San Jose Sharks podcast with Matt Harrington: Sharks hope to snap 7 game skid tonight

The Vegas Knights Shea Theodore (27) reaches out for the puck as the San Jose Sharks Timo Meier (28) is right behind at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas on Thu Apr 23, 2021 (AP News photo)

#1 The San Jose Sharks (18-23-5) enter tonight’s game at SAP Center against the Vegas Golden Knights (33-11-3)) on a seven game losing streak in the Sharks last game against the Vegas Golden Knights not even close another loss 5-2.

#2 What are some of the things that head coach Bob Boughner must be saying to the club right now going on a long losing streak and trying to find ways to break that long string.

#3 For Sharks goaltender Josef Korenar a tough night against Minnesota facing 39 shots and allowing four. Korenar had a good long run with the Sharks minor league team the San Jose Barracuda but this is the big leagues now how ready is he?

#4 Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl both had a goal each for San Jose it wasn’t enough but they’ve had some good offensive nights for the Sharks this season.

#5 The Sharks face off against the Minnesota Wild (27-13-3) tonight at the SAP Center. The Sharks have lost the last two meetings with the Wild by scores of 3-2 and 5-2 with the Sharks on the current losing streak could they have their hands full tonight?

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

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

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

By Mary Walsh

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks trying to figure out how to put end to six game loss steak

The San Jose Sharks Patrick Marleau (12) skates to get to the puck against the Vegas Golden Knights on the night of his record setting 1768th game the most by any NHL player on Mon Apr 19, 2021 at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas (AP News photo)

Len Shapiro on the Sharks podcast:

#1 Another tough loss for the San Jose Sharks on Monday night to the Vegas Golden Knights in a 3-2 shootout. The Knights down 2-1 at one time during the game came back to tie it up 2-2 and force a shootout where they picked up the game winner.

#2 The Sharks goaltender Martin Jones whose had his share of tough nights in front of the net stopped 38 shots out of 40 during regulation. Does Jones lack the defensive protection up front or are some of the shots he facing been some tough chances?

#3 The Sharks got goals in the first period from defenceman Nikolai Knyzhov in the first period at 9:27 and center Noah Gregor who scored in the second period at 0:29.

#4 It wasn’t the Sharks night but it sure was Patrick Marleau’s who was congratulated for setting the all time record for most games played at 1,768 passing Mr. Hockey Gordy Howe.

#5 The Sharks are back to the drawing board facing the Golden Knights again tonight at the T Mobile Center. The Sharks would like nothing more than to snap their six game losing streak than tonight.

Join Len every Tuesday morning for the Sharks podcasts at http://www.sportsrasdioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Marleau plays more games than any other in NHL history

The San Jose Sharks Patrick Marleau acknowledges the crowd at SAP Center in San Jose after eclipsing Gordy Howe for the all time games played record in the NHL on Mon Apr 19, 2021 (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The San Jose Sharks Patrick Marleau on Monday night at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas set the NHL all time most games played record at 1768 surpassing former record holder and hockey great Gordy Howe who held the record of the most games played at 1767.

#2 The game played in Vegas the fan at the T Mobile Center gave Marleau a rousing standing ovation during the pre game warm up skate

#3 Marleau’s wife Christina and four son’s were at the game on Monday night which would not be allowed in San Jose due to strict Covid 19 protocols where fans are not allowed inside SAP Center. Marleau said he couldn’t have done it without Christina and the boys all these years.

#4 Marleau is 41 and has made 1596 appearances with the Sharks, 164 with the Toronto Maple Leafs and eight with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

#5 The Sharks (18-22-5) took a tough shootout loss on Monday night 3-2 to the Las Vegas Golden Knights (32-11-2) and once again Sharks goaltender Martin Jones suffers another loss saving 38 and allowing three goals.

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

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.

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Panthers Ekblad out for 12 wks; Predators one of the hottest teams; plus more

The Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (5) seen scoring a goal on the Dallas Stars goalie  Anton Khudobin (35) in an overtime game on Sat Mar 27, 2021 broke his leg the next day Sun Mar 28, 2021 against the Stars at the American Airlines Center in Dallas (AP News photo)

#1 The biggest news in the NHL is the Florida Panthers (22-9-4) defenseman Aaron Ekblad will be out for 12 weeks due to a fractured leg. Ekblad was removed from the game in the second period on Sunday when the Dallas Stars (11-12-9) Esa Lindell checked Ekblad and Ekblad clutched his left leg that was under him. Ekblad was removed from the ice after medics put a brace on his leg.

#2 Len, the Nashville Predators (18-17-1) are one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now they took a six game winning streak into tonight’s game against the Dallas Stars. There’s nothing like a lot of experience and Preds goaltender Pekka Rinne has been key those wins in his last game he stopped 27 shots allowed two goals in the 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks (16-15-5).

#3 Len, try as hard as they can the Buffalo Sabers (6-23-5) just can’t win for losing. Their on a 16 game losing streak and on Monday night couldn’t pull a rabbit out of the hat losing to the Philadelphia Flyers (17-13-4) in overtime 4-3. The Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark faced a barrage of shots from the Flyers 36 in all. For Ullmark is it a matter of not getting enough defense up front or is he just getting beat at the net.

#4 The Vegas Knights (24-8-1) make it look so easy on Monday night they picked up another easy win with a 4-1 three goal victory over the Los Angeles Kings (13-14-6) at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas. The key to the win was goaltender Robin Lehner who stopped 24 Kings shots.

