Team Maturation through Hardened Losses and Another Win Streak

Despite being 7th in the western division and being the benefactors of numerous tough luck losses all season, I feel the Sharks are improving with every game played. The Sharks are a tough team to play against, scratching and clawing night in night out, and that doesn't necessarily generate the right puck luck or calls on the ice to swing the games in the right direction. With all that said, I like the way this team has been playing as of late—a team with an identity, a purpose, and unfortunately, probably a fate.

Friday, March 19th, the St Louis Blues and Jordan Binnington came into town for the first time since Binnington's unceremonious exit last time in town. A low-scoring, high-defense affair through the 1st until Ryan Donato finally breaks through in the 2nd with his first goal in 21 games! Then come the too many men on the ice penalties, which have been a problem of sorts for the team in the past few games to speak. The Blues tied the game down the stretch in the 3rd, sending the game to overtime, where the Sharks ultimately fall in the shootout 2-1. An excellent defensive effort, where the young core played well in the loss.

Back-to-backs, so back to the tank, and the Blues and Sharks do battle yet again. Gambrel gets Team Teal off to the quick start before almost immediately giving up the game-tying goal, and then yet another for the 2-1 Blues lead with less than 5 minutes in. Tomas Hertl then evens the score at 2-2 with a strike in the 2nd, before the Blues take the lead 3-2 early in the 3rd. Before pulling away for the 5-2 victory handing the Sharks their fourth loss in a row. A disappointing start to the homestand, making the three-game win streak a vast distant memory.

It's always a marquee matchup when the boys in black & silver from LA march into town for a 2-game series. During pregame skate, we got to observe resident tough guy Kurtis Gabriel engaging in someone sort of mental fortitude within the game, hacking and slashing at 6'5 LA monster, Kurtis MacDermid all the while crossing the redline. Halfway through the first period, we see San Jose get on the board first with a tuck by Couture off a feed from Evander Kane. Shortly after that, the gloves come off, and Gabriel and MacDermid square up, but Gabriel finds himself on the losing end of this tilt. Kings tie the game at 1-1 as the second-period winds down. Sharks do everything in their power to put themselves in a hole, needing to kill off six powerplays but come out 2-1 winners on a wrap-around strike by Ryan Donato from Leonard, Knyzhov. Martin Jones is the star of the game with 41 saves. After the game, the league levied fines against Gabriel, Boughner, and the team for his antics during the pregame skate.

In the second game of the series, we see a nationally broadcast affair that starts as a stingy goaltender's duel. The two teams trade off quality chances, but nothing's getting through on either end. That is until Rudolfs Balcers breaks through 2 minutes into the second. Kane then adds the first of his two goals on the night, from Burns and Lebanc. Kings finally get on the board with 13 seconds left in the second before Kane lights the lamp again 21 seconds into the third period. Tomas Hertl scores his 9th of the season a minute and a half after that, and the Sharks roll to a 4-2 victory. Martin Jones shined yet again with another 44 stops on the night. A concerning moment happened with 2:55 seconds left in the third when the Kings Jeff Carter's stick levels sharks star Logan Couture. The Sharks captain remained down on the ice for several moments before getting up and skating off under his own power. 

Covid-19 Strikes the Bruins for the First Significant Time this Season

For the first time all season, the Bruins found themselves traveling to Western New York to take on the Buffalo Sabers at KeyBank Arena. Prior to the game, it had been announced that a Bruins player later identified as Sean Kuraly entered the NHL covid protocol program, so the Bruins were to play shorthanded. The Bruins were quick to get on the board with Greg McKegg's tip in front of the net. 1-0 Bruins. Shortly after the start of the 2nd, the Bruins found themselves on the power play to give Buffalo the game-tying shorthanded goal, a recent annoyance for the team. As the 2nd trudged on, the Bruins saw strikes by Debrusk and Smith, with Pastarnak adding his 13th of the season in the 3rd for the 4-1 victory. Bruins win two games in the row for the first time in 5 weeks. Notable milestones include David Krecji recording his 700th career point and defense prospect Jack Achan made his NHL debut.

Come the wee hours of the night after the Bruins win over the Sabres, news broke that an additional four Bruins players had joined Kuraly in the NHL's covid protocol program, which leads to the speculation if the game the night before should have been played, to begin with, if responsible parties knew the severities of the potential exposure.

