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 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 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.

Sharks Lose 3-1 to Golden Knights, Reimer Injured

Vegas Golden Knights center Brett Howden, left, attempts to skate around San Jose Sharks defenseman Jacob Middleton at the T Mobile Center on Tue Mar 1, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell to the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 in Las Vegas on Tuesday. It was the eleventh loss in row for the Sharks against the Golden Knights. Keegan Kolesar and Reilly Smith scored for Vegas, with two goals from Smith. Robin Lehner made 16 saves for the win. Noah Gregor scored for San Jose. James Reimer made 10 saves in the first period. Zach Sawchenko made 18 saves in the second and third periods.

While admitting that some of the Sharks’ top players may be fatigued after six games in ten days, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner saw few positives in the loss:

“There wasn’t anything I could really say positive about our game tonight. Only thing I’d say is we found a way to keep it a one-goal game for a long time. And that’s an opportunity on the road no matter how you’re playing. You can come up with ten good minutes and find a way to win but we couldn’t muster anything up tonight.”

Sharks forward Andrew Cogliano was equally glum about the team’s lackluster performance: “That’s on us, we know the game plan. The game plan was set in stone, and obviously the game plan against these guys is to try to take away the rush. They’re very good on it and they stretch guys behind you and for whatever reason we didn’t want to do that.”

James Reimer played to the end of the first period but did not return for the second, due to a lower body injury. There were no updates on his status in the post-game.

Keegan Kolesar scored first for Vegas, just 2:16 into the game. Brett Howden carried the puck in, two-on-one with Kolesar. Just before jumping over a prone Brent Burns, he made the cross-ice pass to Kolesar for the shot.

Noah Gregor tied it 1:53 into the second period. Andrew Cogliano, below the goal line, made a pass to Nick Bonino up in the circle, and he found Gregor on the other side of the slot for a quick shot.

Reilly Smith scored his first of the game at 13:56. Jonathan Marchessault brought the puck in and made a quick cross-ice pass to Smith for the shot. Assists went to Marchessault and William Karlsson.

Smith scored his second 4:45 into the third period. Karlsson made a touch-pass off of Marchessault’s shot to get the puck to Smith. It was so quick that it looked like a double deflection from one stick to the other.

The Golden Knights out-shot the Sharks 31-17. They also beat them in the face-off circle, 29-21. There was only one power play in the game, to Vegas. The Sharks penalty kill gave up just two shots.

After the game, Andrew Cogliano explained that he had been out because his infant daughter was hospitalized over the weekend. With her improved and out of the hospital, he was able to return to the team.

Defenseman Erik Karlsson and goaltender Adin Hill may be available to rejoin the team soon.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 5:00 PM PT in San Jose against the Nashville Predators.

Sharks Beat Capitals 4-1, Meloche Scores GWG

San Jose Sharks defenseman Nicolas Meloche, center, celebrates his goal against the Washington Capitals with teammates Matt Nieto, left, and Andrew Cogliano at the Capital One Arena in DC on Wed Jan 26, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks (22-19-2) defeated the Washington Capitals (23-12-9) 4-1 Wednesday in Washington DC. Noah Gregor, Nicolas Meloche, Jonathan Dahlen and Andrew Cogliano scored for the Sharks. James Reimer made 32 saves for the win. Daniel Sprong scored for Washington and Ilya Samsonov made 26 saves in the loss.

Odds were long that any team would beat the Capitals on Wednesday. It was their first back to back regulation loss of the season. The Sharks, on the other hand, had something to prove after a 7-1 loss against Tampa Bay last Saturday. Of Wednesday’s game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“It was definitely a response game. You saw the things that we didn’t do against Tampa, the desperation, the urgency, some depth scoring, the blocking of the shots, sacrificing for each other. I think that was what we stressed the last couple of days, it was about showing up, responding and picking ourselves off the floor.”

The Sharks will be without defenseman Erik Karlsson until mid-March and it does not seem that reinforcements are on the way. Nikolai Knyzhov and Jacob Middleton are both still out with injuries.

