NHL - Sharks Round Up - November 01-11, 2017

Trashville Predators @ Sharks 1-4 - Wednesday, November 01




Joe Thornton got his 1,400th NHL point, and Martin Jones made 19 saves to help the San Jose Sharks defeat the Nashville Predators 4-1 at SAP Center.Joonas Donskoi, Joe Pavelski, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Mikkel Boedker scored for the Sharks (7-5-0), who got their season-high third straight win.

"It was just a good, hard-fought win," Pavelski said. "I think you understand that guys in here care. We weren't happy with our start, and the last five, six, seven games, it's been much better. It's just a continuous process of working towards that and keeping our game at a certain level we want to keep it at."

Roman Josi scored for the Predators (5-5-2), who lost for the fourth time in their past five games (1-3-1).

"We're not getting the [offensive] zone time we want," Josi said. "We're not [creating turnovers]. We're forechecking hard, but we're just not working as a five-man unit. It's the same in the D zone. I think it starts in the D zone."

Thornton got point No. 1,400 in the second period with an assist on Pavelski's goal. He passed Jari Kurri for 20th in NHL history in a 3-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday and is nine points from tying Dale Hawerchuk for 19th.

"I think the perspective is you look at the 20 guys on that list with him," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "That's pretty eye-opening and pretty amazing. There's not many words for it. For the people out there that wonder what type of accomplishment that is, I think just take a look at that list. That's rare air."

San Jose went 1-for-8 on the power play. Nashville was 0-for-4. The Predators have been called for 81 penalties, most in the NHL.

Donskoi gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 15:49 of the first period when he took a pass from defenseman Tim Heed and beat Rinne from close range. Pavelski tipped in defenseman Brenden Dillon's shot from above the left face-off circle at 10:04 of the second period for his 299th NHL goal to make it 2-0.

Josi skated through traffic and beat Jones with a backhand to the far side from the left circle to cut the lead to 2-1 at 10:04 of the second. It was the defenseman's third goal.

Vlasic scored a power-play goal at 13:50 of the second to give San Jose a 3-1 lead. His slap shot from the right point deflected off Nashville defenseman P.K. Subban's skate and past Rinne. Boedker scored at 13:43 of the third period to make it 4-1.

Vlasic left the game with an apparent head injury at 1:02 of the third. He had the puck in the right corner behind the Sharks net when Predators center Ryan Johansen checked him from behind. Johansen, who received a minor penalty for boarding, appeared to make contact with his right shoulder to Vlasic's head, which hit the glass. DeBoer didn't have an update on Vlasic's condition after the game.

"I haven't had a chance to see him or talk to him yet, but anytime you're going back for pucks you try not to get hit in the head like that," Dillon said. "We have a couple days before our next game on Saturday, so hopefully he's OK."

"A lot of emotions on the ice. That's the kind of effort we have to put in to win in this league. A lot of 1-on-1 battles. I think we were pretty strong all over the ice in 1-on-1 battles." -- Sharks forward Joonas Donskoi

Sharks rookie defenseman Joakim Ryan, who got his first NHL point with an assist on Boedker's goal, set a Sharks record with nine blocked shots. ... Josi led the Predators with four shots on goal and had another six attempts blocked.

Anaheim Sucks @ Sharks 1-2 SO - Saturday, November 04

Joonas Donskoi scored in the sixth round of a shootout to lift the San Jose Sharks to a 2-1 victory against the Anaheim Ducks at SAP Center. Joe Pavelski also scored in the shootout for San Jose, and Martin Jones stopped five of six shots. Rickard Rakell scored in the shootout for Anaheim. Donskoi faked left, brought the puck back to his right and beat Ryan Miller with a wrist shot from close range.

"That was great," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "He's playing with confidence. He looks like the player we had here two years ago, which is a good sign because we need that."


Joel Ward scored, and Jones made 25 saves for the Sharks (8-5-0), who won their season-high fourth straight game. Corey Perry scored, and Ryan Miller made 44 saves in his second start of the season for the Ducks (6-6-2), who lost their third in a row. The Ducks were coming off a 5-3 loss to the Nashville Predators at Honda Center. Ward tied it 1-1 with 8:03 remaining in the third period with his second goal of the season, putting forward Barclay Goodrow's rebound into a wide-open net to cap a 2-on-1 rush. Goodrow played his second game of the season and centered a line for the first time since he was in minor hockey.

"I'll do whatever it takes to get in the lineup," Goodrow said. "We're pretty interchangeable once we're in our own zone."
Ward, a fourth-line forward, has two goals in his past three games.
"I felt like me and [Goodrow] spent some time together so we gained some chemistry a little bit in practices," Ward said. "It's always good to contribute and help your team in a positive way. It was a good feeling to get one, and get the boys going a little bit and give ourselves a chance."

