NHL - Sharks Round Up - December 18-23, 2016

Sharks @ Hawks 1-4 - Sunday, December 18, 2016


Playing for the sixth time in 10 days, the Chicago Blackhawks still found a way to extend their winning streak to five games at United Center. Scott Darling made 33 saves and the Blackhawks scored four unanswered goals after falling behind to defeat the San Jose Sharks 4-1 and sweep a back-to-back set that started with a 6-4 victory at the St. Louis Blues. Joe Pavelski put the Sharks up 1-0 at 1:13 of the second period, but Duncan Keith tied it 1-1 at 16:49. The Blackhawks (22-8-4) then seized the win on goals in the third from Ryan Hartman, Vinnie Hinostroza and Patrick Kane. Darling made 13 saves in the third, including nine after Hartman made it 2-1 at 6:59 off a faceoff win by Hinostroza. The Blackhawks made it 3-1 on Hinostroza's goal at 17:40, his second in as many games, and Kane scored his 10th goal into an empty net at 19:13. Keith's goal was his first of the season and Artemi Panarin extended his point streak to five games with two assists. Hartman and Hinostroza each had an assist. The Sharks (19-12-1) had a four-game winning streak end and fell one victory short of sweeping a four-game road trip. Martin Jones made 22 saves for San Jose. Pavelski got his 11th goal by tipping Brent Burns' shot past Darling. San Jose nearly made it 2-0, but had two shots hit the post and several more stopped by Darling to keep Chicago within a goal.

* Hartman scored the game-winner in the third off Hinostroza's faceoff win. Hinostroza battled Mikkel Boedker to a stalemate, which left the puck free for Hartman. He slid in for a quick shot into the far corner of the net.

"I was just trying to pick the guy and leave the puck for him to come in, and he did exactly what I thought he was going to do," Hinostroza said.

* Jones kept it 1-1 with 18 seconds left in the second period. Blackhawks forward Tyler Motte sent a pass to center Marcus Kruger in the low slot, but Jones made a chest save to stop it.

* Darling's save against Boedker at 6:04 of the second period left a loose puck in the crease. The Sharks were unable to increase their 1-0 lead off it because Panarin quickly sent the puck to the boards.

* Keith's goal to tie it 1-1 late in the second period was scored three seconds after he sent a shot wide of the net from almost the same spot. Panarin got the puck and fed it back to Keith for a one-timer past Jones.

* Blackhawks center Artem Anisimov didn't play and is day to day with an upper-body injury. … Chicago goalie Corey Crawford (appendectomy), who's missed eight games, hopes to return against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday. … Forward Joel Ward returned to the Sharks' lineup after being scratched for the first time this season in San Jose's 4-2 win at the Montreal Canadiens on Friday.

Sharks Bites

"It's a nice stretch, for sure, but you get the three [wins] … you want the four. That's just the way it is. This was the game we were worried about and wanted to win. You'd like to end the road trip with a win, for sure."

"We had our chances to find that insurance goal. It was right there all night for us … it got away from us there at the end, but it was definitely a game that was there for us." Pavelski said.

"I thought the second period was probably the difference in the game, to come out 1-1 after we played the way we did. If we find a way to get another one going into the third, maybe it's a different game." Peter DeBoer said.

Hawks Quotes

"I felt good. Sure, that many games and traveling, all that stuff it catches up to you. But we work hard to be ready for that stuff." said Darling, who improved to 5-2-1 in a span of eight straight starts.

"The first two periods it was a pretty even game. Both teams had a lot of chances. [Darling] made some big saves and then [Hartman] made a great play off the faceoff. It's always huge scoring in the third, like we have been recently. It's another huge win for us." Hinostroza said.
"You can see goals come in bunches when [Hinostroza']s hitting his stride and when that's happening he's a dangerous player. He's got speed, and he can make a lot of guys look silly out there." Ryan Hartman

Calgary Flames @ Sharks - Tuesday, December 20, 2016


San Jose Sharks forward Joonas Donskoi had gone 22 straight games without a goal entering their game against the Calgary Flames at SAP Center. He scored twice in 1:56 in the second period to lift San Jose to a 4-1 victory. Playing in his 108th NHL regular-season game, it was the 24-year-old's first with two goals. He also scored twice when the Sharks clinched a victory against the Los Angeles Kings in the 2016 Western Conference First Round with a 6-3 win in Game 5.

Patrick Marleau and defenseman Paul Martin also scored in the second period for the Sharks (20-12-1), who have won five of their past six games. Martin Jones made 20 saves. Sharks center Joe Thornton, who became the 37th player in NHL history to play at least 1,400 games, had two assists. Sam Bennett scored in the third period for Calgary (17-16-2). Chad Johnson gave up four goals on 34 shots, losing his third straight start. The Flames, coming off a 4-2 victory against the Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Monday, lost for the third time in their past four games. Marleau gave San Jose a 1-0 lead at 5:35 of the second period with his ninth goal, beating Johnson with a backhand near the crease.

Martin extended the Sharks lead to 2-0 at 9:18 when his shot from above the left faceoff circle bounced through traffic and past Johnson. Thornton had an assist on each of San Jose's first two goals. Donskoi made it 3-0 at 14:23, scoring from the bottom of the left faceoff circle. Then at 16:19, Donskoi scored his fourth of the season to put San Jose ahead 4-0, this time an unassisted goal from the low slot after intercepting Mikael Backlund's attempted clearing pass.

