Sharks Are Eliminated From Playoffs + Season Wrap

The Sharks were fully entrenched and embattled in a highly contested four-game series against the Colorado Avalanche, and there was no wavering change in game two of the series. Alexander Barabanov has been nothing short of absolute gold for the Sharks since he came up, who quickly pots his second goal of the season from Hertl and Karlsson just past four minutes gone in the first, 1-0 Sharks. Sharks make their best effort to waiver the Colorado onslaught but start the falter about 7 minutes gone in the second, giving up the following three unanswered Colorado goals, 3-1 Avalanche. Almost midway through the third, while on the Avalanche powerplay, Evander Kane snags a turnover at mid-ice that he puts on net that and Logan Couture cleans up in front of the net for the Sharks score, 3-2 Avs. Five minutes later, Miko Rantanen tips in another Colorado goal. A little over 2 minutes later, Tomas Hertl attempts to mount a Sharks comeback on a deflected shot that goes in, but time expires, Sharks lose 4-3.

Any inkling of playoff hope lies in the balance for the remainder of the season. In game three of the four-game series against Colorado, the Sharks saw more of the same see-saw play as in game three. Evander Kane gets the Sharks on the board almost four minutes in when he cleans up Alexander Barabanov's shot out front to give the Sharks the 1-0 early lead. Two minutes later, Nathan McKinnon off the faceoff who feeds Miko Rantanen to tie the game at 1. Moments into the second period, the Avalanche turn the puck over in their defensive zone, and Hertl skates in and puts it home, 2-1 Sharks. Six minutes or so later, Hertl feeds Kane on the breakaway, adding to the Sharks lead, 3-1. A few minutes before the first ends, Colorado makes it 3-2 on a Nichushkin wrist shot. Three minutes into the third period, Timo Meier makes the score 4-2 when he scores a highlight-reel worthy goal, which would prove to be the last goal the Sharks score of the night. Sharks again prove their inability to hold the lead against the caliber of present company, for Colorado goes on a tear, scoring the following three unanswered goals ultimately surrendering the game-winner in overtime. Sharks lose 5-4 and are officially eliminated from playoff contention.

In the fourth and final game of the Colorado series, as the Sharks season winds down, they find themselves playing with more freedom and without the weight of playoff expectations and all the scrutiny that comes with that—just playing the game that they're accustomed to. After an uneventful opening period and half the second, Colorado gets on the board with two quick strikes starting at 15:49 and then again at 18:18 for the 2-0 Avalanche advantage. As Colorado aimed to escape the second period unscathed, Barabanov put a breakaway pass onto Evander Kane's stick, who dishes it over to Hertl, scoring the first of his two goals in his 500th career game with 13 seconds remaining in the second period, 2-1 Colorado. Then again, in the third, without even three minutes gone by, Kane throws it out front to Knyzhov and then to Hertl, who puts it home as he stumbles to the ice to tie the game at 2-2. Around 10 minutes left in regulation, Erik Karlsson puts the Sharks ahead when he catches a dish across the point from Kane, and this time the Sharks managed to weather the Avalanche offense down the stretch, getting a much-needed W in the final meeting between the two teams. Colorado blows the two-goal lead. Sharks win 3-2!

When the Sharks welcomed the Arizona Coyotes to the SAP Center for the start of their final two-game series of the season and a game for all intents and purposes, I was supposed to be at but couldn't make it. The Sharks came out with considerable step, perhaps a high off snagging a game against Colorado, who knows. But the Sharks get the scoring started with his little less than four minutes left in the first period when Erik Karlsson rockets in a wrister from beyond that beats Kuemper stick side, 1-0 Sharks. Sam Jose makes it 2-0 with three and a half minutes gone in the second when Timo Meier scores on a two-on-one breakaway, saying one over Kuemper's left shoulder. Arizona mounts the comeback scoring the following four unanswered goals to take a commanding 5-2 lead. Sharks doomed themselves on breakaways and lack of defensive presence in front of the net.

