San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: NHL teams shopping Karlsson; Will Sharks be sellers?

San Jose Sharks Erik Karlsson skates against the Florida Panthers on Thu Nov 3, 2022 at SAP Center in San Jose (AP News file photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson lead all NHL defensemen with ten goals and 14 points in his first 14 games this season a remarkable start for Karlsson.

#2 From 2011-2018 Karlsson had a great run with 110 points that’s more than any other defenseman during that time.

#3 Looking back the Sharks gave up on a lot of key players to make cap room for Karlsson players like Justin Braun, Joonas Donskoi, Joe Pavelski, Brenden Dillion, Melker Karlsson,

#4 The Sharks were on a four game losing streak in the first two period of most of those games they seemed competitive and in it but in the third period or overtime they just can’t hold the lead.

#5 Sharks on Thursday opened a four game road trip with the St Louis Blues followed the Dallas Stars tonight, then the Minnesota Wild Sunday and wrap up the trip Tuesday in Vegas.

Join Len for the Sharks podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Blues Snap 8-Game Skid, Beat Sharks 5-3; San Jose extends skid to 5 games

San Jose Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen can’t stop a loose puck that gets on top of him trying to defend against the St Louis Blues offense at the Enterprise Center in St Louis on Thu Nov 10, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Matthew Harrington

The San Jose Sharks couldn’t continue the St. Louis Blues snide Thursday night, dropping a 5-3 loss in the Show Me State to help the Blues snap an 8-game losing streak. The big guns Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture scored for the Sharks and Erik Karlsson picked up a pair of assists but Calle Rosen broke a 3-3 tie in the third and Noel Acciari scored an empty-netter for the Blues victory and a fifth-straight San Jose loss. St. Louis (4-8-0) is now just one point back of San Jose for the last spot in the Western Conference.

San Jose (3-9-3) started off slowly, giving up a Torey Krug goal just 2:30 into the game but responded with a goal with 3:41 left in the period. The goal is credited to Timo Meier in the official scorecard, but was an own-goal by Justin Faulk on a point shot from Erik Karlsson. The puck bounced around and could credibly have been credited to Karlsson, Meier or Tomas Hertl. Regardless, it tied the game 1-1 after one period.

Jordan Kyrou got lost in Sharks coverage for an easy backdoor power play goal 6:59 into the second period for a 2-1 lead, but Hertl provided the equalizer after Kevin Labanc’s off angle shot rebounded off Jordan Binnington in the Blues net for a perfect slot chance. Hertl converted on it for a 2-all hockey game with 6:55 left in the period.

The Blues wouldn’t let the period play out like the first, scoring with 1:52 left in the middle stanza on Brandon Saad’s first goal of the year. The Sharks captain Logan Couture knotted the game at 3-3 1:26 into the third when Karlsson flicked a puck on net from the boards and Couture tipped it past Binnington, one of three goals on 30 Sharks shots. Rosen scored the winner on a rare point shot goal 8:20 into the period. Acciari scored the empty netter with 19 seconds left. Kaapo Kahkohnen made 28 saves on 32 shots in the loss.

The Sharks won’t have long to ruminate on the loss against the current cellar dweller. They travel to Dallas to face the Stars Friday in the Big D. The Stars are currently second in the Central Division and could see their superstar goalie Jake Oettinger return from injury to face team Teal.

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.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks look to bounce back against Washington tonight at SAP Center

The San Jose Sharks Tomas Hertl (48) and company had a tough outing against the St Louis Blues as Blues goaltender Ville Husso (35) skates out of the crease to put a stop on Hertl during the third period on Thu Nov 18, 2021 at the Enterprise Arena in St Louis (AP News photo)

On the Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 The San Jose Sharks (8-7-1) who had suffered a tough defeat on Sat Nov 13, 6-2 against the Colorado Avalanche (6-5-1) got dropped again to the St Louis Blues (9-5-2) on Thursday night in St Louis 4-1.

#2 The loss to the Blues was the Sharks third loss in four games. On Thursday the Sharks goaltender James Reimer saved 44 shots and allowed four goals for the loss.