The Sharks outshot Anaheim 41-26 in regulation and 4-0 in overtime. Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano played his 800th consecutive game, the fourth-longest streak in NHL history, behind Doug Jarvis (964), Garry Unger (914) and Steve Larmer (884). Cogliano's streak began on Oct. 4, 2007, in his NHL debut with the Edmonton Oilers against San Jose. Perry, who played his 900th NHL game, scored on a breakaway at 6:23 of the first period to give Anaheim a 1-0 lead. He took a stretch pass from Derek Grant and beat Jones through the 5-hole for his third goal of the season and first since scoring twice in Anaheim's season opener.

Miller stopped 12 shots in the first period and 17 in the second. In one flurry just over eight minutes into the second, he stopped Justin Braun's slap shot from the high slot, Chris Tierney's attempt from close range on the rebound and another Braun slap shot.

Tampa Bay Lightning @ Sharks 5-1 - Wednesday, November 08

Nikita Kucherov, Vladislav Namestnikov and Steven Stamkos each had three points to help the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-1 win against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 32 saves for Tampa Bay (12-2-2), which leads the NHL in points (26) and is tied with the St. Louis Blues for the lead in wins. Namestnikov had two goals and an assist, Kucherov had a goal and two assists and Stamkos had three assists. Jake Dotchin and Slater Koekkoek also scored for Tampa Bay. Stamkos leads the NHL with 28 points. Kucherov ranks first with 15 goals and is second in the League with 26 points.

The Sharks (8-6-0) took a 1-0 lead 25 seconds into the game when Joonas Donskoi scored from the slot. After that the Lightning scored five straight goals, including three in the second period when they took control of the game. Martin Jones allowed four goals on 21 shots for the Sharks, whose four-game winning streak ended. Jones was replaced by Aaron Dell after the second period.

"As the game went on, we just didn't reset ourselves," Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. "We kept missing passes and just fed their rush. They're good players, for sure. They made some plays, played with the puck a lot. And partly that's on us. Any time we had it we seemed to give it back to them."

Kucherov buried a wrist shot into the upper left corner of the net 44 seconds into the second to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead. Koekkoek made it 3-1 at 9:21 when he scored on a backhand between Jones' pads from close range. The Lightning extended their lead to 4-1 at 12:00 on Namestnikov's wrist shot. Stamkos took a cross-ice pass in the left circle from Kucherov and quickly sent the puck to Namestnikov on the other side. Namestnikov scored a power play goal at 6:14 of the third period to make it 5-1. After Donskoi scored, the Lightning tied it 1-1 on Dotchin's first NHL career goal at 7:17 of the first period on a slap shot.

"Our game tailed off," Sharks center Logan Couture said. "We turned pucks over, didn't forecheck. They felt comfortable. They had the puck all night. They're so talented. All four lines are fast. They outskated us all over the ice. It seemed like they had five more skaters than we did."

 

"When you play an elite team, you have to bring your 'A' game and we didn't do that across the board. When you bring your 'B' game, you see what happens. We didn't do anything well. " -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer

Lightning forward Chris Kunitz played his 900th NHL game. ... Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic returned to the lineup after missing one game with a concussion. ... Sharks defenseman Paul Marin (ankle) missed his 12th straight game. ... Lightning forward Yanni Gourde, a former Sharks prospect, had two assists. ... Lightning forward Cedric Paquette (upper body) missed his ninth straight game.

Vancouver Canucks @ Sharks 0-5 - Saturday, November 11
Aaron Dell made an NHL career-high 41 saves to help the San Jose Sharks to a 5-0 win against the Vancouver Canucks at SAP Center. Logan Couture and Chris Tierney each scored two goals, and Tomas Hertl had a goal for San Jose (9-6-0), which won for the fifth time in its past six games and defeated Vancouver for a sixth straight time. Dell got his second NHL career shutout in his fourth start of the season. His first shutout came against the Philadelphia Flyers on Dec. 30, 2016.

"I feel like I get better every game and I've tried to get better in practice every day too," Dell said.

Jacob Markstrom made 26 saves for Vancouver (8-7-2), which has lost three of its past four games.

The Sharks rebounded from a 5-1 home loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday. Dell replaced Martin Jones in that game after the second period.

"I think it was a big bounce-back for the team after the last game," Dell said. "I think the one period I got in for that helped prepare [me for] this one."

Hertl gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead 48 seconds into the game with his third goal of the season and first since Oct. 17. Markstrom made a save on Ryan Braun's shot from above the right circle, but the rebound deflected off Hertl's skate and over the goal line.