One player who will get more responsibility in light of those absences is Nicolas Meloche. Of his performance Wednesday, Boughner said: “I really liked him down in the trenches, I thought he was big and heavy, I thought he was physical, he won a lot of battles, made some good plays on some exits. So, that’s what we need from Mel every night.”

Noah Gregor scored the first goal of the game at 7:41 of the first. Tomas Hertl carried the puck up to the point before passing it back to Burns, who was in the face-off circle. Burns spun and passed it across the slot to Gregor, who was lurking near the far corner of the net to put the puck over the line. It was Gregor’s second of the season.

The Sharks outshot the Capitals 14-8 in the first period, but won only 48% of the face-offs.

Nicolas Meloche made it 2-0 Sharks at 3:58 of the second. Matt Nieto gathered up a turnover at the Capitals blue line and raced into the zone with Andrew Cogliano. Nieto made a pass to a trailing Meloche, who took a quick shot from the slot to score his first NHL goal.

The Capitals led in shots 11-7 for the second period, and their power play got three shots on goal in two tries. The Sharks also had a power play but the Washington penalty kill prevented any shots against and got one short-handed shot to boot. In the face-off circle, the Sharks improved drastically to 79%.

Daniel Sprong scored for Washington 14 seconds into the third period. The puck went off of the linesman’s leg in a face-off in the Sharks’ zone. Nicklas Backstrom got to it first and sent it up to Sprong aboce the face-off circle. Sprong’s shot went through a line of traffic and in.

The Sharks took a delay of game penalty at 13:19. Logan Couture was trying to clear the puck out and he hit Brent Burns and the puck went out of play. Matt Nieto had a nice breakaway chance during the ensuing penalty kill but Samsonov stopped it. Apart from that, the Sharks could not clear the puck until the final 20 seconds of the kill, but they did kill it. Washington got four shots during the power play.

Sortly after that, Timo Meier and Alexander Ovechkin went hard at the Washington net and Ovechkin fell into Samsonov. Samsonov was down for bit but stayed in the game.

With 3:09 left in the game, Jonathan Dahlen made it 3-1 for the Sharks. Dahlen carried the puck into the zone and then pulled up to wait while Nick Bonino got to the net for a fly-by screen. As Bonino passed in front of the goalie, Dahlen’s shot skipped over Samsonov’s pad. It was Dahlen’s first goal in fifteen games. Timo Meier got the assist.

Andrew Cogliano made it 4-1 with an empty net goal at 19:39. Logan Couture got the assist.

Garnet Hathaway and Jonah Gadjovich fought to a draw after the final horn.

The Sharks blocked 23 shots in Wednesday’s game. They were barely out-shot by the Capitals 33-30. The Sharks won 54% of the face-offs.

The Sharks next play on Saturday in Florida against the Panthers at 3:00 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 to Blues 3-2 in OT

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 3-2 in overtime to the Blues on Thursday in St. Louis. Mike Hoffman, Brayden Schenn and David Perron scored for St. Louis. Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington made 30 saves for the win. Noah Gregor and John Leonard scored for the Sharks and Martin Jones made 42 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks defenseman Brent Burns said: “There were definitely parts of that game where we were in control of that game.” The team does seem to have shed it’s second period troubles, and is also playing better five-on-five. On that topic, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“We did some good things five-on-five tonight. And, you know, if it’s not one thing, it’s another. Now it’s our penalty kill allowed that first goal in, took some momentum away from us. But we’re doing some better things and we’re working at it every day.”

St. Louis scored the only first period goal, on the power play at 6:12. Oskar Sundqvist tried to jam the puck under Martin Jones but was rejected. The rebound, however, went out to Mike Hoffman who had an open net to shoot into. Assists went to Sundqvist and David Perron.

St. Louis outshot the Sharks 12 to 10 in the first period. In the face-off circle, the Blues also prevailed with a 53% win percentage. The Sharks had one power play and one shot on that power play. The Blues had two power plays and got three shots in, including the goal.

