SHARKSPAGE

Logan Couture outshines strong crop of Oil rookies, Sharks down Edmonton 2-1

TAYLOR, TYLER OR LOGAN? LOGAN COUTURE BATTLES TAYLOR HALL

#39 COUTURE BEATS #5 SMID FOR 18TH GOAL OF SEASON IN 2ND

SHARKS D #44 MARC-EDOUARD VLASIC MARKS #89 SAM GAGNER

More notes from the San Jose Sharks 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers will be posted soon. A photo gallery from the game is available here. Video highlights are available via the NHL here.

Hockey Notes – December 20th

– HBO Sports debuted the premiere episode of 24/7 Penguins-Capitals Road to the Winter Classic on Wednesday night. The anticipated 4-part series was created to bring viewers behind the scenes of the National Hockey League, and engage fans with the personalities and organizations in the leadup to the 4th annual outdoor Winter Classic on New Years Day.

According to Dan Steinberg and Katie Carrera of the Washington Post, the inside look may have been a little too close up. There was no need to artificially inflate drama with Washington and Pittsburgh. The Capitals were in the midst of a grueling 6-game losing streak and an extended slump for all-world franchise player Alexander Ovechkin. While Caps owner Ted Leonsis was shown as passionate and involved, head coach Bruce Boudreau was forced to unleash a fiery string of f-bombs on multiple occasions in desperate attempts to fire up his squad.

“This is the worst possible time for it to happen to Washington. If I’m Bruce Boudreau, I curse the day I agreed to do this, because I can’t hide right now,” ESPN analyst Barry Melrose told the Washington Post. Actually, the reverse is true and the Capitals organization deserves credit for opening the doors during one of the most trying times of the last 3 seasons. As December tumbles into January and February, fans occasionally get the sense that the regular season doesn’t matter. Watching the first episode of HBO’s 24/7, that is decidedly not the case. The Capitals are taking the losses personally. It is refreshingly different from the staid “every game matters”, “we need to just keep playing our game”, “we need the 2 points” mantras that are oft-recited to the media.

A more measured and calm Penguins team was streaking, registering their 12th win in a row while in front of the HBO cameras. The documentary traveled with Sidney Crosby and the Penguins for more light-hearted moments, the annual Christmas party, playing video games on the plane, playing hotel pranks on teammates. Insider behind the scenes moments included analytical daily player rankings by the coaching staff, and mic’d up verbal and physical confrontations on the ice. The 24/7 series continues with episode #2 Wednesday December 22nd, episode #3 Wednesday December 29th, and episode #4 January 5th.

“This is prime time. This is great exposure for the league, great exposure for the clubs, great exposure for the players,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Thursday on XM Radio’s The NHL Hour. “I think the clubs have embraced this in a way some would have thought impossible in prior years.” In a league that has stressed tradition, honor and respect for generations, this organically fits with the movement to open up the game.

The 24/7 look into the NHL is also an opportunity for HBO to expand its reach into a fairly hardcore demographic. Hockey may not draw similar numbers to the NY Jets “Hard Knocks” series, but similar content could draw a steady stream of new subscribers from an untapped source. According to Puck the Media, the first 24/7 episode drew a 383,000 viewers for a 0.2 household rating. The “Hard Knocks debut in August drew 870,000 viewers for a 0.6 household rating.

The techinal production of HBO’s 24/7 also deserves comment. With an explosion of sports documentaries, hockey fans were looking for new and innovate ways to cover the game. Off the ice, HBO delivered. There were a number of compelling interviews, many accompanied by Liev Schreiber’s narration from on high. The in-game camerawork left a little room for inspiration. There were isolation shots on star players, and several hand held shots meant to convey the intensity on the ice.

There may be a feeling of not wanting to distract from the game, but when HBO gets involved with hockey hardcore fans want the channel to take chances and pull out all the stops. There was not enough that stood out from HBO’s in-game action. There was nothing similar to Formula 1’s high speed slo-motion camera detailing the flex and tourque of composite racing car frames under heavy G’s during a turn, nothing similar to Japanese MMA promotions strapping up a referee for a POV look at a knockout, or the NFL wiring hanging smart cameras to track and follow play.

All of that could be rendered moot by the weather gods on New Years Day in Pittsburgh. A heavy snowstorm similar to the one that covered Buffalo and Pittsburgh at the 2008 Winter Classic would provide an iconic backdrop for hockey’s largest stars. HBO would merely need to show up and keep the cameras rolling for an indelible sports experience.

“We started this in 2007 with De la Hoya and Mayweather leading into their big fight. We thought we could create a resurgence in the sport by injecting a little reality television into the sport, and giving an idea of what these fighters go through on a daily basis as they prepare for a huge event,” HBO president Ross Greenburg said Thursday on The NHL Hour. “Now, after a lot of soul searching, and a lot of pushing from your friend and my friend, John Collins, and of course (NHL Commissioner Bettman), and everyone at the NHL. They kept insisting ‘our sport is incredible, you ought to come, we will give you full access, the teams will be there for you, we’ll give you everything you need, we will go to training rooms, we will let you mic everyone during games. Come for a ride.'”

Greenburg discussed the earned respect for how physical the modern NHL has become, and how much of a grind the players have to endure over the course of an 82-game season. “I have really grown to respect, to be honest with you, how physical this sport is,” Greenburg said. “What it takes to be a National Hockey League player… I don’t think people have ever appreciated how tough these players are to do this day in and day out.”

“We got a lot of average sports fans back into boxing,” Greenburg concluded. “Hopefully we are going to do that with your sport.”

IN ADDITION TO CALDER CONSIDERATION, #39 COUTURE T-5TH NHL G SCORING

– After his 2 goal performace in the Sharks 4-1 win at St. Louis on Saturday, Logan Couture was tied with Rick Nash for 5th in overall in the NHL goal scoring race. The 21-year old from Guelph, Ontario has scored 9 goals in his last 10 games. Couture and linemate Ryane Clowe have helped buoy the Sharks offensively while the big stars get back up to speed.

“Couture is not a surprise,” head coach Todd McLellan said after the St. Louis game. “He is a competitive player that loves playing the game. His passion and his success is starting to rub off on some of our older players.” While Carolina’s Jeff Skinner and Philadelphia goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky were early favorites for the NHL Calder Trophy race as the league’s top rookie, Couture has taken a clear lead in recent weeks among hockey pundits on both coasts.

– How Did The Sharks End Up With Logan Couture? – Kevin Burgundy for Thescore.ca. Please do not read if you are a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, have a heart condition, or have a heart condition and are a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.

– In addition to earning first star of the week honors last Monday by the NHL, Sharks left wing Ryane Clowe was interviewed by KNBR 680AM’s Razor and Mr T program. Clowe talked about WWF fake wrestling injuries vs real hockey injuries, how players and teams try to obfuscate injuries in the regular season and playoffs, Clowe’s experience as a San Francisco Giants fans during their run to a World Series championship, the championship parade, taking batting practice with the Oakland A’s, expectations for the San Jose Sharks, and several other topics. KNBR’s home page is available here, and a direct download of the MP3 file is available here.

“It was great (watching the Giants win the World Series). I am from a small town in Canada. I didn’t really have an option to play baseball, but I have always loved watching baseball. From the Blue Jays when they won those back-to-back World Series, I have always been a big fan. I watch all the transactions and all of the offseason stuff. When I came to San Jose, I justed started going to a lot of Giants games. I have also been to a lot of Oakland games as well. Then I became good friends with Kevin Frandsen when he was with the Giants. I would show up a lot and meet him, and he would leave me tickets. I started to meet a few of the other guys. This year a lot of the guys, Dany Heatley and Douglas Murray, when we would get a chance we would really enjoy going to the games. Especially in AT&T Park, it is such a beautiful place to watch a game. I love going.”

“It is pretty reasonable for people to expect that from us. The ultimate goal is for the Stanley Cup. We have had such dominating regular seasons the last few years where we have won our division, we have won the conference, we have won a Presidents Trophy, it is absolutely expected for us to be one of the top teams and to make a run to the Stanley Cup. Even though we lost to Chicago, we feel that we made pretty good strides last year. It is one of those things where we are knocking on the door, we just have to open it up and get through there. We have been close for years, we feel we have a different attitude and a different approach right now. I think last year was a little nervous from being knocked out in the first round a year before. We felt we had maybe a little added pressure, where we had to get through there, and we did. It is a hard road, it is a long road. It is not going to be easy, but that is why the regular season is here, to build a foundation and prepare yourself.”

– Antero Niittymaki (11-3-3, .907SV%, 2.38GAA) was solid for the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night, stopping 21 of 22 shots against for his 11th win of the season. His only misstep over 60 minutes was on David Backes penalty shot in the second period. It was the first back-to-back wins Niittymaki had earned since October 30th, and the first back-to-back wins the Sharks as a whole had earned since November 30th. “We don’t have a clear cut #1 or #2,” head coach Todd McLellan said. “When it is all said and done, when we head into this summer we are probably going to need both of them.”

Discussion of the Sharks goaltending tandem picked up when Antti Niemi earned 7 of the first 8 starts in December. Niemi, and the team in front of him, alternated wins and losses in 6 appearances. Back-to-back losses against Dallas and Nashville gave Niittymaki the opportunity, and he struggled against Dallas in part due to the lack of recent action he has received, and in part due to the only 18 shots on goal put up by Dallas. “It was nice to play, but it felt terrible to be honest with you, I haven’t played a whole lot and they didn’t shoot the puck.” Niittymaki told David Pollak of the SJ Mercury News. Head coach Todd McLellan also noted that a lack of practice time with two long road trips also played a part.

The Sharks have a balanced position with regards to goaltending. The coaching staff is looking for one netminder to exhibit more consistency on a night in and night out basis, but barring any extended hot streak the rotation should continue. Going with Antti Niemi for the first two weeks of December was against the grain considering how well Niittymaki was performing, but it also instilled confidence in Niemi and strengthened the tandem as a whole. Niemi tightened up his positioning, battled harder for pucks down low, and the team gelled around him and gave him more confidence. The team may not be at a “win and you stay in” scenario yet, a scenario this blog first called for when Evgeni Nabokov was battling Miikka Kiprusoff and Vesa Toskala for the #1 role, but Todd McLellan has two quality puck stopping tools at his disposal he can use to get the job done.

– David Perron missed his 21st straight game as the Sharks visited St. Louis on Saturday. Perron is suffering from post-concussion symptoms after being checked by Sharks captain Joe Thornton. Thornton was given a 2-game suspension at the time, a ruling based on the newly enacted Rule 48. The Sharks and Blues combined for three first period fights in the game. Ryane Clowe first dropped the gloves with B.J. Crombeen, Scott Nichol fought Chris Porter, and Jamal Mayers faced off against Brad Winchester. The Sharks had not fought previously for 12 straight games, just shy of the 13 game franchise record according to television commentator Randy Hahn. The fights appeared to be more of a reaction from on ice hostilities than any retaliation against Joe Thornton.

– Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic has been on a hot streak after he ended his 27-game scoring drought on December 9th. In his last 6 games, Vlasic has scored 2 goals and added 3 assists. Vlasic’s timing appeared to be off earlier in the season. Pucks were not getting through traffic on net, and passes were off the stick or behind the body of forwards driving down low. Confidence was also a factor as he had to adapt to new defensive partners after the retirement of Rob Blake.

The Sharks need Vlasic to be a leader from the back end, on and off the scoresheet. Murray, Wallin, Huskins and Demers can answer any physical element an opponent brings to bear, but San Jose need more maturity and leadership from Vlasic. Often when an opponent starts rolling, a single clear, a keep-in at the blueline, or carrying the puck through the neutral zone can settle the team down. Vlasic needs to raise his game during critical situations. It is tough to remember that at only 23 years of age, he is the second longest tenured Shark on the blueline.

– Douglas Murray missed his 4th consecutive game with a lower body injury on Saturday. In only 2 games back from a hand injury, Devin Setoguchi has scored 3 goals and registered 6 hits. #16 for San Jose has been a handful for opposing defenses down low. More on Setoguchi below.

– Chase blasts Blues for not responding to Thornton – St Louis Post-Dispatch.

“The game against the Sharks the other night really bothered me,” Chase told hosts Tim McKernan and Jim Hayes. “David Perron gets knocked out by Joe Thornton, and we didn’t respond. It’s been a long time since I could say that about a Blues team. If there’s guys in there that are looking to be leaders, and are looking to be captains … we hear about these young guys, they’re stepping up, they’re stepping up … well they didn’t step up the other night.

“Joe Thornton came to St. Louis prepared to fight, at least be confronted by one of the guys over their teammate … not one guy responded … not one guy went and said one thing to Joe Thornton.

“It can’t continually be Cam Janssen, Brad Winchester and B.J. Crombeen that step up all the time. Some of these guys have to do some things that are out of their character. And to me, I was embarrassed to be honest with you. I was sitting between the benches for two periods expecting some kind of … if you’re a teammate, you’ve got to go out and confront Joe Thornton. If it’s only verbally, you have to make him feel uncomfortable. The San Jose Sharks came in prepared to have that happen, and the St. Louis Blues did NOTHING, and it was embarrassing”…

“Either they don’t get it, and know that they should respond to the guy, or they don’t like David Perron, and either way that’s a problem,” he said…

“I was so (ticked) off watching the game, I couldn’t even sit down after the third period,” Chase said. “Listen, don’t give me that (bleep) about it’s the new and the old (NHL players) because whether you think that people notice or not, you’re wrong. When the St. Louis Blues fans come out and boo for a period and a half every time (Thornton) touches the puck, and you don’t respond, then they quit booing because they’re like ‘Geez, if these guys don’t care, what do we care?’ That’s what happened in that game. The fans went there anticipating that somebody was going to step up. If you just go get in (Thornton’s) face for one period, you don’t ever have to buy a beer again in St. Louis. This guy cares, and it didn’t look like they cared.

