Marleau Ties Howe Record, Sharks Fall 5-2 to Wild

The Minnesota Wild center Nico Sturm gets the wrap around the goal post to score a second period goal against the San Jose Sharks on Sat Apr 17, 2021 at the Target Center in St Paul (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

Patrick Marleau tied Gordie Howe’s record of 1,767 NHL Games Played record in St. Paul on Saturday. The Minnesota Wild made a special announcement for the occasion and, on the ice, the Minnesota players congratulated Marleau. It was a tremendous accomplishment, well-worth celebrating, but somewhat at odds with the loss Marleau’s team suffered the same night.

The 5-2 loss to the Wild was the Sharks’ fifth loss in a row. The Wild got goals from Mats Zuccarello, Joel Ericksson Ek, Zach Parise, Kirill Kaprizov and Nico Sturm. Three of those goals were scored in 72 seconds. Kaapo Kahkonen made 26 saves for the win. Brent Burns and Joel Kellman scored for the Sharks. In the Sharks net, Martin Jones made 19 saves before being replaced by Josef Korenar, who made 4 saves in the third period.

After the game, Marleau talked about reaching this milestone in the midst of a losing streak: “Obviously you want things to be going well, you want your team to be winning, all the time, regardless of milestones or not. Be nice to get back on track, get in the winning books, and feeling good about ourselves as a club.”

Sharks defenseman Brent Burns talked about Marleau’s accomplishment:

“I think at this point to play a game like that any night, obviously what he’s doing is special and, you know, it’s beyond one game. So tonight’s obviously big for him, it’s big for all of us to be a part of something like that. It’s incredible, it’s bigger than one game.”

Brent Burns started the scoring with a blast from the point that beat Kahkonen glove side at 12:02. Assists went to Rudolfs Balcers and Tomas Hertl.

A little over two minutes later, Zuccarello scored a power play goal. Marcus Johansson made a back-hand pass form below the goal line for Zuccarello to tap in. Assists went to Johansson and Ryan Hartman.

36 seconds later, Martin Jones knocked Jordan Greenway’s shot away but it went off of Joel Ericksson Ek’s chest and into the net. Assists went to Greenway and Marcus Foligno.

36 seconds after that, Zach Parise made it 3-1 with a shot off the rush that beat Jones on the blocker side. Assists went to Jonas Brodin and Nick Bonino.

Minnesota out-shot the Sharks 17-9 in the first period. The Wild had 7 shots on 3 power plays, including some five-on-three time at the end of the period. The Sharks had no power play time in the first.

Kirill Kaprizov made it 4-1 1:14 into the second period with a goal in the final second of a power play. Mats Zuccarello made a pass from the boards to the slot. The pass went through Kevin Fiala who took a swing at it and missed. That gave Jones and the defense pause, before the puck landed on Kaprizov’s stick for the real shot.

Nico Sturm made it 5-1 at 19:11 of the second. Jones was down on the side of the net when Sturm went for the wrap-around on the other side. Carson Soucy got the assist.

It looked as if Sturm and Jones locked skates for a moment before the goal, but the challenge was unsuccessful.

San Jose out-shot Minnesota 8-7 in the second. The Sharks took one penalty in the second period, the unsuccessful challenge of the Sturm goal. The Wild had one shot on that power play.

Joel Kellman scored for San Jose at 17:45 of the third. Labanc made a tidy pass from below the goal line, jus as Kellman arrived in the slot. Assists went to Kevin Labanc and Ryan Donato. It was Kellman’s first of the season, in his fifth NHL game of the season.

Minnesota took two penalties in the third period, giving the Sharks power play one shot on goal. The Sharks out-shot the Wild 11-4 in the final period.

