NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Bruins coach Montgomery leads by being positive; Heads or tails on Canucks new coach Tocchet for now; plus more NHL News

Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery talks with his players during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, in Boston. The Bruins hired Montgomery at the start of the 2022 season as their new coach. (AP News file)

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 Matt, talk about Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery this is his second team in the NHL he first coached the Dallas Stars before being fired by them in 2019 and has done a bang up job as head coach leading the club to a 26-6-4. Talk about the job Montgomery has done building up the Bruins?

#2 Under Vancouver Canucks (19-26-3) new head coach Rick Tocchet he’s 2-1 so far and in the first win he handled the Chicago Blackhawks rather handily 5-2 and in the second game in Seattle the Canucks got crushed 6-1, and on Friday the Canucks picked up a three goal win over the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2. It’s early to tell but the Canucks critics say should have held onto Bruce Boudreau and let him finish out the season.

#3 Matt, are the Toronto Maple Leafs going to miss Austin Matthews something awful, Matthews is out with a knee sprain for three weeks, Matthews is second in goals, and is third in points. Matthews injured himself on Wednesday against the New York Rangers during a 3-2 overtime win.

#4 The Florida Panthers Aleksander Barkov will replace Matthews at center at the NHL All Star game in Florida on Sat Feb 4th. Barkov is second on the Panthers with 43 points with 13 goals and 30 assists. He should get a good ovation when he is introduced in Sunrise next Saturday.

#5 Despite winning seven of their last ten games the Chicago Blackhawks (15-28-4) and defeating one of the tougher teams in the NHL the Calgary Flames (23-17-9) 5-1 on Thursday night in Calgary the Blackhawks are looking to deal stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews each player is in the final year of their eight year contract.

Matt Harrington does the NHL podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Canucks crash the net in lopsided game defeat Sharks 6-2; Horvat nets two goals for Vancouver

Vancouver Canucks’ Brock Boeser, Bo Horvat and Ilya Mikheyev, from left, celebrate Horvat’s second goal against the San Jose Sharks at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Tue Dec 27, 2022 (Canadian Press photo via AP)

By Torben Rolfsen

VANCOUVER, CANADA – The San Jose Sharks went into Vancouver’s Rogers Arena Tuesday night and played like a team still nursing a rum and egg nog holiday hangover, losing 6-2 to the host Canucks.

San Jose started off sluggish and never seemed to get on track, losing their eighth straight head-to-head against Vancouver, reaffirming orcas as the apex predator of the West coast over great white sharks.

Captain Bo Horvat paced the Canucks with his 25th and 26th goals of the season. Trailing 2-0 with a minute to go in the first period, Timo Meier got the Sharks on the board with his team-leading 19th goal of the year, but instead of giving San Jose momentum going into the second, the floodgates began to open behind veteran goalie James Reimer.

Ilya Mikheyev and Quinn Hughes (with his first of the season) scored a pair of nice goals to put the home team up 4-1. With just over five minutes left in the second, the Sharks had a great chance to get back in it with Canuck netminder Spencer Martin down and out, but couldn’t orchestrate the wrap around from behind the net quickly enough.

It might have been the rare instance where a Michigan lacrosse-style attempt would have been warranted. Jaycob Megna had a great chance from the top of the slot with 13 minutes left in the game, but Martin came up with a nice pad save. Meier added his 20th goal of the year late in the third.

The sixth place Canucks put a little more distance between themselves and the seventh-place Sharks in the Pacific division. The Sharks return home to the SAP Center to host the Philadelphia Flyers Thursday night before travelling to Dallas for a New Year’s Eve tilt against the Stars.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks hope to build on Thursday’s win in Vancouver on Tuesday

Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson (32) is unable to stop a shot by San Jose Sharks left wing Oskar Lindblom, foreground, for a goal during the second period at SAP Center on Thu Dec 22, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 Defenseman Erik Karlsson had a goal and three assists for the San Jose Sharks (11-18-6) Thursday, and was one of five different goal scorers for the Sharks in a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild (19-12-2) at SAP Center.

#2 Karlsson, Timo Meier, Kevin Lebanc, Oskar Lindblom and Noah Gregor each tallied for the Sharks, while goaltender James Reimer stopped 24 of 26 Wild shots. Karlsson’s three helpers gives him a team-leading 33 in that category.

#3 Kevin Labanc closed out the scoring with an unassisted power-play empty net goal at 19:46 of the third period. Minnesota’s Matt Boldy was serving a 2-minute minor for slashing at the time of Labanc’s goal.

#4 San Jose, 7th in the Pacific, improved to 11-18-6, 28 points. The Wild, third in the NHL Central, are 19-12-2, 40 points, and tied with Seattle for the fifth-best record in the Western Conference.