As they continue down the stretch and attempt to swallow their pride and play meaningful hockey with an emphasis on the youth movement, the Sharks attempt to salvage the last remaining game of the season against the Arizona Coyotes. Alexei Melnichuk gets his first start since February 11th, but the Sharks stumble off the get, surrendering the initial goal of the game, a wrist shot with only three and a half gone in regulation, 1-0 Yotes. Sharks respond with an answer three minutes later on a slapshot by Balcers from Chemelevski to tie the game at 1. About 5 minutes later, Arizona breaks the tie on a powerplay goal to put the Totes ahead 2-1. Almost four minutes go by in the first, and once again, San Jose gets the game-tying equalizer from Kevin LeBanc, an unassisted wrist shot, 2-2. Come more than five minutes gone in the second, Timo Meier scores a true power forward's goal when he skates across the crease, putting it past Hill for the 3-2 Sharks advantage. Arizona goes on to score over the following two unanswered goals before trade deadline sensation; Barabanov ties the contest at four in the initial moments of the third period. Still, the coyotes ultimately come away with the victory on a Phil Kessel overtime game-winner. Arizona sweeps the Sharks. Sharks lose another one 5-4.

In the final game of the season for the Sharks, the Vegas Golden Knights aimed to fine-tune their game before the start of the playoffs. The sharks who had been eliminated last week again we're playing for nothing other than pride. Vegas outclasses them in the first period, though, scoring the first six unanswered goals for a 6-0 shutout to end the Sharks 2021 season. Was this the final time we Patrick Marleau and Brent Burns suit up for San Jose? I think the shark showed a lot more promise as a makeshift AHL team this season than they did last season. They obviously had a lot of ups and downs, a lot of good things to build on but also a lot of things to work on in the offseason. I expect the Sharks to be a more competitive club going forward. The Sharks finish the season at 21-28-7 with 56 points, good for 7th in the Honda West Division

Marleau Honored at Home + Sharks Get Off the Snide

Saturday, April 24th, for the first time all season, people were allowed to attend a Sharks game at the SAP Center. Players families and Arena workers only but still the perfect occasion for the Sharks to hold a pregame ceremony commemorating Patrick Marleau and his recent historic achievement. The Wild gets on the board only 19 seconds into the game on the first shot Martin Jones saw, which predicted the game to come. The Wild scored the next four unanswered goals until about a minute into the third, when a gift from God finds the loose stick of Logan Couture in a scramble in front of the net for his first score in 16 games, 4-1 Minnesota. About three minutes later, Minnesota makes it 5-1 on a powerplay score. Sharks make it interesting, though, scoring the next two goals, including the 1st goal of Joakim Blichfeld's career, until Nick Benito effectively ends the game for the Wild with his 6-3 empty-net score. To extend the sharks losing streak to an abysmal eight games.

After eight long games, the longest Sharks losing steak since the 2005-2006 season, sick and tired of being on the wrong end of almost every bounce, the sharks look to get back on track finally and put a W in the win collum when the Arizona Coyotes skated into the Tank for a two gamer. In a role reversal of the previous game, the Sharks get on the board only 17 seconds into the game on a feed from the back of the net to Noah Gregor for the early 1-0 Sharks advantage. San Jose assaulted Arizona netminder Darcy Kuemper with a barrage of shots scoring the three unanswered goals with scores by the big guns: Burns, Couture, and Karlsson, a 4-0 Sharks lead. Arizona proves they aren't going away quietly, scoring the following three unanswered goals themselves. Sharks still lead 4-3. With 8:50 left in regulation, Evander Kane enters the zone. He puts the puck on net, which ricochets and rebounds, which Alexander Barabanov, playing in his first NHL game, cleans up out front scoring what is eventually the game-winning goal to make it. 5-3 San Jose game. Jakob Chychrun of Arizona, a thorn in the Shark side all night, makes 5-4 with a little less than 5 minutes remaining in regulation. Evander Kane seals the deal, finally finding the net for 6-4 empty netter. Breaking the eight-game losing in front of their first actual crowd of fans of the season, securing the Sharks first victory since April 9th, and Josef Korenar picks up his first career NHL win

In a game that was virtually a mirror image of the game previously, the Sharks and the coyotes kicked off the second game of this set in virtually the same fashion. Sharks score first, early and often, potting the first three unanswered goals of the game by Kane, Balcers, and LeBanc. Until Arizona comes storming back, scoring the next two of their own. The Sharks, whether the storm, fighting off several Arizona surges before Tomas Hertl puts a bow on it, scoring the empty-net goal. Sharks win 4-2, a decisive sweep of the two-game series, a series in which the Coyotes never lead!