“… That bothered me, I’m telling you, that bothered me because 22 years of being around here with the jersey and stuff, stick up for yourself … stick up for the jersey and think about the rest of the guys that did.”

I would have to agree with media assessments from San Jose and St. Louis that the first period fights on Saturday night did not appear to be a retaliation for Thornton’s hit on Perron. In my opinion, the shoe was a little on the other foot compared to past seasons. Instead of the Blues trying to knock a more talented offensive team off their game with physical play, the situation was reversed. St Louis was answering the physical play on the ice from San Jose.

Chase is directly calling out a young Blues squad that is dealing with injuries to several top-6 forwards. David Perron (concussion), Andy McDonald (concussion) and T.J. Oshie (broken ankle) are out for an extended period. Erik Johnson (knee) was a surprise return after missing only one game, but defenseman Roman Polak and Alex Pietrangelo have also been out. Chase’s point would be more receptive if it was more of a clear cut dirty hit than a simple hockey play, and if the opposing player was someone other than Joe Thornton.

– Observations from a 4-3 OT loss – Mike Heika for the Dallas Morning News.

– Stars-Sharks photos and observations from Mark Stepneski for ESPN Dallas.

– According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun Evgeni Nabokov touched down from Russia to his home in San Jose on Friday. Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman reportedly has been in contact with Nabokov’s North American agent Don Meehan, but he may hold pat with current Lightning goaltenders Dan Ellis and Mike Smith.

Lebrun also included San Jose Sharks right wing Devin Setoguchi in his Trade bait: 10 players who could move before Feb. 28 article. “Two years removed from a career-high 31 goals, the 23-year-old winger has disappointed and frustrated the coaching staff in San Jose,” Lebrun said of Setoguchi. “They don’t have to trade him, since they have all their 2011 draft picks in hand and some terrific prospects in the minors, but we know other teams covet Setoguchi.”

Speed, physical play, and a heavy shot. There is a lot for opponent’s to like in Setoguchi’s game, but as is the case with a lot of younger players, consistency has been an obstacle. Setoguchi is skating like a man possessed at the moment. Using the NHL video selector, one of the leagues few Japanese-Canadians is having success down low around the net and with his shot from the slot. Where you could really see his game turn the corner is if Seto starts mirroring the puck possession and puck protection utilized by Ryane Clowe (which both forwards were working on at the start of training camp). Setoguchi has 25 pounds less to work with, but an extra gear or two on the hockey transmission. Fast foward to the end (16 seconds) of this Setoguchi is a lousy lawyer commercial. If Setoguchi starts driving around players to the net like that on a regular basis, drawn penalties, goals and rebound opportunities are going to come in bunches. GM’s are wary of trading away potential 30 and 40-goal scorers, and opposing GM’s are salivating at the opportunity to bring him into the Eastern Conference.

– Interview with Fox Sports and The Hockey News trade expert Lyle “Spector” Richardson – Sharkspage.

– Former San Jose Shark Jeremy Roenick introduced the Winter Classic NHL Showcast Showdown prize package on Monday’s episode of The Price is Right. Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby detailed the prizes, Winter Classic clothing and jerseys, travel, hotel, rental car, VIP access and tickets for the Bridgestone Winter Classic in Pittsburgh, and a new Honda 2011 CRZ hybrid.

– Winning the draw by any means necessary – Sean Gordon for The Globe and Mail.

“Don’t forget the intentional loss, feels like I’ve been doing that a lot this season,” Joe Pavelski, a centre with the San Jose Sharks, says jokingly. He has been one of the NHL’s premier faceoff men over the past four seasons (his current 51.4 per cent is below his career average, a fact that displeases him greatly).

For all the attention players pay to faceoffs – watching video, taking extra practice – Pavelski points out that it’s still two sticks, one puck and a dot on the ice. “There’s only so many options,” he says. “You can’t hide out there. It’s all about execution, quickness and strength.”

– The NHL and comic book guru Stan Lee are scheduled to make an announcement regarding the Guardian Project this week. 30 Guardian superheros have been created for each NHL team. “In the creation of GME and its unique and unprecedented relationship with the NHL, I truly believe we have the perfect combination from which to launch 30 new superheroes and excite young fans around the globe,” Stan Lee said. The project will include an online presence, mobile applications, publications, gaming, in-arena, and merchandise elements.

– Best Managed Teams of the Last Decade – Bird Watchers Anonymous.

– This was sent by a fan in the buildup to the Ottawa game earlier this month: How To Be An NHL Defenceman – Bloge Salming. If you missed the Lonely Island originals on Saturday Night Live, this song may go over your head. Dan Boyle may cringe at the appearance, but this is one of the best parodies BS and DGB have ever done.

[Update] Which blueliner does Todd McLellan trust most to start in the defensive zone? – Fear the Fin.

[Update2] Can Fehr save the NHLPA? – Globe and Mail roundtable.

[Update3] Lots of information from Hockey Night in Canada this weekend: host Ron MacLean sat down for an interview with new NHLPA head Donald Fehr, Coach’s Corner with Don Cherry debuted yet another DJ Steve Porter music video, and the Hockey Hotstove roundtable covered Sami Salo’s return to Vancouver, the future of the Atlanta Thrashers, and HBO’s 24/7.

WorSharks Silenced By Sound Tigers, 7-2

The Worcester Sharks fell behind early, then got goals from newcomer David Marshall and T.J. Trevelyan to even the score, only to give up the next five goal in the contest for a 7-2 shellacking by the Bridgeport Sound Tigers Saturday night at Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut in front of a crowd of 3,293.

Sharkspage didn’t make the trip to The Constitution State and only caught a small portion on video, so for those gluttons for punishment that want the particulars they can check out what Bill Ballou of the Worcester telegram and Gazette has to say about the game. Ballou also has an update on the injury to Jonathan Cheechoo. Michael Fornabaio of the Connecticut Post writes about the game from the Bridgeport point of view. If a list of the top five beat writers in the AHL was compiled, my money would be on Fornabaio making the cut.

As usual, folks can also check out the WorSharks and Sound Tigers official sites for more game information.

One other note far more important than the score of any game; while looking at the Connecticut Post’s website for Fornabaio’s article I stumbled across a story by Rob Varnon about two fallen Bridgeport firefighters, Michel Baik and Steven Velasquez, heroes who both died fighting a fire on July 24. Prior to the WorSharks/Sound Tigers game there was a game played between the fire departments of Bridgeport and Worcester where Lt. Velasquez’s #44 jersey was retired by the Bridgeport team. Worcester has had its share of fallen firefighters, so I was not surprised to read about our firefighters going to help out in a community that has lost some of their brethren.

GAME NOTES
Tony Lucia, Jonathan Cheechoo, Mike Moore, and Frazer McLaren were the scratches for Worcester. Alex Stalock got the night off as Carter Hutton got the start in goal.

The three stars of the game were
1. BRI – 18 Micheal Haley (2g)
2. BRI – 26 Rob Hisey (g,a)
3. BRI – 23 Robin Figren (2a)

The Sharkspage player of the game was David Marshall

BOXSCORE
Worcester 1 1 0 – 2
Bridgeport 2 2 3 – 7

1st Period-1, Bridgeport, Haley 5 (Marcinko, Figren), 1:33. 2, Bridgeport, Hisey 4 (Svendsen, Katic), 4:06. 3, Worcester, Marshall 3 (Marcou, Sullivan), 15:28. Penalties-Lizon Wor (roughing), 5:54; Sullivan Wor (roughing), 5:54; Romano Bri (roughing), 5:54; DaSilva Wor (fighting), 8:59; Colliton Bri (fighting), 8:59; Zalewski Wor (goaltender interference), 9:16; Desjardins Wor (fighting), 17:21; Haley Bri (interference, fighting), 17:21; Wingels Wor (slashing), 19:11.

2nd Period-4, Worcester, Trevelyan 5 (Wingels), 1:19. 5, Bridgeport, Haley 6 (Figren, Marcinko), 13:03. 6, Bridgeport, Reese 2 (Rakhshani, Katic), 16:48 (PP). Penalties-Romano Bri (hooking), 5:25; Irwin Wor (hooking), 16:15.

3rd Period-7, Bridgeport, Bailey 6 (Klementyev, Rakhshani), 7:30. 8, Bridgeport, Ullstrom 6 (Friesen, Hisey), 8:21. 9, Bridgeport, Romano 5 (Klementyev), 16:41 (PP). Penalties-Marshall Wor (fighting), 9:07; Labelle Bri (fighting), 9:07; Irwin Wor (slashing), 15:54; Marcou Wor (roughing), 17:04; Hisey Bri (roughing), 17:04.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 13-10-9-32. Bridgeport 12-12-7-31.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 0/2; Bridgeport 2/5.
Goalies-Worcester, Hutton 2-1-2 (31 shots-24 saves). Bridgeport, Poulin 8-3-0 (32 shots-30 saves).
A-3,293
Referee-Francis Charron (46). Linesmen-Derek Wahl (46), Luke Galvin (2).

WorSharks Lose More Than Just The Game In 3-2 Overtime Loss to Whale

The Worcester Sharks missed several golden opportunities in regulation to put away the Connecticut Whale but couldn’t capitalize on any of them, and then gave up the game winning goal with just 29.5 seconds left in overtime to drop a 3-2 contest Friday night at the XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Hartford, Connecticut in front of 5,307 fans. To add injury to insult, WorSharks leading scorer Jonathan Cheechoo had to leave the game with an injury after being boarded by Mats Zuccarello in the opening moments of the second period and he did not return. His status is unknown for tonight’s game in Bridgeport.

The last two times these teams met they combined for 138 penalty minutes, so everyone was expecting a very physical game. And that’s exactly what happened with the teams getting together in the opening period for more fights than goals, three vs two, and for more penalties than total shots on goal, twelve against ten. Kevin Henderson and Jared Nightingale would kick off the dance card at 1:35 of the opening period in the Whale’s zone, and unfortunately for Worcester they seemed back on their heels after the scrap. Connecticut winger Kelsey Tessier would give the Whale a 1-0 lead at  5:40 of the period when he fought off a Cory Quirk check just outside the crease and banged a rebound home past WorSharks netminder Alex Stalock.

After a hit from behind on T.J. Trevelyan by Justin Soryal that went uncalled by referee Geno Binda, Brandon Mashinter and Soryal went at it in a lengthy bout at 6:36. Worcester then went on three consecutive power plays where they generated very little offense. Frustration was beginning to mount for the WorSharks, and it boiled over with just 56 seconds remaining in the period when Jay Leach showed that “C” on his chest wasn’t there just for show when he pulled Nightingale out of a pile of players and pounded the winger to fully earn his fighting major. Despite having his arm up before the scrum referee Binda somehow determined that there would be matching penalties, although Worcester did end up with a four on three power play a few seconds later when Zuccarello was called for interference.

Matt Irwin would get Worcester even on a goal officially listed at 19:59. With the puck being passed around and the WorSharks bench yelling out to its power play to shoot as the clock wound down Irwin fired a 45 foot blast on Whale goaltender Chad Johnson. With Mashinter setting a screen Johnson never got a good look at it and the puck went past him just as the horn sounded, with the green light going on instead of the red goal light. But referee Binda, standing right on the goal line to the left of the net, emphatically signaled the goal was good and after a brief consultation with his linesmen Binda confirmed his call. The AHL does not use replay for disputed goals, although in this case it wouldn’t have mattered as it was inconclusive and the call on the ice would have stood in either case. This writer thinks the WorSharks may have gotten an early Christmas gift. Cheechoo and Sean Sullivan had the helpers on the goal.

Worcester would take the lead at 7:13 of the second period after Mashinter grabbed a loose puck in the neutral zone and skated down the left wing, firing a shot over the glove of Johnson from the face-off circle for the unassisted tally.

Connecticut got the game back to even with a power play goal at 16:05. With Andrew Desjardins playing without a stick the Whale was able to move the puck around the zone with relative ease, and Jeremy Williams was able to find an open shooting lane. Williams shot went through traffic and hit Stalock and bounced into the net. In the final fight of the contest Dan DaSilva and Ryan Garlock went at it at 17:25.

The WorSharks controlled play in the third period, including almost thirty seconds of five on three power play time, but they couldn’t put the puck past Johnson. After charging the net trying for the overtime winner the WorSharks surrendered an odd man rush the other way when a Johnson kick save was collected by Wade Redden and sent out to Chad Kolarik. With three Worcester players trapped deep in the Whale zone Kolarik waited for Redden to catch up as they went two on one on Mike Moore. Moore played Redden the entire way allowing Kolarik to go in on Stalock, and Kolarik’s wrister beat the netminder high to the glove side and just inside the corner.

GAME NOTES
Earlier this week forward Jason Pitton asked to be released from his PTO and be returned to Stockton, and the WorSharks complied with his request. In his place Worcester signed Erick Lizon from the Bakersfield Condors (ECHL) to a PTO. Lizon is more known for his physical play as opposed to his point scoring abilities. After the game Worcester signed Wheeling Nailers (ECHL) forward David Marshall to a PTO, presumably to replace an injured Jonathan Cheechoo. Marshall had two goals, including a game winner, in nine games with the Rochester Americans earlier this season. Friday night’s scratches for Worcester were Joe Loprieno (healthy), Tony Lucia (concussion), and Frazer McLaren (hip). Carter Hutton was the back-up netminder.