"We need scoring by committee," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "He's one of those guys. Tierney got a couple tonight, and Couture's been consistent all year. That's how we're going to win. I thought Tomas Hertl's been playing some really good hockey."

Couture made it 2-0 with a shorthanded goal, San Jose's first of the season, at 15:59 of the second period. Hertl chipped the puck out of the defensive zone, springing Couture on a breakaway. Couture faked left, went right and beat Markstrom between the legs with a backhand shot. It was Couture's first goal since Oct. 28. He leads the Sharks with 10 goals.

"He's a big strong guy, "Couture said of Hertl. "He had three guys on him, and he made a great chip. Fortunately it didn't go too far, so I was able to track it down and still have an angle to get to the net. Made a move I like to make and was able to find the back of the net."

Vancouver outshot San Jose 14-6 in the second period but couldn't get the puck past Dell, who made two stellar saves on 2-on-1 rushes. He stopped Sven Baertschi at 3:18 of the second on a power play and Derek Dorsett at 11:15 on a shorthanded try.

"Dell was our best player, which is why we have him," DeBoer said. "He was great. ... He had an exceptional season last year and followed it up with a great training camp and every time we've put him in there, he's given us good games. He's a big part of our team."

Couture scored an empty-net goal with 1:41 left in the third period. Tierney scored a shorthanded, empty net goal with 38.8 seconds remaining and on a penalty shot with 12.2 seconds left.

Dell against Bo Horvat's wrist shot from close range at 7:18 of the third period.

"It's always nice to contribute and score. It was a goal that I set for myself was to contribute offensively for this team and score goals. It's a nice start." -- Sharks center Logan Couture

Canucks forward Loui Eriksson returned after missing 12 straight games because of a sprained left knee. He had five shots in 18:16 of ice time. … Sharks forward Melker Karlsson played his 200th NHL game. ... Sharks defenseman Paul Martin (ankle) missed his 13th straight game.

San Jose Sharks @ Pittsburgh Penguins 2-5 - Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Matt Murray made 40 saves in his first game since his father's death to help the Pittsburgh Penguins win 5-2 against the San Jose Sharks at PPG Paints Arena.Murray last started Jan. 4 before appearing in relief of Tristan Jarry on Jan. 7. He returned home to Ontario on Jan. 17 following the death of James Murray. His 40 saves were his second-most this season, behind the 43 he made in a 4-3 win against the Florida Panthers on Oct. 14.

"It was a great feeling, obviously," Murray said. "Getting back to normal and getting in a good game like that, and getting a win for the team. Points are important right now and every game means so much. So it was really nice to get back into it.
"For sure, this one meant a little more to me, personally."

Murray's performance impressed, but did not surprise Penguins coach Mike Sullivan.

"I thought he was terrific," Sullivan said. "It was obviously an emotional game for him. I thought he was terrific. He made some timely saves for us that gave us a chance to get our legs and capture the game.
"He's just a great kid that has good perspective I think, and because of that, I think he handles adverse situations really well."

Evgeni Malkin scored a hat trick for Pittsburgh. His second goal gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead at 6:01 of the third period. After Martin Jones turned it over to Patric Hornqvist behind his net, Malkin received a pass and shot into an open net. His first goal tied it 2-2 with 4.1 seconds remaining in the second period.

Bryan Rust, who scored twice, made it 4-2 at 13:58 of the third period. Tom Kuhnhackl sent a no-look backhand pass between his legs to Rust for him to score his sixth of the season on a backhand shot.

Malkin scored into an empty net for the hat trick to extend it to 5-2 at 18:47. He has 12 goals in his past 10 games, including five in his past two.
"Last couple weeks, I feel like I'm so lucky," Malkin said. "I try to help the team to win. I'm glad. I like my shot. It's coming. I'm just using my shot right now. … We have more confidence right now. It's more fun."
Sidney Crosby had an assist on the goal to extend his season-long point streak to 10 games. He has 20 points (three goals, 17 assists) during that stretch.Jones made 26 saves for the Sharks, who have lost three straight games (0-2-1), after missing four with a lower-body injury. Jones said he felt 100 percent healthy and was pleased with how his teammates performed in front of him.
"We played really well. Thought we were really quick on pucks and got in on the forecheck," Jones said. "So it was good. We took away their time and space, which is what you have to do against teams like that."

Pittsburgh (28-21-3) has won three straight since losing 2-1 to San Jose (26-16-7) on Jan. 20.
Rust ended his 14-game goal drought to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 11:09 of the first period. After passing to Riley Sheahan, Rust entered the zone down the near wall, received a return pass and went forehand to backhand through Jones' legs.