Noah Gregor tied the game at 8:27 of the second period. The Sharks had been in their own zone for too long when Gregor carried the puck out. He maneuvered around the Blues defense and took a shot. That did not go but the Sharks got it back and eventually Nicolas Meloche got another shot in, this time from a bad angle. The shot rebounded to the other side of the net, where Gregor was ready to shoot it back in for his third of the season. Assists went to Meloche and Gambrell.

John Leonard scored his second NHL goal to give the Sharks the lead at 14:31. Ryan Donato fanned on a shot from close in, then and spun around and sent the puck down to Leonard who was by the post. Leonard’s quick shot beat Binnington as the goalie tried to get back in position. Assists went to Donato and Patrick Marleau.

San Jose outshot the Blues 12-8 in the penalty-free second period. The Sharks also improved in the face-off circle, winning 58% of the draws.

The Sharks held onto that lead until 19:20 of the third, when Brayden Schenn tied it up to force overtime. The Blues net was empty for the extra skater. Mikke Hoffman shot the puck at the net from just above the goal line, hitting Jones in the shoulder pad. Schenn was on the spot to catch the rebound and knock it in. Assists went to Hoffman and David Perron.

The Blues dominated the face-off circle in the third, winning 72% of the draws.

David Perron scored the game-winner 4:00 into overtime. Patrick Marleau was called for hooking Ryan O’Reilly, giving the Blues a power play that started with 1:36 left in the period. As the Blues entered the zone, Torey Krug held the puck just below the blue line long enough for Perron to get to the net. The Shrs penalty killers were nowhere near Perron and he took a quick shot from the face-off circle. Assists went to Krug and Jordan Binnington.

The Blues out-shot the Sharks 10-1 in the overtime period.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 4:00 PM PT, again in St. Louis against the Blues.

Avalanche Bury Sharks in 7-3 Win

The Colorado Avalanche’s center Nathan MacKinnon (29) gets past the San Jose Sharks Mario Ferraro (38) to put the puck on net and Sharks goaltender Martin Jones (1) in the first period of Tue Jan 26, 2021 game at the Ball Center in Denver (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 7-3 to the high-powered Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday. The Avalanche goals were scored by Valeri Nichushkin, Brandon Saad (2), Joonas Donskoi, Mikko Rantanen, Devon Toews and Samuel Girard. Their goaltender, Philipp Grubauer, made 27 saves for the win. Sharks goals came from Noah Gregor, Ryan Donato and Logan Couture. Martin Jones made 14 saves on 19 shots before being replaced by Devan Dubnyk, who made 21 saves for San Jose.

Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner described the moment he thought the game really started to unravel for his team:

“The most disappointing thing for me was, you know, okay it’s three-one after the first period, we had a good eight, nine minutes and we’re still in the hockey game and then we start on the power play. We turn one over, they go down and get a breakaway. Our next unit comes on, turns one over, it’s in the back of our net, it’s four one. Obviously, that’s when the game opens up a bit and we paid the price for it. You can’t open up against these guys and you can’t mis-manage pucks and that’s exactly what we did.”

Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson said:

“They played a good game today and we did not. I think we started okay but we still defended a lot, even though we got the first goal. I don’t think that was anything we really created. We got a good puck bounce. I think that once they started rolling, we became a little passive and we gave them a little too much room and, you know, we started doubting ourselves a bit. And that’s probably why the game ran away from us against a good team like this.”

The Sharks scored first, a double-tap from Ryan Donato at 10:39. He brought the puck up from the goal line and tried to shoot it through two defenders but it hit a couple of legs. He found it as it bounced and nudged it in for his third of the season. Assists went to Kevin Labanc and Logan Couture.

Colorado tied it up at 16:15. Valeri Nichushkin carried the puck down around behind the net and then sent it back to the blue line for a shot by Erik Johnson. Joonas Donskoi skated across in front of Martin Jones just as the shot came in and the puck hit him on the way in. Assists went to Johnson and Nichushkin.