Current point streaks for Worcester are Matt Irwin at 4 games (3g,2a) and Cheechoo at 3 games (2g,3a). Pitton has a two game streak going (2g), but it’s probably safe to say that streak won’t make it to three games with Worcester. Nick Schaus has been “even” or better for eight straight games.

Last night was the first time in AHL history all thirty teams were playing on the same day. The next time every club is scheduled to play on the same date is Saturday, January 8.

The three stars of the game were
1. CT – 42 Chad Kolarik (gwg)
2. CT – 36 Mats Zuccarello (a)
3. WOR – 53 Brandon Mashinter (g)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Jay Leach.

BOXSCORE
Worcester 1 1 0 0 – 2
Connecticut 1 1 0 1 – 3

1st Period-1, Connecticut, Tessier 5 (Niemi, McDonagh), 5:40. 2, Worcester, Irwin 6 (Cheechoo, Sullivan), 19:59 (PP). Penalties-Henderson Wor (fighting), 1:35; Nightingale Ct (fighting), 1:35; Mashinter Wor (slashing), 2:18; Mashinter Wor (fighting), 6:36; Soryal Ct (fighting), 6:36; Eizenman Ct (tripping), 12:59; Kundratek Ct (hooking), 15:21; Leach Wor (roughing, fighting), 19:04; Kennedy Ct (roughing), 19:04; Nightingale Ct (fighting), 19:04; Zuccarello Ct (interference), 19:38.

2nd Period-3, Worcester, Mashinter 6   7:13. 4, Connecticut, Williams 16 (Newbury, Zuccarello), 16:05 (PP). Penalties-Zuccarello Ct (boarding), 0:34; Wingels Wor (holding), 9:42; Mashinter Wor (holding), 14:36; DaSilva Wor (fighting), 17:25; Garlock Ct (fighting), 17:25.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Leach Wor (roughing), 6:08; Dupont Ct (double minor – high-sticking), 10:14; Nightingale Ct (delay of game), 13:46.

OT Period-5, Connecticut, Kolarik 11 (Redden, Johnson), 4:30. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Worcester 5-9-13-3-30. Connecticut 5-12-5-4-26.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 1/7; Connecticut 1/4.
Goalies-Worcester, Stalock 13-10-2 (26 shots-23 saves). Connecticut, Johnson 9-10-3 (30 shots-28 saves).
A-5,307
Referee-Geno Binda (22). Linesmen-Jim Briggs (83), Glen Cooke (6).

Sharks holiday video celebrates the hockey sweater

MARLEAU, THORNTON, BOYLE, HEATLEY, NICHOL, CLOWE + SWEATERS

DAN BOYLE, SLAPPY SING A MOVING 'I SAW SANTA KISSING RANDY HAHN'

RYANE CLOWE SINGS 'HAVE A JOLLY FIST FIGHT'

The San Jose Sharks and SVSE released their annual holiday video, this time with more polyester. Besweatered forwards Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, Scott Nichol and Ryane Clowe sang selections from their non-existent holiday album including ‘The Chippy Song’ and ‘Douglas Murray is coming to town’. 6-foot-4 Joe Thornton and 5-foot-9 Scott Nichol combined on a duet of ‘Jolly Old St Nicholas’. The lone blueline representative, Dan Boyle, covered the popular ‘I saw Santa Kissing Randy Hahn’ with Slappy and earned a rebuke from Thornton.

“We haven’t been this excited or happy to see people singing in v-neck sweaters since Andy Williams sang all the hits every other commercial break,” exclaimed NBC Sports analyst Joe Yerdon. It could be the biggest holiday release since Muppet Christmas. Reports that DJ Steve Porter, coming off successful slap chop drop and HNIC Leafs-Habs remixes, will take a stab at the Sharks holiday album are unconfirmed.

Sharks blow late third period lead against Nashville Predators, allow pair of goals in final minutes in 3-2 loss

San Jose head coach Todd McLellan blasted his team after a late third period collapse allowed the Nashville Predators to tie, and then earn a 3-2 win over the Sharks on Wednesday night. “Absolutely unacceptable,” McLellan said in a post-game press conference. “It is called game management, and it was poor.” Belarusian left winger Sergei Kostitsyn and former Boston University center Colin Wilson capitalized on critical defensive zone lapses in the final four minutes of the third period.

The Sharks were 11-0-2 carrying a lead into the final 20 minutes of play before Wednesday night. In what had been at times a slow and plodding pace, San Jose edged out a two goal lead on an enormous first period slapshot by Niclas Wallin, and a quick give-and-go at the side of the net between Dany Heatley and Joe Thornton in the second. Heatley’s 14th goal of the season came on the power play, puncturing a penalty kill that had stopped 45-of-46 previous man advantages.

Every shift is critical in the NHL, and rookie defenseman Justin Braun learned that the hard way in the second period. Braun let up pursuing a Nashville dump into the corner, and a hard charging Jordan Tootoo prevented the Sharks defenseman from backhanding it off the boards to his defensive partner Wallin. With inside position on Braun, Tootoo took a hard stride towards the net, and backhanded a shot to the front of the crease. The puck deflected off of Scott Nichol’s stick and in.

Then came the third period. The Sharks are not a trapping team that sags back into the neutral zone and constricts opposing rushes up ice. They are a team built to take advantage of their size and speed, using that to produce a strong forecheck with aggressive puck pursuit. When it is on, it can stack up on teams and the Sharks offense can put them behind the 8-ball in the blink of an eye. When it is not clicking at 100%, there are gaps in coverage, turnovers that lead to odd-man rushes, and too much room allowed for opponents to generate an attack. At times over the course of a game, and even over the course of a period, it appears as if someone is flicking the switch on and off repeatedly.

The Predators have been streaking of late. Injuries have sidelined key forwards David Legwand and Matthew Lombardi, Patric Hornqvist was also a surprise scratch on Wednesday, but that has not kept Nashville from winning 7 of its last 8 games. When starting goaltender Pekka Rinne injured a knee in a December 1st shootout, 6-foot-6, 203-pound rookie Anders Lindback stepped in and raised the bar even higher. The Swedish native helped the Predators earn points in 6 straight starts, and prior to Wednesday night he earned back-to-back shutouts against Florida and the Islanders stopping 50 of 50 shots against.

The Predators comeback came just before the end of regulation. After a pair of San Jose Sharks nearly intercepted a long cross ice pass in the neutral zone, perennial allstar Shea Weber carried the puck down the right wing. Ryane Clowe, Logan Couture, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic played off him, and Weber drove down to the goal line and hit a driving Sergei Kostitsyn in the slot. Boyle recognized Kostitsyn’s drive late, and could not take out his stick on the play. “That wan’t the one that bothered me,” San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan noted. “They made a good play. We weren’t stong enough on the stick.”

The play that broke the Sharks back happened less than a minute later. Second year defenseman Jason Demers stepped up on former Shark Marcel Goc to keep the puck in at the point. With several Sharks collapsing on the Nashville net after a Marc-Edouard Vlasic point shot, Goc tipped the puck around Demers into an empty neutral zone. Steve Sullivan, Kevin Kline and Colin Wilson broke down the ice on Vlasic 3-on-1. Vlasic did not challenge the shooter or stop Sullivan’s pass across the crease. Instead, Sullivan lifted the puck over Vlasic, and Wilson punched home the 1-timer over the outstretched glove of Antti Niemi.

“We should have enough poise, enough composure to manage the game properly to get into overtime, and then see what happens,” head coach Todd McLellan reiterated. “Unacceptable.”

On the recent 5-game road trip, the Sharks head coach noted that when playing with three young defenseman in the lineup, dealing with the occasional mistake was built in to the gameplan. After the poor decision on the late third period play by Demers, there may be some accountability as a result of the lack of situational awareness. San Jose Mercury News beat writer David Pollak noted that McLellan was as angry as he has heard him all season after the game. Veteran defenseman Kent Huskins is close to returning to the lineup from an undisclosed upper body injury, and he is traveling with the team on the 3 game in 4 day road trip.

“They have a great team, and that was a really fast-paced game, I think to get those two quick goals was great for our team and great for our team confidence,” Colin Wilson told the Nashville Tennessean. Nashville has lost to the Sharks in the opening round of the playoffs twice in 2006 and 2007. Along with a pair of opening round exits to the Detroit Red Wings, and last year’s Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks with Antti Niemi at the helm, the Preds have caught very few postseason breaks. There is no cushion to be had in a tight Western Conference playoff race, but Nashville is battling to improve its position and they could have the team to win more than one playoff round this season. Wednesday’s win over San Jose was a statement game for them.

Game Notes:

There was a mix of good and bad as the Sharks built up a 2-1 lead over two periods. In his 4th consecutive start, Antti Niemi was again very solid, covering a large portion of the net down low off his knees. David Pollak asked Niemi about the final two goals against. On the game winner, Niemi noted that he was too far out in the crease, increasing the distance he would have to cover for Wilson’s 1-timer. “The last one, I was maybe a little too far out when they first got the puck so I had a longer way to get to the back post,” Niemi told Pollak. There have been quite a few NHL analyst describing a trend for NHL goaltenders moving from an “outside in” positioning to more of an “inside out” style. Outside in = heels outside of the blue goalie crease, move back in with shooter. Inside out = deeper in net, blue paint in front of goalie, move out towards shooter. Farther out of the crease cuts down on shooting angles, but increases the distance a goaltender needs to travel post-to-post (often using a t-push). Niemi has been fine tuning his game over the course of the season to date, and more importantly for Sharks fans he has shown confidence, and incremental improvement with a purpose. With a back-to-back game against Dallas tonight, Antero Niittymaki may see his first start since December 8th.

Devin Setoguchi returned to the lineup after missing 9 games, and skated on a line with Joe Pavelski and Jamie McGinn (tried to preview lines twice on twitter and mangled them both, thanks Sharks-in-game for the correct ones). McLellan noted before the game that Setoguchi did not have to play a mistake-free game after missing so much time, but that he did want to see emotion and energy. Setoguchi delivered. In 12:54 of ice time he registered 3 shots (only 1 on goal) and 1 hit, but he created several opportunities for his linemates. #16 out battled Predators defenseman Francis “Cube” Bouillon in the 2nd period for a puck in the corner. Setoguchi then spun off contact, sent a pass in front of the net with Pavelski and McGinn driving, then drove the net himself. In the third period with his linemates in the corner, it was Setoguchi battling for position in front of Lindback. Also notable was Patrick Marleau on the penalty kill battling 1-on-2 for position along the end boards. Marleau refused to give up possession of the puck, and ticked off 15 seconds of the Predators power play by his hard work along the boards. In his last 2 games, Marleau only has 1 assist, 8 shots and 2 hits, but he is doing a lot of the little things right and showing the effort needed to make a turnaround.

In the negative column, defenseman Dan Boyle did not make a good enough play on Kostitsyn on the game tying goal, but earlier in the period he waived his stick at Joel Ward as the Predators right wing drove down the left wing. Douglas Murray missed his second straight game with an undisclosed injury. John McCarthy and Kent Huskins were also scratches for San Jose. David Legwand, Patric Hornqvist and Alexander Sulzer were scratches for Nashville. Raw game highlight video (no announcers) and Todd McLellan’s postgame comments are available via Comcast Sportsnet California.

[Update] Predators provide late-game thrills with 3-2 comeback win over San Jose – Dirk Hoag for On the Forecheck.

The Corsi numbers below are pretty interesting, in that I think it reflects the Sharks perhaps letting off the gas as they tried to protect that 2-1 lead in the third. The Predators really tipped the ice, outshooting San Jose 15-8 in the final period.

[Update2] Postgame Ponderings – for the Predators Insider.

The most impor­tant play of the game was not either of the late goals. It was a play made by J.P. Dumont near the end of the second period. San Jose for­ward Logan Cou­ture had been sprung on a brea­ka­way. The Sharks held a 2-1 lead at that point and if Cou­ture had sco­red, San Jose would have grab­bed a momen­tum buil­ding two-goal advan­tage hea­ding into the loc­ker room. But Dumont saved a poten­tial goal on the backcheck and knoc­ked the puck away from Cou­ture. Dumont’s game has pic­ked up tre­men­dously since he sco­red the even­tual game-winner against Detroit a week ago. He’s not exactly known for his defense, but that was a game-saving play.

[Update3] Reversed the inside out and outside in descriptions. They have been corrected.

Interview with Fox Sports and The Hockey News trade expert Lyle “Spector” Richardson

Longtime Fox Sports and The Hockey News trade rumor expert Lyle “Spector” Richardson answered a few questions Tuesday about Evgeni Nabokov’s return to the NHL, the Sharks goaltending tandem of Antti Niemi and Antero Niittymaki, which potential defenseman are available on the trade market for San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson, how many NHL teams are looking for a defenseman, and the possible trade market for right wing Devin Setoguchi among other topics.

More of Spector’s analysis can be found at spectorshockey.com, foxsports.com and thehockeynews.com, and on twitter @spectorshockey.

[Q] Evgeni Nabokov’s North American agent mentioned that the former Sharks goaltender wanted to return to the NHL, and there are rumored to be a few teams interested in him. What have you heard to this point?

[Spector] Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Bodreau was interviewed in the Washington Post. He said they are not going after anybody else. They are going to stick with the young goaltenders they have got. That does not surprise me, they have been sticking with (Michal Neuvirth and Semyon Varlamov) since the summer. During the summer they were thought to be in the running for Nabokov, but they opted to pass on him and Marty Turco, and other guys that were available this summer. I am not surprised they are going to do that now. They are going through a rough couple of weeks right now, but it is far too early in the season to start shopping around for a replacement for Neuvirth or Varlamov.