The Sharks took a 2-1 lead on two power-play goals, the first from Brent Burns at 10:00 of the second period, and the second from Logan Couture at 18:35. It was Couture's 200th NHL goal. 

The lead lasted 1:20 before Malkin tied it 2-2.

"It's unbelievable. The way [Murray has] handled himself and just how much he means to this team. His effort was inspiring and I'm sure he's super excited about it." -- Penguins forward Bryan Rust

"We did some good stuff, but self-inflicted wounds, you know? There are two or three key plays that, obviously, we gave them. So that's one of those games where you can't beat yourself on the road." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer

The Sharks were 2-for-5 on the power play without forward Joe Thornton, who missed a second game with a knee injury. Thornton will likely miss several weeks. … Penguins defenseman Matt Hunwick missed a second straight game with an upper-body injury. Defenseman Ian Cole played in his place for a second time after being a healthy scratch the previous seven games. ... Burns has nine points (one goal, eight assists) during a seven-game point streak.

NHL - Pens Round Up - January 23-25, 2018

Carolina Hurricanes @ Penguins 1-3 - Tuesday, January 23, 2018


Jean-Sebastien Dea's first NHL goal broke a tie in the second period, and Casey DeSmith made 34 saves to help the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at PPG Paints Arena. Dea, who was playing his fourth NHL game, gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead at 9:19 of the second period. Bryan Rust backhanded a pass to Dea gliding toward the crease, allowing him to deflect it by Cam Ward.

"It was special," Dea said. "I don't know what to say right now. It's a pretty amazing feeling. I've dreamt about it since I was a little boy. It's just really amazing right now. … I ran into the ref or the other guy [Hurricanes defenseman Noah Hanifin] after that. I just wanted to get out of there and [celebrate] for that goal."

Jake Guentzel made it 3-1 at 11:02 of the third. DeSmith has allowed fewer than three goals in each of his three NHL starts. He made 28 saves in a 3-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings in his first start on Jan. 18 before allowing two goals on 36 shots in a 2-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks.

"I'm just happy to be out here," DeSmith said. "I'm playing hard and guys are playing hard for me. That's why I've gotten a couple wins here. So, they're playing pretty responsibly in front of me and they're making my job pretty easy, letting me see the puck and stuff like that.
"I've played worse in my life, for sure. I'm just playing at a high level right now and I'm fortunate it's coming at this time."

Ward made 30 saves. He allowed one goal on 49 shots in his prior two games against the Penguins this season. Pittsburgh (26-21-3) has outscored its opponents 18-9 during a four-game home win streak. Carolina (21-19-8) has lost eight of its past 11 games (3-7-1). After Derek Ryan gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 7:14 of the second period, Dominik Simon and Dea scored 1:16 apart. Simon carried down the far wall to the top of the right face-off circle before sending a wrist shot past Ward's glove, tying it 1-1 on his second NHL goal at 8:03 of the second before Dea made it 2-1. Simon has scored twice in his past three games after going his first 18 NHL games without a goal.

Sidney Crosby had the primary assist on Simon's goal to extend his point streak to eight games. He has 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) during that stretch.

Ryan opened the scoring when he collected Lee Stempniak's rebound with his left skate and scored on a wrist shot for his 10th goal of the season.
  
"[Dea] gets his first NHL goal tonight. That's always a great experience. He'll never forget that as long as he lives. The energy that's around that, every player on the bench remembers their first goal. So, I think everyone gets excited when that happens." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan


Crosby's assist was his 1,079th NHL point, tying him with Jaromir Jagr for second on the Penguins all-time list, trailing Mario Lemieux (1,723). ... Each of the Penguins' three goal scorers (Simon, Dea and Guentzel) is 23 years old. … Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce returned from missing five games because of an upper-body injury. … Rust returned from missing 11 games with an upper-body injury. He had the primary assist on Dea's goal and led the Penguins with three blocked shots.

Minnesota Wild @ Penguins 3-6 - Thursday, January 25, 2018


Sidney Crosby had three assists to move into second on the Pittsburgh Penguins scoring list in a 6-3 win against the Minnesota Wild at PPG Paints Arena. Crosby passed Jaromir Jagr with his 1,080th point when he set up a one-timer from Dominik Simon that gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 3:54 of the first period. Mario Lemieux is first with 1,723 points.

"I think you just feel more confident. You see things a little bit more [when you score regularly]," said Crosby, who has 19 points (three goals, 16 assists) during a nine-game point streak. "When it's going like that, it's fun to play. You tend to think of the ones you miss or could've had more than the ones that you actually convert on."