The upper echelon juggernauts of the Honda West Division, the Colorado and Vegas' out there are not opponents to be taken lightly. That is precisely what should be so worrisome to the Sharks when they travel to Denver for the first of four straight against the Avalanche. It is of the utmost importance that the Sharks are not drawn into penalties against this team for they tout one of the most lethal powerplays in the league. Sharks chose to find that out the hard way firsthand, when they are baited into two separate penalties, resulting in two separate powerplay goals for the Avalanche, 2-0 Colorado. After skating on their heels for most of the period and taking two more additional penalties, the Sharks managed to escape the second period unscathed. The Sharks entered the third with no high danger scoring chances through the first two periods, which continued well into the third, after a spirited, feisty bout between Kevin LeBanc and Nathan McKinnon and then a nullified Hertl goal after review. Sharks are shutout 3-0 after an empty-net goal as Time dwindled down.

Tuukka Returns and Winners of Season Best, Six-In-A-Row

The Bruins aimed to continue their winning ways against the New York Islanders in the second game of the two-game series Friday night, March 16th. Jeremy Swayman gets the start, making it his fifth of the season. The first period seems to be a bit of a seesaw affair as both teams strive for the aggressive play that we saw in the first game of the series, but we are reminded that both these teams played the previous night, with chances on either end of the ice. Pastrnak stuns the Islanders with 2.4 seconds left in the first period when he buries it down low on a chance from Mike Reilly for the 1-0 Bruins lead. In the first minute of the second period, after being denied moments before, Taylor Hall, on a tape-to-tape pass from David Krecji, makes it 2-0, matching his output total in 38 games with Buffalo in just three with the Bruins. Just over a minute remained in regulation with the goalie pulled when Chris Wagner forces a puck out of the Bruins' zone, which finds Curtis Lazar for the empty net tuck to seal Jeremy Swayman's first career NHL shutout, who was the real story of the game. Bruins win 3-0!

Reading high on the waves of their first three game-winning Street since early February, the Boston Bruins welcome in the divisional leading Washington Capitals with last weeks 8-1 thumping still fresh in the backs of their minds; the Bruins expect much different results with a retooled and much healthier team taking the ice. Bruins jump out to an early 2-0 lead in the first with scores by Bergeron, a short-handed effort, and then Krecji about two minutes later with a tip-in. TJ Oshie of the Washington Capitals makes it 2-1 on a backhand shot with less than ten seconds left in the period. Lack of mental awareness and execution proves costly in the second period when Connor Clifton commits two 4 minutes high-sticking major penalties that lead to the next two Capital goals, a 3-2 Washington lead. Play continues, and about 2 minutes pass, Charlie McAvoy chips his own pass into the corner where along the boards, he feeds it out front to Pastrnak, who finds Marchand, who buries it in close to tie the game three aside. The Bruins scorers each tack on an additional goal each, including the 700th point of Marchand's career, an empty-netter to seal the 6-3 victory.

The Western New York basement-dwelling Buffalo sabers welcome the Bruins to KeyBank Center to start a three-game set on Tuesday, April 20th. Matt Grezclyk returns to the lineup after missing five games with an upper-body injury. With just less than twelve minutes remaining in the first and after a fury of relentless play in the attacking zone, Marchand backhands in, his team-leading 24th goal on the season. Sometime later, with 6:36 left in the first period, Tukkaa Rask absolutely robs Dylan Couzens on a wide-open net chance, a spectacular save! Three minutes into the second period, there's a pile-up in the crease with a turbulence of activity, Clifton puts a puck on net that slowly squeaks and dribbles through Buffalo goaltender Dustin Tokarski's five holes that he ultimately pushes into the net with his own skate blade, 2-0 Bruins. After a plethora of penalties, rain down on Boston, including a 5-on-3 Buffalo advantage in the waning minutes of the game, the Bruins maintain composure and pull this one out. The Bruins did not bring their A-game, but they did bring their good enough to win against Buffalo game. The Bruins are capable of beating the wheels off this club, and I hate seeing them playing down to competition. Bruins win 2-0