#3 The Blues in their own right had a four game losing streak going and got big help from Brandon Saad who scored twice and goaltender Ville Husso stopped 26 shots to end the lost streak .

#4 Talk about the Logan Couture goal that was taken away in the first period at 7:17 after it was ruled that Jonathan Dahlen was offsides. Did that seem to change to course of the game?

#5 Up next for the Sharks are the Washington Capitals (10-2-5) who have won four of their last six games and won their last game in Los Angeles defeating the Kings (8-6-2) in a shutout 2-0. The Caps Garnet Hathaway scored both Caps goals for the win. How do you see the Caps and Sharks who face off tonight at SAP Center in San Jose.

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

Sharks Fall 4-1 to Blues, Ending Blues Losing Streak

Its hard for San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer to look back as the St Louis Blues Brandon Saad (20) score a second period goal at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Nov 18, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 4-1 to the St. Louis Blues Thursday. The Blues got goals from Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, and two from Brandon Saad. Ville Husso made 26 saves for the win. Jonathan Dahlen scored for San Jose and James Reimer made 44 saves in the loss.

For the second time in four games, the Sharks had zero power play opportunities. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“I thought when we started getting back into the game, and we were trading chances a little bit, we took a terrible penalty, 200 feet away from our net and they scored. It’s 1-0, now we’re playing a little bit of catch up. It just seemed we couldn’t get a power play call. You know, I was whining a little bit there ’cause I’d had three or four there that I thought could have been a power play.”

Jacob Middleton and Robert Bortuzzo dropped the gloves off the opening face-off, starting the game off with some energy.

Logan Couture appeared to have scored the first goal at 8:21 of the game but it was called back because Jasper Weatherby was offside.

Brandon Saad scored the only first period goal, on the power play 10:35 minutes in. Ryan O’Reilly’s shot from the face-off circle went under Reimer and drifted into the blue paint. Saad had his stick ready to nudge it over the line. O’Reilly and David Perron got the assists.

Along with the one-goal lead at the end of the first period, the Blues also led in shots 16-13 and face-off wins at 62%. The Sharks penalty kill gave up six shots to the Blues power play.

Robert Thomas made it 2-0 for th Blues 1:35 into the second period. Pavel Buchnevich caught a pass from Scott Perunovich on the goal line, then sent it over to Thomas who was just below the hash marks. Thomas’s shot slipped by Reimer on the blocker side.

Jonathan Dahlen scored for the Sharks at 8:16. Timo Meier won a battle for the puck below the goal line and shot a pass to the front of the net. Dahlen was on the spot to push it in.

In a three-on-two, Brandon Saad scored his second of the game at 10:17. Oskar Sundqvist made a backhand pass from one circle to the other and Saad shot it in while Reimer was still trying to get across. Assists went to Sundqvist and Ivan Barbashev.

The Blues out-shot the Sharks again, this time 19-8, though the Sharks improved in the face-off circle to 53%. The Blues had two power plays to the Sharks’ none, and their power play managed four shots on goal.

Jordan Kyrou made it 4-1 1:09 into the third period. David Perron’s cross-ice pass from the d-zone found Kyrou flying through the neutral zone. Kyrou took the shot from the top of the circle and beat Reimer on the far side.

The Blues had a single power play in the third period, and again the Sharks had none. The Sharks penalty kill gave up three shots. The Blues also out-shot the Sharks in the third period, 13-6. The Sharks won 62% of the third period face-offs.

The Sharks next play on Saturday, back in San Jose against the Washington Capitals at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Fall to Blues 5-3; St Louis scores 3 goals in second period

St Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer stopped 23 shots in his first NHL game against the San Jose Sharks on Thu Nov 4, 2021 at SAP Center (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Sharks lost 5-3 to the St. Louis Blues Thursday. Blues goals came from Brandon Saad (2), Pavel Buchnevich, James Neal and Robert Thomas. Joel Hofer, in his first NHL game, made 23 saves for the win. Sharks goals came from Brent Burns, Logan Couture and Nick Merkley. Adin Hill made 23 saves in the loss.