Evgeni Malkin (two goals, one assist) and Phil Kessel (three assists) had three points each, and rookie goaltender Casey DeSmith made 23 saves in his fourth straight start for the Penguins (27-21-3), who are 7-2-0 in their past nine games.
"We're in a fight for the playoffs here," DeSmith said. "With the guys this locker room, it's no surprise they're elevating their game each and every game. It's a good time to do it, for sure."
Minnesota (26-18-5) had its six-game point streak end. Malkin made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 9:09 of the first period. After receiving a pass from Crosby, Malkin carried it behind the Wild net and attempted a pass that hit Ryan Suter's leg and ricocheted off the back of Devan Dubnyk's left skate. Carl Hagelin extended the lead to 3-0 at 9:28 of the second before Dumoulin scored 1:27 later.

Crosby batted a puck down and turned up ice, sending a cross-ice pass to Hagelin, who quickly returned it to Crosby who tapped a pass to Dumoulin drifting toward the left post. Dumoulin took a wrist shot to put Pittsburgh ahead 4-0. Alex Stalock replaced Dubnyk, who made 17 saves on 21 shots, following Dumoulin's goal. Stalock stopped 16 of 18 shots. Malkin scored another power-play goal, which deflected off Suter's skate, to make it 5-0 at 1:42 of the third.

Simon pushed it to 6-0 with his second goal at 2:32.

Wild coach Bruce Boudreau called a timeout following Simon's goal and told his players he wanted them to show pride in the remaining 17:28. Minnesota responded with three straight goals. Eric Staal scored at 8:44 when he got to the loose puck off Nate Prosser's blocked shot and beat DeSmith glove side to make it 6-1.

Mikael Granlund made it 6-2 with a power-play goal at 10:50 before Jonas Brodin scored 56 seconds later to make it 6-3. Staal said the Wild wanted to push back but weren't fooled into thinking they had a chance to win at that point.

"I think all of the elite players in the game, they tend to see the game quicker. They see it before other people on the rink ... I think Sid is one of those elite guys." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan

Crosby remains one goal shy of 400 in the NHL. He is on a five-game goal drought since scoring his 399th against the New York Rangers on Jan. 14. … Wild forward Matt Cullen returned to Pittsburgh for the first time since signing with Minnesota on Aug. 16. He won the Stanley Cup twice and had 63 points (29 goals, 34 assists) in two seasons with the Penguins. … Penguins defenseman Matt Hunwick, who Sullivan listed as day to day, did not play with an upper-body injury. Defenseman Ian Cole replaced him after being a healthy scratch the past seven games.

Pittsburgh Penguins @ San Jose Sharks 1-2 - Saturday, January 20, 2018

Aaron Dell made 31 saves, and Tomas Hertl scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period to lift the San Jose Sharks to a 2-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at SAP Center. Dell started in place of No. 1 goalie Martin Jones, who missed the game with a lower-body injury.

"That's what I'm here for," said Dell, who will start again Sunday at the Anaheim Ducks. "If they need me for three more games, if they need me for one game, I just got to take it as it comes."
Timo Meier scored for the Sharks (25-14-6), who won for the fourth time in their past five games.

"It's tough, with Jones going down with an injury," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "We knew [Dell] would be great, and he was again. He was outstanding for us. That's a nice luxury to have, with two good goalies."
Dell is 11-3-2 with a 2.18 goals-against average and .928 save percentage in his second NHL season.

Penguins rookie goaltender Casey DeSmith made 34 saves in his second straight start, the second of his NHL career. Conor Sheary scored for Pittsburgh (25-21-3), which went 1-2-0 on its California road trip.

"We just couldn't get those opportunities, our second and third ones, that were important especially in a close game like that," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. "You've just got to bury the puck. At the end of the day, it's just execution. I had some really good looks and, you know, put a couple of those in, it's a different game. … We competed hard, we generated some good looks. Power play too. Same kind of thing."

Hertl scored on the power play to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead at 1:53 of the third, four seconds after Penguins defenseman Jamie Oleksiak was called for cross-checking Joonas Donskoi. Joe Pavelski redirected Brent Burns' point shot, and Hertl put the rebound into a wide-open net.
The Penguins pulled DeSmith with 2:15 remaining. San Jose missed three shots at the empty net, but Pittsburgh didn't get a single shot through against Dell with the extra attacker. Sheary gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead at 3:18 of the first period. Dominik Simon tracked down his own rebound behind the net and passed the puck in front to Sheary, who beat Dell between his pads for his first goal in eight games.

"I'm not putting up the numbers I'd like personally, but if I bring the work ethic every night, I can help this team win," Sheary said. "We're trying to get back to being relentless out there. We roll four lines, and if they produce, we can roll."