They are going to stick with both of those guys now, but when we get around the trade deadline that might change. They are certainly not going to make a move like that right now.

[Q] Do you think there is any misdirection from teams, he would have to clear waivers?

[Spector] No one is really going to come out and say anything at the present time. I don’t doubt that there are many teams interested, and the Tampa Bay Lightning apparently are one of those teams that have been in touch with Nabokov’s agent. I don’t think that is surprising to anybody because their goaltending (has been poor). Dan Ellis and Mike Smith combined have the worst save percentage and goals against average in the league. Everything else is going well for the Lightning in spite of their goaltending. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Lightning go after them, but he would have to clear waivers first so it is a bit of a gamble. If you sign him, it obviously will be a one year, prorated contract. I don’t think there are going to be many teams at this point willing to commit beyond this season to him. He is going to have to accept that if he wants to come back, have a good year and bump his value up for next summer.

[Q] I think that is the big question, how much is his value going to be, how much will he accept as opposed to what he wanted last summer.

[Spector] We both know he left $6 million on the table back in Russia to come home for family reasons. I think he will be realistic. I will be surprised if he gets a contract for over $3 million. It wouldn’t surprise me if he gets $1.5 to $2 million prorated to the end of the season.

[Q] There has already been some talk in San Jose, but that door has closed. Looking back on GM Doug Wilson’s decision to go with Antti Niemi and Antero Niittymaki, how do you gauge that decision to move off of Nabokov this offseason? Both Niemi and Niittymaki have had bright spots and a few hurdles, but both are trending upwards and gaining confidence.

[Spector] A change had to be made. I think it was obvious to Doug Wilson, to the management, and to the coaching staff that they had gone as far as they believe Nabokov could potentially carry them. For what he was going to be seeking on the free agent market, they had to resign Marleau, Pavelski was also resigned (and Setoguchi). I don’t think there will be any second guessing of what they did. Niemi and Niittymaki have had their rough patches, but they have played well too.

If Niemi has found his game, it is kind of understandable why he had a rough start. He leaves Chicago, where he won the Cup, where he was comfortable, and now you are thrown into a new environment all over again where you have new teammates. You have to learn your way around. Yes, it was going to be an adjustment. He does seem to have picked up his game in recent weeks. If he gets back on track, and if he helps the Sharks in the playoffs, I certainly see (San Jose) trying to keep him onboard longterm. I have heard some people speculate they will try to bring back Nabokov, I really don’t think that is going to happen at this point. That ship has sailed.

[Q] I agree, although GM Doug Wilson has been extremely respectful in discussing the change in direction with fans. The big question that has come up in recent weeks, it has almost been assumed by many insiders that the Sharks are going to make a play for a defenseman before the trade deadline. That may still be an open question, but what options are available if they do make a move? There is a logjam in Toronto, Vancouver will eventually make a move, Marc-Andre Bergeron is a free agent defenseman looking for a team.

[Spector] That is the tough thing for them, determining what direction they will go in. We know from Doug Wilson’s recent interviews that they are still missing that presence that Rob Blake brought to their roster the last couple of years. They would like to try to find a defenseman with the same kind of style, the same kind of leadership, of course good luck finding that. Everybody is looking for a defenseman like that.

You mentioned (Vancouver Canucks defenseman) Kevin Bieksa is out there, Marc-Andre Bergeron is out there. He will help you quarterback your power play, but he may not be the kind of guy you want out there in an even strength situation. You can’t rule out the possibility that they will deal with teams that nobody expects them to deal with. If you consider St. Louis, they have some additional defenseman. Perhaps they would be willing to make a deal there, although I realize they are in the same conference, but then again so was Vancouver (in the Ehrhoff/Lukowich trade).

You have to look around, wait and see what is available. I don’t think they are going to make a significant rush right now, but mid-January when we are 4-6 weeks out from the trade deadline, I think that is when we will see Doug Wilson start beating the bushes for real to see what is out there, what he could possibly bring in as a rental player at least for the rest of the season.

[Q] Plus he is giving a long in-season audition to one of his younger defenseman, Justin Braun. If you were going to put a rough figure out there, how many NHL teams are looking to trade for a defenseman right now?

[Spector] I would probably say right now there are 6-8 teams for sure that would be interested in finding a defenseman they need. Boston and Ottawa for sure looking for defense, New Jersey could use one as well. In addition to San Jose, Anaheim is supposedly still in the market though I am beginning to get the sense that their interest may be waning. Columbus has been in need of a skilled puck moving defenseman for some time. One team to keep an eye out for if you are looking for a potential trade partner is Minnesota. Their offense still needs some help. They are struggling right now, they run the risk of sliding out of the playoff race if they are not careful. They have depth on defense they could deal with. St. Louis is another team with depth on defense they could deal with.

[Q] The Sharks have had some development up front as well, former Boston University captain John McCarthy (led BU to NCAA Championship), and a healthy Torrey Mitchell have been playing well. That has lead to some trade rumors involving San Jose Sharks right wing Devin Setoguchi, who has missed a few games with injury. What teams would be in the market for a young, quick power forward like Setoguchi?

[Spector] I think Setoguchi would still have considerable trade value, especially as we get closer to the trade deadline. As you said, he is young, he is only a couple of seasons removed from 30 goals. He has the potential to get back to that form again. If the Sharks were looking to put him on the market, and get a decent puck moving defenseman in return, he might be able to attract what they need.

[Q] Any thoughts on the Los Angeles Kings acquiring Marco Sturm after he cleared a physical?

[Spector] I really don’t think the Kings are done. The Sturm trade was a good one, I don’t think that is their one move and that will be it. Kings GM Dean Lombardi will definitley keep his eyes and ears open up until the trade deadline. That is when the quality players will be available, the weeks leading up to the end of February. I definitley don’t think they are done. In terms of the Sharks, that is when I think the best time will be for them as well.

[Q] It seems like in the NHL, the number of huge, blockbuster trades get smaller and smaller every year.

[Spector] That is the salary cap for you.

[Q] It is just a little unusual that you have San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson pulling off enormous trades — Joe Thornton, Dan Boyle, and Dany Heatley. I think Doug Wilson is a very underrated GM, he just doesn’t get the same level of publicity East Coast or Canadian teams receive because there is not a big media mechanism here in San Jose.

[Spector] Exactly. The Sharks do not get as much coverage as they deserve here on the East Coast or in Canada, so when these deals happen… I have been saying for 5-6 years that Doug Wilson is one of the best general managers in the league. Look at the deals he has made. More often than not, he has come out on the winning side, and he is landing big time players that have had a positive impact on the club.

[Update] Would Tampa Bay Lightning be interested in goalie Evgeni Nabokov? Sure, but … – Damian Cristodero for TampaBay.com.

DOH Podcast #127: Evgeni Nabokov leaving KHL, Sharks recent upswing, listener questions

[audio:http://dudesonhockey.com/podcast/doh_2010_1214.mp3]

Mike Peattie and Doug Santana discuss Evgeni Nabokov’s departure from the KHL and impending return to the NHL, the Sharks recent upswing against several competive teams and answer listener questions on the 127th episode of the Dudes on Hockey podcast.

This Sharks podcast is posted here with permission. Visit dudesonhockey.com for more coverage of the team or download the MP3 file directly here.

Dallas Stars win battle for first in Pacific Division, down Sharks 3-2 in OT shootout

SHARKS D #65 DEREK JOSLIN SCORED HIS 1ST NHL GOAL IN 47GP

RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU MADE A SPECTACULAR BLOCKER SAVE IN 2ND

SAN JOSE CENTER #8 JOE PAVELSKI CREATES TURNOVER IN 1ST

The San Jose Sharks had an opportunity to tie the Dallas Stars for first place in the Pacific division with a win in regulation on Monday night. Instead nemesis Mike Riberio registered a goal and an assist, and Brad Richards scored the decisive goal for a 3-2 OT shootout win at HP Pavilion. Derek Joslin scored his first career NHL goal in 47 games played, and Ryane Clowe continued his torrid scoring streak with an even strength goal in the second period for the Sharks.

The Dallas Stars have been a mild surprise this season despite many off-ice distractions. Financial problems have swirled around Tom Hicks, current owner of the Dallas Stars and former owner of Liverpool F.C and the Texas Rangers. Massive loan defaults by the Hicks Sports Group have forced the issue, and rumors of a sale have been bubbling under the surface for several months. The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont reported that a pair of potential owners in Tom Gaglardi and Bill Gallacher walked away from a rumored $175 million purchase price. Forbes 2010-11 NHL valuations gave the franchise a $227 million figure, with caveats. The team payroll has dropped $10 million over the last two seasons, and attendance has plummeted from 95.4% (14th, 17,680/avg) to 77% (26th, 14,268/avg). Even flamboyant Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has remained at arms length during the process, despite the public spin.

On the ice the Stars have been putting the pieces together, a 6-game win streak helped them obtain the slimmest of margins for the Pacific division lead. As of Tuesday, 4 points seperate all five teams in the conference. The Dallas turnaround may have been sparked by a come-from-behind overtime victory over the Sharks at the American Airlines Center on November 19th. “That San Jose game was the biggest one of all because now we know we can come back from two down, I keep going back to that game, because that was a big story,” Stars right wing Adam Burish told Susan Slusser of Fanhouse.

The first period Monday night was described as slow and uneventful, but it was a solid tactical effort by both squads, more of a chess match between two determined teams. Instead of the wild 80-shot affair in November, the Sharks rolled lines trying to get the puck deep and work off the forecheck. Ryane Clowe drilled undersized defenseman Stephane Robidas, but physical play was not a factor early. Dallas was tight in the neutral zone, with a focus on not turning the puck over. It lead to long stretches of play without a whistle.

Playing a mistake free 60 minutes of hockey is not possible, and the Sharks were the first team to blink. Stars defenseman Nicklas Grossman stepped up to Benn Ferriero along the wall to keep the play in the zone. In a race to the puck behind the net, Mike Ribeiro angled off Marc-Edouard Vlasic. He put his back to the defenseman and found an onrushing Jamie Benn in the slot. Benn buried the one timer for his 7th goal of the season. Stars captain Brendan Morrow took a puck to the face later in the first, but he returned to the bench after going to the locker room for repairs.

After being outshot 11-8 in the first period, the Sharks started churning in the second period. San Jose captain Joe Thornton cut hard behind the net, opening up several feet between himself and Adam Burish. Thornton backhanded a pass out to defenseman Derek Joslin at the faceoff dot, and Joslin wristed home his first career NHL goal at 6:56. The shot beat Dallas Stars goaltender Andrew Raycroft short side, and an upset Raycroft pumped his arms in the air in frustration after the play. Both Raycroft and Joslin were in the lineup due to injuries to starting goaltender Kari Lehtonen and defenseman Douglas Murray.

The Sharks added their second goal of the night two minutes later, after Jason Demers carried the puck around the right side. He wristed a hard angle pass into the slot, and it was deflected high over Raycroft by Ryane Clowe. It was the rugged left wing’s 9th goal of the season, and his 9th point in the last 5 games. Earlier Monday Clowe was named the first star of the week by the NHL, along with Marc-Andre Fleury as second star, and Rick Nash as the third star.

Mike Ribeiro again came back to haunt the Sharks. After Joe Pavelski took a hooking call 17 minutes into the second, this time it was defenseman Stephane Robidas behind the net finding Ribeiro in the slot. The crafty centerman buried the shot with traffic in front of goaltender Antti Niemi. The Stars would finish 1-for-3 on the power play, San Jose could not convert their lone man advantage opportunity in the third period.

It became a goaltenders duel in the third period, but Andrew Raycroft came up big repeatedly as the Sharks outshot Dallas 13-7. In overtime, Torrey Mitchell had a quality wraparound opportunity but the puck sailed through the crease and out. The game would be decided by an overtime shootout, and controversy would ensue on the first shootout attempt by Logan Couture.

Couture came in on Raycroft with speed, and pulled a hard forehand deke before putting a backhand 5-hole. The shot deflected off the leg pads of Raycroft and pinballed, but the Stars backup goaltender closed his legs on top of the puck as momentum carried him back into the crease. The play went to video review but the referees could not gain sight of the puck over the goal line so it was waived off. On the next shot, Jamie Benn converted a wrist shot on Antti Niemi from 22 feet out. After Pavelski scored on a straight wrist shot, Brad Richards answered with a snap shot of his own. When Ryane Clowe was stoned by Raycroft, the game was over.

“It was a good divisional game,” San Jose captain Joe Thornton told reporters in the post-game media scrum. “There was a lot of passion in that game. It was a real solid game. You’d like those types of games to continue and just play forever. It was just too bad we lost in a shootout.”

San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan agreed with Thornton’s assessment. “I’d like to have the first 10-12 minutes back again,” McLellan said. “I think it was pretty evident we didn’t have a lot of jump or fight in us early. But we found it, and once we did, we were very competitive against a very competitive hockey club. It was a well-played game by both teams.”

A photo gallery from the game is available here.

[Update] Damage to Dallas Stars Fanbase More Serious Than We Thought – Defending Big D.

Second look at Logan Couture’s shootout non-goal against Dallas goaltender Andrew Raycroft

LOGAN COUTURE'S NON-GOAL AGAINST ANDREW RAYCROFT IN SO - CSNCA

The San Jose Sharks lost the ability to move into first place in the Pacific Division when the Dallas Stars took them to overtime on Monday night. Trying to get the critical extra divisional point in the overtime shootout, rookie Logan Couture opened the skills competition with a hard forehand deke to backhand 5-hole move than flummoxed backup Dallas Stars goaltender Andrew Raycroft. Raycroft snapped shut his leg pads as the puck pinballed behind him, but momentum carried him a foot and a half into the net. The referee could not see the puck, and after a video review the shootout attempt was ruled a no-goal.