Subsequently, the second game of the series, a Saturday matinee matchup, had been canceled as well as the Bruins' upcoming game against the Islanders on Tuesday night. They were also informed that their training facilities were to remain closed until at least Wednesday morning, pending any more positive tests. The team is expected to quarantine until thus point.

Sharks Surge but Fall to a Familiar Foe

Fresh off the heels of their 3-2 overtime victory over the St Louis Blues, the Sharks look to make it two in a row for the first time this season when they travel down to Orange County to take on the Ducks at the Honda Center. Tomas Hertl, returning to the ice after a stink on the covid-list, gets the party started making it 1-0. After a spirited, bloody bout featuring combatants Kurtis Gabriel and Nicolas Deslauriers, that really seems to breathe life into this team. Burns feeds Kane for a goal in the 2nd, Karlsson adds a tally of his own in the 3rd, along with Meier, LeBanc, and Handemark, scoring his 1st career NHL goal. Dubnyk is the star of the night with the shut-out on 35 saves. Mission accomplished: the Sharks indeed win two in a row for the first time all season with a 6-0 bludgeoning of the Ducks

In the second game of the series, we saw the Sharks continue their winning ways against the Ducks with a 3-1 victory. In the 1st, Evander Kane kicks off the scoring when he beat Ryan Miller off the rush for the early 1-0 score. Ducks come back early in the 2nd and tie it. Shortly afterward, Ferraro and Hertl combine to feed Lebanc for the 2-1 tally. In the 3rd, there's a scramble for the puck in front of the net when Dylan Gambrell tips it home for his first goal of the season and sends the Sharks off to their first bonafide win streak of the season at 3 games.

The Sharks next traveled to the desert to take on the familiar foe with the Vegas Golden Knights. Behind a rock-solid performance by Marc-Andre Fleury and enabled by a stingy officiating crew, the Knights get off to a 2-0 lead. That was before Timo Meier lights the lamp with 5 minutes left, and the Sharks finally received their first power play of the night with 20 seconds left in the game but unfortunately still come up short in the effort 2-1.

In the second game of the series, we see the Sharks do something that they have not been able to accomplish yet, and that's take a lead a game against Vegas when they went up 3-1. Only to see it quickly evaporate in a 3rd period meltdown with undisciplined and untimely penalties taken by their two top centers on the team, who decided it was time in the game for them to drop their gloves, something they are not accustomed to doing, both were assessed 5-minute fighting majors 3 minutes apart. This is a duty that should have been left to Kurtis Gabriel who was nowhere to be found. Sharks lose 5-4

Bruins Dip in the Standings and a Rookie Shines!

After a slide in the standings due to their recent play, the Bruins find themselves 4th in the East. Thursday night, March 11th, the Bruins travel to the Big Apple to take on the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The boys come out of the gate buzzing, aggressive play, good forechecking, leading to a Pastrnak goal from a Marchand feed to take the early 1-0 lead. Later on in the period, while on a Rangers power play, Bergeron scores his 19th career shorthanded goal on a lazer from Marchand. Goals in the second period by Krecji, his 1st of the season, and Debrusk, his 2nd, finish off the Rangers to complete Halak's 52nd career shutout. Marchand had 3 assists on the night, and the Bruins win 4-0.

The following Saturday, the Bruins embarked on a matinee rematch with the Rangers, which saw New York return the favor, handing the Bruins a frustrating 4-0 shutout loss. An uninspired, lackluster effort. The most concerning instance occurred when Branden Lemieux took liberties on Trent Frederic as he left the ice. Frederic, a player always standing up for his fellow teammates, Freddy not being shown the same courtesies by the team at this moment is glaring and makes me question certain compositions of this team.

Bruins next traveled a bit west to Pittsburgh, where they started a 2-game set with the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena. The game started well; we saw the team come out with good energy with smart decision making leading to Matt Gryzclyk's first goal of the season on the power play. After that, it became pretty evident Halak didn't have it tonight, giving up 4 unanswered goals, including 2 leaky, very savable goals, in my opinion. The Bruins lose 4-1.

The Bruins next looked for a bounce-back effort when they squared off against the Penguins again, in the second of back-to-back games. Rookie goaltender call-up Dan Vladar gets his first career regular-season start. In the first period, we see an aggressive forecheck to start, and the two teams trade goals by Pastrnak and Tanev, respectively. Tied at 1-1 in the 2nd period Tanev delivers a devastating neutral zone hit on the boards to Jarred Tinordi, resulting in a 5-minute major penalty that the Bruins promptly do nothing with. not letting missed opportunities slip through their fingers, the Bruins come through in the third period with an absolute snipe by Frederic for the game-winning goal 2-1, set up by Bergeron and Zorbil. Dan Vladar earned his first career victory in his first career regular-season start, where he was stellar, giving up only one goal on 35 shots.