Meier scored at 17:44 of the first to tie it 1-1. Pavelski threaded a cross-ice pass between Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist and defenseman Justin Schultz for Meier, who beat DeSmith with a wrist shot from the left face-off circle for his 10th goal.

"Obviously, we know Pittsburgh is strong," Meier said. "They have a pretty good lineup and a lot of skill and speed. So, for us to win that game shows that we're improving our game and we're playing pretty good hockey right now. So, we're looking forward to taking another step and getting better every game."
Dell made 16 saves and DeSmith made 11 in the second period.
"I thought both goalies played extremely well," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "We had a good number of chances and so did they. We just couldn't find a way to score a goal. Casey played terrifically. He made some big saves."

"Having another game under my belt helps confidence-wise. The Sharks shoot the puck from all over the place and they try and get tips and rebounds. They play a little different game than we usually see." -- Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith

"He's been performing great for us this year. He's showed in the games that he came in what a great goalie he is. We enjoy playing in front of him, and that's a huge two points for us to get here tonight. We're looking forward to continue like that tomorrow night against Anaheim." -- Sharks forward Timo Meier on goaltender Aaron Dell


The Sharks recalled goaltender Troy Grosenick from the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League. ... The Sharks had 28 blocked shots, one shy of their season-high 29 in a 3-2 shootout win against the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday. Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic led them with six. ... Crosby had an assist to extend his point streak to seven games (three goals, 12 assists). ... Burns had two assists and has 25 points in his past 18 games.

NHL - Pens Round Up - January 13-18, 2018

Detroit Red Wings @ Pens 1-4 - Saturday, January 13, 2018

Evgeni Malkin had two goals and four points to help the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 at PPG Paints Arena. Malkin, who scored once in the first period and once in the second, had secondary assists on power-play goals from Phil Kessel in the first period and Sidney Crosby in the third. Malkin had three points (two goals, one assist), including the game-winning goal, when Pittsburgh won its last game before a five-day break, 6-5 in overtime against the Boston Bruins on Sunday. Malkin has five goals and eight points in his past three games. Kessel had three points (one goal, two assists), Sidney Crosby had two (one goal, one assist) and Tristan Jarry made 29 saves in his third straight start after allowing five goals on 19 shots before being pulled on Sunday. 
The Penguins (23-19-3) have won three straight games after losing nine of their previous 14 (5-9-0). They held the Red Wings (17-18-7), who had won four of their past five games (4-1-0) entering Saturday, to 1-for-7 on the power play.

Pittsburgh was leading 2-1 despite taking four penalties in the first period.

Malkin opened the scoring at 3:01 after a shot from Olli Maatta bounced off the end boards and to Carl Hagelin to the left of the net. Hagelin sent a pass past Justin Abdelkader to Malkin between the circles, where he dropped to one knee and shot by Jimmy Howard's glove

Abdelkader tied it 1-1 on a power play at 13:36, when he backhanded a rebound off the inside of Jarry's right pad. Kessel answered with a power-play goal to put Pittsburgh ahead 2-1 at 16:35. Crosby carried the puck down the far wall before passing above the crease to Kessel, who redirected it past Howard.
Malkin scored to extend the lead to 3-1 at 2:08 of the second period and Crosby scored on a power play at 3:31 of the third to make it 4-1. Howard made 32 saves for the Red Wings.

"[Malkin's] willingness to shoot the puck, I think, really jumps out at me. He's got such a dangerous shot. He's as dangerous of a shooter as there is in the game. Some of them are going to go in, and they've done that lately." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
"It's always fun when you win and you have more confidence," Malkin said. "Your game is better. The mood is better. Now, we're feeling so much better. It's like we start playing so much better on the power play, the PK and special teams too. Now, just stay the same and stay on the same level. I just play my game. A couple lucky goals and the power play worked tonight too. … I feel so much more confident."

"I thought we were moving our feet," Crosby said. "I thought the last few games, we've played pretty fast and executed well. So, I thought we did that. … I don't think you can take anything for granted."

Abdelkader and Detroit forward Darren Helm each sustained a lower-body injury and will not play against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. Blashill said the Red Wings could recall a forward from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League before the game. … Red Wings defenseman Trevor Daley, who won the Stanley Cup in each of the past two seasons with the Penguins, played in Pittsburgh for the first time since signing with Detroit on July 1. He received a video tribute during the first television timeout of the first period. … Howard returned after missing one game with a knee injury and said he felt rusty after a five-day break. … Jarry started in place of Matt Murray, who returned to Ontario on Friday because of a personal matter. Sullivan listed Murray as day to day.NY Rangers @ Pens 2-5 - Sunday, January 14, 2018

Phil Kessel's go-ahead goal in the second period, his 700th NHL point, helped the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the New York Rangers 5-2 at PPG Paints Arena.After Dominik Simon scored his first NHL goal at 13:15 of the second period to tie the game 2-2, Conor Sheary set up Kessel for a one-timer over Henrik Lundqvist's glove at 14:30 to give the Penguins a 3-2 lead. Kessel has eight points (three goals, five assists) during a four-game point streak. Kessel has not gone consecutive games without a point since Nov. 16-18. It was his 20th goal, the 10th consecutive season he's scored 20 or more. Simon, who had the puck from his first goal in his locker stall following the game, said he was pleased Kessel's and his milestones facilitated Pittsburgh's comeback.