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

San Jose Sharks podcast with Matt Harrington: Sharks lose close game to Wild 3-2 on four game losing streak

The San Jose Sharks Rudolfs Blacers, left tries to reach around the Minnesota Wild’s Kirill Kaprizov, right, to get a piece of the puck at the Target Center in St Paul on Fri Apr 16, 2021 (AP News photo)

On the Sharks podcast with Matt:

#1 The Sharks (18-21-4) in Minnesota lost in a close game 3-2. The Wild (26-13-3) held a 3-1 lead for most of the game but the Sharks just couldn’t get enough offense to tie the game up.

#2 The Sharks got goals from Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane but it wasn’t enough. Hertl and Kane have been consistent on offense.

#3 Wild goaltender Cam Talbot stopped 20 shots and faced 22 talk a Talbot’s performance in holding the Sharks to two goals and a one goal win for the Wild.

#4 Sharks goalie Martin Jones stopped 15 shots and allowed three goals Jones allowed two goals in the second period and pretty much that was the difference.

#5 Jones had another rough period in the first period Saturday he surrendered three goals which turned out to be a huge lead for the Wild.

Join Matt Harrington for the Sharks podcasts each Saturday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Fall to Wild 3-2

The Minnesota Wild Nick Bonino (3) goes for victory skate after scoring a goal in the first period against the San Jose Sharks at the Target Center in St Paul on Fri Apr 16, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh.

The San Jose Sharks lost 3-2 to the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center Friday. Nick Bonino, Mats Zuccarello and Zach Parise scored for Minnesota, and goaltender Cam Talbot made 20 saves for the win. Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane scored for the Sharks and Martin Jones made 15 saves in the loss.

The Sharks did not play a terrible game, but a loss at this point in the season is disheartening. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said: “Tough to break down that game and say that we didn’t come out, we didn’t respond and we didn’t play well. I thought all those things happened.”

Sharks captain Logan Couture said:

I thought defensively we were pretty good. We didn’t give up much but there wasn’t much out there offensively. But we gotta find a way to do more. We only scored two, three goals over the last two games, or three games, so we need to find some more offense.

Evander Kane had a penalty-free game as well as a goal, despite several tense scrums throughout the night. After the game, Boughner said, of Kane:

“He plays hard, he kills penalties, he’s on the power play, he’s playing against the top lines, he’s been a good player for us all year. He’s still involved, he’s still trash-talking a little bit, he’s still throwing the body around but he’s staying within himself and I think that’s helped his five-on-five game for sure.”

The Sharks were on the board first, at 3:32. Tomas Hertl skated through the neutral zone and in the Wild zone, with some help from a stick lift by Patrick Marleau near the blue line. Hertl took the shot from the face-off dot and beat Talbot on the short side. Assists went to Radim Simek and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Nick Bonino tied it up at 9:30. A turnover right in the slot gave him a clear line to the net and he took it. It was unassisted.

The first period was penalty-free. The Sharks outshot the Wild 8-4 but won just 33% of the face-offs.

The Wild took the lead 2:15 into the second period with Mats Zuccarello’s goal. Right off an offensive-zone face-off, Zuccarello shot it under Jones. Viktor Rask got the assist.

Zach Parise scored what would be the game-winner just over a minute later. Matt Dumba made a pass across the slot to a waiting Parise at the net corner. Assists went to Matt Dumba and Nick Bonino.

The Wild outshot the Sharks 7-4 in the second. Each team had a power play. The Wild had three shots on theirs and the Sharks had one. The Sharks won just 31% of the second period face-offs.

Evander Kane scored a short-handed goal at 13:43 of the third period, bringing the Sharks to withing one. Kane knocked the puck free from Kevin Fiala at the point, then chased it down and shot it by Talbot on the glove side.

The Sharks had two penalties to kill in the third period, and out-shot the Wild 10-7. The Sharks penalty kill had two shots on goal and the Wild power play had two as well. The Sharks improved in the face-off circle to 50% for the third.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 5:00 PM PT against the Wild, again in Minnesota.