“I knew it was in,” Logan Couture told the media after the game. “I went to my backhand and he was beat. He was over the line, but if the ref can’t see it or the camera can’t see it, it’s not going to count. I was hoping there was an opening for the camera to see it because I knew it was in, but there wasn’t.”

Jamie Benn would add an overtime shootout goal to go with his first period even strength tally, and Brad Richards would snap a shootout attempt from 14 feet out that beat Antti Niemi and earned the Stars a 3-2 OT shootout win in San Jose. Joe Pavelski also registered a shootout goal, foregoing the usual “Pavelski move” for a straight wrist shot.

The Sharks upped their overtime record this season to 3-4 on Saturday, when an early referee whistle disallowed a clear goal by Chicaco Blackhawks forward Jack Skille. Monday night’s overtime shootout loss to the Stars was the first for the Sharks this season, dropping their shootout record to 2-1 this year. The Dallas Stars excellence in extra time has helped them stay at the top of the toughest division in the NHL. The Stars are 6-2 in overtime, and 4-2 in the overtime shootout. San Jose travels to Nashville on Wednesday, before returning to Dallas for a highly anticipated rematch a day later.

Comcast cut off the above Raycroft replay a little early, the Dallas goaltender actually slid slightly further back into the net.

[Update] Couture’s Shot Hides Under The Pads, No Evidence Backed Up Sharks Thoughts – SJsharks.com.

[Update2] Injured Murray to travel with team — and a bird’s-eye view of the shootout goal that wasn’t – David Pollak’s Working the Corners blog.

[Update3] Observations from a 3-2 (SO) win – Mike Heika for the Dallas Morning News Starsblog.

The Hockey News/XM Home Ice 204 Podcast: Washington Capitals, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils

[audio:http://www.thehockeynews.com/upload/audio/TheHockeyNewsRadioShow-December102010.mp3]

Last Friday on The Hockey News Radio Show with Adam Proteau and Jim ‘Boomer’ Gordon on XM Satellite Radio Home Ice Channel 204: Adam and Boomer are at the XM studio in Toronto for another edition of THN Radio; in the first segment of the show, Washington Capitals center Matt Hendricks joins the guys to talk about making the team on a training camp tryout contract, developing his game in the American League, and growing up in hockey-mad Minnesota. In the second block, THN’s Video Producer Ted Cooper calls in to discuss the evolution of video on THN.com, whether or not the Montreal Canadiens are a serious playoff threat, and the reasons why Habs blueliner P.K. Subban has been a healthy scratch of late. In the final segment, the Ask Adam mailbag deals with reader and listener questions about a potential new rule regarding the freezing of the puck, team meals, and what’s ailing the New Jersey Devils.

This podcast is posted here with permission. Visit thehockeynews.com and XM Radio NHL Home Ice 204 for more NHL coverage, or download the podcast MP3 file directly here.

SKA St Petersburg and Evgeni Nabokov part ways in first year of 4-year, $24 million contract due to family reasons

GOALTENDER EVGENI NABOKOV PARTS WAYS WITH KHL TEAM - PHOTO SKA

One of the KHL’s biggest offseason additions has parted ways with his team this morning in a blow to the league’s emerging status. SKA St Petersburg announced Monday that the club’s contract to goaltender Evgeni Nabokov was rescinded in the first year of his 4-year, $24 million deal due to family reasons. “The contract between the club and the goaltender (Evgeni) Nabokov was rescinded because of the family circumstances of the hockey player,” was the official statement as translated by NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman. According to Nabokov’s agent Don Meehan in an email to Sharkspage, the former Sharks netminder is looking to return to the NHL.

Nabokov’s debut with SKA St Petersburg was a difficult one, allowing 5 goals on 33 shots to the Latvian Dinamo Riga squad. As the season progressed, the former Calder Trophy winner and Vezina finalist’s KHL season would not improve. In 22 games played Nabokov registered a mediocre 8-8-5 record, with a 3.02GAA and a .888SV% and 2 shutouts. According to Kimelman, Evgeni was pulled Sunday after allowing 3 goals inside of the first 9 minutes against Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod.

The SKA St Petersburg lineup is dotted with former NHL talent from Maxim Afinogenov, Alexei Yashin and Denis Grebeshkov to former Shark Andrei Zyuzin among others, but the high profile lineup is only 8th in the league 36 games into the 56 game season. SKA St Petersburg is 3rd in the West Conference with a 19-9-8 record for 36 points. The additions of Nabokov and Grebeshkov were intended to carry the team to a regular season Continental Cup campaign, but the puck moving Grebeshkov is also struggling with only 3 goals and 6 assists in 36 games.

The departure from San Jose was a difficult one for Nabokov this summer as the Sharks moved in a different direction signing free agents Antero Niittymaki and Antti Niemi. San Jose Sharks EVP/GM Doug Wilson recently commented on the move to season ticket holders prior to Saturday’s game with the Chicago Blackhawks. “We made a tough decision, but I do feel we were very honest and up front with Nabber, but I miss him as a man and as a person because he brought a lot to this franchise,” Wilson said. In his 10-year tenure with the team, Nabokov was the franchise leader in games played (563), wins (293), saves (13,463) and shutouts (50). Evgeni briefly negotiated with the Philadelphia Flyers before accepting a contract that would allow him to play in the Kontinental Hockey League until the 2014 Sochi Olympics began in Russia.

From the start, Nabokov wanted the approval of his family before making the move to Russia, but the transition would be a difficult one. “I think it will be a lot tougher on the cultural, everyday life level. For an American person, his wife, it will be very different,” Russian television reporter Pavel Krepkiy told Sharkspage in July. “I am sure he worked out something where it will be as comfortable as possible, it will still not be as stable and calm as it was in San Jose. I think it will be tougher for his family, than for Nabokov.”

For an American born wife and American born children, the move to Russia could be a significant culture shock. Even for players the adjustment is difficult. During the lockout TSN’s Ellen Pinchuk posted a forlorn video of Ak Bars Kazan goaltender Fred Brathwaite staring out the window of his apartment at the local McDonald’s. If Nabokov decides to return to the NHL, his destination remains uncertain. According to ESPN’s Scott Burnside, he would have to clear waivers before he could rejoin another NHL team. Teams with the lowest percentage of possible points would have first chance at adding Nabokov. It should be no surprise that the first three in the waiver line are all from the Eastern Conference: NY Islanders, New Jersey, and Toronto.

[Update] Why Evgeni Nabokov left KHL; agent said signing wasn’t ‘mistake’ – Dmitry Chesnokov for Yahoo’s Puck Daddy.

“Nothing serious happened,” Nabokov’s Russian agent Sergei Isakov told Pavel Lysenkov of Sovetsky Sport. “There were some unforeseen family circumstances Evgeni had to face. He called me on Sunday and on Monday I took the train to St. Petersburg to talk to the SKA management. Nabokov asked to terminate his four year contract with the club. He had to do it for family reasons. He has to go back to North America. I cannot tell you what happened with my client’s family.”

Nabokov is expected to leave for the States on the “next available flight,” according to Isakov. Nabokov’s family left Russia a few days ago. Nabokov’s wife is American and his children were born in the United States.

[Update2] Agent Sergei Isakov: Nabokov flies to San Jose – Sovsport.ru.

[Update3] Former Sharks goalie Nabokov parting ways with Russian club – San Jose Mercury News.

With “family considerations” cited as the reason, former Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov and the Russian league team he signed a four-year, $24 million contract with are mutually parting ways, according to multiple reports.

Sources with the Sharks say that Nabokov’s wife, Tabitha, and two children did not relocate with him when the goaltender began playing for Ska St. Petersburg in the KHL.

WorSharks Grab Shootout Victory Over Bridgeport, 4-3

The Worcester Sharks got three second period goals to battle back from an early two goal deficit, and were eight seconds away from victory when the Bridgeport Sound Tigers tied the contest with a shorthanded goal. The WorSharks continued to play hard through the extra stanza and on through the shootout where they came out on top 4-3 Sunday afternoon at the DCU Center in rainy Worcester, Massachusetts in front of 3,333 fans.

The first five minutes of the contest belonged to Bridgeport left wing Micheal Haley, who scored his second and third goals of the season. Unfortunately for Worcester, they helped the winger put the puck in the net both times. The first came at 1:48 when Haley took a Tomas Marcinko feed and skated into the WorSharks zone down the right wing side and drove to the net. Worcester goaltender Alex Stalock made the easy save, but the rebound hit defenseman Joe Loprieno in the backside and bounced into the net. The second was a power play tally at 4:52 on a rebound of a David Ullstrom shot when Haley and Kevin Henderson both make contact with the puck at the same time. The puck bounced up and into the net to light the lamp.

The WorSharks continued to play hard in the opening stanza despite the two bad bounces and had several golden chances to get back within one, but Sound Tigers netminder Nathan Lawson stood firm. The second period was all Worcester, and they scored three times while holding Bridgeport shotless in the period.

Jason Pitton would open the second period scoring for Worcester with his second goal in as many games on a goal that was almost a carbon copy of Haley’s first period tally. Pitton was sprung down the right wing side by a nice Nick Petrecki feed and the winger broke in Lawson. His first shot was stopped by Lawson, but Pitton was able to slap at the loose puck as he skated by the net to poke it past Lawson at 1:06.

Jonathan Cheechoo would tie the game on a great individual effort that was very similar to the Pitton tally, only Cheechoo didn’t shoot as he broke down the right side and instead wheeled the net and beat Lawson to the far post at 3:17. Jay Leach and Nick Schaus had the assists on the play.

Haley would play a role in Worcester’s third goal of the period by sitting in the penalty box after taking a roughing minor, and Matt Irwin would grab the power play tally at 17:49 on a booming slapshot from the top of the left wing circle. Worcester put continued pressure on the Sound Tigers throughout the man advantage, and the WorSharks caught a break when a Cheechoo rebound bounced over the stick of James Marcou and rolled out to Irwin.

Lately Worcester has had problems in the third period keeping leads, and while Bridgeport did tie it with eight seconds remaining it took an NHL quality slapshot to do so as the WorSharks continued to play at full throttle throughout the final twenty minutes of regulation. In what will go down as a shorthanded goal although the teams were skating five on five as the Sound Tigers had pulled Lawson, Jeremy Colliton won a clean draw in the WorSharks zone right back to Josh Bailey standing in the slot just outside the circle. Bailey’s blast rang like a rifle shot–and looked nearly as fast–and beat Stalock clean as the netminder’s water bottle rocketed into the air from the force of the puck hitting the back of the net.

Bridgeport would have the best shot to win the game in overtime when Sound Tiger forward and former New York Islander Josh Bailey threw a blind backhand pass right to the stick of Trent Campbell. The former WorSharks forward wasted no time firing the puck at an empty 24 square feet of net, aiming high just under the crossbar. But out of nowhere dove Stalock across the net, nabbing the shot out of the air with a highlight reel worthy glove save. The game went to a shootout, where Cam MacIntyre beat Lawson in round two but had the puck ring off the iron to the left of the netminder. T.J. Trevelyan went high over Lawson and just under the crossbar in round three to light the lamp, and when Mark Katic fanned on a spin-o-rama style shot the WorSharks had the extra point and took four of a possible six points for the weekend.

GAME NOTES
The WorSharks went with the same line-up as Saturday night in Albany; the lone exception being Stalock getting the start and Carter Hutton being the back-up netminder. And as with Saturday night, Mike Ricci again joined head coach Roy Sommer and assistant Dave Cunniff behind the bench.

The one thing goaltenders hate more than anything is being shown up, and that held true after Mark Katic failed spin-o-rama. Stalock had gone for a poke check, which missed as Katic tried to spin around and fumbled away the puck, and his stick was between Katic’s skates. As the two exchanged words Stalock gave a good yank and challenged the defensemen, but the linesmen came between the two players and skated Katic away from a potential bench clearing confrontation.

Bill Ballou of the Telegram and Gazette will undoubtedly have more tomorrow on Worcester holding Bridgeport without a shot in the second period, hopefully recounting a story he told some of us after the stanza was over. The Sound Tigers also are great about posting video highlights of games on their website, so check back here tomorrow afternoon for links to both.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 14 Jonathan Cheechoo (g,a)
2. BRI – 11 Josh Bailey (game tying goal)
3. WOR – 20 Matt Irwin (g)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Jason Pitton.

Even Strength Lines
Cheechoo/Zalewski/Trevelyan
Mashinter/Wingles/MacIntyre
Henderson/Desjardins/DaSilva
Pitton/Quirk/Marcou

Leach/Schaus
Petrecki/Sullivan
Irwin/Loprieno

Penalty Kill Lines
Desjardins/Henderson
Wingles/DaSilva
Quirk/Pitton
Zalewski/Trevelyan

Leach/Sullivan
Petrecki/Schaus

Power Play Lines
Trevelyan/Cheechoo/Marcou
Mashinter/Wingles/MacIntyre

Irwin/Sullivan
Petrecki(Loprieno)/Schaus(zalewski)

BOXSCORE
Bridgeport 2 0 1 0 – 3
Worcester 0 3 0 0 – 4

1st Period-1, Bridgeport, Haley 2 (Marcinko, Klementyev), 1:48. 2, Bridgeport, Haley 3 (Ullstrom, Hisey), 4:52 (PP). Penalties-Pitton Wor (high-sticking), 3:05; Marcou Wor (cross-checking), 10:41; Klementyev Bri (tripping), 13:08.