Kessel got his 701st point with the primary assist on Sidney Crosby's 399th NHL goal, which made it 4-2 at 12:33 of the third period. Carl Hagelin scored into an empty net with 1:59 remaining to make it 5-2. The Penguins (24-19-3) have won four straight games after going 4-8-0 in their previous 12. Pittsburgh, which matched its longest winning streak of the season, moved two points ahead of New York (22-17-5) into the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Tristan Jarry made 26 saves for the Penguins in his fourth straight start and second in two days. He has allowed more than two goals once in his past eight appearances (4-2-0). Lundqvist made 42 saves for the Rangers, who have lost three in a row and were beaten 7-2 at home by the New York Islanders. Patric Hornqvist gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead at 3:14 of the first period before Michael Grabner and Brendan Smith scored 3:49 apart to put the Rangers ahead 2-1. Hagelin had an assist on Hornqvist's goal for his 200th NHL point. Grabner tied it 1-1 when he went forehand to backhand and beat Jarry on a breakaway at 15:17. Smith made it 2-1 when he scored his first goal of the season on a one-timer at 19:06.

Rangers forward Kevin Hayes did not play because of a contusion after playing 16:53 on Saturday. Defenseman Ryan McDonagh did not play because of back spasms. Vigneault said he's day to day. … Penguins goalie Matt Murray returned from tending to a personal family matter and skated on his own Sunday morning. He was unavailable against the Rangers, with Casey DeSmith backing up Jarry for a second straight day. Sullivan said Murray would travel with the Penguins on their upcoming three-game road trip to California.

"We're a fast team and we're playing fast right now. With that, you're going to generate shots. You're going to generate chances. You're going to wear other teams down as the game goes on." -- Penguins captain Sidney Crosby

"We're both glad it helped the team to win," Simon said. "That's the first thing you think about now. All the teams are so tight in the standings. So, yeah, I'm really glad for it."
"We just stayed with it," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "We liked our game. The first two periods, we had a significant amount of scoring chances. We couldn't seem to break the game open, but we felt like we were controlling play. … We liked a lot of the way the game was played from our standpoint."

Pens @ Anaheim Sucks 3-5 - Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Ondrej Kase had a goal and an assist for the Anaheim Ducks in a 5-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Honda Center. Rickard Rakell, Adam Henrique and Chris Wagner also scored in a four-goal second period, the highest-scoring period for the Ducks this season. Hampus Lindholm scored an empty-net goal, and John Gibson made 30 saves for Anaheim (21-16-9). Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and Jake Guentzel scored for Pittsburgh (24-20-3), which had its four-game winning streak end. Sidney Crosby had two assists but was held without a goal and remains at 399 NHL goals. Tristan Jarry made 28 saves.

The Penguins took a 1-0 lead at 18:26 of the first period on the 20th goal of the season for Malkin, but the Ducks slowed the pace and scored four straight goals in the second.


Rakell tied the score at 1-1 at 4:17. Anaheim defenseman Francois Beauchemin took a point shot into traffic that was redirected by Ryan Getzlaf toward Rakell, who deflected the puck downward and through the pads of Jarry for his team-high 16th goal of the season. It was the 600th assist of Getzlaf's NHL career. He's the first Anaheim player to reach that milestone. Henrique made it 2-1 with a wraparound goal at 5:42. Jarry got hung up with Guentzel on the left post and couldn't slide over in time as Henrique came around the opposite side to score his 10th goal. Wagner scored a shorthanded goal at 9:24 to make it 3-1 after teammate Jared Boll went to the penalty box for slashing Matt Hunwick in front of the Anaheim net. Cam Fowler chipped the puck to Jakob Silfverberg in the neutral zone. He gloved it along the wall, dropped it to his feet and passed ahead to Wagner, who beat Jarry on a breakaway for the sixth shorthanded goal of the season for the Ducks.