Sharks Drop 4-1 Decision to Ducks, End Homestand 1-4

Anaheim Ducks goaltender Anthony Stolarz (41) stops a shot from the San Jose Sharks right wing Kevin LaBanc (62) as he’s defended by the Ducks center Adam Henrique (14) at SAP Center in San Jose on Wed Apr 14, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Matthew Harrington

A closed door meeting Tuesday. Shuffling of lines. Players inserted back into the lineup after for their first game action in weeks. The first career start for Josef Korenar. A last place opponent starting their third-string goalie. Both teams ahead in the standings losing. Everything was point to a make-or-break performance from the San Jose Sharks against the Anaheim Ducks (14-23-7) Wednesday night at home.

Instead, the Sharks (18-20-4) were nearly shut out for the second time in as many games by Anthony Stolarz, falling to the Anaheim Ducks 4-1. Korenar made 23 saves in his maiden start (he appeared in one other game in mop-up duty earlier this week for his pro debut).

The Sharks sit four points back of the final West Division playoff spot once again, but after Wednesday’s contest, that gap could feel like a chasm for Sharks fans. Stolarz wasn’t as busy as he was Monday in a 46-save effort, making just 27 stops in his 21st career start.

After scoring a pair last game, Alexander Volkov scored once and assisted on another Ducks goal. Ryan Getzlaf and Derek Grant also scored for the Ducks to hand the Sharks their third-straight defeat against a Southern California rival. San Jose has now gone 1-4 in their recent homestand.

“I don’t know if we hit rock bottom,” said Sharks coach Bob Boughner when asked. “It’s funny, we were on top of the mountain a few weeks ago. Now we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel. We knew that, we talked about that the last few days. This is a tough feeling because the games are so important. Everybody around us that we’re chasing is losing as well so it’s a squandered opportunity.”

Switching Rudolfs Balcers to the top line with Logan Couture and Evander Kane, moving Kevin Labanc to line two with Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier didn’t produce a goal, nor did inserting Nicolas Meloche, Noah Gregor or Frederik Handemark but there were some signs of life for the Sharks.

Defenseman Radim Simek picked up a roughing minor for a scuffle with Troy Terry, then fought Max Comtois, a Shark killer who picked up an assist earlier in the game. Dylan Gambrell stepped up after Sam Steele pushed a puck under Korenar’s pad into the net, punching up a weight class or two against the Ducks Josh Manson, but the effort as a team was mostly missing, highlighted by an 0-for-3 power play night.

On Anaheim’s first goal, Erik Karlsson went in the corner for a failed dump in as the Ducks attempted to change. His clearing reverse died on the boards, allowing Troy Terry to scoop up the puck and dish it to cagey veteran Ryan Getzlaf for his 278 career goal 8:08 into the first.

“Without picking one guy or another guy, I think we need to play better as a team,” said Boughner. “But if you ask (Karlsson) you’d hope that he’d be honest that he’s got better than that. Especially in those crucial situations, we have to make better decisions with the puck and we have to manager our game better. I think he’s guilty of that and it gets contagious.”

Grant scored 2:29 into the second after the Sharks couldn’t advance the puck through the neutral zone. Volkov worked through Ryan Donato entering the zone, hit the brakes to shake Simek then past the puck to Manson at the point before Donato could close the gap. Manson’s shot was tipped by Grant for a 2-0 lead.

The Ducks second goal of the period followed a scramble that saw Korenar make a tremendous in-close toe save Comtois only to be asked to do it again against Volkov. He couldn’t stop the Ducks trade acquisition to put the Sharks down 3-0 with 26:20 left in regulation.

The Sharks broke Stolarz’s goalless streak at 117:44 when Erik Karlsson’s point shot beat him with the extra attacker on the ice and 2:16 remaining in regulation to pull within two 3-1. Jakob Silfverberg scored in the dying seconds on the power play to twist the knife one last time.