The Avalanche took the lead less that a minute later. Cale Makar put the puck into traffic in front of Martin Jones and Brandon Saad knocked it in. Assists went to Makar and Andre Burakovsky.

Piling it on, Colorado scored a power play goal in the final minute of play. Nikolai Knyzhov was in the box for hooking against Tyson Jost. The Sharks penalty kill held off the Colorado power play for almost a minute before Mikko Rantanen scored with a hard shot from above the face-off circle. Assists went to Nathan MacKinnon and Makar.

At the end of the first, Colorado led in shots 16-9 and the Sharks had a slight lead in face-off wins of 52%.

The Avalanche kept rolling. The Sharks had an early power play in the second period, but half way through it, Valeri Nichushkin snatched the puck in the neutral zone and took it the other way for a short-handed goal.

Samuel Girard scored a few minutes later with a shot through what looked like all available skaters on the ice. Assists went to Tyson Jost and Kiefer Sherwood.

Devan Dubnyk came in to relieve Martin Jones in the Sharks net. After the game, Bob Boughner said: “I think both goalies were left out to dry multiple times tonight. It’s tough to make a goalie evaluation, I think that, you know, some of the plays that they made through the seam, and we actually made some saves on it, they scored on I think it was the second or third one. But you can’t allow seam plays.”

The Sharks’ third line showed some jump and scored one at 7:44. Some quick passes got the puck to the net just as Noah Gregor got there to tuck it in with a backhand. Assists went to Dylan Gambrell and Timo Meier.

Near the 13:00 mark, Devan Dubnyk got tangled up with J.T. Compher. He took some time to recover but did not leave the game.

The Avalanche resumed scoring at 13:30 when Devon Toews scored Colorado’s sixth of the night. Towes took a shot from the blue line that did not go in. Toews took another shot, this time into an empty net while Dubnyk was tangled up with another Colorado forward. Assists went to Gabriel Landeskog and Cale Makar.

Brandon Saad scored his second of the night at 15:01. Johnson, Kadri and Saad entered the zone and got around everyone but Vlasic and in a brief two-on-one, scored the team’s seventh.

The Sharks were outshot in the second 13-6.

Logan Couture got one back for San Jose at 12:43 of the third period. Kevin Labanc made a cross-ice pass to Donato as they entered the zone with Couture between them. Donato moved it back to the middle as they closed on the net and Couture tipped it in. Assists went to Donato and Labanc.

The only stat that favored the Sharks Tuesday was their face-off win percentage, finishing with 53%.

The Sharks next play on Thursday at 6:00 PM PT, against the Avalanche in Colorado again.

Sharks Beat Wild 5-3; SJ playing .500 hockey now at 3-3

The San Jose Sharks Mario Ferraro (38) tries to get the stick on the puck against the Minnesota Wild’s Marcus Foligno (17) at Xcel Energy Center in St Paul on Sun Jan 24, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won 5-3 against the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul Sunday. Goals came from Ryan Donato, Evander Kane, Noah Gregor, Brent Burns and Matt Nieto. Martin Jones made 26 saves in the win. Wild goals came from Nick Bjugstad, Zach Parise and Kevin Fiala. Kaapo Kahkonen made 31 saves in the loss.

The game-winner from Brent Burns was a spectacular feat in itself, but it also came at the perfect time. Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said, of the goal:

“At that point in the game we were just, you know, we were taking on a little water, we had some kills in the third period. At that point in time you’re trying to maintain at least the point and trying to win it in overtime. You know, if you get a break, great. But guys like that, elite players, they find ways to make huge differences in the game and that’s exactly what Burnzie did. We needed that.”

Boughner made some changes before Sunday’s game. Forward Timo Meier moved down to the third line from the second line, to play with Dylan Gambrell and Noah Gregor. John Leonard came back into the lineup to play in Meier’s spot with Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane. The defensive pairs were also adjusted, with Mario Ferraro playing with Erik Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic playing with Brent Burns.