After the game, Assistant Coach John MacLean was asked whether the Sharks let a win slip away here. He said: “No game’s a given here in the NHL. I mean, yeah we had some opportunities and we let a couple of opportunities slip away.” He summarized the loss as “just one of those games. We can’t forget that St. Louis is a pretty good hockey club and when they got the lead they shut’er down pretty good, they didn’t give us a lot after that.”

The Sharks scored a power play goal at 7:13 of the first. The teams were playing 5 on 3 due to several overlapping penalties. Burns’s one-timer went by three skaters and under Joel Hofer. Assists went to Tomas Hertl and Alexander Barabanov.

Brandon Saad tied it up with a short-handed goal as the Sharks power play was winding down. Tyler Bozak carried the puck into the zone along the boards and made a pass across the ice to Saad on the other side of the ice, avoiding two Sharks defenders. Saad’s quick shot went by Hill on the far side.

Logan Couture got the lead back for the Sharks with his own short-handed goal at 17:16. Couture stole the puck from [x]Faulk in the neutral zone before making a run into the o-zone. His wrist shot snuck under Hofer. Rudolfs Balcers got an assist.

The Sharks out-shot the Blues 12-7 in the first. Their power plays got seven shots on goal and their penalty kill gave up one shot. They also did well in the face-off circle, winning 56% of the draws.

The Blues tied it again at 4:20 of the second. Ivan Barbashev intercepted the puck in the o-zone and found Pavel Buchnevich by the face-off dot with a quick pass. Buchnevich shot it right in and beat Hill over the glove. Assists went to Barbashev and Klim Kostin.

Nick Merkley put the Sharks ahead again less than 30 seconds later. Merkley tipped Mario Ferraro’s shot, sending the puck between Jake Walman’s skates and under Hofer for his first of the season. Assists went to Ferraro and Burns.

Saad tied it again with his second of the night at 8:09. A slick wrist shot from the face-off dot went off the post and in on the far side. Assists went to Robert Thomas and David Perron.

James Neal gave the Blues their first lead of the night at 11:42. Hill stopped Walman’s shot from the point but Neal picked up the rebound and swept it around the Sharks’s goaltender. Assists went to Walman and Tyler Bozak.

The Blues edged the Sharks in the face-off circle in the second period, 10 wins to 9. They also out-shot the Sharks 12-8. Their power play got three shots on goal.

Midway through the third period, Nikko Mikkola sent Logan Couture into the boards. Couture got up slowly and walked into the tunnel but he returned to the bench instead of going to the dressing room. After the game he said he was fine.

Robert Thomas scored an empty-netter with a minute left. Assists went to Colton Parayko and Hofer.

In the final tally, the Sharks won 58% of the face-offs. The Blues outshot the Sharks 28-26. The Sharks had nine shots on the power play and the Blues had four.

Thursday’s game was William Eklund’s ninth game. If he plays another with the Sharks, he cannot be sent down without triggering his entry level contract.

Due to the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol, the Sharks are still without forwards Keving Labanc, Timo Meier, and Matt Nieto, and defensemen Erik Karlsson, Jake Middleton, Radim Simek and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Head Coach Bob Boughner, Head Trainer Ray Tufts and Equipment Manager Mike Aldrich are also out.

Of the Sharks’ young defensemen, John MacLean said: “One of the hardest positions to break into the National Hockey League is playing defense… the experiences they get, they played out of necessity, and you don’t jump on them because they gave a good solid effort.”

Logan Couture also talked about how the inexperienced players are doing:

“The guys that have stepped in and played their second or third NHL games have played well and they’ve given it all they have. The veterans, we can do a better job protecting those guys, playing out of our end and in their end a little bit more.”