Kase scored on another breakaway at 18:28. He blocked a shot by defenseman Olli Maatta at the Anaheim blue line and went in alone on Jarry, scoring with a high backhand for a 4-1 lead. Kessel scored a power-play goal at 8:35 of third period to make it 4-2. Guentzel scored on the power play off a feed from Kessel with 5:54 left to make it 4-3. Lindholm scored into an empty net with one second remaining for a 5-3 lead. Pittsburgh rookie Daniel Sprong opened the game on the top line with Crosby, but remained on the bench in the third period.
Malkin joined Mario Lemieux (12), Jaromir Jagr (11) and Crosby (10) as the only Pittsburgh players to score 20 goals or more in at least 10 seasons. ... Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang didn't have a point after coming in with seven points (two goals, five assists) in four career games in Anaheim. ... Penguins forward Carl Hagelin has five points (one goal, four assists) in a season-high four-game point streak. ... The Penguins went 2-for-4 on the power play and are 6-for-15 in their past four games. ... Kessell had two points (goal, assist), but was minus-4. ... The Ducks improved to 3-9-1 when trailing after the first period.

"We did some good things and then we just made big mistakes in the second period. When you give up that many goals and breakaways in a short period of time, you put yourself in a tough spot." -- Pittsburgh forward Sidney Crosby
"It was a little bit up-and-down, back-and-forth," Jarry said. "Those are fun games to play in as a player, when there are lots of chances. You just have to bear down and do the best you can."
"I was just trying to go with the guys I thought were going," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "The guys who are playing hard, the guys who are making something happen are going to get an opportunity to play."

Pens @ Los Angeles Kings 3-1 - Thursday, January 18, 2018

Casey DeSmith made 28 saves in his first NHL start, and Patric Hornqvist scored two goals to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 3-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center. Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist for the Penguins (25-20-3), and Sidney Crosby had an assist to extend his point streak to six games (three goals, 11 assists). Pittsburgh, coming off a 5-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, has won five in a row in the second game of a back-to-back. Adrian Kempe scored, and Jonathan Quick made 28 saves for the Kings (24-16-5), who have lost a season-high five games in a row. DeSmith, whose first two NHL games came in relief in losses at the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 29 and against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 9, made a right-pad save on Dustin Brown from close range on the first shot he faced, with the Kings on the power play 1:57 into the game. Hornqvist beat Quick through the five-hole from above the right face-off circle 43 seconds into the game to give Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead. Several key saves by DeSmith allowed the Penguins to carry that lead into the second period despite being outshot 11-3 in the first. The Kings trailed at the end of the first for the fourth straight game.

Kempe scored on a breakaway to tie it 1-1 at 14:10 of the second period. He waited until he got the angle on DeSmith by cutting to his left through the slot and outflanking the rookie goaltender. It was Kempe's third goal in the past six games. Anze Kopitar had an assist on Kempe's goal for his sixth point in the past six games (one goal, five assists). Defenseman Jake Muzzin had the secondary assist after missing the past three games with an upper-body injury.
Pittsburgh pulled away with two goals in the third period. Los Angeles entered the game with an NHL-best plus-31 goal differential in the third. Malkin scored from the slot to put the Penguins ahead 2-1 26 seconds in, with Quick unable to see the shot through traffic. It was the second straight game with a goal for Malkin, who has seven goals in his past six games. Hornqvist made it 3-1 with a power-play goal at 10:21 after Brown received a major penalty and game misconduct at 6:41 for boarding Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz. He has five points in his past five games (three goals, two assists). Coach Mike Sullivan said Schultz left the game to be examined for a concussion and should be OK.

"He's been showing the whole year in practice how competitive he is and how good he can play, and finally he showed it here, and good for him and good for the whole team." -- Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist on rookie goalie Casey DeSmith

"They had a great look, and he looked pretty poised in there with the save he made and had to get over there quick. They were coming pretty hard. I thought we just stayed patient, found a way not to let it turn against us where we're down after one. We found a way to kind of hold the lead. Kind of weird the way it works sometimes, but I thought we had a really good third given it's back-to-back nights." Crosby said.
"Great move, and kudos to him," DeSmith said. "He out-waited me big time. Getting beat on a breakaway isn't too confidence-killing. It was a good goal and I'd like to have it back, obviously, but people are going to score in this league."


The Penguins are 13-2-1 when leading after the first period. … Pittsburgh's Carl Hagelin has a five-game assist streak, matching the longest of his NHL career (Jan. 18-Feb. 2, 2016), after setting up Hornqvist's first goal. His five-game point streak (one goal, five assists) also ties an NHL career best (Jan. 18-Feb. 2, 2016; Nov. 2-10, 2013; Feb. 10-19, 2013). ... Kempe's 14 goals are the most by a Kings rookie since Kopitar had 20 in 2006-07.