Perhaps the Sharks could do well with a change of scenery. They’ll hit the road for a pair in Minnesota. While the scoreboard watching may be a subplot, the main story in the State of Hockey from a Sharks’ perspective is Patrick Marleau’s quest for the all-time games played mark. #12 would tie Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe with 1,767 games played, more than any other person in the National Hockey League’s history in game two of the series.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Ducks crash the net open up first period with three goals in 4-0 win

The San Jose Sharks Evander Kane (9) puts the puck on net as the Anaheim Ducks goaltender Anthony Stolarz (41) makes the deflected save in the first period at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Apr 12, 2021 (AP News photo)

#1 The Anaheim Ducks (13-23-7) opened the first period of play scoring three unanswered goals and it carried them the rest of the way to defeat the San Jose Sharks (18-19-4) in a 4-0 shutout.

#2 Sharks goaltender Martin Jones was met by a barrage of shots in the first period allowing the three goals but settled down the rest of the way allowing one more goal in the third period stopping 21 shots.

#3 Offensively the Sharks simply couldn’t get anything going it seems ever since they lost in their last meeting with the Ducks last week Tuesday the team has been snake bitten losing three of their last four.

#4 The Ducks goaltender Anthony Stolarz the number one star of Monday night’s game with the shutout stopped 46 shots which the Sharks just couldn’t get past him.

#5 Sharks will try it again at SAP Center in San Jose against the Ducks with home ice after a bitter 4-0 loss will the Sharks be charged up for Wednesday night’s contest?

Join Mary Lisa for the Sharks podcasts Tuesdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh Tue Apr 13, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

Stolarz’s 44-Save Shutout Leads to 4-0 Ducks Win Over Sharks

San Jose Sharks center Ryan Donato (16) jumps to get out of the way of Anaheim Ducks goaltender Anthony Stolarz (41) in the second period at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Mon Apr 12, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Matthew Harrington

After mostly keeping the band together after Monday’s trade deadline, the San Jose Sharks missed out on a prime opportunity to move closer to the final playoff spot in the West Division Monday night. Team Teal fell to the visiting Anaheim Ducks 4-0 after seeing that the Coyotes (ahead of San Jose by two points) fell to the Avalanche early in the night. Ducks third-string netminder Anthony Stolarz made 44 saves, Max Comtois had two points and Alexander Volkov scored a pair of goals in the penultimate contest between the California rivals.

The Ducks (first goal came after Radim Simek failed to clear the puck out of the Sharks end and partner Christian Jaros likewise failed to advance the puck. After sustained offensive pressure, Comtois was able to redirect a shot-pass from Derek Grant just 1:59 into the first period.

Alexander Volkov then took advantage of slow reactions by Tomas Hertl who had the puck in his own end facing Martin Jones in net. Volkov hit Hertl’s stick, forcing the puck on net and past Jones for his first goal of the game 8:12 into the first. Volkov added his second of the period 12:19 into the period for a 3-0 lead.

Rickard Rakell, a player identified as a prime trade target heading into Monday’s trade dealine, wound up staying put with the Ducks. He rewarded his team’s inactivity by capping off the win with 3:26 off the clock in the third period.

“Even at 3-0 we knew that they played last night,” said Sharks coach Bob Boughner. “We felt in the second period that we were grinding them down, they were starting to turn pucks over. We were getting a lot of offense off that.”

“We thought this game was far from over,” added Boughner. “We couldn’t solve Stolarz and that fourth goal probably capped it off.”

Whether the Ducks had scored one goal or 100 wouldn’t have mattered with how Anthony Stolarz performed in net. The Ducks tender turned away 44 Sharks shots, a career high for the 27-year-old net minder. He came one save away from matching the Ducks franchise record for saves in a shutout in just his 30th career NHL game dating back to 2017.

The Sharks offense turned it on after a dismal first period that saw them outscored 3-0 despite outshooting Anaheim 14-13. They held the Ducks to just six shots on goal over the final two periods, but couldn’t crack Stolarz on 32 shots in the final pair of periods.

“I think it’s our job as a staff to get in there and address the situation,” said Boughner after his team’s third loss in four games. “To make the proper changes and adjustments. To show them the things we did well, but to continue to harp and teach on the things we didn’t do well.”