#5. The Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maples have had a couple close games with the Leafs taking the first game of the two game series 4-3 and the Oilers taking game two 3-2.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Fall 5-4 to Golden Knights

Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 5-4 to the Golden Knights at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Wednesday. Vegas goals came from Shea Theodore, Cody Glass, Nicolas Hague, Ryan Reaves and Alec Martinez. Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves for the win. Matt Nieto, Mario Ferraro, Kevin Labanc and Evander Kane scored for the Sharks. Devan Dubnyk made 32 saves in the loss.

The Sharks went into the third period with a 3-1 lead, but gave up four goals in the final frame. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner talked about how the game came undone:

“I think we pissed away a couple points. You know, the game got emotional and intense and physical, and I didn’t mind that at all. I think we did a good job sticking up for each other, those are things we want to keep doing. A little tough there when we lost [Couture], Hertl and Timo got called off the bench for concussion protocol after that hit all at the same time so we started juggling lines.”

Boughner did not consider that the real turning point. Rather, it came before that: “They didn’t have much going on the first six, seven minutes of that period and we had a horrible, horrible too many men call.”

Sharks Captain Logan Couture explained how it felt to let the game get away from them in the third:

“We played better. Should have won tonight, gave away points, so I mean it sucks to take away the moral victory in a game like this when you need to win and should have won. We’re in a position to win in the third period so, shitty feeling right now.”

Shea Theodore started the scoring at 3:45. Max Pacioretty gathered up an offensive zone turnover and passed it to Theodore at the point. Theodore’s slapshot sailed by Dubnyk, who may have been screened by some traffic.

San Jose took three penalties in the first period and their penalty kill allowed four shots. On the power play, they had three shots. For the period, the Sharks led in shots 11-10.

Matt Nieto got the Sharks on the board at 6:21. Timo Meier sent a pass from the goal line right onto Nieto’s stick by the blue paint. Assists went to Meier and Tomas Hertl.

The Sharks took a lead at with a goal from Mario Ferraro at 7:57. John Leonard’s shot went off of the post before Ferraro coraaled it behind the net and wrapped it around behind Fleury. Assists went to Leonard and Evander Kane.

Ryan Reaves put the puck in the net for Vegas at 11:00, but William Carrier was on top of Dubnyk when the puck went in. The Sharks challenged the goal and, after a review, it was called back for goaltender interference.

Kevin Labanc scored the Sharks’ third of the night at 15:07. Evander Kane attempted to deflect a shot from Ferraro on the blue line. When that didn’t go, he found it again and swept it in front of the net for Labanc to put away. Assists went to Kane and Ferraro.

The Sharks achieved their second period goal of avoiding penalties and the only one went to the Golden Knights. They outshot the Golden Knights 16-11 in the period, but did not get any shots on their power play.

Cody Glass scored for Vegas on the power play at 6:43 of the third period. John Leonard was in the box because his team was caught with too many men on the ice. The puck actually went off of Mario Ferraro’s skate. Assists went to Shea Theodore and Mark Stone.

Tomas Hertl and Mark Stone came to blows in front of the Sharks net moments later. Stone had delivered a hit on Timo Meier in the neutral zone. Meier was called away form the game for concussion protocol. That was Hertl’s first NHL fight.

Nicolas Hague tied the game at 10:03 with a shot right down the slot from the blue line. The assists went to Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson.

Logan Couture and Jonathan Marchessault fought shortly after that goal. That left the Sharks without Meier, Hertl of Couture for several minutes.

Ryan Reaves gave Vegas the lead at 12:27 with a deflection that bounced past Dubnyk. Assists went to Tomas Nosek and Zach Whitecloud.

Alec Martinez scored what would be the game winner at 14:46, on another power play. Labanc was in the box for tripping. the Sharks were just eight seconds away from killing the penalty when Tomas Nosek made a pass across the ice to Martinez. Assists went to Nosek and Theodore.

Evander Kane brought the Sharks back within on goal at 15:54 with a power play goal. Erik Karlsson took a shot from the point. Kane was there to battle for the rebound and tuck it in.

Vegas outshot San Jose 16-6 in the third period. The Sharks got two shots in on their one power play and the Golden Knights got seven shots in two power plays.

The Sharks won just 45% of the face-offs in the game. Of skaters to take more than five draws, only Logan Couture won more than 50%.

The Sharks next play on Friday against the St. Louis Blues at 6:00 PM PT, back in San Jose.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Expect to see a more offensive effort tonight from Sharks in Vegas

You can expect the San Jose Sharks goaltender Devon Dubnyk (40) to expect lots of traffic in front of the net knowing the Vegas Golden Knights reputation for offense tonight at the T Mobile Center in Las Vegas for game 2 of the 2 game series (AP News photo)

On the Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 Len, does it look like any indication to you with that the Vegas Golden Knights (19-6-1) set the tone in winning the first game of this two game series against the San Jose Sharks (11-12-3) on Monday night 2-1.

#2 The Sharks goaltender Devon Dubnyk did all he can to prevent a second goal in the third period but being the good offensive club the Knights are they were able to score on Dubnyk and the Sharks ran out of time to try and tie up the game.

#3 Dubnyk faced a barrage of 34 shots from the Knights and stopped all but 32 he had a great performance despite the San Jose loss and has been the hot handed goalie for the Sharks.

#4 The Sharks in their own right put the puck on net as well against the Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury allowing only one goal while facing 24.

#5 Tonight is game 2 of the series who do you see in goal in this one and you can expect to see more offense coming from the Sharks side of the rink tonight?

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

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro Wed Mar 17, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

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

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

By Mary Walsh

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Golden Knights Shut-Out Sharks 4-0

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

By Mary Walsh

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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