After the game, Timo Meier was asked about the line change. He said: “Playing with Gregor and Gambrell, I think it’s, you know, two good hockey players so I think it was an opportunity. I mean, Gregor with his speed and obviously Gambi, I think we had a lot of fun out there.” Asked about how he thought the game went for them, Meier said: “Every time we stepped on the ice we tried to make a difference and use our strengths and, you know, it worked for us.”

Asked what he thought of Meier’s performance, Boughner said: “He was a beast out there. I thought that every time his line was out there he was taking pucks to the net, dragging people on his back, he was finishing on the forecheck, all those kinds of things. That line played well together.”

The Sharks started fast, with three shots in the first two minutes of play. Still, Minnesota scored first at 4:21.

As Karlsson tried to defend a two-on-one, Kirill Kaprizov made the pass across to Zach Parise, who put the puck past Martin Jones as he tried to come across.

The teams traded penalties in the middle of the period, with no change in score.

The Sharks tied it up in the final minute of the period. Erik Karlsson drove the puck deep, and Kevin Labanc gathered it up below the goal line. Labanc made a neat backhand pass to Ryan Donato, who jammed the puck through two Wild players in the direction of the net. The puck touched one of the defenders and slipped under Kaapo Kahkonen.

The Sharks out-shot the Wild 12-3 in the first period, and won 64% of the face-offs. Tomas Hertl drew a penalty with 15 seconds left in the period, so the Sharks started the second on the power play. The Sharks gave up a short-handed chance to Joel Eriksson-Ek in the first minute of the second but no other damage was done.

The Sharks had another power play opportunity at 5:17. Late in the penalty, Donato made a drop pass to Timo Meier, then drifted toward the net. Meier, on the wall, made a pass over to Kane for a one-timer inside the circle. By then, Donato was skating across in front of the net to add a screen.

A little over a minute later, the Wild put the puck in the net, but they did so while pushing Martin Jones across the line with the puck. Bob Boughner challenged the goal and, after a review, it was called back.

Noah Gregor padded the Sharks’ lead at 8:26, his first goal of the year. Gregor skated into the zone with his line spread across the ice. He looked like he would pass as he came down the wall but then took the shot. An assist went to Mario Ferraro.

Nick Bjugstad cut the Sharks’ lead back down to one at 16:47. The teams were playing four-on-four after Jordan Greenway and Nikolai Knyzhov went to the box for matching roughing penalties. Bjugstad posted himself in front of the net for a tip around Mario Ferraro and the Sharks goalie. Assists went to Jared Spurgeon and Ryan Suter.

The Wild led in shots during the second period, 15-12. In the face-off circle, the Sharks won 57% of the second period draws.

The Wild tied the game 7:20 in to the third period with a power play goal from Kevin Fiala. It only took them three seconds of power play time. Ryan Suter got the puck out of an offensive zone draw and sent it to Fiala for a shot right up the middle. Assists went to Suter and Parise.

The Sharks snatched the game back with just 1:48 left in regulation. It was worth waiting for. Timo Meier had the puck after and offensive zone draw when Brent Burns came down off of the blue line. Meier got the puck to him and Burns bobbed and weaved his way through four Wild skaters before putting the puck away with a backhand lift. Assists went to Meier and Tomas Hertl.

Matt Nieto scored his second of the season into an empty net after gathering the puck in the D zone and carrying it out to take a shot a few strides over the Wild blue line. A quick review for off side showed that it was very close, even under the new rules that say any skate, on or off the ice, can keep you on side. The goal stood up.

Each team scored once in four power plays in the game. The Sharks finished with a solid lead in the face-off circle at 57%, though the Wild improved with each period. The standout Sharks in the face-off circle was Dylan Gambrell, winning 12 of his 16 draws (75%). Logan Couture won 11 of 18 (61%). Tomas Hertl was not very successful, winning just 9 of 22 (41%).

The Sharks next play on Tuesday against the Avalanche in Colorado at 6:00 PM PT.