“It’s a funny game,” said Bougner. “Last week we were on top of the world and all the sudden you hit a couple games like this and you start gripping the stick tight. Maybe over thinking things. We need to get back to our structure.”

The Sharks get a chance to rebound against the Ducks (and presumably not Stolarz in net unless Ducks coach Dallas Eakins chooses to ride the hot hand) Wednesday night at San Jose. Boughner didn’t have an update on Tomas Hertl after the game, he headed to the dressing room late in the third period with an injury. There will surely be more on him in the coming days.

Kings Defeat Sharks 4-2

The Los Angeles Kings right winger Dustin Brown (23) tries to control the puck behind the net as the San Jose Sharks defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov (71) on Sat Apr 10, 2021 at SAP Center in San Jose (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 4-2 to the Los Angeles Kings Saturday. Kings goals were scored by Jeff Carter, Andreas Athanasiou, Alex Iafallo, and Dustin Brown. Jonathan Quick made 26 saves for the win. Sharks goals were scored by Dylan Gambrell and Timo Meier. Martin Jones made 15 saves in the first two periods and Josef Korenar made 7 saves in the third period for the Sharks.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“Some nights, when things aren’t going your way and it’s a back-to-back situation, you simplify your game. And it didn’t look like we were ready to simplify that. We looked like we were still trying to play a skilled game and make plays through people and mismanage the puck and not take control of the game on our power play.”

He also pointed out that the team had some trouble shooting: “The biggest issue for me is we missed the net. In the second period we didn’t get a five-on-five shot on net. We had one power play shot and two short-handed shots. We had eight attempts and we missed the net on every one of them.”

The Kings struck first, with a Jeff Carter goal 11:43 into the game. Los Angeles had just successfully killed a penalty when Carter came out of the penalty box. The Kings held the Sharks up in the neutral zone and went on the attack. Mikey Anderson’s shot from the point hit Andreas Athanasiou and bounced over Martin Jones. It landed in the blue paint where Carter could nudge it across the line.

The Sharks tied it up at 16:54 with a goal from Dylan Gambrell. The Kings had killed off another Sharks power play moments before when Christian Jaros took a shot from the boards. It went off of John Leonard and Jonathan Quick thought he had it. Instead, it trickled out in front of the net and Gambrell swept it in.

The Sharks out-shot the Kings 12-6 in the first period, and had two shots in two power plays.

Athanasiou gave the Kings their lead back at 2:28 of the second period. Jeff Carter looked like he was going to carry the puck to the net from the point and instead made a pass to Anthanasiou for a deflection right in front of the net. Assists went to Carter and Olli Maatta.

Alex Iafallo made it 3-1 Kings less than two minutes later. Anze Kopitar passed the puck between Nikolai Knyzhov’s legs and Iafallo caught it on the far side of the net. Jones moved to cover the shot but Iafallo instead kept moving and used a backhand to put it around him. Assists went to Kopitar and Dustin Brown.

Dustin Brown scored a power play goal at 19:52 to give the Kings a three-goal lead. Three Sharks were in the offensive zone on a short-handed bid and had to hussle back when Brown caught the puck in the neutral zone and went the other way. He took a shot past Radim Simek to beat Jones on the short side. It was Brown’s 16th of the season.

The Kings out-shot the Sharks 13-4 in the second period, including five shots in three power plays. The Sharks had one shot in two power plays.

The Sharks changed goaltenders for the third period, putting Josef Korenar in net for his first NHL appearance. Boughner talked about putting 23-year old Josef Korinar in goal for the third period:

“I think he did great. I think good time to put him in. Our team was completely flat in the second period. You know, they got one goal late in the period there and it looked like we just needed some kind of injection of some energy. And I was hoping that, you know, kid being in his first game, we’d play a little harder around him and maybe rally around him a little bit.”