The Sharks next play on Saturday at home, against the New Jersey Devils at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Lose 5-2 to the Blues

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell to the St. Louis Blues 5-2 Saturday, at the SAP Center in San Jose. Blues goals came from Jordan Kyrou (2), Ryan O’Reilly, David Perron and Vince Dunn. Ville Husso made 29 saves for the win. Tomas Hertl and Dylan Gambrell scored for San Jose, and Devan Dubnyk made 16 saves in the loss.

The Sharks were penalized for a face-off violation in the third period, when the game was still tied 2-2. Patrick Marleau was taking the draw and the linesman took issue with the way he did it. Of the call, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“It’s ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. I think everybody in the rink, including their team, our team, I think, the other linesman, the refs, I think everybody was shocked. It was a brutal, brutal call. It really in my mind, cost, it turned the whole game around.”

Patrick Marleau, who could not recall being penalized under this rule before, said: “Obviously he thought I cheated or turned too quickly on the draw. So I guess that was the reasoning behind the penalty.”

Sharks goaltender Devan Dubnyk was also asked about that penalty. He said:

“It’s 2-2 in the middle of the third period and you get a penalty called that I don’t think I’ve ever seen called except for maybe the first year, [in] exhibition season, when they first made the rule. And it’s embarrassing, it’s Mickey Mouse.”

Dylan Gambrell scored for San Jose at 2:33 of the first. The puck came to him high in the slot after Sorensen and Brent Burns chased it down behind the net.

St. Louis tied it up at 3:32 when Vince Dunn scored his fourth of the season. Dunn’s shot from the blue line looked likely to go wide but instead it hit Erik Karlsson’s shin pad and deflected in. Assists went to Jordan Kyrou and Ryan O’Reilly.

Kyrou gave the Blues the lead at 6:45. O’Reilly got control of the puck below the goal line and passed it up to Kyrou. Kyrou put the puck under Dubnyk in in the net. Assists went to O’Reilly and David Perron.

Mike Hoffman put the puck in the net near the 12 minute mark. The goal was called back after the Sharks challenged the play as offside.

At the end of the first period, the Sharks led on the shot clock 11-5. There was just one penalty in the first, to St. Louis. The Sharks had two shots on that power play.

Tomas Hertl tied the game 8:10 in to the second period. Nikolai Knyzhov’s pass from the defensive zone found Timo Meier on the other side of the neutral zone. Meier’s pass found Hertl speeding into the Blue’s zone. There was no one in the way to stop him as he took the shot.

The Sharks took two penalties in the second period and their penalty kill allowed just one shot to the Blues. The Sharks led in shots again, 10-8.

O’Reilly scored just 12 seconds into the power play that resulted from the face-off violation penalty. His shot from the face-off dot found its way through traffic and in. Assists went to Dunn and Perron.

Kyrou scored his second of the game at 15:51. Dubnyk followed the puck across to the right and Torey Krug passed it across the ice. Kyrou, who had just evaded Ryan Donato, tapped the puck in. Assists went to Krug and Perron.

David Perron scored into an empty net at 18:01 to make it 5-2.

The Final shot count was 31-21 Sharks. In the face-off circle, the Sharks showed improvement over recent games, winning 59%. Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl both won 67% of their draws.

The Sharks next play on Monday against the Los Angeles Kings, in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Fall 2-1 to Blues in Shootout

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost to the St. Louis Blues by a score of 2-1 in a shootout Friday. Tyler Bozak scored for the Blues and Jordan Binnington made 30 saves for the win. Ryan Donato scored for the Sharks and Martin Jones made 33 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said:

“I think we had seven or eight missed chances, missed the net, and the rest were blocked. I thought we had a ton of opportunities, especially rush chances in the slot. We looked to pass it or we got blocked or, like I said, we missed the net. So they hit the net on theirs. They’re a good team, a good offensive team and I thought Jonesy gave us a chance to win there.”

Ryan Donato scored for the Sharks at 15:08 of the second period. Hertl started the puck out and passed it to Sorensen in the neutral zone. As he crossed the blue line, he dropped it to Donato. Donato hesitated until a defenseman went down to block the shot, and then took the shot from the slot. Assists went to Sorensen and Hertl.