2nd Period-3, Worcester, Pitton 2 (Petrecki), 1:06. 4, Worcester, Cheechoo 11 (Leach, Schaus), 3:17. 5, Worcester, Irwin 5 (Marcou, Cheechoo), 17:49 (PP). Penalties-Katic Bri (slashing), 8:07; Svendsen Bri (holding the stick), 11:37; Hisey Bri (hooking), 15:57; Haley Bri (roughing), 17:18; MacIntyre Wor (slashing), 17:18.

3rd Period-6, Bridgeport, Bailey 4 (Colliton), 19:52 (SH). Penalties-Loprieno Wor (hooking), 2:43; Friesen Bri (holding), 9:13; DiBenedetto Bri (roughing), 12:11; Labelle Bri (charging), 15:33; Leach Wor (roughing), 15:33; Labelle Bri (slashing), 18:43.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties

Shootout – Bridgeport 0 (Hisey NG, Bailey NG, Labelle NG, Ullstrom NG, Katic NG), Worcester 1 (Cheechoo NG, MacIntyre NG, Trevelyan G, Marcou NG, Mashinter NG).
Shots on Goal-Bridgeport 7-0-12-4-0-23. Worcester 8-16-10-3-1-38.
Power Play Opportunities-Bridgeport 1/3; Worcester 1/7.
Goalies-Bridgeport, Lawson 2-4-2 (37 shots-34 saves). Worcester, Stalock 13-9-2 (23 shots-20 saves).
A-3,333
Referee-Chris Brown (86). Linesmen-Bob Bernard (42), Jack Millea (23).

Sharks inch past Blackhawks in intense overtime affair, Ryane Clowe scores twice as San Jose powers to 2-1 win over defending Stanley Cup champs

SJ GOALTENDER #31 ANTTI NIEMI STOPPED 28 OF 29 SHOTS

SHARKS BLACKHAWKS SCRUM IN 3RD, HEATLEY-KEITH, THORNTON-TOEWS

CHI GOALTENDER #50 COREY CRAWFORD DENIED BID FOR 8TH STRAIGHT WIN

WITH 2A SATURDAY, #44 MARC-EDOUARD VLASIC HAS 3PTS IN LAST 2G

Sometimes scoreboards lie. Thursday in the finale of a grueling 5-game road trip in Buffalo, the Sharks were apparently shelled 6-3. In reality San Jose battled back twice to bring the game within a goal, only to succumb to a costly turnover at the start of the third period. Saturday night on home ice at HP Pavilion, a tight Western Conference Final rematch between the Sharks and Blackhawks devolved from a game of feet, to a game of inches in the third period and overtime. The final scoreboard read a 2-1 overtime win for the San Jose Sharks, but the game on the ice hinged on every mistake and was a physical test of wills until the final horn.

Three weeks earlier goaltender Antti Niemi got the pleasantries out of the way with regards to facing his former team. #31 for San Jose stopped 30 shots and locked down an impressive 5-2 win. It was as much a morale victory as a concrete one against the team that walked away from him in arbitration, and it was against the goaltender that replaced him (Marty Turco). In his first full NHL season with Chicago in 2009-10, Niemi accomplished what past Blackhawks greats Tony Esposito (15 years), Ed Belfour (8 years) and Nikolai Khabibulin (4 years) could not. The quiet Finnish netminder helped bring a Stanley Cup back to Chicago and cap one of the NHL’s great turnarounds. His legacy in Chicago is engraved in silver.

Saturday night Niemi would face off against a streaking Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford, who had won each of his last 7 games. The game was uneven early.

“I thought both teams (went to the net and got shots). They did the same thing to us. I don’t know if both teams had the polish, or if they were as sharp as they wanted to be,” San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said of the Blackhawks after the game. “I know our team wasn’t. The good sign is we found a way to fight through it. We found our legs later in the game, we started to play the right way. We found a way to win a tough game to play.”

After the Sharks finished the most difficult road trip of the season 3-2, there were concerns about stamina playing the Blackhawks on only one day of rest, even with the absence of Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa due to injuries. The Sharks went with the same lineup, although there was some pregame misdirection with regards to forward lines and the starting goaltender. “They are a very strong matching team, our lines weren’t even the same from the beginning of the night to the end of the night,” McLellan said. “It can change on a whim.”

Before the game McLellan cited the need for the Sharks to play with a lead, and for many players to establish a more defensively responsible play in their own zone. That defensive play begins with hard work, and it can spark offensive opportunities in the other direction. Midway through the first period defenseman Jason Demers gave the Sharks the opportunity to work with a lead to start the game. The 22-year old passed to himself off the right boards, and blew by Niklas Hjalmarsson with several quick strides. Before cutting towards the net, Demers fired a hard angle pass to a driving Ryane Clowe. Clowe had timed the rush perfectly, and used an extended stick to deflect the puck high into the far side of the net.

Goals against Corey Crawford have been at a premium over the last 4 weeks of the season. The former Rockford IceHog supplanted Marty Turco for the starting position in Chicago. In his current 7-game win streak, Crawford has allowed 2 goals or less in 5 of them. “We weren’t really familiar with (Crawford),” San Jose Sharks left wing Ryane Clowe said after the game. “In the first we were throwing some long range shots, they were coming in the middle… sending the wingers in and collapsing low.” The Blackhawks defense did require adjustments for San Jose according to Clowe. “The points were open. It was one of those games where the defense was going to get opportunities.”

The next shift after a goal has been a volatile one recently for San Jose, both good and bad. 41 seconds after Clowe scored, Jack Skille took a high sticking call for the Blackhawks. The Sharks were 4-16 on the power play on the 5-game road trip, but against Chicago they would not make an impact finishing 0-for-2. Before the game Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said that his power play needed to do two things to be effective, score goals or put the opponents on their heels and change the momentum of the game. Saturday night special teams would not be a determining factor.

At the end of the first period, a fluke play resulted in a goal for defenseman turned fourth line forward Jordan Henry. In his first game since November 7th, an aggressive Henry drove down low to the left of Niemi. He was checked off the play by defenseman Niclas Wallin, but the puck continued to travel foward along the goal line. Niemi did not completely seal off the post, and the puck deflected off of his back leg and in to tie the game at 1-1. It was a costly mistake that could have had the Sharks second guessing themselves during the first intermission, instead they nearly added another goal at the end of the period. Benn Ferriero fired a quick 1-timer that was pulled off the goal line with a desperation stick swipe by Corey Crawford.

The Sharks started the second period pressing hard, at times a little too much. Repeatedly the Sharks were caught with three forwards deep or behind the goal line, allowing Chicago to create odd man rushes in the other direction. A Jack Skille shot with Viktor Stalberg driving the net apparently beat Niemi 5-hole, but the referee immediately waived off the goal saying that he blew the whistle. Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenville was apoplectic on the bench, waiving his arms in the air and shaking the plexiglass behind the bench. “It’s one of those plays, sometimes they go against you. You can’t really complain,” a more composed Quenville told the media after the game.

With last change on home ice, Sharks coach McLellan switched up the Thornton-Heatley-Pavelski top line to Thornton-Heatley-Mitchell in the second period. An akward collision between Clowe, Troy Brouwer and Niklas Hjalmarsson left Brouwer worse for wear in front of the Sharks bench. Brouwer tried to angle off Logan Couture, although neither forward had the puck. As Couture slid away from the check, Brouwer ran into the shoulder of Clowe. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Clowe tripped and landed on the head of Brouwer, then the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Hjalmarsson tripped and also landed on Brouwer. The defensive Blackhawks forward was slow returning to the bench, and he was treated for what might have been a skate blade that had gotten up around his face. Niemi made a pair of solid saves on Skille, and another bank attempt from behind the net to keep the game tied at 2-2.

In the third period both teams seemed to flip a switch and turn it into playoff intensity mode. The Sharks made a mistake last year not ramping up the intensity enough to face the Western Conference’s second best regular season team. The Blackhawks earned an embarassing 7-2 win at HP Pavilion, and gained more confidence with a 4-3 OT win at the Tank later in the season. It gave Chicago an edge that carried over into the Western Conference Final series, and it was an edge the Sharks did not want to yield again this season.

Dany Heatley performed a wicked backhand to forehand deke that turned around defenseman Brent Seabrook, and left him alone on Crawford. Heatley tried to wrist a shot under the arm of Crawford, but Crawford swallowed up the shot. Before the game Crawford told the Chicago media that he felt no pressure to obtain individual accomplishments, instead he said the he felt he had to stop every shot he faced.

San Jose had the advantage of offensive zone time in the third period, although each team finished with an identical 8 shots on goal. When Chicago got the puck low around Niemi, several Blackhawks players collapsed into the crease. Twice bodies had to be pulled out of the blue paint by the referees, and the second time hostilities ensued. Joe Thornton dived on a loose puck to freeze the play, and a long whistle lead to a rugby scrum in front of the Sharks goal. Thornton tussled with Jonathan Toews, and Heatley had extended words with Duncan Keith. On the ensuing faceoff, Thornton cross checked Toews hard in the faceoff circle, before drawing the puck back to his left. As the Sharks started their transition, Thornton let loose with two more cross checks before Toews responded in kind.

Both teams were equally matched in the overtime period, but it was the combination of Benn Ferriero and Ryane Clowe up front that would put the Sharks over the top. Ferriero helped dig the puck out of his own zone, before skating 200 feet to set up in front of Crawford. In the offensive zone, rookie defenseman Justin Braun fed a short pass to Marc-Edouard Vlasic on the left side. Vlasic found an unmarked Ryane Clowe on the right side, and fired a long cross ice pass to the open winger. As Duncan Keith and Corey Crawford cheated over to their right, Clowe 1-timed a shot that found the back of the net inside the post. 2-1 Sharks.

“Benny (Ferriero) made a nice play to me, and we turned a 3-on-2 into a scoring opportunity,” Clowe said of his game winning goal in overtime. “Pickles shot got blocked. He had a good shot on his first shift that went over the net. I was screaming for it when he was coming down ready to shoot.”

San Jose earned their second straight win over Chicago this season, and it was Antti Niemi’s first time earning a victory in overtime. “It’s the first overtime win for me this season. It’s just a great atmosphere because it surprises everybody, scoring in overtime.” Asked about how he felt not having to go to the shootout, “It’s a relief you don’t have to go,” Niemi said.

In a pre-game meeting with the media, San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan noted how his team has to approach the season. “Every night is a playoff game,” he said. “That can be a really good thing, or it could come back and bite you if you don’t realize and unerstand that at the end of the year.”

Game Notes: After going 27 games without a point, defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic now has 3 points (1G, 2A) in his last 2 games. Rookie defenseman Justin Braun has 1 goal and 6 assists in 9 games since being called up from Worcester of the AHL on November 26th. Jason Demers, 3 points in 3 games, Niclas Wallin, 2 points in 4 games, and Douglas Murray, 2 points in 4 games, are starting to find the scoresheet for a team that struggled for production from the backend early. Dan Boyle, third on the team with 17 assists, has 2 points in his last 6 games. Chicago Blackhawks defenseman John Scott is officially a large human at 6-foot-8, 258 pounds. According to HockeyFights.com, John Scott has won 12 of his 13 NHL fights over the last three seasons. The 13th fight was a draw. Second year defenseman Jason Demers stepped up for a big check on Scott in the second period, but he bounced wide. Demers briefly stood up to Scott before realizing he was face to face with one of the most dominant heavyweights in the league. He skated back into the play. The Sharks next face Chicago twice on the road, December 30th (5:30PM) and March 14th (5PM). With the win, San Jose joines a 5 team tie for 5th through 9th place in the Western Conference with 34 points.

A photo gallery from the game is available here.

[Update] Corey Crawford Takes on Former Rival, Antti Niemi – Susan Slusser for Fanhouse.

WorSharks’ Pair Of Threes Beats Devils, 6-3

The Worcester Sharks entered the final twenty minutes of Saturday night’s contest leading 3-0 and then had another third period collapse that allowed the Albany Devils to tie the game at 3-3, but the WorSharks stormed back over the last five minutes to take the game 6-3 at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York in front of an announced crowd of 2,403.

Worcester would have two great back to back chances at the mid point of the first period but couldn’t convert on either of them. The first was a great goal scorer’s move by Cam MacIntyre, who was standing with the puck in the slot facing away from the Devil’s net. With no other better option available to him MacIntyre fired a backhander through his own legs and through the legs of the defenseman marking him. Albany netminder Mike McKenna never saw the puck until it was just under him and managed to get the pads closed to keep the puck just outside the net. The play was whistled dead as Worcester crashed the net looking for the loose puck and knocked the net off the moorings. Seconds later after the face-off Jay Leach blasted the puck on net through a screen that rang off the iron to the left of McKenna.

Andrew Desjardins would get the WorSharks on the board at 12:43 of the opening period with a goal off a rebound. After Kevin Henderson fed Nick Schaus to the far point, the rookie defenseman fired a blast on net into a little traffic that McKenna had all the way. But the netminder couldn’t control the rebound, and Desjardins swooped in to bang the puck home into a wide open net.

Sean Sullivan made it 2-0 with a power play tally late in the period, and it was how many of his previous eight tallies have been, off a booming one-timer from the face-off circle. After a Matt Irwin feed to James Marcou, the rookie winger saw Sullivan set up all alone across the ice in the right circle and threw a nice pass that the defenseman ripped on net to beat McKenna with 43.3 ticks left in the opening stanza. Sullivan now leads all AHL defenseman with nine goals.