#5 The Sharks head to Vancouver to face off with the Canucks who have won five of their last ten games. The Canucks won in a shootout Thursday over the Seattle Kraken in Seattle 6-5. Face off at Rogers Centre in Vancouver on Tue Dec 27 at 7:00pm. Len how do you see this match up?

Join Len Shapiro Fridays for the Sharks podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks trying to find a way towards their next win; Battle continues in Anaheim tonight

San Jose Sharks right wing Timo Meier (28) celebrates with defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) after scoring a goal against the Vancouver Canucks during the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose on Wed Dec 7, 2022 (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast:

#1 Elias Petterson’s goal at 4:25 of the overtime period gave the Vancouver Canucks (12-12-3) a 6-5 win over the San Jose Sharks Wednesday at SAP Center.

#2 The Sharks (8-16-5, 20 points) let a 5-4 lead slip away in the third period. An unassisted goal by Jonah Gadjovich at 2:45 tied the game at 4-4. 

#3 Kevin Labanc’s sixth goal of the season – from Tomas Hertl and Erik Karlsson – gave San Jose a 5-4 lead at 11:28.

#4 San Jose was penalized four times, while the Canucks were also whistled four times, including a 5-minute fighting major to Joshua for a scuffle with the Sharks’ Radim Simek in the first period. The Sharks have now lost seven of their last eight games.

#5 The Sharks have now lost seven of their last eight games and will try to string some wins together as they face the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night at 7:00pm at the Honda Center.

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

Sharks lose 6-5 in overtime to Canucks

San Jose Sharks left wing Oskar Lindblom (23) and Vancouver Canucks right wing Ilya Mikheyev (65) compete for possession of the puck during the second period at SAP Center San Jose on Wed Dec 7, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Elias Petterson’s goal at 4:25 of the overtime period gave the Vancouver Canucks (12-12-3) a 6-5 win over the San Jose Sharks Wednesday at SAP Center.

The Sharks (8-16-5, 20 points) let a 5-4 lead slip away in the third period. An unassisted goal by Jonah Gadjovich at 2:45 tied the game at 4-4. And Kevin Labanc’s sixth goal of the season – from Tomas Hertl and Erik Karlsson – gave San Jose a 5-4 lead at 11:28.

Andrei Kuzmemkpo’s 13th goal of the season, a power-play tally assisted by Petterson and Bo Horvat, provided the equalizer for Vancouver (11-12-2, 25) at 16:07.

The Canucks built a 3-1 lead on Nils Hoglander’s goal at 1:34 of the second period. San Jose came back with goals by Timo Meier (power-play )and Logan Couture (shorthanded), the latter tying the game at 3-3 at 10:53.

Rya Mikheyev put the Canucks back in front at 4-3, scoring at 19:28 of the second period.

San Jose’s Nick Bonoino opened the scoring 18 seconds into the first period with his second goal of the season. Vancouver responded nearly four minutes later with a goal by Dakota Joshua, and the Canucks took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission on Joshua’s second goal of the opening period – a power-play tally – at 19:35 while the Sharks’ C.J. Suess served a minor for holding.

Vancouver goalie Spencer Martin turned away 34 of 39 shots. Kaapo Kahkonen started in goal for the Sharks, giving up four goals on 19 shots. Fetu Makiniemi replaced Kahkonen in the third period, stopping 8 of 10 shots.

San Jose was penalized four times, while the Canucks were also whistled four times, including a 5-minute fighting major to Joshua for a scuffle with the Sharks’ Radim Simek in the first period. The Sharks have now lost seven of their last eight games.

The Sharks travel to Anaheim on Friday for a Pacific Division contest against the Ducks.

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Colorado’s Manson is week to week with lower body injury; Bertuzzi out six weeks with upper body for Red Wings; plus more

The Colorado Avalanche’s Josh Manson is out week to week due to a lower body injury (photo from nhl.com)

On the NHL podcast with Matt Harrington:

#1 The Colorado Avalanche’s Josh Manson is out week to week due to a lower body injury. Manson was injured while playing against the Buffalo Sabers on Thursday. The Aves defeated the Sabers 6-4 and Manson has six points, two goals and four assists.

#2 The Detroit Red Wings Tyler Bertuzzi is out six weeks with an upper body injury Bertuzzi left Wednesday night’s game with a left hand injury after getting hit with a puck shot.

#3 Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko will miss six weeks of action as he suffered a lower body injury. Demko left in the late first period during a 5-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. Demko couldn’t put any weight on his right leg and had to be assisted off the ice after Ryan Lomberg with 47 seconds left in the first period.

#4 The Pittsburgh Penguins Kris Letang has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a stroke. Letang was not suffering any post effects but will be test this upcoming week and his stroke is not considered career threatening according to Penguins general manager Ron Hextall.