Timo Meier trimmed the Kings’ lead with a power play goal at 12:31 of the third. Brent Burns took a shot from the slot and Quick got in front of it but could not control the puck. Meier dug it out of a scramble above the crease and pushed it around the goalie for his eighth of the season.

The Sharks out-shot the Kings 12-7 in the third, including three shots on one power play. The Kings had three shots in two power plays. The Kings won 52% of the face-offs in the game. Tomas Hertl won 70% of his face-offs but he was the only Shark to take more than five draws and win more than 42%.

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

San Jose Sharks podcast with Matt Harrington: Sharks deal Dubnyk to Colroado; Get 5-2 win over Kings on Friday

Former San Jose Sharks goalie Devan Dubnyk has been traded to the Colorado Avalanche for defenseman Greg Pateryn and a fifth-round pick in the 2021 draft. Dubnyk is seen here defending the net on Mar 15, 2021 in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights (AP file photo)

On the podcast with Matt:

#1 Up 3-2 with just over three minutes left the San Jose Sharks (18-17-4) picked up two insurance goals in the third period and got a three goal victory over the Los Angeles Kings (15-18-6) at SAP Center in San Jose on Friday night 5-2.

#2 After the Sharks had some inconsistencies before getting on this run what would you attribute to head coach Bob Boughner and the recent turn around of the club?

#3 One of the improved things about the Sharks is the improved play of goaltender Martin Jones on Friday night against the Kings Jones made 32 out of 34 saves to hold the Kings to a three goal loss.

#4 Matt, talk about the Sharks getting goal help from Tomas Hertl, Patrick Marleau, Rudolfs Balcers, and Kevin LaBanc and Dylan Gambrell.

#5 The Kings and Sharks go at it again in their last five meetings the Sharks have won all five games against the Kings and they both meet again tonight at SAP Center for a 7:30p face off tell how you see this upcoming game tonight. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk was traded to the Colorado Avalanche Saturday. Dubnyk was the back up goalie for Jones and most likely will be the back up goalie for Phillip Grubauer.

Join Matt for the Sharks podcasts each Saturday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Trounce Kings 5-2

The Los Angeles Kings left winger Austin Wagner (27) tries to skate around San Jose Sharks goaltender Martin Jones (31) behind the net at SAP Center in San Jose on Fri Apr 9, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-2 Friday at the SAP Center in San Jose. Kevin Labanc, Patrick Marleau, Rudolfs Balcers, Dylan Gambrell and Tomas Hertl all scored for San Jose. Brent Burns had three assists and Martin Jones made 32 saves for the win. Alex Iafallo and Jaret Anderson-Dolan scored for Los Angeles and Calvin Petersen made 24 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“It was a good team win, it was a good team effort. They really came at us in the second period. We obviously didn’t like our second and I thought that, you know, they pushed hard and we didn’t really respond very well. But Jonesy was our best player tonight. And he’s in the zone, he’s seeing the puck and he made some big saves at the right time.”

Los Angeles scored first, at 2:27 of the first. Alex Iafallo, just arrived in front of the net, caught Dustin Brown’s quick pass from the boards and redirected it past Martin Jones. Assists went to Brown and Anze Kopitar.

The Sharks tied it up at 8:01. The Sharks had just finished killing a penalty, and won a defensive zone face-off. They broke out with Kevin Labanc carrying the puck. He carried it all the way down and took the shot. It went in. Assists went to Brent Burns and Mario Ferraro.

Patrick Marleau gave the Sharks the lead at 13:50 when Brent Burns sent the puck to the net and it went off of Marleau’s skate. Assists went to Burns and Marcus Sorensen.

Rudolfs Balcers made it 3-1 at 17:17, following Timo Meier on a breakaway. Petersen stopped the shot but Balcers was there to put the rebound away. Assists went to Meier and Erik Karlsson.

The Kings out-shot the Sharks in the first, 13-11. Each team had one power play. The Los Angeles power play had four shots on one power play and the Sharks power play had one in one.