Jonathan Cheechoo would make it 3-0 at 2:55 of the second period after a nice feed by T.J. Trevelyan. While standing behind the net looking for an opening to the front Trevelyan spied a passing lane to Cheechoo all alone just outside the crease to the left of McKenna. As he was being checked Trevelyan threw an easy pass to Cheechoo, who fired a quick wrist shot that McKenna had no chance on.

Unfortunately for Worcester, third period collapses have started to become common place, and Saturday night was no exception. Albany made it 3-1 at 2:24 of the third after a nice pass by Tyler Eckford from his own zone off the right wing glass that sent Matt Anderson in all alone on WorSharks netminder Carter Hutton. Anderson fired a wrist shot that beat Hutton to the glove side.

The WorSharks seemed to wright the ship after that goal despite the edge in play starting to favor the Devils, but it took just sixty seconds of letdown to get Albany back to even. With Joe Loprieno and Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond in the box for matching roughing minors and the teams skating four on four Devils captain Stephen Gionta beat Hutton at 13:02. Exactly one minute later Tim Sestito would light the lamp to make it 3-3.

But the three goal comeback looked to take everything Albany had, and the WorSharks seemed to realize that as they picked their play up several notches and took it right back at the Devils. Tommy Wingles would get Worcester’s lead back at 15:28 after grabbing a loose puck behind the Albany net and jamming a wrap-around home. After an Irwin dump in Cheechoo held the puck behind McKenna’s net, and left the puck exposed so Wingles could skate through and grab it. McKenna was on the post guarding the short side, but Wingles wouldn’t be denied and jammed the puck home.

Jason Pitton, playing on Worcester’s fourth line on a PTO, gave the WorSharks a little breathing room at 17:04 with his first of the season. Just a few moments earlier McKenna had stoned the winger on a breakaway, but Pitton must have seen enough to make his second chance count. After a turnover in the neutral zone Marcou grabbed the loose puck and sent Pitton into the offensive zone down the left wing. Pitton held the puck into the circle and fired a shot that beat McKenna in the five hole. Brandon Mashiner grabbed Worcester first empty net goal of the season at 18:15 to allow the WorSharks to leave The Empire State with two pints.

GAME NOTES
Worcester’s injury list remains unchanged and the team had no health scratches. Alex Stalock being lifted in Friday night’s contest had nothing to do with his sitting out Saturday’s game, it was a scheduled night off for the netminder.

This is the second franchise the WorSharks have played in Albany. In previous seasons the team there was the River Rats, most late the affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes. When Carolina purchased and moved that franchise to Charlotte, North Carolina the New Jersey Devils moved their franchise from Lowell, Massachusetts to Albany. Previous to their owning an AHL franchise the Devils were affiliated with the River Rats. This writer wishes to thank the Lowell Devils Booster club, who shared their bus with several Worcester Sharks fans on the journey to Albany. The 2,403 number looked to be a generous count, which is a shame because the Times Union Center is a great place to watch a game and a favorite stop for many of the Worcester faithful.

Mike Ricci joined head coach Roy Sommer and assistant Dave Cunniff behind the bench. WorSharks General Manager Wayne Thomas was also in attendance, and gave several Worcester fans a thumbs up when he saw them walking along the concourse prior to the start of the second period.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 17 Tommy Wingels (gwg)
2. WOR – 14 Jonathan Cheechoo (g,a,+2)
3. ALB – 29 Matt Anderson (g)

The Sharkspage player of the game was James Marcou.

BOXSCORE
Worcester 2 1 3 – 6
Albany 0 0 3 – 3

1st Period-1, Worcester, Desjardins 4 (Schaus, Henderson), 12:43. 2, Worcester, Sullivan 9 (Marcou, Irwin), 19:16 (PP). Penalties-Robitaille Alb (holding), 13:52; Gionta Alb (holding), 17:37.

2nd Period-3, Worcester, Cheechoo 10 (Trevelyan), 2:55. Penalties-DaSilva Wor (unsportsmanlike conduct), 0:40; Nagy Alb (hooking), 15:26.

3rd Period-4, Albany, Anderson 10 (Eckford, Zharkov), 2:24. 5, Albany, Gionta 3 (Swift), 13:02. 6, Albany, Sestito 2 (Magnan, Wiseman), 14:02. 7, Worcester, Wingels 6 (Cheechoo, Irwin), 15:28. 8, Worcester, Pitton 1 (Marcou), 17:04. 9, Worcester, Mashinter 5   18:15 (EN). Penalties-Robitaille Alb (roughing), 6:43; Loprieno Wor (roughing), 12:09; Letourneau-Leblond Alb (roughing), 12:09.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 19-13-10-42. Albany 5-8-7-20.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 1/4; Albany 0/1.
Goalies-Worcester, Hutton 2-0-2 (20 shots-17 saves). Albany, McKenna 2-5-0 (41 shots-36 saves).
A-2,403
Referee-Chris Ciamaga (41). Linesmen-Jim Harper (59), Mike Emanatian (69).

WorSharks Lose To Monarchs, 4-1

The Worcester Sharks got 46 shots on goal but could put only one past Monarchs goaltender Martin Jones in a 4-1 loss Friday night to the Manchester Monarchs at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire. Matt Irwin got the lone goal for Worcester, with Sean Sullivan and Andrew Desjardins assisting on the power play tally. Alex Stalock made 21 saves on 25 shots for the WorSharks before being relieved by Carter Hutton half way through the third period. Hutton stopped both shots he faced.

Sharkspage didn’t make the trip to The Granite State, so for folks interested in the particulars they can check out the Worcester Telegram & Gazette where Bill Ballou has his usual game story and (Wor)Sharks’ notes articles. Ian Clark of the New Hampshire Union Leader also has a story on the contest.

You can also check out the WorSharks and Monarchs official sites for more information.

GAME NOTES
Earlier this week Defenseman Jody Pederson was released from his PTO and was sent back to Elmira, and Jonathan Cheechoo was signed to a second 25 game PTO. Tony Lucia (concussion), Mike Moore (leg), and Frazer McLaren (hip) were the scratches for Worcester.

BOXSCORE
Worcester 1 0 0 – 1
Manchester 1 1 2 – 4

1st Period-1, Worcester, Irwin 4 (Sullivan, Desjardins), 3:45 (PP). 2, Manchester, Elkins 7 (Azevedo, Kolomatis), 18:29 (PP). Penalties-Voynov Mch (tripping), 0:17; Teubert Mch (slashing), 1:54; Azevedo Mch (tripping), 4:35; Desjardins Wor (slashing), 4:55; Desjardins Wor (slashing), 9:53; Mashinter Wor (delay of game), 17:47.

2nd Period-3, Manchester, King 8 (Voynov, Hickey), 11:08. Penalties-Wingels Wor (interference), 6:40; Clune Mch (slashing), 13:07; Kolomatis Mch (delay of game), 19:12.

3rd Period-4, Manchester, Cliche 6 (King, Voynov), 6:08 (PP). 5, Manchester, Elkins 8 (Clune, Mullen), 7:38. Penalties-Mashinter Wor (tripping), 5:27; Leach Wor (slashing), 14:07.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 10-14-22-46. Manchester 13-8-6-27.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 1/5; Manchester 2/6.
Goalies-Worcester, Stalock 12-9-2 (25 shots-21 saves); Hutton 1-0-2 (2 shots-2 saves). Manchester, Jones 7-1-0 (46 shots-45 saves).
A-4,539
Referee-Geno Binda (22). Linesmen-Landon Bathe (80), Joe Andrews (32).

Sharks overcome 3-goal third period deficit and near-OT game winner by Mike Richards in 5-4 shootout win over Philadelphia Flyers

TIME EXPIRED BEFORE MIKE RICHARDS OT SHOT CROSSED GOAL LINE - CSN

Versus Hockey Central host Bill Patrick asked if the Sharks-Flyers contest on Wednesday was the game of the year? The stunning 3-goal third period comeback that lead to San Jose’s 5-4 OT shootout win over Philadelphia was close, but it may not even be the game of the week for the Sharks. Dominant offensive displays and spectacular defeats has been the norm for the NHL’s most volatile franchise in 2010-11. The Sharks were looking for stability after a late comeback over Detroit, but it looks like that consistency may still be a work in progress.

The first period at the Wells Fargo Center was a tight checking, physical affair. In a mirror of the Detroit game on Monday, the Philadelphia Flyer fourth line of Shelley-Betts-Powe made an impact on both sides of the ice early. San Jose head coach Todd McLellan has called out all of his offensive line combinations to have more polish in their game, save for the Clowe-Couture-Ferriero line that has been effective on both sides of the ice. The “FCC line”, as dubbed by Comcast’s Brodie Brazil, has put up 9 goals in their 6 games together. That trend would continue on Wednesday. The Sharks could not set up in their customary areas in front of either net in the first. With Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley pulling up at the top of the zone, Torrey Mitchell was left to drive the net and he was forced wide. In their own zone, a solid Philly cycle forced Douglas Murray and Dan Boyle to come out too far from in front of the net.

The Sharks snuck out of the first period with a set play on a faceoff. A clean Thornton backhand win against Jeff Carter drew the puck back to his left for Jason Demers. Demers had inched up to the faceoff circle for the draw, and he quickly moved the puck to his right for Niclas Wallin. Wallin’s point shot deflected off traffic, then deflected off Ryane Clowe’s skate to register the first goal of the game with 4.1 seconds remaining.

Something changed after the first intermission, whether it was a matter of confidence or simply converting offensive opportunities, the Flyers started to take control of the game. A point shot by defenseman Braydon Coburn was deflected by Jeff Carter on net, and goaltender Antero Niittymaki could not cover up the rebound. Right wing Claude Giroux beat the Sharks defense to the rebound and deposited it in the back of the net. Long before the Chris Pronger fiasco in Edmonton, the Stanley Cup in Anaheim, and the Finals appearance with Philadelphia, there was Pronger and his meltdown against the Sharks in the playoffs with the St. Louis Blues. Not only is Pronger able to deal with the public enemy #1 persona in many arenas, he has noted several times that he feeds off of it. Wednesday night he had 7 blocked shots through the first 30 minutes of the game, he would finish with 8.

After a faceoff win deep in the offensive zone, this time it was the Flyers who would capitalize on a set play. As multiple bodies crashed the net and screened Antero Niittymaki, left wing Ville Leino spun around and fired a shot from the circle that deflected off the post and in. Less than 50 seconds later, Nikolay Zherdev would add another goal to make the score 3-1. A point shot/pass by Matt Carle was batted out of the air and banked off of Niittymaki by Zherdev from behind the net. The Sharks apparently answered on a goal by John McCarthy, but the puck that deflected off his skate was ruled invalid via “a distinct kicking motion”. On a scale of 1-10, it would be a strain to label that McCarthy kicking motion a 2.

The Sharks comeback would not start in the third period. Instead the Sharks had to kill off a Jason Demers hooking penalty before Flyers left wing Scott Hartnell would score his first goal in 11 games 5-on-5. Second year defenseman Jason Demers sparked the comeback with a drive around James Van Riemsdyk. Demers fired a quick wrist shot with Joe Thornton setting a screen in front of rookie goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. The puck deflected off of Matt Carle, and then off the crossbar and in. A Jeff Carter cross check on Logan Couture behind his own net put the Flyers on their heels. They would kill the man advantage, and finish 5-for-5 on the kill, but the Sharks were still buzzing. The line of Logan Couture, Ryane Clowe and Worcester Sharks (AHL) leading goal scorer Benn Ferriero pinned the puck deep in the zone. The third generated scoring chance on the sequence was the charm as Couture dumped the puck low to Ryane Clowe. Clowe punched two quick shots on goal, before Couture skated to the far side to bury an open rebound. Score 4-3, as the Sharks scored a pair of goals less than 3 and a half minutes apart.

Sharks head coach Todd McLellan called a timeout early in the first period after an icing call forced his line to remain on the ice after a long shift. With his team reeling in the third period, Philadelphia Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette called a timeout to settle down his troops. It did not have the desired effect, as Daniel Briere was called for a tripping penalty.

The Sharks would tie the game on a set faceoff play in the offsensive zone. San Jose EVP/GM Doug Wilson has said the NHL is more of a read and react league, but crucial sequences after a faceoff win or loss can create scoring chances or time of possession that can influences games. The clean faceoff win by Thornton this time did not draw the puck back to the defense, this time he drew it to his right towards a surging Dany Heatley and Joe Pavelski. The puck skipped Heatley, and Pavelski loaded up on a shot that he lifted over the glove of Bobrovsky. The Sharks had scored twice in 37 seconds to tie the game.

The game got a little out of control physically, and had to be reigned in by referees Frederick L’Ecuyer and Dan O’Rourke. Pavelski was given a hooking call on the first of three third period flops by Claude Giroux. On the rush the Sharks defense was forced to block a big point shot by Daniel Briere. Flyers penalties would open the door slightly for San Jose. “We opened the door and they barged through it,” a terse Philadelphia head coach Peter Laviolette said after the game. Briere was given 4 minutes for high sticking after drawing blood from Scott Nichol. Puck possession behind the net by Ryane Clowe set up Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau in front, but they could not put up the game winner in regulation. Instead it was Mike Richards nearly ending the game in the final 30 seconds, driving the puck deep, setting up the defense, and working hard to gain rebounds and crash the net.