Bennett scored at 1:19 of the third period to make it 4-1, taking a pass from Matthew Tkachuk and beating Jones from the slot.

* Donskoi beat Johnson with a high snap shot into the left corner of the net for his first goal. Tommy Wingels shot wide right of the crease, tracked down the puck behind the net and sent a pass to Donskoi, who was wide open in the left circle.

* Forward Sean Monahan had a good chance to capitalize on a Sharks turnover and put the Flames ahead in the first period, but Jones made a blocker save on his snap shot from the slot at 14:52.

* Though it did so in a loss, the Calgary penalty kill was 5-for-5 after going 5-for-5 against Phoenix on Monday and has killed 11 straight penalties over three games.
* Marleau scored after Flames defenseman Mark Giordano blocked Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic's shot from the point. Marleau quickly got to the loose puck and beat a sprawled Johnson with a backhand.
* Marleau's goal was the 490th of his NHL career, moving him into a tie for 47th with Norm Ullman on the League's all-time list. … Sharks forward Joel Ward was a healthy scratch for the second time in three games, and defenseman David Schlemko was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. ... Flames forward Lance Bouma returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch Monday.

"You get the one goal and it kind of gets you going a little bit. Everything feels easier. I don't know why, but something opens up mentally maybe. I hope I'll get more."
"It felt great. That's a long time ago since I scored the last time. I didn't even remember how good it feels. So it was great to get those goals." Donskoi said.
"[Donskoi's] such a good player. It's only a matter of time he gets his opportunity. He works so hard. Sometimes he just has to put it to the net and good things happen." Martin said
"We just got stronger. We knew they played last night, so I think we just got stronger as the game went on, and you could just see we kind of wore them down." Thornton said.

Edmonton Oilers @ Sharks - Friday, December 23, 2016

Rookie forward Kevin Labanc scored his second goal of the night at 3:22 of overtime to give the San Jose Sharks a 3-2 victory against the Edmonton Oilers at SAP Center. Labanc took a pass from Logan Couture and beat goaltender Cam Talbot from close range inside the right post to win it. Labanc, 21, whose 127 points for Barrie led the Ontario Hockey League last season, has six goals and two assists in 21 games since being called up from the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League on Nov. 8. Joe Pavelski also scored, and Martin Jones made 16 saves for San Jose. Connor McDavid and Patrick Maroon scored for Edmonton, and Talbot made 28 saves. The Sharks (21-12-1, 43 points) enter the Christmas break in first place in the Pacific Division, one point ahead of the second-place Oilers (18-12-6). The Sharks, who are 6-1-0 in their past seven games, ended the Oilers winning streak at three. Pavelski gave San Jose a 1-0 lead 31 seconds into the second period when he scored on the power play from the left faceoff circle. Defenseman Brent Burns earned his 300th NHL assist on the goal, Pavelski's 12th of the season, and Joe Thornton got his 700th assist with the Sharks. McDavid scored his 13th goal at 6:17 of the third period to tie it 1-1. He got the puck in the neutral zone, skated to the right circle, and scored on a wrist shot that got past Jones after bouncing off the skates of Sharks defensemen Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun. It ended a six-game goal drought for McDavid, whose 42 points lead the NHL. San Jose regained the lead when Labanc took a cross-ice pass from Couture and scored from the left circle on a 2-on-1 rush at 8:21 to make it 2-1. But Maroon scored his 10th goal 24 seconds later to tie it 2-2, taking a cross-ice pass from McDavid on an odd-man rush and beating Jones from the right circle at 8:45.

* Pavelski took a pass from Burns in the left circle and beat Talbot with a one-timer to the short side early in the second period to open the scoring.

* Talbot made a sprawling glove save to rob Sharks forward Melker Karlsson on a shorthanded breakaway at 7:37 of the first period.

* The Sharks penalty kill was 6-for-6 against the Oilers power play, which was fifth in the NHL entering Friday (22.3 percent).

* Couture set up Labanc's overtime goal with a pinpoint pass from below the goal line. "I went to battle for it and I turned around, took a peak out of the corner of my eye, and saw that their two guys had left the zone," Couture said. "[Labanc] was yelling for the puck, so I found him all alone."
* Sharks forward Joel Ward, who was a healthy scratch in two of the three previous games, returned to the lineup, replacing Tommy Wingels on the fourth line. ... Oilers forward Taylor Beck played his third game of the season, replacing Jesse Puljujarvi in the lineup. He played 4:12.

"It was only a month or six weeks ago that we were sitting around .500. I think we talked as a group about finishing strong going into the Christmas break, and they've earned it. We haven't had an easy schedule, and it has not been easy. But we got contributions from almost the entire organization to get here. It will be nice to put your feet up for a couple a days in first place, because I think of how we played so far. I think we belong here."

"Every time he plays, he impresses and you gain more and more trust in his abilities and what he can do. He's got some special talents." Peter DeBoer said.

"It was just a really good forecheck by Logan. He was in there. I was just kind of left alone. I saw that the goalie's glove was a little bit down, so I knew I was going to shoot there. It was a good way to end the game." Labanc said.

"This couple-day break is definitely going to feel a lot better. We'll be able to rest a little easier and let the body kind of recharge." Brenden Dillon said.