#5 Matt the NHL did announce make up dates for the postponed game due to a water main break at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on back on Nov 26th when the Columbus Blue Jackets were to face the Nashville Predators which was rescheduled Tue Jan 17th.

Join Matt for the NHL podcasts Saturday nights at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Tightly contested game between Sharks and Canucks ends with Vancouver on top 4-3

Photo courtesy of San Jose Sharks Twitter. Matt Benning gets ready before the game against Vancouver.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

At the SAP Center the Sharks and Canucks battled it out in a back-and-forth affair that needed overtime but in the end the Canucks won by a final of 4-3.

The opening period was a close checking period with very few stoppages and quick play on both sides of the puck.

At the 7:26 mark though Kyle Burroughs would break the silence with a one time bomb from the point that made it 1-0. The assists on the goal going to both Bo Horvat and J.T. Miller.

After the goal it continued to be a tightly played game with the shots at the end of the period only slightly favoring the Sharks at 11-7.

Heading into the second the game continued to be played very similarly with Kevin Labanc breaking up the pace by taking a tripping penalty. Though the Canucks would threaten the PK unit for San Jose came through and killed the PP off.

A little over ten minutes after the PK the Sharks would get a fortuitous goal that bounced in off the back Luke Kunin out in front off a wrist shot from the point by Matt Benning. Nick Bonino also got an assists on the goal as it bounced off of him as well.

The period would end in a tie at 1-1 with the Sharks still leading in shots at 16-13.

In the third period at the 13:00 minute mark Burroughs would take a cross-checking penalty to give the Sharks their first power play of the game.

Only five seconds into said PP San Jose struck with a one time ripper from Logan Couture that beat Thatcher Demko. Erik Karlsson and Alexander Barabonov also got assists on the goal.

For the Sharks their lead would be short lived as a little over a minute later Ilya Mikheyev scored on a one timer in the slot to tie things back up at two. Both Andrei Kuzmenko and Elias Pettersson got assists on the goal.

Looking to end the game the Canucks kept up the pressure and scored again this time Pettersson got his 11th of the season on tip out front that beat Kaapo Kahkonen. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Mikheyev got assists on the goal.

With the pressure on them San Jose would not fold as instead they pressed back and got some good looks of their own.

With a little less than seven minutes left in the game the teal-and-white converted on a look with Kunin netting his second of the night. It was another one timer beautifully set up by Karlsson with Nick Bonino assisting on the play as well.

Despite some good chances late in the third for Vancouver overtime would be necessary for this matchup.

For the Canucks it would not take long for them to end it as just 1:12 into OT Kuzmenko found himself alone on a breakaway and sniped a shot past Kahkonen. Miller and Quinn Hughes got assists on the goal.

At the end of the game the shots finished in favor of the Sharks at 35-20.

“Pretty good I mean I felt good throughout the whole game obviously just frustrating way to end this game,” Kahkonen said after the OT loss.

The Sharks next game will be against the Montreal Canadians on Tuesday at the Bell Centre at 4 p.m.

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Kings Doughty looks forward to facing Ovechkin; Bolts point scores twice in Panthers loss; plus much more

The Washington Capitals Alexander Ovechkin (left) has put eight shots against as the Los Angeles Kings Drew Doughty (right) stopped all eight but missed the last two games against the Caps. Doughty will get another chance again to face Ovechkin this Sat Oct 22, 2022 as the Kings and Caps drop the puck at Capital One Center in DC (NHL.com file photo)

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty express his excitement about the possibility of facing the Washington Capitals Alexander Ovechkin this Saturday night at the Capital One Center in DC. Doughty has missed the last two games that the Kings faced the Caps the first time Nov 17th due to a knee contusion and the second time with Covid-19 protocols.

#2 Doughty has been able to block Ovechkin’s in 19 previous games he was able to block 31 Capital shots including eight from Ovechkin.

#3 You just can’t keep a good man down and the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Brayden Point is no exception scoring twice against the Florida Panthers on Friday night as the Bolts squeezed by the Panthers with a 3-2 win in Sunrise Florida. The Lightning also beat the New York Islanders 5-3 on Saturday to pick up their third win.

#4 The Vancouver Canucks returned to Rogers Centre in Vancouver Saturday night hosting the Buffalo Sabers, after opening up their first five games of the season all on the road with loses. Was this a matter of just bad scheduling opening up those first five on the road or the Canucks were just that bad?

#5 The San Jose Sharks will be hosting five throw back sweater nights starting Tuesday night at SAP Center in San Jose that will pay tribute to the first NHL team in the Bay Area the California Golden Seals who played at the Oakland Arena from 1966-1976 before moving to Cleveland. The uniforms resemble the Seals old sweaters the other 29 NHL teams are also doing throw back nights as well.