In overtime, Justin Braun and Jason Demers contributed solid defensive plays early, but a lazy dump-in 4-on-4 by Joe Pavelski ceded nearly 30 seconds of possession time to Philadelphia. The physical hostilities did not completely die down from late in the third period. Mike Richards checked Douglas Murray up against the glass as he moved the puck out of his zone. Then after a dump-in, Murray tried to fight his way around defenseman Kimmo Timonen with the NFL offensive lineman swim technique. Both were sent to the box leaving their teams to skate 3-on-3 in OT.

Again it was Mike Richards who nearly ended the game. He stepped up to a puck carrying Dany Heatley at the blueline, and was knocked to the ice in the process. Richards forced Heatley to turn the puck over, and they broke in the other direction. As Heatley and Briere battled for position in front of Niittymaki, Richards pulled up high and wristed a shot on goal with time expiring. The puck deflected off of the skate of Heatley to beat Niittymaki 5-hole for the apparent game winner. As the Flyers poured onto the ice to celebrate the last second goal in OT, the Sharks remained on their bench. A slo-mo replay of the Richards shot showed the puck up on edge, but not crossing the goal line, with 0.0 seconds remaining. The officials waived off the goal and ruled that there would be a shootout.

There were no soccer riots or flares lit off in the Philadelphia stands, more of a stunned silence. Daniel Briere skated in slow and tried multiple dekes, but his attempt up high was smothered by Niittymaki. Logan Couture on Sergei Bobrovsky, in a matchup of possibly the two leading Calder Trophy contenders, was up next. Couture tried a hard fake to his forehand, before pulling it to his backhand and sliding it between Bob’s pads. A weak Claude Giroux attempt was followed by another forehand-to-backhand move, this time roofed by Clowe up high.

The Sharks completed the comeback, the first time in the 20 year franchise history they have come back from a 3-goal deficit in the third period. The Flyers remained winless against the Sharks over the last 10 years, with San Jose holding a dominant 10-0-2 record over the Stanley Cup Finalists. This was the only regular season meeting between these two teams on the schedule.

[Update] Flyers suffer tough shootout loss to Sharks – Tim Panaccio for CSNPhilly.com.

Peter Laviolette said it twice. “This one stings.” That’s one way of looking at coughing up a 4-1 third-period lead.

Things like that defy the odds in hockey, but that’s exactly what unfolded Wednesday at Wells Fargo Center as the Flyers kissed away an extra point, losing 5-4 to the San Jose Sharks in a shootout.

[Update2] Is Flyers goalie Bobrovsky the real deal? – Sam Donnellon for Philly.com.

Cheechoo, WorSharks Sink Pirates, 4-2

The Worcester Sharks got goals from four different players and multiple point nights from Jonathan Cheechoo, Sean Sullivan, and Steven Zalewski to defeat the Portland Pirates 4-2 Tuesday night at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine to sweep their division rivals in their home-and-home series. The win propelled the WorSharks into second place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division.

Portland would grab the first goal of the game with a power play tally at 10:45 of the first, just 13 seconds after James Marcou was sent to the box for tripping. With three WorSharks penalty killers along the halfboards to the left of Worcester goaltender Alex Stalock and second defenseman Sullivan inching higher to cover the slot, Portland forward Corey Tropp was able to get to the front of the net without a WorSharks skater within 25 feet of him. Derek Whitmore threw an easy backhand pass to the wide open forward and Stalock never stood a chance.

Worcester would answer at 16:24 of the period when Dan DaSilva stole the puck right off the stick of Pirates center Paul Byron and fired a quick wrist shot past Portland netminder Jhonas Enroth to light the lamp. Fifty seconds later Sullivan would atone for his defensive miscue when he banged home a rebound of a Zalewski shot. Cheechoo took a long pass from Nick Petrecki into the Pirates zone, where he was then pinned against the boards. Zalewski streaked into the zone down the right wing side and after a pass from Cheechoo went deep into the zone, throwing a bad angle shot on net. As T.J. Trevelyan was tying up a defenseman just outside the crease Sullivan was able to pounce on the loose puck.

Cheechoo would make it 3-1 with the only goal of the second period. After Portland tried to clear the puck around their net Cheechoo pounced on Pirates defender Marc-Andre Gragnani, knocking the stick from his hands. Zalewski followed up behind Cheechoo and grabbed the loose puck, flipping it back to Cheechoo. The 2005-06 “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner skated unmolested out of the right corner and fired a hard wrist shot over the left shoulder of Enroth and just inside the far post at 9:03.

The WorSharks would make it 4-1 at 5:40 of the third period when Kevin Henderson pounced on a rebound of a Andrew Desjardins blast and fired it back into a wide open net. Portland would grab a power play goal from Matt Ellis, again with Marcou in the box, at 17:10 of the third. But any chance of a miracle comeback was stymied by the Pirates themselves as Tropp and T.J. Brennan were called for minors 12 seconds after with less than two minutes left in the game, and Worcester played keep away from the Pirates and drove away from Portland with two points in the bag.

GAME NOTES
Just as it appeared things were looking up in the injury front, defenseman Mike Moore was added to the list with a leg injury. Moore joins Frazer McLaren (hip) and Tony Lucia (concussion) on the unavailable list. Joe Loprieno was a healthy scratch. Carter Hutton was the back-up netminder.

After the game the WorSharks announced that Jonathan Cheechoo’s PTO contract had been extended for another 25 games.

The WorSharks aren’t the only team with personnel issues, as due to injuries and recalls Portland was forced to use just ten forwards and 17 skaters. One of the recalls for the Pirates was WorSharks killer Mark Mancari, who was in uniform for the Buffalo Sabres in their 3-2 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins. Mancari had an assist in the game.

There was one fight in the contest, a third period scrap between Brandon Mashinter (6’4″, 222#) and Pirates winger Igor Gongalsky (6’0″, 210#). Mashinter was the easy winner of the bout, landing several unanswered shots and pulling the jersey over Gongalsky’s head.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 14 Jonathan Cheechoo (g,a,+2)
2. WOR – 15 Steven Zalewski (2a,+2)
3. WOR – 37 Sean Sullivan (g,a,+2)

Cheechoo was also the AHL’s number two star of the night.

The Sharkspage player of the game was Kevin Henderson.

BOXSCORE
Worcester 2 1 1 – 4
Portland 1 0 1 – 2

1st Period-1, Portland, Tropp 4 (Whitmore, Schiestel), 10:45 (PP). 2, Worcester, DaSilva 5   16:24. 3, Worcester, Sullivan 8 (Cheechoo, Zalewski), 17:14. Penalties-Marcou Wor (tripping), 10:32; Roloff Por (goaltender interference), 13:34; Schaus Wor (kneeing), 18:59.

2nd Period-4, Worcester, Cheechoo 9 (Zalewski), 9:03. Penalties-Henderson Wor (high-sticking), 4:42; Schiestel Por (hooking), 9:47; Biega Por (high-sticking), 10:34; Biega Por (high-sticking), 14:43.

3rd Period-5, Worcester, Henderson 4 (Desjardins, Sullivan), 5:40. 6, Portland, Ellis 4 (Stuart), 17:10 (PP). Penalties-Zalewski Wor (cross-checking), 7:10; Mashinter Wor (fighting), 9:25; Gongalsky Por (fighting), 9:25; Marcou Wor (slashing), 16:29; Tropp Por (high-sticking), 18:17; Brennan Por (elbowing), 18:29.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 8-10-10-28. Portland 11-6-9-26.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 0/6; Portland 2/5.
Goalies-Worcester, Stalock 12-8-2 (26 shots-24 saves). Portland, Enroth 6-6-1 (28 shots-24 saves).
A-4,896
Referees-Jean Hebert (43), Mark Lemelin (84). Linesmen-Jeremy Lovett (78), Landon Bathe (80).

DOH Podcast #126: Dallas Stars, Sharks road trip, Justin Braun, Antti Niemi-Antero Niittymaki goaltending tandem

[audio:http://dudesonhockey.com/podcast/doh_2010_1207.mp3]

Mike Peattie and Doug Santana discuss the resurgent Dallas Stars, debate whether it would be more painful for Dallas fans to cut off their own arm or trade Brad Richards, discuss the Sharks recent bipolar play against Ottawa, Montreal and Detroit, break down the game of rookie defenseman Justin Braun, and weigh the Sharks goaltending tandem options among other topics on the 126th episode of the Dudes on Hockey podcast.

This Sharks podcast is posted here with permission. Visit dudesonhockey.com for more coverage of the team or download the MP3 file directly here.

Little movement on CSNCA-DISH Network blackout, Comcast launches ‘drop the dish’ campaign to encourage Sharks-Kings fans to switch providers

CSN LAUNCHED 'DROP THE DISH' CAMPAIGN FOR SHARKS/KINGS FANS

There has been little movement on the CSNCA-DISH Network impass. The Northern California regional sports channel that broadcasts San Jose Sharks and Sacramento Kings games went dark November 24th after the nations second largest direct broadcast satellite provider declined an independent FCC arbitor’s decision on a rate dispute. After initially opting for arbitration, DISH Network subsequently appealed the decision to the Federal Communications Commission and blacked out the channel. In a troubling note for local sports fans, DISH Network has also initiated similar arbitration proceedings concerning three other regional sports networks: CSN Bay Area, CSN Chicago and CSN Mid-Atlantic.

According to Multi Channel News, the parties have been out of contract since 2009 and federal regulations put in place after the Comcast-Time Warner purchase of Adelphia Communications allow for FCC arbitration to mediate disputes. Whether or not those judgements are binding, and how long the appeals process will take, remains grey territory.

“At Dish’s request CSN California agreed to arbitration as per the FCC. An independent arbitrator awarded Dish a fair deal. Yet, despite obtaining a fair deal by the independent arbitrator, Dish still took the network away from its consumers in Northern California,” Comcast said in an official statement released to Sharkspage yesterday. “Dish needs to honor its commitment to arbitration and, more importantly, while this dispute is ongoing, honor its commitment to Sharks and Kings fans by continuing to carry CSN during any appeal of the arbitrator’s decision.”

DISH Network declined to discuss specifics of the dispute, or confirm the number of subscibers effected by the blackout, but in an official statement they noted the two sides have met at the table. “On December 1st, DISH Network met with Comcast and the FCC concerning the fee dispute for carriage of Comcast SportsNet California,” Corporate Communications Manager Francie Bauer said in a statement. “In that meeting, we proposed a resolution that would return the channel to the air and we are now in discussions with Comcast about that resolution. DISH Network continues to work toward a fair agreement with Comcast.”

Chicago Tribune media reporter Phil Rosenthal has warily kept an eye on the CSNCA-DISH Network dispute, noting that as many as 360,000 Chicago-area homes could be effected if a similar situation plays out with CSN Chicago. Hockey fans may remember the Versus-DirectTV dispute in 2009 that initially centered around price, but turned out to be more about carriage as DirectTV wanted to place the NHL’s cable partner on a more expensive digital sports tier. The Chicago Trib’s Phil Rosenthal noted that DISH Network may want to place CSNCA on a “premium tier, for which customers must pay extra.”

The blunt negotiating tactic of blacking out sports channels has unfortunately been a recurring one. Prior to its dispute with Comcast, DISH pulled 19 regional Fox sports channels off of its broadcast in October. At the time, DISH SVP of Programming Dave Shull accused Fox of trying to “shake down pay TV providers”. The two sides came to an undisclosed financial agreement at the end of October. Of the decision, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski noted that both sides “kept in mind their responsibility to protect consumers from blackouts.” DISH Network subscribers also had the MSG and MSG+ channels pulled from their lineup in October, a dispute which MSG hopes to take to arbitration.

It was not possible to get a firm number of California subscibers effected by the blackout, but according to a source at Comcast it is in the hundreds of thousands. Many of those customers are in rural areas without easy access to other options. “We want what’s best for our fans, and that’s to get Kings games back on the air as soon as possible,” Sacramento Kings President of Business Operations Matina Kolokotronis said via email. The DISH Network blackout has particularly effected Kings fans, who are spread out across a wide area in the central valley.

“We hope this issue is resolved swiftly so our loyal fans across the region have access to see all Kings games on TV, and we’re encouraging all Kings fans to call and tell DISH Network they want Kings games back on the air,” Kolokotronis said. The Appeal-Democrat’s Scott Lebar reports that CSN California is available in about 3.5 million homes, and that the current reach of DISH is 14.2 million subscribers.

San Jose Sharks fans also have a wide distribution throughout Northern California, and parts of Nevada and Oregon. In an official statement on SJsharks.com, the San Jose Sharks noted that they “are in regular communication with Comcast SportsNet California and will encourage both parties to arrive at a quick resolution to the dispute.” The Sharks have been in an unusual stretch with 4 straight nationally televised games, two in Canada on TSN and CBC, and back-to-back games against Detroit and Philadelphia (4PM tonight) on Versus.

To help ease the number of fans effected by the DISH Network blackout, Comcast initiated a “Drop the Dish” campaign Tuesday which would offer DISH subscribers a $150 American Express Card if they switch to an alternate provider that carries CSN California (DirecTV, AT&T U-Verse, Astound Broadband…). DISH subscribers who want to take advantage of the offer need to click on the “Drop Dish” banner at iwantcsn.com, register for the site, and send in a copy of their last DISH Network bill. Comcast also set up a phone number where CSN California viewers can offer feedback, 1-888-527-6220. For its part, DISH Network created fairdealforyou.com where its subscibers can offer their feedback.

Blacking out games should be a measure of last resort, but pulling the plug 12 hours after an arbitration decision you initiated appears on its face unconscionable. Potentially pulling the plug on 25 regional sports channels inside of 3 months may make consumers look in other directions, $150 promotion or not.

[Update] FCC to look at new fee dispute rules: official – Reuters.