In a scoreless second period, the Kings led again in shots, 11-8. They also led in penalties, taking two that resulted in a power play for San Jose. The Sharks took two shots in those two power plays. The Sharks had one penalty to kill and the Kings got one shot out of that. There were also two fights, which added a total of twelve penalty minutes on the score sheet. Jeffrey Viel fought Kurtis MacDermid and Marcus Sorensen fought Andreas Athanasiou. Sorensen and Athanasiou fought again at the final buzzer.

The Kings came to within one goal 1:02 into the third period, moments after a Sharks penalty expired. Jaret Anderson-Dolan scored, unassisted, by throwing the puck at the net from a sharp angle. The puck went from below the goal line, behind Jones’ near skate, off of his far skate and in.

Dylan Gambrell scored a short-handed goal at 17:00. Gambrell and Evander Kane broke away for a two-on-none. Gambrell passed first, then Kane passed it back, forcing Petersen to move in the crease. Gambrell took the shot. Assists went to Kane and Burns.

Tomas Hertl made it 5-2, shooting it down the ice into and empty net at 18:41. Assists went to Kane and Logan Couture.

The Kings won 58% of the face-offs through the game. The final shot count was 34-29 Kings.

The Sharks will play the Kings again on Saturday in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT.

Ducks Beat Sharks 5-1, Snap Four-Game Winning Streak for San Jose

San Jose Sharks center Ryan Donato (16) chases Anaheim Ducks center Isac Lundestrom (48) in the third period at SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Apr 6, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Matthew Harrington

The San Jose Sharks failed to keep pace with the team above them in the West Division, dropping Monday night’s home contest against the visiting Anaheim Ducks 5-1. Patrick Marleau scored the lone goal for San Jose who failed to bridge the five point gap between the fourth place Arizona and themselves with the cellar-dwelling Ducks (12-21-7) in town. John Gibson made 34 saves for Anaheim and Adam Henrique, Maxime Comtois, Isaac Lundestrom, David Backes and Nicolas Deslauriers lit the lamp for the Ducks.

The Sharks (17-17-4) entered play Monday night with four consecutive wins in their pockets and newfound swagger that they could be in the playoff chase. While the box score will make the contest look close, San Jose came out flat, a surprise given they had two days off in a season filled back-to-backs and three games in five night scenarios.

 Just 5:55 into play the Ducks caught San Jose flat-footed. Henrique worked his way into the center lane unmarked, took a Danton Heinen pass and beat Martin Jones for his 11th goal. If that wasn’t an indicator the Sharks didn’t have “it” Monday night, the Ducks 31^st ranked power play struck 24 seconds into the second period on Comtois 11^th of the year.

Marleau answered with a Sharks power play goal of their own on some pretty passing just over a minute later to make it 2-1 Anaheim, but in a sequence where the Sharks thought the puck was frozen put Jones never had possession of it, Lundestrom was able to take the puck behind the net and put it in on the other side 2:44 into the second.

Emblematic of the night San Jose was having, Ducks pugilist Nicolas Deslauriers had a Troy Terry shot bounce off a Sharks defenseman horizontally and land perfectly on his stick. Even a player known for what his hands do off the stick more than on it could finish this play with the gaping net, so in it went for Deslauriers’ fourth with 4:41 left in the second. David Backes scored an empty netter early in the third period for the final score.

If the rest made the Sharks rusty, then their next contest may be of concern. The Sharks are off until Friday when they welcome the Los Angeles Kings to town for a Friday-Saturday set. The two games will be the final two before Monday’s trade deadline.

Notes: Marc-Edouard Vlasic was out of the line-up Monday, Christian Jaros took his place and made his Sharks debut…Jeffrey Viel and Anaheim’s Desluariers dropped the gloves at the 13:51 mark of the first period…Sharks coach Bob Boughner was aggressive with the goalie pull, pulling Martin Jones with over seven minutes left trailing by three…Noah Gregor returned to the lineup, his first game action since March 6^th.