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

Sharks Fall 4-2 to Canucks, Canucks Sweep Season Series

Vancouver Canucks’ Alex Chiasson and fans celebrate his goal during third period action at Rogers Place in Vancouver on Sat Apr 9, 2022 (The Canadian Press via AP)

Vancouver Canucks’ Alex Chiasson and fans celebrate after Chiasson scores in the third period against the San Jose Sharks at Rogers Place in Vancouver on Sat Apr 10, 2022 (The Canadian Press via AP)

By Mary Walsh

VANCOUVER- The San Jose Sharks dropped their sixth in a row, a 4-2 road loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. The loss concluded the season series between the teams, with the Canucks winning all three games. The win put the Canucks within four points of a playoff spot. Jason Dicksinson, Conor Garland, Alex Chiasson and Luke Schenn scored for the Canucks. Thatcher Demko made 35 saves for the win. Tomas Hertl and Nick Bonino scored for the Sharks and Kaapo Kahkonen made 35 saves in the loss.

Like many of the Sharks recent losses, the game was close in many respects. Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner listed some of the missed opportunities that the Sharks had on Saturday:

“Had our scoring chances, again, I mean, I sound like a broken record but we had breakaways, we had three posts, you know, we had looks at the end in our six on five, six on four situation. You know, we had plenty of opportunities to score, we didn’t get it done.”

Sharks defenseman Ryan Merkley took a hit early in the first period after missing the mark with a drop pass in the Canucks zone. While he was getting to the bench, the Canucks went the other way and scored. He left the game until late in the period. Boughner discussed the hit and the play:

“I thought [the hit] looked a little high. Concerned about that, also concerned about the play. In the back of our net, that’s how we start the game. Things that we’re trying to get out of his game, out of our game. He’s a young guy. But I think that he got hit high, I looked at it a few times. He went through protocol, got checked out, it was good to see him come back healthy and ready to help us. But those are learning plays.”

Jason Dickinson gave the Canucks the lead just 2:05 into the first period. He intercepted a pass in the Sharks zone and went the other way two-on-one. He tucked the puck into the net at the last minute after Kahkonen had come too far out of the net.

Tomas Hertl tied it at 7:33 with a power play goal. Erik Karlsson set up Timo Meier for a shot from the circle. Demko stopped Meier’s shot but the rebound went right to Hertl on the other side. Assists went to Meier and Karlsson.

Conor Garland made it 2-1 at 4:49 of the second period. Garland picked up the puck at the Sharks blue line and went the other way with speed. He took the shot from the circle and to score his 15^th of the season. Alex Chiasson got the assist.

Nick Bonino, playing his 750^th NHL game, deflected a Brent Burns shot from the point to tie it at 18:37. Assists went to Burns and Noah Gregor.

Alex Chiasson made it 3-2 at 2:07 of the third period. He caught the puck low in the circle and put the shot through the short side. Assists went to Bo Horvat and Tyler Myers.

Luke Schenn scored a short-handed goal into and empty net with a second left in the game to make it 4-2.

The Sharks killed seven penalties in the game, allowing 12 shots to the Canucks power play. The Sharks power play had five opportunities and got one goal and five shots. In the face-off circle, the Sharks won 55% of the draws.

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

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: NHL Trade deadline some big names up for grabs; plus NHL action from Friday

Brandon Hagel was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh from the Chicago Blackhawks on Fri Mar 18, 2022 (photo from nhl.com)

On the NHL podcast with Matt:

#1 Matt how important is it that the Tampa Bay Lightning picked up Brandon Hagel in exchange for forwards Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh from the Chicago Blackhawks?

#2 Matt, talk about the key winning goal by the Buffalo Sabers Tage Thompson that helped get the win over the Calgary Flames in overtime at 3:07 for a narrow 1-0 win. Also big hand for the Sabers goaltender Dustin Tokarski who stopped 24 shots for the shutout.

#3 The Ottawa Senators Josh Norris help end the Senators three game losing streak with a go ahead goal in the third period that handed the Senators a 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night. The Sens Aaron Forsberg stopped 28 out 29 shots.

#4 The injuries are piling up for the Vegas Golden Knights the latest have center Jack Eichel doubtful for against the Los Angeles Kings for Saturday. Eichel blocked a shot with his hand and could sit out. His teammates goaltender Robin Lehner, two defencemen Brayden McNabb and Alec Martinez and three forwards Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, and Reilly Smith are all on the injured list. Inspite of that the Knights snapped a five game losing streak with a win over the Florida Panthers 5-3 on Thursday night.

#5 Matt, just to name a few of the players who are trade deadline as of this morning maybe you could update us, the Vancouver Canucks Brock Boeser, New York Islanders Cal Clutterbuck, Andrew Copp Winnipeg Jets, Jake DeBrusk Boston Bruins, and Marc Andre Fleury Chicago Blackhawks. I’ll let you also add more to whose on the trade block for tonight.

Matt does the NHL podcasts each Saturday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com