The Bruins continued their trudge through Western New York and the second game of the series against the sabers in the second game of the series. Brad Marchand breaks the scoreless tie eight and a half minutes into the first when Bergeron finds him out front and promptly potts the rebound for the 1-0 Bruins score. Buffalo makes it a game with a little more than 5 minutes gone in the second when former bruin Andrews Bjork finds Rasmus Ristolinen, who beats Swayman to tie the game at 1. Fresh off the faceoff and in only his second game back, Matt Grezclyk scores a bomb from the blueline for the 2-1 Bruins lead. And the Bruins just put it on cruise control for the remainder of the game, scoring the next three unanswered goals with tallies by Pastrnak, Ritchie, and Krecji. The Bruins deliver a 5-1 knockout punch to Buffalo!

Flat Response to Kings Sweep, but Dominate the Wild

Coming into Arizona for a 2-game, back-to-back series against the Arizona Coyotes, inquiring minds wanted to know precisely how the San Jose Sharks would follow up their series sweep of the LA Kings, and the answer couldn't be any more than what one expected, flat.  In game one, we saw the Sharks come away with a 5-2 loss, Arizona, who had their third-string netminder in, and were quick to score early and often, extinguished any confidence Martin Jones had built up with the past couple wins.  Kurtis Gabriel, who still seems to remain in Coach Boughner's doghouse, presence was noticeably lost as the Sharks struggled to establish themselves in the game flow, particularly with regards to Nick Schmaltz's hit on Radim Simek

In game two of the series, we saw more of the same with an uninspired, lackluster 4-0 loss to the Arizona Coyotes where Arizona was the benefactor of six power plays with Phil Kessel scoring a hat trick. The sharks yet again for the second night in as many chances fall to Arizona's third-string goaltender Aiden Hill, this time with a shutout performance. I'll go out on a limb and say the highlight of the game was Kurtis Gabriel being assessed a major penalty with an interference and game misconduct call in his first game back in action since being reprimanded for his pregame antics last week against the LA Kings. 

One of the most surprising stories of the NHL season, the Minnesota Wild, come into the Shark Tank for a two-game series. Jeffery Viel, making his NHL debut, quickly introduces himself to the league with a dust-up with Minnesota's Luke Johnson, throwing both hands; if he's not careful, Kurtis Gabriel might soon find himself back on the Barracuda. Marcus Johansson makes with 1-0 Wild with a strike with 7 minutes left in the first. Sharks then add a goal of their own with Radim Simek one-timer from the blue line with 3 minutes left, but not before the Wild go up 2-1 with a minute left in the period. Come the second period, Erik Karlsson ties the game five minutes in when he finds the back of the net on a beautiful feed from Kane. With 4 minutes left in the second, Ryan Donato from behind the net finds Karlsson at the blueline for a one-timer into the back of the net for the 3-2 lead. The wild tie the game at three apiece in the 3rd to force the extra frame and shootout where Erk Karlsson wins the game on the 8th round of the shoot out where Logan Couture also added a goal for the 4-3 win where Jones had 25 saves.

In the second game of the series, the Sharks dictated the pace of play from the onset. After an uneventful first period for either teal, the Sharks kick off the scoring 5 minutes into the second with a beautiful cross-seam pass from Hertl to Balcers, who roofs it for the 1-0 lead. Halfway through the period, on the power play, Brent Burns feeds a blue line pass to Ryan Donato in front of the net, who fights a blue-collar puck into the back of the net for the 2-0 score. In the third, the Wild finally get on the board almost halfway through the third from way out off the bar and into the net. A little over 2 minutes later, Karlsson finds Kynzhov at the face-off circle who scores his first career NHL goal, 3-1 Sharks. Wild score a garbage-time goal with 12 seconds left in regulation but not before Evander Kane finds the puck for the empty-net goal to seal the deal for a 4-2 Sharks win.