Valiant Efforts & There's A New Sheriff in San Jose.

In the second game of the series and an attempt to yet again win two consecutive games, the Sharks yet again fall short in the effort in the losing end of 4-0 shutout. I feel Boughner's constant juggling, and changing of lines was partially to blame. Before the game, we saw the Sharks make a roster transaction, sending down 5 players, including Noah Gregor. While also calling up an additional 5 players, including Joachim Blichfeld and goaltender Josef Korenar. In the 3rd period, Blichfeld was assessed a match penalty for his hit on Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon and was subsequently given a 2-game suspension.

Up next, the hated Vegas golden knights came to town in a tale of two different games. Vegas goes up 3-0, spelling the end of the night for Martin Jones, who is replaced in net by Devin Dubnyk for San Jose. Newcomer Kurtis Gabriel fights Ryan Reeves, which seems to change the complexion of this game a bit. Brent Burns and Matt Neito add goals of their own, making it 3-2 Vegas. The Knights soon add another tally making it 4-2, but Captain Logan Couture soon adds one of his own, but not to be outdone by Kevin LeBanc scoring the game-tying goal with only 1:07 left in regulation. Max Pacioretty ends it soon in overtime for the 5-4 Vegas victory, but in my opinion, there were a lot of positives to take away from this game.

In the second game in the series against Vegas, the sharks couldn't muster up anything against the goaltending of Marc-Andre Fleury. The Sharks drop a frustrating match 4-0 to the Knights, ultimately giving Vegas the series sweep.

In a contest where we see new resident tough guy Kurtis Gabriel drop the gloves with Kyle Clifford early in the 1st for the antics of his goaltender Jordan Binnington the last time the two met. The Blues find the back of the net first, but the Sharks soon after answer with Marc-Edouard Vlasic's first of the season. The Blues go on to add another and go up 2-1 on a powerplay goal. Couture responds with a Sharks powerplay goal of their own, sending it to overtime, where Kane wins it for the teal guys in the extra frame. It's worth noting; Bob Boughner benched Kevin LeBanc late in the 3rd for his part in two separate bad penalties. After the game, Gabriel had resounding words for anyone aspiring to disrespect the Sharks in the future: "Nobody will disrespect this team while I am around and not have to pay up for it."

Chara Returns to Boston, Wilson's Dirty Hit on Carlo and Inconsistent Play Continues

A few days before the game, we saw the Bruins make a roster move, claiming Jarred Tinordi from the Nashville Predators to sure up the backend of their blueline due to numerous injuries as of late. Next up, we saw longtime Bruins captain Zdeno Chara return to Boston with the Washington Capital in town for a 2-game set. Washington gets on the board first with a goal that is overturned after review. Shots on goal were at a premium, for the Bruins did not have a shot on goal until the 15:28 mark of the 1st period. The game highlight is Trent Frederic repeatedly getting under Ovechkin's skin, who eventually spears Frederic in the groin and is subsequently fined for it. The Bruins finally breakthrough at 1:19 of the third by David Pastrnak but ultimately drop a 2-1 shootout loss.

The second game of the series was a contest marred in controversy. Brad Marchand sets off the scoring at the 14:21 mark of the first. Shortly after that, at the 18:50 mark, Tom Wilson of the Washington Capitals delivers a headshot on Brand Carlo that sent the Bruins defenseman out of the game and to the hospital. Come the second period Wilson was required to answer for his transgressions with an evenly matched tilt with newly acquired bruins Jarred Tinordi, sending both men to the box for five for Fighting. Bruins soon rallied off 5 straight goals. Winning the affair handily by a 5-1 final score, but not before Tom Wilson was required to drop his gloves, yet again this time with Trent Frederic, their second bout of the season. After the game, Tom Wilson was issued a 7-game suspension for his hit on Carlo.

The next game on the docket was Saturday, March 7th, when the Bruins traveled to New Jersey for a frustrating 1-0 loss where the Bruins put 40 shots on goal but could get anything against Devils' rookie netminder Scott Wedgewood. Next up was a similarly frustrating loss to the Islanders, where we saw the Bruins drop a 2-1 affair in the shootout where they were without half their starting six defensemen. The Bruins need to eventually figure out the secret to taking down this Islanders team.