Sharks Fall 4-3 to Avalanche, Couture Leaves Game With Injury

NHL on ice official Bob Meier (34) takes a look over San Jose Shark Logan Couture (39) after taking a deflected pass off his cheek in the first period Sunday night at SAP Center (photo sfgate.com)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Sharks fell to the visiting Colorado Avalanche 4-3 Sunday. The loss extended the Sharks’ current losing streak to three. Colorado goals came from Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Vladislav Namestnikov and Joonas Donskoi. Avalanche goaltender, Pavel Fracouz made 22 saves in the win. Sharks goals came from Joe Thornton, Melker Karlsson and Noah Gregor. Martin Jones made

Before anyone scored a goal, Logan Couture took a deflected puck to the face. After the game, Sharks forward Timo Meier explained what he had seen of the incident: “Unlucky play. I was trying to make a pass and it got deflected. He didn’t see it coming and I’m not sure where it hit him. Very unfortunate, I hope he’s doing well. A big part of our team, a big leader so I hope he’s recovering quick.”

Coach Bob Boughner said “I believe it was his cheek and he went under concussion protocol with the NHL. I think it was just precautionary, that we didn’t want to throw him back in there. But I don’t think it’s anything serious, I think he’s going to be fine.” Additionally, Boughner did not rule Couture out for the next game.

While Couture was being injured, Vladislav Kamenev was being called for interference against Joe Thornton. During the resulting power play, the Sharks started the scoring at 11:16. Timo Meier sent the puck from high in the slot to the net. Evander Kane was there to receive it but it went off of Erik Johnson’s skate and followed an unexpected trajectory. Kane reached for it and just pushed it across the goal mouth. Joe Thornton was right where he needed to be to gather the stray puck and put it in the net. Assists went to Kane and Meier.

Nathan MacKinnon tied it up with a power play goal for Colorado at 16:17. The Sharks had just stopped a shot by JT Compher but it rebounded up the slot to Gabriel Landeskog. He made a quick pass to MacKinnon who was waiting in the face-off circle to take the shot.

At the end of the first period, the shot count was 8-7 Colorado and the Avalanche won 69% of the face-offs.

Landeskog gave his team a lead early in the second period, just 1:59 in. A turnover in the neutral zone left Radim Simek facing a two on one of Landeskog and MacKinnon. MacKinnon took the shot and Jones stopped it but Landeskog was trailing just enough to put the rebound in the net. Assists went to MacKinnon and Vladislav Namestnikov.

Melker Karlsson tied it back up again less than two minutes later. Getting a jump on traffic through the neutral zone, Karlsson caught a pass from Marcus Sorensen near the Sharks blue line and skated the other way all alone. He went right up the middle and beat Pavel Francouz with a quick wrist shot. Sorensen got the assist.

Vladislav Namestnikov completed the goal set for his line at 8:41 of the second. Landeskog made a pass around the Sharks defenders and Namestnikov caught it but not in a great shooting position. He had to spin and shoot it back behind the goaltender to get the goal. Assists went to Landeskog and MacKinnon.

The Sharks had to kill a lengthy power play between 15:35 and 18:53, with a little under 40 seconds of five-on-three. Melker Karlsson went to the box for slashing, and then Timo Meier was called for hooking. The Sharks allowed just one shot during those penalties.

In the second period, the shot count was 10-7 Colorado and the Avalanche also won 60% of the face-offs.

A couple of things went unnoticed by the men in stripes during the third period. Colorado got away with too many men on the ice around the 10 minute mark, and then Timo Meier got whacked on the hands without any official noticing. The audience saw enough of both incidents to object loudly.

Joonas Donskoi made it 4-2 Avalanche after J.T. Compher found him with a backhand pass off the rush. It was a very nifty play, reminiscent of Donskoi in teal. Assists went to Compher and Erik Johnson.

With just under two minutes left, Evander Kane was felled with a high stick, putting the Sharks on a short power play. Kane appeared none the worse for wear during the power play.

With the Sharks goalie pulled, Noah Gregor scored his second goal of the season with 44 seconds left in the period. Assists went to Meier and Kevin Labanc.

The third period shot count was 11-6 Sharks, with the Avalanche winning 52% of the face-offs.

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