. The pass got to him on the center line when he was already up to speed. He faked a shot as he approached the net and then put it away with a back-hand over a prone goaltender. Assists went to Smith and Tuch.

That goal came on Vegas’s first shot of the period. They did not have another shot until 13:53 of the period. In total, they only had four shots in the period but that was enough for them.

The Sharks pulled their goaltender with over two minutes to go for an offensive zone draw. The Sharks had a total of 15 shots in the period but could not beat Fleury again.

Through the first two periods, the Sharks won over 60% of the face-offs, but in the third won just 33%. The Golden Knights put Colin Miller in for Nick Holden on their blue line Friday. The Sharks made no roster changes, but may have to for Sunday, if Vlasic is not available.

Game 3 will be in Las Vegas on Sunday at 7:00 PM PT.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 2019: Sharks Take Game One 5-2 Over Knights

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks beat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2 in the first game of the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs Wednesday. The Sharks goals came from Brent Burns, Tomas Hertl, Evander Kane, Joe Pavelski and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Martin Jones made 24 saves for the win. Both Vegas goals came from Mark Stone and Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves against the Sharks.

The Sharks got the first power play of the game at 13:35. They had a few moments of delayed penalty time with Jones out of the net but that did not last long. The penalty was to Pierre-Edouard Bellemare for tripping Micheal Haley.

The Sharks scored on that power play at 14:42. A Brent Burns blue line special went off John Merrill’s glove or stick, into Joe Pavelski’s face and into the net. For his pains, Pavelski got credit for the goal with the assist going to Burns. Pavelski went directly to the dressing room, did not even stop for the celebration.

In the last two minutes of the first period, Timo Meier had to leave for repairs after being hi-sticked behind the net.

The Sharks outshot the Golden Knights 8-5 in the first, and won 60% of the face-offs. Vegas out-hit the Sharks 25-17.

Pavelski returned for the second period with a lower face shield. Timo Meier, fresh from his facial repairs, also returned and spoke briefly with an official as the period got under way. 20 seconds in, Meier was called for tripping Jonathan Marchessault. The Sharks killed that penalty off.

Evander Kane and Deryk Engelland exchanged blows after a scuffle in front of the net, as did Brenden Dillon and Jonathan Marchessault. Only Dillon and Marchessault were sent to the box, and for just two minutes. While the teams were playing 4 on 4, Tomas Hertl drew a hooking penalty and gave the Sharks a 4 on 3 power play. That turned into a 3 on 3 when Joe Pavelski was knocked down near the crease and Nate Schmidt tripped over him. Pavelski was called for tripping Schmidt.

The Sharks were unfazed by that noise. Erik Karlsson got the puck across the blue line and to Brent Burns, who carried it around a couple of defenders and shot it past Fleury with calm precision. Assists went to Karlsson and Hertl. Time of the goal was 6:59.

The Sharks followed up with good pressure around the net, leading to a sneaky goal-line pass from Joe Thornton to Marc-Edouard Vlasic as he skated down from the blue line. Vegas was not ready for that and the shot went right by Fleury on the blocker side at 7:44. Assists went to Thornton and Evander Kane.

Vegas responded with a goal at 8:32. Pacioretty’s shot hit Paul Stasny’s skate to the left of Jones, and bounced across the goal mouth to Mark Stone, who was camped out to Jones’s right. Thus flanked by opponents, Jones could not stop the puck. Assists went to Stasny and Pacioretty.

The Sharks went back on the power play at 8:55 after William Carrier was called for tripping Logan Couture. Tripping was a popular penalty in Wednesday’s game.

The Sharks scored again with 18 seconds left in the second. Erik Karlsson’s blue line shot went between a defender’s legs and then was neatly deflected by Evander Kane over Fleury’s glove.

The Sharks increased their shot advantage in the second, winning that contest 14-5. Their face-off success flagged, though. Vegas won 58% of the second period face-offs. Paul Stasny and William Karlsson defeated nearly all comers in the second.

Nearly six minutes into the third, Jon Merrill pushed Micheal Haley down in the crease, right on top of Fleury. As the puck went the other way for what may have been a good chance, Fleury spent some time thumping on Haley with the help of a team-mate. The whistle stopped play for roughing calls all around. Haley went to the box and Paul Stasny went in Fleury’s place.

As that four-on-four got started, the Sharks played a little like it was three-on-three, holding onto the puck as if killing time more than trying to score. But it was early for that. Not long after the four-on-four expired, the Sharks had a power play that killed more time without scoring. Vegas had a turn on the scoreless power play at 11:44 after Barclay Goodrow went for slashing Shea Theodore.

Vegas got another power play at 15:11 when Kevin Labanc went for hooking Tomas Nosek. Mark Stone cut the Sharks lead in half with a goal at 15:26. His shot made best use of what little traffic there was in front of Jones to get the puck over the glove and into the net. Assists went to Shea Theodore and Max Pacioretty.

Toms Hertl scored into the empty net at 18:11 to stop the late game push from Vegas. Assists went to Logan Couture and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

By the end of the game, the Sharks had rebalanced the face-off results to 50-50. The shot count for the game was 33-26 Sharks.

Game 2 will be in San Jose on Friday at 7:30 PM PT.