Heartbreak Ridge and the Best Sharks Win of the Season

Imagine you're playing a solidified projected playoff contender in the St Louis Blues, and you are dominating. Imagine you're doing everything you need to do to win, Martin Jones; you're starting goaltender is phenomenal and then imagine you watch that all slip away with 40 seconds to go in regulation, then watch them give up the game-winning power play goal in overtime with a minute left to play. That's was the Sharks reality Thursday night, February 18th. Eliminating any dreams the Sharks had of two regulation wins in a row for the first time this season.

With all that said, imagine your young, relatively inexperienced defense looked pretty damn good out there despite being without their $11m stalwart.

A Saturday matinee matchup saw Devan Dubnyk return for the San Jose Sharks for the 1st time in 2 weeks. The Sharks go up 3-0 against the Blues with tallies by Kane, Couture, and rookie, Rudolfs Balcers with his first-ever NHL goal. Blues and the Sharks then trade the next two goals, including the first goal of the season for Patrick Marleau. Blues soon after tilt the ice, scoring 3 unanswered goals to tie the affair, before Logan Couture shoots a puck off the back of Jordan Binnington, scoring the game-winner for a 5-4 victory for the sharks.

On February 22nd, we saw the Minnesota Wild come to town, and Brent Burns gets the Sharks out to an early lead, but that's where I end drawing positives from this game. The wild end up scoring six goals in a 6-2 rout of the Sharks. Couture also contributed a tally at the 11:57 mark of the 2nd period.

 On Saturday evening February 27th, the St Louis Blues come to San Jose for an absolute slugfest. Neither team scoring more than one goal in a row at any point. The story of the game was Jordan Binnington being pulled after the third shark's goal, going on an absolute tirade trying to fight the Sharks bench, fake punching Erik Karlsson as he skated by before getting into a small tussle with goaltender Devin Dubnyk before being escorted off the ice. Saw 2 goals apiece by Timo Meier and Evander Kane with tallies as well by LeBanc and Couture before ultimately surrending the game-winning goal to St Louis in the third period for a 7-6 loss.

Next up, we saw the high-powered offense of the Colorado Avalanche come to the tank for a 2-game set with the return of Erik Karlsson and the San Jose Sharks. The Avs get off to a two goal lead with goals at the end of the first and the beginning of the second. that is where this game becomes drastically different. The Sharks go on to score 6 unanswered goals (tallies by Simek, LeBanc, Meier, Karlsson, Leonard, and Kane) and go on to put on the best total team performance of the season in a resounding 6-2 win. San Jose scored 12 goals in the past 2 games, putting to bed any talk that the sharks have a hard time scoring. Imagine if Erik Karlsson played at this level every single game we'd be talking about a much different season.

Beautiful Lake Tahoe & The First Slump of the Season

Before they left for the sun-filled paradise known as Lake Tahoe in Stateline, Nevada. The Bruins found themselves on a 2-game skid. A previously mentioned 4-2 loss to the Islanders and a 3-2 loss to New Jersey. Maybe a team bonding getaway was precisely what was in order.

The Bruins arrived in Lake Tahoe rockin' retro-90's garb and the debit of their Adidas retro reverse jerseys. An NHL hockey game has never seen such a serene setting of snow, mountain rang,e and water. The Bruins came to Tahoe to play after a 7-3shellackingg of the Philadelphia Flyers, thanks in part to David Pastrnak's second hat trick of the season and the 10th of his career. Not to mention the 1st career goal of Trent Frederic's career.

The soaring highs of Tahoe were soon erased when the Bruins found themselves right back in the middle of their first slump of the season, losing 3 of 4 and then 4 of 5 to the Islanders and Rangers. With Bruin's goaltending giving up a season-high 13 goals in 2 games.

The Bruins arrived in Madison Square Garden for a matinee rematch against the Rangers, a much different team. The story of the game was Nick Ritchie falling on to Rangers goaltender Alexandar Georgiev's head on some incidental contact inside the crease, setting up the first goal of the game by Charlie Coyle. The Rangers end up pulling Georgiev in favor of Igor Shestyorkin. The Bruins go on to a comfortable 4-1 victory but not before Nick Richie has to answer a bell with Brendan Lemieux with only 2 seconds left in the game. The first of Ritchie's Bruins career and a real lousy look by Lemieux, in my opinion.