The two penalties in the first two periods both went to the Sharks and they were both for too many men on the ice. After the game, Sharks captain Logan Couture said: “Tonight the first one was on the forwards and the second one was on the d-men. I believe the first one, guys just heard the wrong line that was called and obviously that can’t happen. And the d-one, I’m not sure, I’m not down at that end.”

The Blues had two shots during the first power play and one in the second. The Blues outshot the Sharks in both periods, 12-9 and 12-7.

The Blues tied the game at 6:22 of the third period with a short-handed goal. Kyle Clifford took a shot that went off of Tyler Bozak’s shinpad, making it Bozak’s first goal of the year.

There were two penalties called in the third period, an interference call against Zach Sanford of the Blues and a misconduct against Kurtis Gabriel of the Sharks. Neither team registered a shot on the power play in the third. The Sharks improved a little in shots, leading 11-10 in the third.

The Sharks had all the shots in overtime with four, and they had some power play time as well.

The shootout was concluded in three rounds. David Perron’s shot was stopped by Martin Jones. Donato shot wide. Brayden Schenn scored over Jones’ shoulder on the glove side. Logan Couture scored over Binnington’s blocker. Vladimir Tarasenko scored by outwaiting Jones and sneaking the puck behind the goalie. Kevin Labanc tried the same thing but Binnington’s skate got in the way for a save.

The Sharks’ face-off numbers were not good, with a 38% win percentage. Tomas Hertl and Dylan Gambrell both won fewer than 25% of their draws. Both players have been taking a lot of draws and until recently put up good numbers.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 6:00 PM PT, against the Blues again in San Jose.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Will electric win put Sharks back on track?

San Jose Sharks goaltender Devan Dubnyk center gets congratulated by Marc-Edouard Vlasic (left) and center Ryan Danato (16) after the Sharks win on Mon Mar 8, 2021 at SAP Center San Jose (@SanJoseSharks photo)

On the Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 Len, after losing three straight games the San Jose Sharks (9-11-3) looked like they tightened down the defense despite getting behind early 2-0 on Monday night against the St Louis Blues (14-8-2).

#2 The defense played a big enough role for San Jose that allowed them to tie the score at 2-2 in the second and third periods with a goal a piece from Logan Couture and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

#3 The Sharks in their last few games have been getting goal scoring help from their defencemen and Vlasic’s goal on Monday night no exception.

#4 Evander Kane can come out and get one in the back of the net and he didn’t waste anytime on Monday night 41 seconds in the overtime and scored the game winner.

#5 The Sharks open up back to back games in Anaheim this Friday and Saturday. The Anaheim Ducks (7-12-6) have lost five of their last six games this is a team that has been struggling will this give the Sharks an opportunity to take advantage of the Ducks?

Join Len for Sharks podcasts every Wednesday morning at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro Wed Mar 10, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Sharks end three game loss streak edge Blues 3-2

Evander Kane left winger (9) of the San Jose Sharks put the puck on net in overtime past St Louis Blues goaltender Ville Husso (35) for the game winner on Mon Mar 8, 2021 at SAP Center in San Jose (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 One way for the San Jose Sharks to start the week is with a win over the St Louis Blues as they ended a three game loss streak at SAP Center on Monday night in overtime.

#2 The Blues began the game with a goal in each of the first and second periods for a 2-1 lead. Getting goal each from Niko Mikkola and Brayden Schenn.

#3 The Sharks answered right back scoring goals in the second and third periods from Logan Couture and Marc-Edouard Vlasic to tie up the game.

#4 In the overtime stanza the Sharks got the overtime goal from Evander Kane to edge the Blues 3-2. The win ends the Sharks seven game home stand.

#5 The Sharks will now head to the Southland to face off with the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center in Anaheim for a two game series. The Ducks have lost five of their last eight games and played the Los Angeles Kings in Anaheim last night. How do you see this match up between the Sharks and Ducks opening up this Friday night.

Join Mary Lisa for the Sharks podcasts each Tuesday morning at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh Tue Mar 9, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud