SHARKSPAGE

Logan Couture continues strongest San Jose Calder campaign in 10 years, scores twice in 5-2 win over Detroit Red Wings

For the San Jose Sharks, these are interesting times. The latest stretch of three road games, against division leaders in Montreal and Detroit, and in front of one of the most unruly NHL crowds in beer/jersey/ticket tossing Ottawa, were televised nationally in Canada and the U.S. TSN, HNIC/CBC and Versus viewers got a crash course in 2010-11 San Jose Sharks hockey, sometimes with a whithering offense and a balanced defense on display, other times undisciplined, porous and ceding wild momentum swings. All of that was contained in San Jose’s 5-2 win at Detroit on Monday night.

Like last year’s Stanley Cup Playoff run, many casual hockey fans are tuning in to see what Sharks club comes to play on any given night. Approaching the one third mark of the season, San Jose has not put back-to-back wins together since November 15th, and has not put back-to-back wins together on the road since October 23rd. Starting the season with three new forward combinations, two new defensive pairings and two new starting goaltenders neccessitated a period of adjustment, but the defending Western Conference regular season champs are rapidly approaching the point where qualifying for the playoffs for the seventh straight year is not a guaranteed venture.

Monday night at Joe Louis Arena, San Jose did not need any motivation. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg carved up the Sharks for a 5-3 win at HP Pavilion last Tuesday, combining for 7 points and at times they made their opponents look amateurish with defensive lapses. It was the first meeting since San Jose ousted the Red Wings from the 2010 Western Conference Semifinals in 5 games. In the rematch Monday night in Detroit, the first period followed much of the same script. With both teams looking to get the puck deep, it was the Red Wings displaying more urgency. A Brian Rafalski point shot deflected off of Logan Couture, and was pounced on in front of the net by Dan Cleary for two quick scoring chances. An extended Holmstrom-Pavelski battle in front of the net lead to another deflection opportunity.

Detroit was winning battles in front of the net, but when defenseman Derek Joslin took cross checking minor at 7:08, the Red Wings had an opportunity to get on the board with the man advantage. A wide Nicklas Lidstrom point shot was deflected under the arm of Niemi by Tomas Holmstrom for his 8th goal of the season. After a clean faceoff win on the next shift by Valtteri Filppula against Joe Thornton, Filppula curled behind the play gathering steam. Two quick passes broke Filppula through the neutral zone with speed, and a forehand to backhand move on Antti Niemi sent the puck trickling into the net 5-hole. The referee vehemently blew the whistle and waived off the goal, telling the surrounding Wings forwards that he had lost sight of the puck.

With the game in danger of getting out of hand early, San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan called a timeout. “I was very disappointed in our group. The first 10 or 11 minutes, we obviously didn’t understand what we were coming into and how good the red and white team has been playing and how good they are at home,” McLellan told NHL.com.

In a behind the bench interview with Versus rinkside reporter Lindsay Soto, McLellan was more blunt. “I am not very impressed with our start by any means. I don’t think we have many players that are here competing as hard as they have to, as a result we don’t have the puck, we aren’t coming through the neutral zone,” McLellan said. “We asked the players to start over, rethink what they are supposed to do, and see if they can get it going.”

Feel free to point to a behind the bench interview with a more direct, precise explanation of what isn’t working for a head coach. There isn’t one. One problem with former Sharks head coach Ron Wilson, who is currently facing ill-advised calls for his current job in Toronto, was that he waited until too late in the playoffs to call out his players for a lack of effort. McLellan has been doing that with this current Sharks roster since training camp.

The move worked, and it didn’t work. The fourth line of Mayers-Nichol-Mitchell created energy with hits on both sides of the ice, but Derek Joslin took his second penalty of the game with an elbowing call at 14:17. With Detroit exercising their puck possession power play in the Sharks zone, Dany Heatley stepped up to a loose puck and slipped a short pass to Joe Thornton. The quick give-and-go beat Jiri Hudler, and leat Heatley and Thornton alone for a 2-on-1 on defenseman Niklas Kronwall. Heatley got the pass across, as Thornton lifted a one-timer over the outstreched glove of Jimmy Howard. Score tied 1-1.

The momentum shift from the shorthanded goal was shortlived. With Ryane Clowe playing the puck with his head down along the boards, Kronwall stepped up and flattened him before Logan Couture skated by and gave him a shot to the head. Couture was clearly going to be given a penalty, but Clowe nearly goaded an agitated Drew Miller into taking a retailation penalty. The left wing was drafted and played his first two seasons with the Anaheim Ducks, and on Monday night with limited ice time he was one of the more animated forwards for Detroit.

The Red Wings again set up their puck possession power play, this time with Pavel Datsyuk curling behind the play to gather steam. A tic-tack-toe passing sequence from Datsyuk to Rafalski at the point, and then a quick pass and shot by Holmstrom and Franzen gave Detroit a 2-1 lead at 18:35. To add insult to injury, Joe Thornton took a hooking call with 47 seconds left in the first, leaving the dim prospect of another penalty kill to start the second.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, the Sharks head coach had to verbally dress down his team during the first intermission to get their attention. “I think we were all just pissed off we played like a bunch of blank in the first,” defenseman Dan Boyle told the newspaper. “It’s just a matter of when the puck is on your stick, are you afraid of having it on your stick or do you want it?”

After a shaky play by Niclas Wallin on Todd Bertuzzi, the Sharks settled down in the second period. Niclas Wallin and Jason Demers both returned to the lineup from injury, as San Jose dressed 7 defenseman and 11 forwards. Rotating linemates for Scott Nichol and Jamal Mayers paid off for the Sharks with a goal 4:53 into the period. This time aligned with Dany Heatley, a Niclas Wallin point shot deflected off the stick of Todd Bertuzzi and beat a prone Howard.

Logan Couture and Ryane Clowe combined to win the ensuing faceoff, and Couture danced around a Red Wing and lasered a wrist shot that beat Howard gloveside from 27 feet out. It was a total of 8 seconds between the Sharks second and third goals.

In last year’s Western Conference Semifinal series, the Red Wings played San Jose tight, but there were problems and second guessing for goaltender Jimmy Howard. After initial technical problems were raised, it then became an avalanche as fans and media speculated on what else was wrong. Instead of believing in what got him to that point, Howard tried to change what wasn’t working and it was the beginning of the end. Situations like that can remain in the head of a younger player, and as San Jose has to be concerned with Datsyuk and Zetterberg skating freely in their own zone, the Red Wings have to be concerned that the Sharks can get into Jimmy Howard’s head.

The Sharks may have been mired in last place in the Pacific division, but at one point all that seperated all 5 Pacific division teams was a mere three points. Even against the top team in the Western Conference, San Jose is not just a squad that can respond with a goal, they can respond with two or three. The third goal of the period came as defenseman Douglas Murray stepped up to soft Detroit pass at the blueline. Murray fired a quick breakout pass to Dany Heatley, and Heatley used Thornton as bait on the left wing as he deked the puck nearside for his 13th goal of the season. Score 4-2 Sharks.

This time it was Detroit head coach Mike Babcock calling his team out after a period, noting to Lindsay Soto his side’s “cute-fest” on the ice. A Valtteri Filppula penalty early in third seemed to put the Wings on their heels, and San Jose kept pushing forward. Logan Couture continued to pace NHL rookies with his 12th goal of the season, after a Ryane Clowe hard angle shot deflected off his stick, and then his skate to beat Jimmy Howard. The play went to review, a scarily routine proposition of late for San Jose, but it was ruled good. Fans at Joe Louis Arena then began heading towards the exits in streams at each subsequent stoppage of play.

“It’s a great reward for the players, but it’s really bittersweet because we were motivated for all the wrong reasons,” San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said after the game. “Once we figured it out and started to play, we showed we can play with a really good team right now. We need to do that on a daily basis.”

Two games hardcore and casual fans need to circle on the 2011 calender, February 22nd at Detroit, and March 3rd at San Jose. The professional hockey player cliche that every game is an equal two points in the standings does not apply. There is an opportunity for one side to make a statement and change the way their opponent prepares for a potential playoff rematch. Whether that edge goes to a Detroit Red Wings team looking to make the playoffs for the 20th straight year, or a San Jose Sharks team looking for its 4th straight pennant in the toughest division in the NHL remains to be seen.

[Update] Sharks put the bite on road-weary Red Wings – Detroit Free Press.

[Update2] Talk about your turnaround — Sharks get revenge against Detroit, but coach still unhappy over start – David Pollak’s Working the Corners blog.

[Update3] Ratto: Sharks to show true colors Wednesday – Comcast Sportsnet.

We won’t know for sure whether the Sharks played well Monday night in Detroit until Wednesday in Philadelphia. By then, we’ll know whether they figured it out. Casual fans would swear they did, but they don’t know what the Sharks are just now learning – that for them, it seems to take a kick in the groin to get the heart started.

It was clearly an impressive win. Not only was it a win against the top team in the Western Conference, but it was also a win on the road at a Joe Louis Arena where they had a 5-26-1-3 franchise record prior to Monday night. Earning the 6th franchise win in Detroit during the 20th anniversary season is notable, whether they can overcome occasional bouts of lethargic play and build upon that win in Philadelphia is another story.

San Jose Sharks goaltender Antero Niittymaki interviewed by KNBR on the Heatley-Ottawa aftermath, SJ goaltending tandem, what he can bring in playoffs

SJ GOALTENDER #30 ANTERO NIITTYMAKI INTERVIEWED BY KNBR FRIDAY

The top sportstalk radio program in the Bay Area, KNBR’s Razor and Mr. T show with Ralph Barbieri and Tom Tolbert, interviewed San Jose Sharks goaltender Antero Niittymaki on Friday. Niittymaki discussed the aftermath of Dany Heatley’s Lebron-esque return to Ottawa, how unruly crowds in North America compare to those in Europe, how the tandem in goal with fellow Finn Antti Niemi has played out so far this season, and weighed in on what he could bring to the Sharks after the departure of Evgeni Nabokov among several other topics.

A partial transcript of the interview:

“It was probably similar to the reaction Lebron received in Cleveland. Not as big, but a lot of boo’s going on every time he was on the ice. Happy for Heater, he got a point and we came out with two points. It was interesting. There were a couple of beercans thrown on the ice after the game, and a couple of Heatley jerseys they were throwing on the ice during the game. Ottawa fans are really passionate about their hockey. It was a really big deal in Canada.”

“It depends on the country, sometimes I see some fans throwing stuff on the ice, in Germany. I think Finland is pretty clean. When I played there, there was nothing that was a problem. There are places in any sport where it can get out of hand. I haven’t seen anything crazy (thrown on the ice). It kind of sucks when you get beer cans thrown at you, and you are all wet afterwards. That happened last night. I wasn’t happy about that. I still think it is kind of cool to see it… kind of fun.”

“It has been a pretty easy (transition to the Sharks), there are great guys in the locker room. It was really easy to come, right from the first day. That helps a lot with the transition. I think hockey locker rooms are pretty much the same no matter where you go. Guys are the same. I am a goalie, so I don’t really need to pay attention to all that stuff. I just have one job, to stop the puck.”

“I think that is one of the strengths of our team, all the big names we have are the same way. That is why it has been really easy to come to this team. (Thornton) is just enjoying life, that is what it is. His personality, I think it is great to see.”

“I think it is going to be fairly even (for starts in goal), I don’t really know the coaches plan. I am not sure if he has a real big picture plan. He said before he has a plan, he is going to go with the guy who is playing well, who is harder. I think that is the beauty of having two goalies, hopefully one of us is always hot. If you depend on one guy and he is on a cold streak, you may lose 5-6 games in a row. That is not good. I think it is always good to have 2 goalies, and I am sure Niemi will get more starts and hopefully I get a lot of starts too. It has been good so far, and hopefully it keeps going that way.”

“That is the situation. It is fine. Obviously everyone wants to play a lot, but that is the situation we are in. We both know that. (Antti Niemi) is a good guy, it is really easy to get along with him. It has been pretty good, I think we have a real good relationship. It helps both of us, we can talk after games. He might see something in my game that I don’t see, and vice versa. It has been good.”

“People keep asking that (why a lot of goalies are from Finland). I keep talking with Finnish guys, they say everyone is asking them too. I think the coaching is good back home, but I think the coaching is good everywhere. I think it is kind of cool to be a goalie back home. Somewhere else it is that guy who can’t skate. Back home, young kids want to be goalies. There is a lot of goalies, and I think that is the reason.”

“I used to be when I was young (intense before games), I generally tried to focus on the game. I learned with age that it is not always a good thing. You play so many games, you don’t really have time to do that. You are tough on yourself if you do that. You have to be focused every day, so you can’t do that. Obviously you start thinking about the game in the morning. I try to think only about the game on gameday, and forget a win or a loss as soon as possible.”

“I don’t know (what I bring to the team that is different than Nabokov). I haven’t played in the playoffs in the NHL. I played in the minors, we won in the minors during the lockout when the league was really good, look at the lineup teams had in the allstar game that year in the minors. That is almost an allstar team in the NHL right now. I have been put in a situation where there is pressure, and I think I can handle it.”

“…It is not always easy to come to a team after a guy like that (Nabokov). Hopefully I can be almost as good as him, and hopefully I can play better in the playoffs… (Sharks GM Doug Wilson) said he saw me play in the Olympics in 06. We were underdogs, and Finland made it to the Finals. That was good, and he saw me play in the minors and win a Calder Cup. I am sure their scouts have been watching me the last few years, and I have been playing really well the last couple of years. As a backup in Philly, I didn’t get as many games as I wanted. I think I played well my last year there. I was kind of ready to play more that year. Last year in Tampa I played 49 or so games, and had a winning record on that team. That team finished with a losing record. I think I saw myself that I could be a #1 guy, I think (San Jose) saw that too.”

WorSharks Avoid Epic Collapse In 6-4 Victory Over Portland

#14 JONATHAN CHEECHOO, #28 JAY LEACH LINE UP FOR A FACEOFF

WORCESTER SHARKS CENTER #11 CORY QUIRK

W-SHARKS DEFENSEMAN #6 NICK SHAUS CHALLENGES PUCK CARRIER

The Worcester Sharks did again Sunday afternoon what they have done far too often this season–collapse in the third period. Luckily for the WorSharks the collapse happened with a five goal lead as Worcester turned what looked to be a laugher into a 6-4 nail biting victory over the Portland Pirates at the DCU Center in front of 3,117 fans.

The WorSharks top three lines would all connect for goals in the opening 20 minutes, beginning with the Crazed Rats. Usually it’s the Rats that start the game for head coach Roy Sommer, but Sunday it was the first line for Worcester. After controlling the puck for a while in the Pirates zone Portland cleared the puck as the Rats jumped on the ice. Worcester quickly turned the play back to the Pirates end as Dan DaSilva, Andrew Desjardins, and Kevin Henderson played tic-tac-toe through the slot with Henderson ending up with an open shot on Portland netminder David Leggio. Henderson’s blast hit the netminder but still had enough on it to get to the back of the net for a 1-0 lead just 1:08 into the contest.

T.J. Trevelyan would make it 2-0 for the WorSharks when he picked up a loose puck and wheeled the Pirates net, beating Leggio to the far post as he banged the puck home. Matt Irwin and Steven Zalewski had the assists. Cam MacIntyre, playing in his first pro game after sitting out the end of last season and the first 23 games of this season with various injuries, would make it 3-0 at 17:27 with an almost carbon copy of Trevelyan’s goal. After Leggio went behind his net to play the puck the WorSharks charged the net as Leggio got caught behind his cage. MacIntyre grabbed the loose puck and wheeled to the front, flipping a backhander over a diving Leggio to light the lamp. The assists went to Tommy Wingles and Brandon Mashinter. The goal would end Leggio’s night as the Pirates called on Jhonas Enroth to stop the bleeding.

Sean Sullivan would make it 4-0 with a three zone breakaway after a Pirates turnover just as they entered the WorSharks zone. Sullivan scooped up the loose puck and broke in all alone on Enroth with the Pirates defenders giving chase. As he got to Enroth Sullivan attempted to slow his pace to shoot the puck, but lost control and never got a shot off. Luckily for Sullivan the momentum of the puck kept it going toward the net as Enroth scrambled to close the five hole, and the puck trickled into the net with Enroth on top of it. Linesman Brian MacDonald was right on top of the play and immediately signaled the goal good just before the red light went on at 8:30 of the second period.

Portland would get their first goal at 16:38 when Derek Whitmore gathered the rebound of Nick Crawford’s shot and banged home the rebound, but the WorSharks would answer just 13 seconds later when Worcester controlled the ensuing face off and dumped the puck into the Pirates zone, with Jonathan Cheechoo picking up a loose puck and wheeling the net. Cheechoo found Nick Schaus all alone in the high slot, and the rookie defenseman held the puck as a defender dove across his shot path trying for the block. Once the path was clear again Schaus slapped it on net and past the screened Enroth to get Worcester’s four goal lead back. Zalewski had the second assist.

Worcester would get their sixth goal 13 seconds into the third period after Enroth inexplicably played a puck that would have been icing, and his clearing attempt was blocked by Cheechoo. Trevelyan picked up the loose puck and fired a hard pass from the goal line to the right of Enroth to Zalewski standing just outside the crease. Zalewski tipped the pass into the high corner form his first of the season as the fans in attendance began to celebrate their upcoming victory. But unfortunately for the fans, it looked like the players started celebrating too.

Portland would make it 6-2 on a delayed penalty call when Mark Mancari banged home a loose puck at 7:33, and the Pirates would make it a three goal game when they grabbed a shorthanded goal by Nick Crawford after the WorSharks committed the sin of icing the puck while on the power play. With visions of the IceCats six goal comeback against the Manchester Monarchs years ago suddenly fresh in the minds of Worcester fans the Pirates would make it 6-4 at 14:01 when Corey Tropp banged home a rebound into an empty net. But luckily that was as close as the Pirates would get despite some tense moments as Portland pulled Enroth for an extra attacker with Desjardins in the penalty box. In a head scratching move Pirates head coach Kevin Dineen called his timeout with 1.5 seconds remaining, and the crowd let the coach know their displeasure of the move. The two teams meet again Tuesday evening in Portland.

A photo gallery of the game will be posted soon.

GAME NOTES
Before the game, Mike Moore was assigned to Worcester and started the game. The defenseman took several jarring hits in the opening stanza and was not present on the bench at the second period and did not return. Kevin Henderson took a Mark Mancari huge slash to the left wrist/hand area early in the first period, and briefly went to the locker room. He didn’t miss a shift, and on his return to the ice mixed it up with Mancari as he was leaving the ice. No penalties were called as play continued, and Henderson appears to not have suffered a serious injury. The injury list is down to just two, with Frazer McLaren and Tony Lucia still out. Joe Loprieno was a healthy scratch, and Carter Hutton was the backup netminder.

Three WorSharks are on two game point streaks: Jonathan Cheechoo (g,3a), Steven Zalewski (g,3a), and T.J. Trevelyan (2g,3a).

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 15 Steven Zalewski (g,2a)
2. WOR – 41 Cameron MacIntyre (g)
3. WOR – 6 Nick Schaus (gwg)

Zalewski was also the AHL’s number three star of the night.

For the third game in a row, the Sharkspage player of the game is T.J. Trevelyan.

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

Moore/Schaus
Petrecki/Sullivan
Irwin/Leach

Penalty Kill Lines
Desjardins(Quirk)/Henderson
Wingles/Quirk(Trevelyan)

Leach/Sullivan(Irwin)
Schaus/Petrecki

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

Irwin/Sullivan
Schaus/Petrecki

BOXSCORE
Portland 0 1 3 – 4
Worcester 3 2 1 – 6

1st Period-1, Worcester, Henderson 3 (Desjardins, DaSilva), 1:08. 2, Worcester, Trevelyan 4 (Irwin, Zalewski), 12:24. 3, Worcester, MacIntyre 1 (Wingels, Mashinter), 17:27. Penalties-No Penalties

2nd Period-4, Worcester, Sullivan 7   8:30. 5, Portland, Whitmore 7 (Crawford, Roloff), 16:38. 6, Worcester, Schaus 1 (Cheechoo, Zalewski), 16:51. Penalties-Quirk Wor (hooking), 3:06.

3rd Period-7, Worcester, Zalewski 1 (Trevelyan, Cheechoo), 0:13. 8, Portland, Mancari 12 (Schiestel), 7:33. 9, Portland, Crawford 3 (Byron, Legault), 11:43 (SH). 10, Portland, Tropp 3 (Gragnani, Conboy), 14:01. Penalties-Marcou Wor (hooking), 3:20; Gongalsky Por (tripping), 10:36; Crawford Por (hooking), 14:33; Desjardins Wor (tripping), 17:02.

Shots on Goal-Portland 8-12-10-30. Worcester 14-6-6-26.
Power Play Opportunities-Portland 0/3; Worcester 0/2.
Goalies-Portland, Leggio 8-2-0 (14 shots-11 saves); Enroth 6-5-1 (12 shots-9 saves). Worcester, Stalock 11-8-2 (30 shots-26 saves).
A-3,117
Referee-Terry Koharski (10). Linesmen-Chris Millea (33), Brian MacDonald (72).

A photo gallery from the game is available here.

Des Requins battle Montreal to a draw after first period, Habs pull away for a strong 3-1 win

The Montreal Canadiens put forth a solid road effort at home in front of 21,273 fans at the Bell Centre. Goals by Mathieu Darche, Tomas Plekanec and Michael Cammaleri powered les bleu, blanc et rouge to a 3-1 win over the San Jose Sharks. Tight defensive play, inopportune bounces and a sparkling 26-save effort by goaltender Carey Price kept the Sharks from stringing together their first back-to-back road wins since October 30th.

After emotional games against the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators, the Sharks tried to compose themselves early against the 2nd best defense in the NHL. Unlike the Jaroslav Halak led 2009-10 Montreal Canadiens who sneaked past the New York Rangers by a point for the 8th and final playoff spot, the Carey Price led 2010-11 Canadiens are a disciplined squad battling for first place in the league at the one-third pole. At 12-8-4 heading into the Saturday night, the Sharks are off to their slowest start since the lockout. Injuries and inconsistent play has the San Jose V8 offensive engine firing on only 5-6 cylinders on many nights, but captain Joe Thornton told Hockey Night in Canada during intermission that the battle for consistency is an endemic problem around the league. In the Sharks particular circumstance, “Later on in periods, later on in games, we are not putting teams away,” he said.

After a slow start, the Sharks started picking up the pace later in the first period eventually outshooting Montreal 10-4. Six minutes in, a Sharks dump into the offensive zone deflected off the skate of referee Ian Walsh and created an odd man rush for Montreal in the other direction. Instead of Mayers carrying the puck low into the corner, Hall Gill jumped on the loose puck and fired a breakout pass to Benoit Pouliot up ice. The Sharks had disasterous luck with officiating, bad bounces and missed calls in November, and this is not the first time in the last few weeks a referee should be credited with an assist on an opponent’s goal. Pouliot slid a short backhand feed to a slashing Mathieu Darche, who scored far side on goaltender Antti Niemi. Darche played 2 games for the Sharks in 2006-07, and 76 games with the AHL affiliate Worcester Sharks before moving on to Tampa Bay and then Montreal.

“We made enough mistakes to allow 3 goals, but you have to give Montreal credit,” San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said after the game. “They earned those three goals. We weren’t overwhelmed by their offense, but there was enough of it for them to get the win.” McLellan praised the Montreal defense that tightened up in their own zone in the final two periods, and the play of goaltender Carey Price. “At the other end of the rink, we knew they were a very good defensive team, and probably the best goaltender in the league right now. You have to score more than one.”

After one of their most complete performances of the season against Ottawa, Todd McLellan said he needed more from a handful of players on both sides of the ice. “We have some key people I don’t think skated real well,” McLellan said reiterating a point he has already made several more times this season than he made in his first two years coaching the San Jose Sharks combined. “When you play against a top defensive team, when you play against a top goaltender, those players have to be there.” McLellan has been quick to get in front of criticism for players in the past, but if shift to shift intensity continues to be a problem moving forward he may have to name names.

One line that was clicking for San Jose Saturday afternoon was the newly configured line of Logan Couture, Benn Ferriero and Ryane Clowe. Ferriero has 3 goals and an assist since his second callup up from Worcester November 27th. Along with McCarthy, McGinn and Mitchell, Ferriero is a depth forward who can list hockey sense and intellegence along with his other on-ice strengths. Ferriero released a quick shot short side for his third goal of the season at 13:04, assisted by Logan Couture. It was the only goal the Sharks would score on the night.

The Sharks did not make a number of mistakes, but those that were made were quickly deposited into the back of the net. With three rookie defenseman starting due to injuries, Todd McLellan said overcoming occasional mistakes was built into the Sharks gameplan. Tomas Plekanec took advantage of Jamie McGinn 13:58 into the second period. After McGinn fell down trying to check Plekanec against the wall, the Montreal center cut to the center of the ice as defenseman Douglas Murray and Justin Braun came back. Taking an angle out in front of the crease away from the backchecking defenseman, Plekanec buried a shot against the grain.

Another turnover late in a shift set up Mike Cammalleri for the final goal in the third period. After defenseman Roman Hamrlik blocked a Justin Braun backhand dump-in attempt, he narrowly beat Joe Thornton to the loose puck at center ice. With a strong backcheck by Thornton, Hamrlik was forced to take a low percentage shot to Niemi’s left, and a quick rebound attempt. Douglas Murray and Justin Braun failed to see Mike Cammalleri, and the former Los Angeles King skated in from behind to punch it home.

Montreal goaltender Carey Price stopped 26 of 27 shots against for his 9th win in the last 12 games. Price is 5th in the NHL with a 1.96GAA, leads the NHL with 16 wins, is 3rd in the NHL with a .935SV%, is tied with Henrik Lundqvist for 2nd in the league with 4 shutouts, and has faced more shots (751) than every goaltender save for Jonas Hiller (754). Impressive, although Price has played 147 more minutes than Hiller demonstrating the quality of the defensive play in front of him. A HNIC source noted that the decision to keep Carey Price over playoff darling Jaroslav Halak was an organization-wide decision, something that is far easier to say after the fact. For his part, San Jose Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi played well enough to earn the win but for the 6th time this season he has received 2 goals or less in offensive support. The Sharks finished 0-2 on the power play, and did not take a penalty during the game. The Montreal Canadiens registered twice as many blocked shots as San Jose (23-11), but committed four times as many turnovers (16-4). Niclas Wallin, Kent Huskins, Jason Demers and Devin Setoguchi were scratched for San Jose. P.K. Subban and Dustin Boyd were scratched for Montreal. At 12-9-4, the Sharks are in last place in the Pacific division, 5 points behind the Dallas Stars.

[Update] Audio/photos from the game available via Habs Inside Out.

[Update2] Plekanec leads Habs over Sharks – Pat Hickey for the Montreal Gazette.

Goaltender Carey Price made 26 saves and was named the first star of the game, but he was the first to admit that his teammates limited San Jose’s chances. The No. 1 defence pair of Jaroslav Spacek and Roman Hamrlik was matched against the Sharks’ top line of Dany Heatley, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau and limited their chances. While they combined for five shots on goal, their scoring chances were limited to a slapshot by Heatley in the first period and a close-in opportunity for him in the third.

[Update3] About yesterday afternoon – Mike Boone for Habs Inside Out.

Doug Wilson, one of the NHL’s more astute general managers (but thanks for Josh Gorges and Max-Pac, Doug) drafts and acquires big, fast smart and talented hockey players. Todd McLellan, an alumnus of the Detroit organization, coaches them to contest every inch of the ice.

The result, when the game began, was relentless pressure in all three zones. I alluded, in Quick Hits, to time and space. This is the calculation a player with the puck must make: how much farther can I advance and how long can I wait before passing the puck?

San Jose’s suffocating style impeded the Canadiens progress up the ice and obliged them to make hasty, low-percentage passes.

[Update4] Habs jump on bounces to beat Sharks, Montreal gets goal in each period as Price grabs 16th win – CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada.

[Update5] Demers and Wallin should return in Detroit — plus new linemates for Marleau, fourth line concerns – David Pollak’s Working the Corners blog.

WorSharks Break Down Against Whale In 4-3 Shootout Loss

The Worcester Sharks got a 46 save performance from Alex Stalock and multiple point nights from T.J. Trevelyan, Jonathan Cheechoo, and James Marcou but couldn’t hold on to three one goal leads and dropped a 4-3 shootout contest to the Connecticut Whale in a fight filled Saturday night contest at the XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Hartford, Connecticut in front of 5,060 fans in a game slightly delayed due to the WorSharks bus breaking down on the way to the game.

Because of a prior commitment this writer didn’t make the trip to the Constitution State and only saw bits and pieces of the video, so for those interested in the first hand accounts can check out Bill Ballou of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette with his game story and his notes column, and the WorSharks side of the story on their official site. Bruce Berlet has the Whale’s tale on Connecticut’s team site

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

1st Period-1, Worcester, Trevelyan 3 (Zalewski, Cheechoo), 9:25. Penalties-Mashinter Wor (roughing), 2:17; Newbury Ct (hooking), 17:41.

2nd Period-2, Connecticut, Dupont 3 (Zuccarello, Kennedy), 2:58 (PP). 3, Worcester, Cheechoo 8 (Marcou, Trevelyan), 10:02 (PP). 4, Connecticut, Zuccarello 10 (Bickel, Dupont), 11:00. 5, Worcester, Marcou 4 (Trevelyan), 18:32 (PP). Penalties-Leach Wor (tripping), 2:47; Nightingale Ct (roughing), 3:26; Grachev Ct (goaltender interference), 9:54; Desjardins Wor (fighting), 11:00; Petrecki Wor (fighting), 11:00; Dupont Ct (fighting), 11:00; Newbury Ct (fighting), 11:00; Wingels Wor (roughing), 13:13; Williams Ct (roughing), 14:59; Marcou Wor (interference), 15:36; Desjardins Wor (fighting), 18:23; Henderson Wor (fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 18:23; Petrecki Wor (fighting), 18:23; DiDiomete Ct (instigating, fighting, misconduct – instigating, game misconduct – persisting a fight), 18:23; Nightingale Ct (fighting, game misconduct – secondary altercation), 18:23; Soryal Ct (fighting, misconduct – continuing altercation, game misconduct – continuing altercation), 18:23.

3rd Period-6, Connecticut, Williams 14 (Newbury, Niemi), 10:08. Penalties-Bickel Ct (cross-checking), 0:57; Leach Wor (cross-checking), 5:11; Bickel Ct (high-sticking), 10:55; Quirk Wor (tripping), 16:32.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Newbury Ct (high-sticking), 1:10.

Shootout – Worcester 1 (Cheechoo NG, Mashinter NG, Trevelyan G, Desjardins NG, DaSilva NG), Connecticut 2 (Kolarik NG, Zuccarello G, Williams G, Kennedy NG, Newbury NG).
Shots on Goal-Worcester 14-10-6-2-0-32. Connecticut 7-19-17-3-1-47.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 2/8; Connecticut 1/6.
Goalies-Worcester, Stalock 10-8-2 (46 shots-43 saves). Connecticut, Johnson 7-10-3 (32 shots-29 saves).
A-5,060
Referee-Jamie Koharski (84). Linesmen-Paul Simeon (66), Luke Galvin (2)

Heatley plays an inspired game, Logan Couture scores twice in 4-0 shutout of the Ottawa Senators

OTTAWA SUN FAILS TO COME UP WITH CATCHY HEADLINE AFTER 4-0 BLOWOUT LOSS

FULL MOLSON CANADIAN BEER CAN THROWN ON ICE BY OTTAWA FAN IN 3RD

Ottawa fans delivered on Thursday night, the Ottawa Senators players did not. After days of building fan and civic anger, Dany Heatley returned to the scene of the alleged crime and registered an inspired performance as the Sharks earned a 4-0 shutout against his former team.

Buzzing around the Ottawa net, Heatley narrowly missed by inches and hit the post on two quality point blank scoring chances early in the first period. He then drew a pair of hooking calls on Sergei Gonchar and Nick Foligno that lead to the Sharks first two power play goals by Patrick Marleau and rookie defenseman Justin Braun. Gonchar was forced to hook Heatley after he stickhandled around 4 players, and nearly pulled the puck backhand to forehand on goaltender Pascal LeClaire. Exiting the box in the second period, Heatley took a breakout pass and was hindered by Foglino at the last second. Heatley also was a factor on both power play goals, setting up in front as Marleau buried the rebound of a Dan Boyle point shot, and taking a hit to keep the puck in the zone on Braun’s goal.

“It is nice to get out of here with a win, no question,” Dany Heatley told the assembled media scrum after the game. “You know this was coming. You kind of now the reaction that would occur, but I thought the boys played well from Nemo on.”

That “reaction” skirted both sides of the line for most of the day. Ottawa sportstalk radio and the local gossip broadsheet chummed the water and tried to funnel the fans in a certain direction, but as usual the creativity of the loyal hockey fanbase traveled its entertaingly own path. The organized efforts included a local radio station engineering a Heatley Hate Fest rally at a local bar with lemon tosses and Heatley targets, the Ottawa Sun offered do-it-yourself Heatley pacifier masks in Thursday’s edition, and intrepid local television reporters better suited for south Florida hurricane duty braved the unwashed masses for on-the-spot reactions. Meh, not impressed.

The 18,017 fans inside the Scotiabank Place in Ottawa were another story entirely. They chanted “Heat-ley Sucks” dozens of times during the game, during the warmup, and boo’d #15 every time he touched the puck. The national TSN broadcast of the game featured several of the signs fans brought to the game, and showed several Heatley jerseys with the E, L and Y taped over. It was not a reference to former XFL football star He Hate Me. A half dozen fans threw Dany Heatley Ottawa Senators jerseys onto the ice at a stoppage in play at the start of the third period, seconds before former Ottawa 67’s standout Logan Couture scored the first of two goals on the night. Couture would score again in the third on a slick feed off the wall from Ryane Clowe. Near the end of the game Ottawa fans crossed the line throwing full water bottles, full beer cans and beer cups on to the ice among other items.

“I had a gut feeling (Heatley) would play real well, he does in this type of environment,” San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said after the game. “The louder it got, they more boo’s he got, the better it was for us actually… none of that stuff bothers him.”

The Ottawa Senators failed to watch playoff tape from previous Sharks playoff performances against Anaheim and Detroit. Agitating the Shark only makes it angry. It significantly increases the chances that you will leave the arena with a loss, and possibly with a limp. San Jose has struggled on the road of late, breaking a 6-game road losing streak with a 4-3 win over the last placed Edmonton Oilers. In that span the Sharks were shutout for 3 straight games, gave up back-to-back 2-goal leads against Colorado and Dallas (disallowed goals would have made 3-goal leads in each game), and suffered a 6-1 blowout loss at Vancouver. The Sharks needed to rebound on the road and put up a solid performance in front of goaltender Antti Niemi, who ran hot and cold in November.

The Sharks exercised their gameplan, and turned in a solid 60 minute effort from top-to-bottom, something head coach Todd McLellan has been calling for since training camp. “I thought we played a great team game. After the Detroit loss, I thought we had a day to regroup and think about what makes us a good team,” Heatley said. “We stuck to our gameplan from start to finish, we got it behind their D early. Once we got in their end, all four lines did a good job of holding on to it and cycling the puck, and we created scoring chances off that.”

The on-ice performance against Ottawa mirrored a similar effort earlier in the season at Colorado. The Sharks rolled four lines, got the puck behind the defense, and forced a quick opponent to skate 200 feet to create offense. In that span San Jose could use their size to wear down opponents over 60 minutes. On Thursday night the Sharks executed that gameplan to a T, despite 50% of the blueline and Devin Setoguchi sitting out of the game with injuries. With Niclas Wallin, Kent Huskins and Jason Demers recouperating, young blueliners Derek Joslin (44 NHL GP over 3 seasons), Mike Moore (5 NHL GP) and Justin Braun (4 NHL GP) filled in admirably.

The Sharks blueline was misfiring on occasion when it was 100%, but a resurgent Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Douglas Murray have steadied the blueline defensively in recent games. Joslin, Moore and Braun also could be auditioning for the 6th/7th role, or at least warrant a longer look, if they could string together games with offensive production on the backend. Mike Moore scored his first NHL goal November 17th in Colorado, Braun registered his first NHL goal on the power play 8:22 into the second period Thursday night in Ottawa. After Dany Heatley took a hit by took keep the puck in the zone at the point, Braun recognized the pursuit of Senators forward Mike Fisher and wristed a long point shot on goal that beat LeClaire.

Braun was a 7th round draft pick in 2007, but he is starting to open a few eyes at the NHL level. In the AHL, he lead the Worcester Sharks defense in scoring with a goal and 8 assists in 17 games played. In his last 3 NHL games Justin Braun has registered a goal and 3 assists. He is a defenseman with a howitzer of a shot, who when he gets it going can pile up a number of shots on goal in a period, let alone a game. What should peak San Jose’s interest is that those shots are on goal, and heavy enough to create rebound opportunities for forwards. At only 23 years of age, it remains to be seen if Braun will be held out for more AHL seasoning a la Moore and Joslin, or if they take a chance and throw him into the fold a la Jason Demers.

In addition to the return of Dany Heatley, 21-year old Sharks center Logan Couture also returned to the city where he played four seasons for the Ottawa 67’s junior team. With his family in the stands, Couture noted after the game that a number of 67’s fans were in the building rooting for him as well. “We know what the story was going to be coming into this,” Logan Couture said after the game. “We really wanted to win for Heater, and for ourselves. We have been so inconsistent this year. With this 5-game road trip, we wanted to put together a couple of good games. We started tonight.”

Couture is quietly leading the goal scoring race for NHL rookies (10), and trails point leader Jeff Skinner by 4. With a 53.8 faceoff percentage (147-126), Couture is one of six Sharks centerman above the 50% mark with over 100 draws taken — Joe Thornton (192-162, 54.2%), Joe Pavelski (143-133, 51.8%), Logan Couture (147-126, 53.8%), Scott Nichol (124-84, 59.6%), Patrick Marleau (88-65, 57.5%), Torrey Mitchell (63-52, 54.8%).

The current 5-game road trip will hit Northeast division leader Montreal on Saturday and the Western Conference leader Detroit on Tuesday, before traveling to Philadelphia and Buffalo on back-to-back nights. As much of a statement game as Detroit will be, the entire road trip will gauge where the Sharks are at in what has been a volatile 2010-11 season. “It just gets tougher and tougher on the road trip, when should get tougher and tougher as well,” head coach Todd McLellan said.

[Update] Ottawa aftermath: Tasteless anti-tribute, a “Boo-Who?” headline and that goalie confusion explained – David Pollak’s Working the Corners blog.

[Update2] Dire days for Ontario’s NHL teams – Elliotte Friedman for CBC.com.

[Update3] In the Cheapseats: Dany’s return fails to spark Sens – Don Brennan for the Ottawa Sun.

At least the fans had their fun, including a group of them who walked down to the glass early in the third period and tossed what we assume were old Heatley jerseys onto the ice. The best chant of the night: “Dany Douche Bag.” Others included “Traiiitooor” and “F.U. Heatley.” A sampling of the signs: “Heatley, I peed in your Gatorade.” “Heatley drinks his own pee.” “Kick Dany’s Fanny.”

By the end of the game, however, the boos were being directed not at Heatley, but his old teammates. They deserved them, as they were so, so bad.

As usual, the only positive Heatley comments by either Brennan or rumor-meister Bruce Garrioch are those quoted by other people. The Ottawa Sun should have tried to save face today and run a blank front cover. And credit to Heatley, unlike Lebron who showed up Cleveland fans with a shower of white chalk on Thursday, #15 for San Jose put his head down, played his game, and thanked Ottawa fans that supported him. Class. Urinal cakes with his picture on them, throwing ticket stubs and full beers onto the ice, booing your own team? No class.

Dany Heatley’s return to Ottawa spawning Lebron-esque fury in parts of Canada

SHARKS RW DANY HEATLEY RETURNS TO OTTAWA TONIGHT

OTTAWA CITIZEN FRONT PAGE FOR DANY HEATLEY'S RETURN

OTTAWA SUN "SUCK IT UP" FRONT PAGE ON DANY HEATLEY

“I loved the fans (in Ottawa), because they always treated me well,” – Dany Heatley told reporters this morning.

“(Akron’s) not far, but it is far. And Clevelanders, because they were the bigger-city kids when we were growing up, looked down on us.… So we didn’t actually like Cleveland. We hated Cleveland growing up. There’s a lot of people in Cleveland we still hate to this day,” Lebron James to GQ magazine in September.

Life has an interesting way of drawing its own parallels. Today former Senators forward Dany Heatley returns to Ottawa on the same day Lebron James returns to face his former team in Cleveland, but their situations could not be more different. While one player under contract loved his city, behind closed doors he reached a breaking point with his former team and demanded a trade. The other player took his journey towards free agency to the biggest stage in North America for a one-hour primetime special on ESPN, embarassing his former fans on a continuous loop that has yet to die down. Fans in Ottawa and Cleveland will not parse the particulars. Instead they will zero in on their respective persona non gratas for about as cathartic a three hours as is possible in modern professional sports.

“One of the reasons was my role on the team and where I was fitting in,” Heatley told the Ottawa Citizen this morning about demanding a trade. “I have a bigger role in San Jose than I did in my last year in Ottawa.”

What is startling about that role is how it changed upon his arrival in San Jose, or at least how the perception of that role changed. Prior to his trade on September 12, 2009 along with a 2010 fifth round draft pick (Isaac Macleod) for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo, and a 2010 second round draft pick (traded for Andy Sutton), the Ottawa media derided Heatley as selfish, noted alleged problems with three coaches, scorned his defensive play, on and on. None of that came to fruition with the Sharks.

In San Jose, a Presidents’ Trophy winning squad that bowed out of the playoffs in the first round against hated rival Anaheim, Dany Heatley was allowed to simply play hockey. In his first two years as a Shark, Heatley started the season with a different line combination before being moved with to the “Big Three” line with Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. His defensive play was far from polished, but it was consistent and he added a mean streak that was sorely needed. There were no problems with second year head coach Todd McLellan, in fact the German born Canadian took an on-ice leadership role holding opposing players and officials accountable on controversial plays, something the Sharks have not always done in the past. His shot and 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame were perfectly suited for McLellan’s net front philosphy 5-on-5 and with the man advantage.

A significant leg injury hobbled Heatley in the playoffs, but the forward was comfortable enough this offseason to star in a local hockey commerical featuring his bounced first pitch at a SF Giants game, something that was unfathomable considering his treatment by the media in Ottawa only a year earlier.

Thursday night Dany Heatley will face the brunt of fan angst, but like Antero Niittymaki’s successful performance agaisnt his former team Tampa Bay, and Antti Niemi’s manhandling of his former Stanley Cup winning team Chicago, the San Jose Sharks will be pushing hard to give #15 a positive outcome. “I think it’ll fire the guys up a little bit, I know I’m a little extra excited to win the game for him. He’s a great teammate. He’s very well-liked in this dressing room,” San Jose Sharks defenseman Douglas Murray told ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun.

LeBrun also spoke with Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray, who answered questions about how much the trade set back the franchise. Left unasked were how much the constant leaks by team officials, and how much internal team machinations played a part. It was something that lead to significant trade rumors this summer for the other team pillar, Jason Spezza. Also left unmentioned, Ottawa was put in a difficult position trying to trade Heatley when Edmonton and the New York Rangers moved in other directions. Days before the trigger was pulled by San Jose EVP/GM Doug Wilson, a debunked 3-team deal involving, Heatley, former Sharks captain Patrick Marleau, Alexander Frolov and Jarret Stoll was announced as completed on ESPN, and on the largest sports radio station in the Bay Area (KNBR).

The situation left a lasting negative impression for the Ottawa media and the Ottawa Senators, something that will not improve with the Ottawa Sun’s decision to offer do-it-yourself Heatley pacifier masks in today’s paper. Also from Ottawa’s Team 1200AM station, which has been a surreal listen today, comes this Ode to Dany which lacks any musical talent but makes creative use of an air horn.

[Update] San Jose Sharks’ Dany Heatley braces for boos from jilted Senators fans – San Jose Mercury News.

“If you want to modify the old saying, you can say, ‘Hell hath no fury like a Canadian hockey city scorned,’ ” said Bob McKenzie, longtime hockey analyst for TSN, the Canadian sports TV network. “And a smaller-market Canadian city — either Ottawa or Edmonton — they tend to be even more intense in their civic pride.”

[Update2] Video of Dany Heatley’s morning press conference with the media from the Ottawa Citizen.

[Update3] If you can’t stand the Heatley – Roy MacGregor for the Globe and Mail.

Dany Heatley screwed up the federal by-elections. Dany Heatley is causing area house prices to drop. Dany Heatley is behind this week-long spit that passes for weather around here…

Welcome to Ottawa on Dany Heatley Day in the nation’s capital, the day the San Jose Sharks’ leading scorer gets blamed for, as the Bible might put it, every little sparrow that falls.

WorSharks Feast On Whale With 2-1 Victory Over Connecticut

The Worcester Sharks got a flukey goal early and then almost made it stand up for the rest of the game until being forced into a shootout, where they prevailed to defeat the Connecticut Whale 2-1 Wednesday night at the DCU center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of an intimate crowd of 2,171.

The Whale, playing their first road game since their mid-season name change from the Hartford Wolf Pack and in green and blue uniforms similar to the old Hartford Whalers, started the game on the power play after Andrew Desjardins was called for tripping just 10 seconds into the contest. In a precursor of things to come, Connecticut would get just a single shot on goal with the man advantage. Despite combining for 43 shots in the game, neither team generated many significant scoring chances. In fact, Worcester’s lone tally in regulation wouldn’t have even been counted as a scoring chance had it not taken a lucky bounce and gone in.

After Worcester was trapped in their own zone Dan DaSilva found Kevin Henderson streaking up the right wing side. DaSilva’s cross ice pass hit Henderson in stride as the WorSharks broke out of their zone three on one. The Worcester rush was an odd one in more than just numbers with Henderson, who entered the game with just three goals in his first 84 pro games, leading the rush up the right with offensive minded defenseman Nick Schaus in the middle and newly signed defensive defenseman Jody Pederson streaking down the left wing against Whale defenseman Tomas Kundratek. Henderson elected to shoot the puck from the right circle instead of risking a pass that might send the Whale off on their own odd man rush against his forward line mates. Henderson’s shot ate up Connecticut netminder Chad Johnson, hitting him between the glove and his elbow and bounding high into the air. The Whale defense drove to the net trying to knock the puck away, but it landed in the net at 11:36 of the first. Cory Quirk had the second assist on the goal.

That single goal looked like it might stand up despite hemming Worcester into its zone for long stretches of time as the Whale couldn’t generate many scoring chances for themselves, and when they did WorSharks goaltender Alex Stalock was there to make the save. Connecticut center Chad Kolarik had the best of all the chances with a breakaway chance with just over a minute remaining in the second period, but his blast that beat Stalock found the iron to the left of the netminder and bounced way harmlessly.

The frustrations of both squads boiled over just after the horn to end the second period sounded when Ryan Garlock threw a hit on the WorSharks Joe Loprieno, who was playing up at forward again on Worcester’s fourth line. Loprieno and Garlock exchanged a few gloved blows when Jared Nightingale dropped his gloves and jumped into the fray. The Whale defenseman was lucky enough to not get an automatic ejection for being the third man into the altercation as the referees gave Nightingale an instigator minor to go along with the fighting major, effectively putting him out for the third period with the ten minutes misconduct but saving him the fine for being thrown out. Loprieno received a fighting and roughing minor, but inexplicably Garlock escaped unscathed.

Connecticut would continue to keep pressure on Worcester, and they would finally get one past Stalock when Kundratek launched a 45 foot slapshot past the screened netminder to knot the game 1-1 with just 4:20 remaining in regulation. The WorSharks would have two golden chances to win the game at the end of regulation and at the end of the overtime period, but couldn’t get a shot off on either power play chance. In the shootout Jonathan Cheechoo would beat Johnson on Worcester’s first attempt, and Kundratek would beat Stalock again to make it even after five shooters. DaSilva would end it for the WorSharks when he beat Johnson to the stick side to light the lamp and give Worcester a 2-1 victory.

GAME NOTES
With all the injuries in San Jose there have been several transactions in the last few days for the WorSharks, with Worcester signing rookie defenseman Jody Pederson to a PTO from the Elmira Jackals of the ECHL and releasing forward Jim McKenzie from his PTO and sending him back to Stockton (ECHL). With Carton Hutton being available to play again Riley Gill was sent packing again for Kalamazoo (ECHL). The Worcester/San Jose shuttle was also in service the last few days, with Mike Moore heading to the west coast and Tommy Wingles heading back east. Cam MacIntyre, Tony Lucia, and Frazer McLaren are all still on the injured list and did not dress.

With nearly every player using a composite stick now it’s become a very common sight to see a broken stick on the ice, but Jay Leach may have set a record by not only breaking his own stick while killing a penalty, but also breaking Andrew Desjardins stick after the forward passed his back to the defenseman. Leach broke his on the right wing half boards after throwing a hit there, and as play went on Desjardins handed over his stick to the WorSharks captain. Leach then went on to break that stick after a pile up in front of the net, but probably should have been more aware of where he was standing as when he dropped the broken end to the ice as required it landed right in front of Stalock. Along with Bill Ballou’s post game comments on the game the Telegram and Gazette has a photo of Stalock tripping over the discarded stick.

Along with his 17 penalty minutes served in the third period Jared Nightingale also served a matching double minor for roughing with Andrew Desjardins in the first stanza. With this writer taking up his normal perch about halfway between the penalty boxes and press row the shouting match between the two, which lasted nearly the entire time they were in the box, was clearly audible and not exactly “family friendly”.

Matthew Majikas filled in for George Brown as the DCU center’s normal PA announcer was unavailable. Majikas is the former PA announcer for the Worcester Tornadoes of the Can-Am baseball league and is now a current account executive for The Sports Hub WBZ-FM 98.5 in Boston.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 23 Dan DaSilva (a, shootout game winner)
2. WOR – 47 Kevin Henderson (g)
3. CT – 84 Tomas Kundratek (g)

The Sharkspage player of the game was T.J. Trevelyan

Even strength lines
Cheechoo/Zalewski/Trevelyan
Mashinter/Wingles/Marcou
Henderson/Desjardins/DaSilva
Pitton/Quirk/Loprieno

Petrecki/Sullivan
Leach/Irwin
Schaus/Pederson

Penalty Kill Lines
Desjardins(Mashinter)/Henderson
Quirk/Wingles
Zalewski/Trevelyan

Leach/Sullivan
Petrecki/Schaus

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

Irwin/Sullivan
Petrecki/Schaus

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

1st Period-1, Worcester, Henderson 2 (DaSilva, Quirk), 11:36. Penalties-Desjardins Wor (tripping), 0:10; Nightingale Ct (roughing, roughing), 8:39; Desjardins Wor (roughing, roughing), 8:39; Loprieno Wor (boarding), 14:49; Bickel Ct (roughing), 19:10.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Quirk Wor (tripping), 13:36; Newbury Ct (cross-checking), 14:36; Nightingale Ct (instigating, fighting, misconduct – instigating), 20:00; Loprieno Wor (roughing, fighting), 20:00.

3rd Period-2, Connecticut, Kundratek 2 (Newbury, Valentenko), 15:40. Penalties-Bickel Ct (elbowing), 11:06; Bickel Ct (holding the stick), 18:11.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Redden Ct (hooking), 3:52.

Shootout – Connecticut 1 (Zuccarello NG, Williams NG, Kolarik NG, Kundratek G, Kennedy NG, Grachev NG), Worcester 2 (Cheechoo G, Trevelyan NG, Mashinter NG, Wingels NG, Zalewski NG, DaSilva G).
Shots on Goal-Connecticut 7-7-9-0-0-23. Worcester 7-5-7-0-1-20.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 0/3; Worcester 0/5.
Goalies-Connecticut, Johnson 6-10-3 (19 shots-18 saves). Worcester, Stalock 10-8-1 (23 shots-22 saves).
A-2,171
Referees-Jean Hebert (43), Terry Koharski (10). Linesmen-Todd Whittemore (70), Jack Millea (23).

The Hockey News/XM Home Ice 204 Podcast: NHL schedule, Henrik Sedin, Donald Fehr, ASG fan balloting

[audio:http://rstorage.filemobile.com/storage/3518363/31.mp3]

On the November 26th edition of The Hockey News Radio Show with Adam Proteau and Jim ‘Boomer’ Gordon on XM Satellite Radio Home Ice Channel 204: Adam and Boomer are in Toronto for another episode of THN Radio – and this week, it’s an all-Ask Adam show, leaving the guys to discuss and debate topics including: the intricacies of creating the NHL schedule; the effect of the captaincy on Vancouver’s Henrik Sedin; the validity of all-star game fan balloting; Donald Fehr’s intents as new leader of the NHL Players’ association; the viability of Phoenix as a long-term NHL city; and many more.

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.

WorSharks Stumble Against Checkers, 4-2

The Worcester Sharks found out Saturday night that great goaltending isn’t all that’s needed to win games; that you also need to put the puck in the net when you have the chance and you have to avoid defensive mistakes and turnovers. The WorSharks did almost none of those things in a 4-2 loss to the Charlotte Checkers at the DCU center in front of 3,384 fans.

The two teams would move up and down the ice in the first period like it was a basketball game they combined for 28 shots in the opening 20 minutes, many of them great scoring chances. And it would have looked like a basketball score were it not for WorSharks goaltender Alex Stalock and Charlotte netminder Justin Pogge, who each made great save after great save. The Checkers, who last season played in Albany as the River Rats, would get on the board first off a bad bounce for the WorSharks. Charlotte winger Chris Terry positioned himself at the left wing boards and threw a hard pass toward the net into traffic that banked off a Worcester player in front and past Stalock at 5:02 of the first.

Worcester would tie the game off a rebound when Joe Loprieno scored his first professional goal. Loprieno, a defenseman pressed into service as a forward with the injury bug hitting both San Jose and the WorSharks, was standing in front of the net screening Pogge as Jay Leach’s right point shot went on goal. Pogge made the easy save and went to cover the rebound but the puck slid away from him just slightly. It was enough room for Loprieno to jam at the puck past Pogge and into the net at 11:38. Newly signed Jason Pitton had the second assist on the goal for his feed to Leach at the point.

The WorSharks would grab a 2-1 lead on a play where every skater in a white jersey touched the puck. The play started behind the Worcester goal where Jay Leach battled along the end boards with two Checkers forwards for the puck. He moved the puck toward the left corner to Steven Zalewski, who in turned continued the puck to James Marcou at the left wing half boards. Marcou flipped a backhander high out of the zone where it landed at center ice in front of Brandon Mashinter, who broke into the Checkers zone. Matt Irwin, who started the play guarding the front of the net with Stalock, streaked into the offensive zone uncovered where Mashinter hit him with a backhand pass from the right circle into the slot. Irwin’s high shot went into the high glove side corner at 17:30.

Charlotte’s second goal was one the WorSharks would love to have back. After being hemmed into their own zone Worcester twice turned the puck over to go along with their two failed clearing attempts. All that running around by the WorSharks left everyone out of position and a Checkers forward all alone in front of Stalock. With the netminder trying to guard his net and prevent a pass into the slot Drayson Bowman fired a shot on net that banked in off Stalock at 10:17 of the second. Stalock didn’t let that goal get to him, and continued to stand tall throughout the period keeping the charging Checkers off the board. But it was the waining seconds of the middle stanza that would eventually lead to the WorSharks downfall despite Charlotte not lighting the lamp.

As time wound down on the period Bowden chased a loose puck into the Worcester, only to have Stalock beat him to it and knock it into the left corner. As Stalock scrambled back to his cage the Charlotte forwards poured into the zone and raced to the net. Sean Sullivan took a good hooking penalty to prevent a sure goal, and as play continued along Checkers center Jon Matsumoto had the puck in the slot with 24 square feet of empty net in front of him. Stalock dove across the crease like a soccer goalie and used the only thing available at the time to make the save–the top of his helmet. Sullivan took his seat in the penalty box with four seconds remaining, and after a face-off win for Worcester Charlotte winger Terry hit defenseman Nick Petrecki with a couple of crosschecks. As is normally the case, referee Gino Binda missed those infractions and only saw Petrecki’s retaliation, sending the defenseman to the sin bin to give the Checkers 1:57 of two man advantage to start period number three. Petrecki made sure Binda heard his displeasure on the call, and Captain Leach was also very vocal yelling “You got to be kidding me”–along with an expletive or two–as Binda stood in the referee’s crease.

Stalock and the WorSharks played the two man disadvantage almost as well as they could and nearly survived the penalties, but eventually Charlotte’s numbers allowed for Worcester to be out manned at the crease where Zach Boychuk banged home a rebound at 1:49 of the third to take the 3-2 lead. The WorSharks would have ample opportunities to get back to even, but several unlucky bounces and a handful of great saves by Pogge kept Worcester from tying the game. Matsumoto’s 170 foot empty net goal with six seconds remaining ended all hope of a miracle comeback.

GAME NOTES
With Benn Ferriero being recalled just before Friday night’s game in Providence and Tommy Wingles getting the call after the game, the WorSharks dipped into the ECHL and signed forwards Jason Pitton and Jim McKenzie to PTOs. Both are from Worcester’s and San Jose’s ECHL affiliate in Stockton. Every healthy player played for Worcester, who dressed 11 forwards and seven defenseman. There were no changes to Worcester’s injury list from Friday night, although with both Niclas Wallin and Kent Huskins being injured in San Jose’s 4-3 victory over Edmonton it looks like the WorSharks will be losing at least one more player.

Not only are San Jose and Worcester having issues with injuries and illness, the DCU center game day staff also went into the game shorthanded. WTAG newsman and “Sharks this Week” host Sherman Whitman filled in for normal PA announcer George Brown, and Director of Youth Hockey and Community Relations Mike Myers was pressed into duty as the visitor’s penalty box attendant.

There was one fight in the contest, with Pitton (6’3″ 218#) taking on Nicolas Blanchard (6″3″ 206#) in a spirited bout at center ice just after the face-off after Irwin’s goal. Hometown scoring gave the edge to Pitton. There was also one huge hit worth mentioning, as Nick Schaus absolutely pasted Chris Terry into the visitor’s penalty box door with about 7:30 remaining in the second period. Play would be stopped as the trainer tended to Terry, and the winger missed a couple of shifts before returning to action.

The three stars of the game were
1. CHA – 27 Drayson Bowman (g)
2. WOR – 3 Joe Loprieno (g)
3. CHA – 1 Justin Pogge (42 saves)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Alex Stalock.

Even Strength Lines
Trevelyan/Quirk/Cheechoo
Mashinter/Zalewski/Marcou
Henderson/Desjardins/DaSilva
Pitton/McKenzie/Loprieno

Moore/Schaus
Petrecki/Sullivan
Leach/Irwin

Penalty Kill Lines
Desjardins/Henderson
Quirk/Zalewski
Cheechoo/Trevelyan

Leach/Schaus
Moore/Sullivan

Power Play lines
Marcou/Cheechoo/Trevelyan
DaSilva/Zalewski/Mashinter

Moore/Schaus
Sullivan/Irwin

BOXSCORE
Charlotte 1 1 2 – 4
Worcester 2 0 0 – 2

1st Period-1, Charlotte, Terry 9 (Samson, Nash), 5:02. 2, Worcester, Loprieno 1 (Pitton, Leach), 11:38. 3, Worcester, Irwin 2 (Mashinter, Marcou), 17:30. Penalties-Petrecki Wor (interference), 1:30; Blanchard Cha (fighting), 17:33; Pitton Wor (fighting), 17:33.

2nd Period-4, Charlotte, Bowman 3 (Dalpe), 10:17. Penalties-Dalpe Cha (delay of game), 15:15; Sullivan Wor (hooking), 19:56; Petrecki Wor (roughing), 20:00.

3rd Period-5, Charlotte, Boychuk 9 (Samson, Rodney), 1:49 (PP). 6, Charlotte, Matsumoto 4 (Samson), 19:54 (EN). Penalties-Osala Cha (cross-checking), 2:49; Nash Cha (tripping), 16:13.

Shots on Goal-Charlotte 13-8-17-38. Worcester 15-14-15-44.
Power Play Opportunities-Charlotte 1/3; Worcester 0/3.
Goalies-Charlotte, Pogge 7-5-0 (44 shots-42 saves). Worcester, Stalock 9-7-1 (37 shots-34 saves).
A-3,384
Referee-Geno Binda (22). Linesmen-Brian MacDonald (72), Bob Paquette (18).

Stalock, WorSharks Defeat Providence 4-1

The Worcester Sharks drove an hour down Route 146 to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island on Black Friday and got goals from four different players to go along with another great goaltending performance from Alex Stalock to defeat the Providence Bruins 4-1 in front of a crowd announced at 6,309.

Jonathan Cheechoo would put the WorSharks on the board first at 11:16 of the opening period when he tried to bang home a rebound of T.J. Trevelyan’s shot from the right wing circle. Trevelyan’s shot was saved by P-Bruins netminder Michael Hutchinson, and the rebound went right to Cheechoo in the low slot just outside the crease. Cheechoo flipped the puck on net, but Hutchinson was able to get a piece of the shot and the puck deflected high into the air above the crease. As several P-bruins players dove toward the net to knock the puck away it landed just over the goal line for the 1-0 WorSharks lead. Tommy Wingles had the other assist on the goal.

Nick Petrecki would make it 2-0 Worcester at 13:47 with his third of the season after taking an Andrew Desjardins feed and firing a wrist shot through traffic from just above the right face-off circle that banked off Hutchinson and went in. With Providence scrambling to get the puck out of their zone Sean Sullivan blocked a clearing attempt and threw the puck up to an uncovered Desjardins. The alert center of the Crazed Rats line saw Petrecki all alone and fed him a nice pass for the scoring attempt. The tally ties Petrecki for the team lead in game winners, ironically with the players who assisted on the goal, Desjardins and Sullivan.

After a scoreless second period Worcester, already being outshot 26-16 after two periods, would get just three shots in the finals 20 minutes. But they would make the most of those three, nabbing two goals against their division rivals. The first came from an unassisted goal from Trevelyan, who stole the puck away from a P-Bruins defenseman and snapped a 45 foot shot on Hutchinson that ate the netminder up and lit the lamp to make it 3-0. The second was from Dan DaSilva, who notched his third goal in as many games when he took a Desjardins feed and fired a shot over Hutchinson and just under the crossbar at 11:21.

Sandwiched between the two WorSharks third period goals Providence would grab their lone tally of the game at 9:36 when Jamie Arniel, in the corner to the left of the Worcester net, found Jeremy Reich all alone in the slot for a one timer that Stalock had no chance on. Despite being down three goals Providence would pull Hutchinson with Mike Moore in the box for tripping, but the WorSharks played solid defense while down six skaters to four as time ticked away for another Worcester victory.

GAME NOTES
The WorSharks had two additions to the injury list, with Carter Hutton (groin) and Frazer McLaren (lower body) joining Tony Lucia (concussion) and Cam MacIntyre (groin). With Hutton unavailable the  WorSharks have once again called upon Riley Gill to be their backup goaltender, signing the rookie to his second PTO of the season. Gill is 4-2-0 with a 2.50 goal against average and a .917 save percentage in six ECHL games with the Victoria Salmon Kings and Kalamazoo Wings. Prior to the start of Friday night’s game Benn Ferriero was recalled to San Jose, leaving Worcester with just 10 healthy forwards, so WorSharks head coach Roy Sommer had defenseman Joe Loprieno line up at forward for the first time in his pro career. Worcester used just 17 skaters, one under the 18 allowed.

After the game the WorSharks signed Jason Pitton and Jim McKenzie, both from the Stockton Thunder (ECHL) to PTOs.

In a case of “it’s not how many, but when”, the WorSharks have been outshot 109-67 in their last three games and in eight of their last nine periods, but have outscored their opponents 11-6 and have come away with the maximum six points.

The game used the two referee system, and despite this writer not being a fan of it at the AHL level the WorSharks certainly are as their record improved to 6-0-0-0 all-time when there are two penalty callers on the ice.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 24 T.J. Trevelyan (g,a)
2. WOR – 32 Alex Stalock (35 saves)
3. WOR – 22 Andrew Desjardins (2a,+3)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Dan DaSilva

BOXSCORE
Worcester 2 0 2 – 4
Providence 0 0 1 – 1

1st Period-1, Worcester, Cheechoo 6 (Trevelyan, Wingels), 11:16. 2, Worcester, Petrecki 3 (Desjardins, Henderson), 13:47. Penalties-No Penalties

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Loprieno Wor (roughing), 7:46; Knackstedt Pro (roughing), 7:46; Roussel Pro (tripping), 11:08; Petrecki Wor (fighting), 19:53; McIver Pro (fighting), 19:53.

3rd Period-3, Worcester, Trevelyan 2   5:20. 4, Providence, Reich 5 (Arniel), 9:36. 5, Worcester, DaSilva 4 (Desjardins), 11:21. Penalties-Cheechoo Wor (tripping), 6:19; Mashinter Wor (slashing), 9:08; Colborne Pro (slashing), 9:08; Penner Pro (interference), 12:00; Wingels Wor (roughing), 15:31; Ling Pro (roughing, holding), 15:31; Moore Wor (tripping), 17:52.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 10-6-3-19. Providence 12-14-10-36.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 0/3; Providence 0/2.
Goalies-Worcester, Stalock 9-6-1 (36 shots-35 saves). Providence, Hutchinson 6-3-0 (19 shots-15 saves).
A-6,309
Referees-David Banfield (44), Ian Croft (87). Linesmen-Scott Whittemore (96), Bob Paquette (18).

Thanksgiving-Eve Hockey: Douglas Murray, Antti Niemi power Sharks over Blackhawks 5-2 in Western Conference Final rematch

CHICAGO 1ST GOAL VIDEO REVIEW AFTER DEFLECTING OFF 2 SKATES - CSNCA

More notes from the San Jose Sharks 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks will be posted soon.

WorSharks, Stalock More Than Hershey Could Bear In 3-2 Victory

The Worcester Sharks played a Thanksgiving eve game and learned what they probably already knew, that they are very thankful Alex Stalock is their number one goaltender. Stalock made a season high 41 saves, many of which were highlight reel quality, to defeat the two time defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears 3-2 Wednesday night at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania in front of 9,506 fans.

For teams that play each other just twice a season there seems to be a little bad blood between the two franchises, with the WorSharks and Bears combining for 134 penalty minutes in their two meetings last season. For a short while it looked like that could be the trend again when Brandon Mashinter and Phil Oreskovic decided to introduce themselves at 2:08 of the first period, but two quick scores by Worcester while the majors were being served put the focus back on playing hockey.

The Crazed Rats, Worcester’s best line during the last couple of weeks, gave the WorSharks a 1-0 lead at 4:02 of the period when Andrew Desjardins threw a nifty pass to Dan DaSilva standing on the opposite side of the crease, and DaSilva’s backhander beat Bears netminder Dany Sabourin for his second goal in as many games. Kevin Henderson had the other assist on the play.

The WorSharks top line, which has struggled as of late, extended that lead to 2-0 when Sean Sullivan’s pass sent Tommy Wingles past Bears defenseman and 650 game NHL veteran Sheldon Souray on a breakaway down the slot. Wingles wrister, also assisted by Benn Ferriero, lit the lamp at 5:45 and gave Worcester a little bit of breathing room. And the WorSharks would need every bit of that as Hershey’s relentless attack forced Stalock to make incredible save after incredible save.

Despite Stalock’s heroics Hershey would finally break through at 11:43 of the second period when a bouncing puck went there way. After a Zach Miskovic blast from the point was blocked by Worcester the puck bounced off to the right of Stalock. Mathieu Perreault jumped on the loose puck and flipped a shot from just under the face-off circle over a downed Stalock and into the net.

After Stalock nearly single handedly killed Jonathan Cheechoo’s elbowing minor Sullivan would give Worcester its two goal lead back when Cheechoo fed him the puck to the top of the left circle. In what looked like a replay of his last two goals Sullivan ripped a booming one-timer on net past Sabourin with just 50.3 seconds remaining in the second. The goal was Sullivan’s third in as many games.

The Bears would get back within one when just 1:13 into period number three when Jay Beagle converted a rebound of Souray’s point blast on the power play, but that would be all Hershey could put past Stalock as he continued to add plays to his highlight reel. Hershey would have three more power play chances in the third after Beagle’s tally, but Stalock’s play allowed the WorSharks to feast on two important points.

GAME NOTES
With Wednesday being the busiest travel day of the year Worcester decided to head to the Keystone State on Tuesday. During the trip out west word reached the team bus Justin Braun had been recalled to San Jose, so a quick detour to the airport in Newark, NJ was arranged. Tony Lucia, Cam MacIntyre, and Frazer McLaren were the scratches for Worcester. Carter Hutton was the back-up netminder.

In a scheduling oddity, both Worcester and San Jose played against their league’s defending champions Wednesday night. San Jose’s 5-2 win over the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks allowed for a sweep of the defending champions. The last time an NHL team and it’s AHL affiliate both played their league’s defending champions on the same day was last season, and it also involved the Sharks organization. On March 14, 2010 the WorSharks defeated these same Bears 6-2 at the DCU center while San Jose lost a 4-2 decision in Anaheim to the Ducks.

Alex Stalock is undefeated in games where he makes 40 or more saves, going 4-0 in those contests. His career high for saves is 46 during a 2-0 win in Norfolk late last March.

The win improves Worcester all-time record against the two time defending Calder Cup champion Bears to 5-3-0-1. The loss for Hershey was their fifth in regulation at the Giant Center, a shocking stat considering they only had four regulation losses over their 40 game home schedule last season, going 34-4-0-2.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 32 Alex Stalock (41 saves)
2. WOR – 37 Sean Sullivan (gwg,a)
3. WOR – 21 Benn Ferriero (2a)

Alex Stalock was also the AHL’s #2 star of the night.

The Sharkspage player of the game generally recognizes a player that isn’t one of the top two stars, and/or contributed in a manner that isn’t reflected in the boxscore. But Stalock’s performance was so far above and beyond anything we’ve seen this season he’s the clear cut player of the game.

BOXSCORE
Worcester 2 1 0 – 3
Hershey 0 1 1 – 2

1st Period-1, Worcester, DaSilva 3 (Desjardins, Henderson), 4:02. 2, Worcester, Wingels 5 (Sullivan, Ferriero), 5:45. Penalties-Mashinter Wor (fighting), 2:08; Oreskovic Her (fighting), 2:08; Trevelyan Wor (slashing), 19:17.

2nd Period-3, Hershey, Perreault 5 (Miskovic), 11:43. 4, Worcester, Sullivan 6 (Cheechoo, Ferriero), 19:09. Penalties-Trevelyan Wor (tripping), 8:01; Willsie Her (goaltender interference), 8:42; Cheechoo Wor (elbowing), 16:56; Schaus Wor (slashing), 20:00.

3rd Period-5, Hershey, Beagle 3 (Souray, Kane), 1:13 (PP). Penalties-Zalewski Wor (hooking), 4:09; Irwin Wor (delay of game), 8:02; served by Mashinter Wor (bench minor – too many men), 12:18; Greentree Her (slashing), 17:23; Greentree Her (goaltender interference), 19:42.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 10-7-4-21. Hershey 13-15-15-43.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 0/3; Hershey 1/7.
Goalies-Worcester, Stalock 8-6-1 (43 shots-41 saves). Hershey, Sabourin 3-7-0 (21 shots-18 saves).
A-9,506
Referee-Jamie Koharski (84). Linesmen-Chris Allman (11), Bob Goodman (90).

The Hockey News/XM Home Ice 204 Podcast: San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson, NHL entry draft, lockout

[audio:http://rstorage.filemobile.com/storage/3500899/31.mp3]

On the November 12th edition of The Hockey News Radio Show with Adam Proteau and Jim ‘Boomer’ Gordon on XM Satellite Radio Home Ice Channel 204: Boomer and Adam return for THN Radio – and in the first segment, San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson joins the show to discuss his team’s start to the season, blindside hits and hits from behind, and the present and future of San Jose’s goaltending. In the second block, THN Writer/Editor Ryan Kennedy speaks to the guys about top prospects for the upcoming NHL entry draft, the Ontario League’s dominance of past entry drafts, and THN’s special “Fully Loaded” hockey lifestyle magazine. In the final segment, the Ask Adam mailbag answers questions on NHL diversity, the possibility of another lockout, and when it becomes OK to stop being a hardcore fan of a consistently terrible team.

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.

Crazed Rats, WorSharks Devour Falcons, 4-3

WORCESTER SHARKS F #47 KEVIN HENDERSON CELEBRATES GOAL - DARRYL HUNT

#28 JAY LEACH, #22 ANDREW DESJARDINS IN FRONT OF NET - DARRYL HUNT

The Worcester Sharks got a goal from each member of the Crazed Rats line and a fourth tally from Sean Sullivan to defeat the Springfield Falcons 4-3 in a Sunday matinee at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of 3,185 fans.

With the WorSharks having huge problems scoring goals as of late the last thing Worcester wants to have happen was to fall behind to the new look Falcons, but that’s exactly what they did at 15:20 of the first when Springfield winger Matt Calvert fired a shot on WorSharks netminder Alex Stalock. The rebound of the pad save bounced right on to the stick of Tomas Kubalik, who was standing all alone at the far post. Kubalik had all 24 square feet to shoot at and didn’t miss putting Worcester down 1-0.

Just 35 seconds later Benn Ferriero was called for a very borderline hooking minor, and Worcester’s penalty killer took to the ice to try and keep the score even. Kevin Henderson did one better by grabbing his first goal of the season, an unassisted shorthanded tally, to get the WorSharks back to even. After some miscommunication by Springfield deep in the Worcester zone Henderson picked up the loose puck and skated up the left wing side. With his angle to the net cut off he wheeled the net, firing a bad angle shot over the left shoulder of Falcons goaltender Gustaf Wesslau and just inside the far post at 16:58.

Springfield would grab the momentum back under a minute later on the same power play when David Savard’s blast from the right point hot the far post behind Stalock and bounded right on the tape of Steven Goertzen. The winger wasted no time firing the puck back on net, but amazingly Stalock was able to regain his balance and dive across to catch the shot before it hit the twine. Unfortunately for Worcester, Stalock caught it over the goal line and referee Chris Brown correctly called the goal good despite the red light not going on to make it 2-1 Falcons at 17:53. It was one of the few things Brown got right all game.

A bad turnover by Worcester got Springfield’s lead up to two just 23 seconds into the second period. With the Falcons forechecking deep in the Worcester zone Steven Zalewski came up with the loose puck and fired an inexplicably hard pass to Justin Braun at the top of the crease. Braun could not handle the hard pass and the puck went into his skates and then off his stick as he tried to control the puck. Nick Tarnasky swooped in and picked up the loose puck and deposited it past Stalock, who appeared to not know where the puck was until the very last second.

Sullivan would get Worcester within one with his second goal in as many games when his 55 foot slapshot found its way past a screened Wesslau and into the far top corner at 3:05 of the second. Andrew Desjardins, who was the player screening Wesslau, and Brandon Mashinter got the assists on the play.

The Falcons went into a defensive shell in the third period trying to protect their one goal lead, a tactic that on paper looked good with Worcester having so many issues putting the puck into the net as of late. But if you take enough shots eventually someone will find the back of the net, and the WorSharks kept playing hard and got several good scoring chances. It was Dan DaSilva being very opportunistic that found the back of the net at 8:47. Desjardins picked up a loose puck along the right wing half boards and skated toward open ice, which was toward the point occupied by Nick Schaus. The rookie defenseman saw the winger headed in his direction and instead of moving along the blue line chose to switch places with Desjardins, skating deeper into the Falcons zone. Desjardins hit Schaus with a nice pass, and Schaus fired a hard shot into traffic. Wesslau made the save but couldn’t control the rebound, and DaSilva was right there to gather the puck out of the crowd and switched to his backhand to tie the game 3-3.

With his two Crazed Rats line mates putting the puck in the net it was only fair that Desjardins would get a chance, and after a great defensive play by Nick Petrecki he would get his chance. With Springfield breaking through the neutral zone Petrecki was able to seal off the onrushing Falcon forward along the boards and poke the puck ahead to DaSilva, who broke into the Springfield zone. DaSilva fed the puck to his left over to Desjardins, and the center ripped a booming shot that deflected off defenseman Grant Clitsome’s stick and over the blocker of Wesslau for the game winner at 14:03.

Ferriero just missed grabbing an insurance goal when his blast rang off the iron to the left of Wesslau with about 80 seconds left in the contest, but luckily for Worcester that miss didn’t come back to haunt them.

GAME NOTES
Except for Stalock getting the start the WorSharks went with the same line-up as Saturday. Worcester also went with their teal 5th anniversary jerseys.

There were just two penalties called by referee Chris Brown in the game, and neither was even close to a good call. Benn Ferriero’s hooking minor was a very borderline call, and the boarding minor to Andrew Desjardins was one of the worst seen in these parts in a long while as the player he checked never actually hit the boards. Add to that several non calls and many missed high sticks and hand passes and you get a pretty poor night for the referee.

Unlike the last few seasons where Springfield was a perennial cellar dweller as the AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers, this season they are affiliated with the Columbus Blue Jackets and have a much better team. The one bad thing is they’ve replaced their very nice looking jerseys with ones that more closely resemble the red, white, and blue color scheme of Columbus.

Prior to the start of the game the WorSharks held a moment of silence for Michael T. Ellsessar, a Sutton, Massachusetts teen who passed away while playing in a junior varsity football game last week. He was also a varsity member of the Northbridge Rams hockey team and a former player for the MidState Junior Sharks.

After the three in three weekend Worcester will have tomorrow off and will practice Tuesday morning. After practice the team will head to Hershey, Pennsylvania for the Wednesday night game against the defending Calder Cup champion Bears.

The three stars of the game were
1. WOR – 22 Andrew Desjardins (g,2a,+4)
2. WOR – 47 Kevin Henderson (shg, +3)
3. SPR – 18 Tomas Kubalik (g)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Dan DaSilva.

Even Strength Lines
Cheechoo/Ferriero/Wingles
Mashinter/Zalewski/Trevelyan
Henderson/Desjardins/DaSilva
McLaren/Quirk/Marcou

Moore/Schaus
Leach/Braun
Petrecki/Sullivan

Penalty Kill Lines
Desjardins(Ferriero)/Henderson
Quirk/Wingles

Moore/Schaus
Leach/Braun

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

1st Period-1, Springfield, Kubalik 6 (Guite, Calvert), 15:20. 2, Worcester, Henderson 1   16:58 (SH). 3, Springfield, Goertzen 2 (Holden, Savard), 17:53 (PP). Penalties-Ferriero Wor (hooking), 15:55.

2nd Period-4, Springfield, Tarnasky 1   0:23. 5, Worcester, Sullivan 5 (Mashinter, Desjardins), 3:05. Penalties-Desjardins Wor (boarding), 18:04.

3rd Period-6, Worcester, DaSilva 2 (Schaus, Desjardins), 8:47. 7, Worcester, Desjardins 3 (DaSilva, Petrecki), 14:03. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Springfield 12-7-8-27. Worcester 10-11-9-30.
Power Play Opportunities-Springfield 1/2; Worcester 0/0.
Goalies-Springfield, Wesslau 2-2-0 (30 shots-26 saves). Worcester, Stalock 7-6-1 (27 shots-24 saves).
A-3,185
Referee-Chris Brown (86). Linesmen-Brian MacDonald (72), Todd Whittemore (70).

A photo gallery from the game is available here.

Rick Nash hat trick, tight defensive game helps Columbus Blue Jackets shutout Sharks 3-0

COLUMBUS RW #61 RICK NASH SCORED HAT TRICK VS SAN JOSE

#61 NASH CARRIED PUCK AROUND #22 BOYLE ON GOAL IN 2ND PERIOD

SHARKS CAPTAIN #19 JOE THORNTON TIPS SHOT BETWEEN LEGS IN 2ND

#17 MITCHELL, #97 KLESLA DIVE INTO #32 MATHIEU GARON

The San Jose Sharks were looking for a rebound game after two disheartening losses on the road, instead they ran into the buzzsaw that is the Columbus Blue Jackets. After knocking the St. Louis Blues off a 7-game winning streak, becoming the first road team to win at the Staples Center in 9 tries this season and snapping the Anaheim Ducks 5-game home winning streak, the Blue Jackets also ended the San Jose Sharks 5-game point streak at home with a 3-0 shutout win.

It was the first Columbus win in San Jose since 2004, and the first win in regulation at HP Pavilion in the franchise’s 10 year history. Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash scored his fifth career hat trick, and goaltender Mathieu Garon stopped all 35 shots he faced to vault Columbus into 5th place in the Western Conference. “I can’t remember ever leaving here happy,” Nash told the media. “We’re usually in a hurry to get out of here. We finally cracked them here.”

The Blue Jackets are a different team than the one that struggled to a 22-27-9 record last season and ended the coaching tenure of Ken Hitchcock. This year under 2009 AHL coach of the year Scott Arniel, the Blue Jackets are also a different team than the one that faced off against the San Jose Sharks to open the 2010-11 season in Sweden. With a veteran defense, an organized backcheck and solid goaltending, the BJ’s are capable of locking down a 1 or 2 goal lead. Averaging 4.2 goals a game over their last 5 contests, Columbus is also getting enough balanced offense to power past many of the top teams in the Western Conference.

As good as the opponents were, the home team struggled to gain any type of momentum or rhythm early in the game Saturday night. As the first major thunder/lightning storm of the season rolled into San Jose an hour before the drop of the puck, the play on the ice was disjointed, sloppy and uninspiring. “(There was) no growth tonight, none at all,” San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said after the game. “I don’t think that I have seen our team mishandle that many good passes, passes on the tape, break outs of the offensive zone, 3- on-2’s, 4-on-2 rushes… that is very disturbing.”

San Jose Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle agreed. “I think it was one of those games that as a player you don’t want to go through. It was one of those nights we were off from the outset, slow out of our own end, the puck is bouncing the wrong way, guys were falling down, passes were off,” Boyle said. “It was ugly.”

There were bodies falling and pucks hopping off sticks with regularity, but the Sharks compounded the problem with finesse plays on the perimeter. After Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash scored a power play goal 3:31 into the first period, Columbus established a strong physical presence in front of their own net. It was a physical presence that was difficult for the Sharks to crack.

That battle for position actually began earlier than that with defenseman Jan Hejda and Jamal Mayers fighting for a loose puck behind the Columbus net. Reaching around the defenseman, Hejda pinned Jamal’s arm and the Sharks forward responded with a hook that was called for the first penalty of the game. After Marleau spectacularly lost an edge in front of the net on a shorthanded breakaway, Nash answered on the other side of the ice with his 10th goal of the season (PP). Rick Nash took a long cross-ice feed across the slot, and snapped a shot from the left side that pinballed off Dan Boyle’s skate by Antero Niittymaki.

From that point on the Sharks would press, but they would run into a solid wall in the offensive zone. Time with the puck on the stick was minimal, and without establishing body or stick position the Sharks had trouble generating second and third chances on scoring opportunities. The Blue Jackets have a very underrated defense that includes big bodies Mike Commodore (6-foot-4, 233-pounds), who may or may not have seen fans waving money at him in the corner mocking his favorite photo, the inaugural Columbus first round draft pick (4th overall, 2000) 6-foot-3, 221-pound Rostislav Klesla, 6-foot-4, 237-pound Jan Hejda, veteran Russian blueliner Fedor Tyutin (6-foot-2, 214 pounds), as well as Marc Methot (6-foot-3, 222-pounds) and Anton Stralman.

Given the stiff defense and the nearly double blocked shots against, the Sharks had two options. They could drive the net hard and throw the kitchen sink at Mathieu Garon, or they could try to lock it down with a strong team defense and capitalize on a mistake or a power play to win the game. They did neither. “We were a very stubborn team for 2 periods, they back checked like crazy,” San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan told reporters after the game. “We were prepared to play an easy game, fancy at the blueline. By the time the third period came along and we figured it out, it was too late.”

In the first period, Pavelski and Clowe were blocked up high entering the zone, then angled off the play down low. Driving the net, Dany Heatley opted to pass instead of shoot and Thornton’s stick was broken up by Derek MacKenzie. When Thornton drove the net on a subsequent shift, he dropped a pass to Marleau and Columbus was able to break out of the zone. Marleau was in on the action late in the first as well, trying a no look pass to Heatley that was blocked at the front of the crease.

The best scoring chances for San Jose in the first period came from three of their youngest players: Devin Setoguchi, Logan Couture and Jason Demers. On the fourth line with Mayers and Nichol for the first time this season, Setoguchi posted up in front of the goal and deflected a slapshot just wide of the net. Couture created his chance slicing in from a hard angle and trying to stuff a shot short side. Defenseman Jason Demers created a turnover with the Blue Jackets breaking up ice. Alone on goal, he fired a high shot before being football checked by Fedor Tyutin. Goaltender Antero Niittymaki kept the game within reach with an excellent reaction save on a Brassard-Nash two-on-one, and on another point blank shot by Nikita Filatov.

Problems with officiating has unfortunately been a recurring theme on this blog of late, but referees Gord Dwyer and Ian Walsh may have called the best San Jose game of the season to date. The tenor of the play was set early, both were going to let the players play. A pair of Sharks tried to draw 3 calls with explosive falls to the ice, but the refs let them play. When Antero Niittymaki lost an edge at the side of the net and Rick Nash buried a wraparound for his second goal of the game, the play went to video review. The shot was in and out of the net before many players had time to react, but the referees got the call right. The only problem was the audio cut out on their explanation, leaving the sellout crowd of 17,562 fans at HP Pavilion to wonder what happened until they pointed to center ice. It was a playoff type game called by the officials, and San Jose did not adapt in time.

The bulk of the second period was bereft of a lot of quality scoring chances, but the physical play was overflowing. Defenseman Mike Commodore was credited for two hits on the same shift, leveling McGinn behind the net and then crunching McCarthy along the half wall. Jamie McGinn, on a makeshift line with Heatley and Mitchell, lowered the boom on defenseman Marc Methot as he played the puck behind the net. 5-on-5, Devin Segtoguchi again created the best scoring chances in the second period as he was moved around the lineup to spark other forward combinations. He got a stick on a pair of point shots for deflection opportunities, before being hammered by Rostislav Klesla. Say this for the Blue Jackets, they get their money’s worth out of legal checks.

Derek Brassard took a hooking call 18:49 into the second period. Historically the Blue Jackets are a team that can capitalize on a mistake for a goal. San Jose against Columbus is a team that can capitalize on a mistake, and ride the momentum for 2 or 3 goals. The top power play unit jumped on the man advantage opportunity at the end of the second period. Garon swallowed up shots in tight from Thornton and Heatley. Heatley missed a centering pass from behind the net, but the puck went to Joe Pavelski who tee’d up a point shot. Save Garon. A point shot by Boyle was blocked by Garon. Former Anaheim nemisis Sammy Pahlsson saw his stick shatter, but Marleau could not find an opening with a shot from the right faceoff circle. It was the turning point of the game, and Garon locked it down.

The Sharks battled back in the third period, but it was an uphill struggle. After Garon allowed a rebound to the far side, Heatley had an open net in front of him before R.J. Umberger chopped the stick blade from his shaft. Umberger was given 2 minutes for slashing, but a Joe Pavelski tripping call 33 seconds later negated the man advantage. Room to maneuver in the offensive and neutral zones was tight. Mitchell was planted into the ice by enforcer Jared Boll trying to set up for a shot. Clowe knocked Jared down on the same shift, but later in the third he dropped the gloves with Boll for his 5th fight of the season. Clowe played the role of Manny Pacquiao to Boll’s Antonio Margarito, battering him with hammerfists and uppercuts.

Devin Setoguchi was the offensive player of the game in the first two periods, in the third he drew a tripping penalty on Klesla then deflected a Clowe shot off the crossbar on the PP. San Jose started driving the net hard with regularity at the 50 minute mark, something that needed to happen at the 0 minute mark. The Blue Jackets collapsed down around Mayers-Heatley and Thornton-Setoguchi to smother San Jose scoring chances in front of the net. The Sharks pulled Antero Niittymaki at 18:02, but Boyle and Setoguchi could not find range from shots in the slot. Challenged on the point by Umberger, Boyle turned the puck over to Rick Nash and the Columbus captain made the Sharks pay with an empty net goal. It was the 5th hat trick of his career, and it cemented the Blue Jackets first win in San Jose in 6 years (first ever regulation win at HP Pavilion). Fans in San Jose threw a grand total of 2 hats on the ice, one was a Blackhawks hat.

Mathieu Garon finished with 35 saves on 35 shots against for his 3rd shutout of the season. With a 5-1 record, Garon leads the NHL with a 1.08GAA and a .960SV% in 7 games played. Garon was a player who had an excellent stint in Los Angeles, before moving to backup roles in Edmonton, Pittsburgh and then Columbus. Garon was a goaltender who could have accelerated the Kings renaissance by a season or two, and with Quick and Bernier in the fold left them another assest to deal. Failing to lock him up to a longer term deal was a mistake, although the Kings currently have significant cap space left to work with.

San Jose Sharks netminder Antero Niittymaki stopped 24 of 26 shots he faced. The Sharks power play finished 0-5 for the third straight game, and is on a stretch of 17 straight scoreless opportunities. The disjointed San Jose play culminated in 3 straight icings in the third period, followed by an offsides. The Blue Jackets 3-0 win was the first opponent shutout at HP Pavilion since October 2009, when the Phoenix Coyotes and Ilya Bryzgalov earned a 1-0 shootout victory. Defenseman Niclas Wallin returned to the lineup after missing 2 games, Jason Demers left the ice with an apparent hand injury in the second period and did not return, and Douglas Murray was scratched for the 4th consecutive game with a thumb injury. Ethan Moreau and Kristian “Juice” Huselius were out for Columbus.

A photo gallery from the event is available here. Youtube video highlights from the game are available here.

[Update] San Jose Sharks blanked at home by Columbus Blue Jackets – San Jose Mercury News.

[Update2] Game No. 18 – Columbus Post-Dispatch Puck Rakers blog.

Goaltender Mathieu Garon deserves as much praise as the Blue Jackets’ captain for the victory. Garon, after a 15=day break between action, had 35 saves for his third shutout of the season and 19th of his career. He came up especially huge late in the second period with the Sharks on the power play, when he made five saves in a 33-second span to preserve a 2-0 lead.

“I think we’re sending a message right now that we’re for real,” Garon said. “We played so well on this whole trip, and again today, very good. When we play that way, we’re going to be one of the top teams, for sure.”

[Update3] Jackets on a roll – Michael Arace for the Columbus Post-Dispatch.

I have been in the Shark Tank when the Jackets have been beaten 10-2 and 6-0. I have been there in San Jose when a 4-1 loss seemed tame for the Jackets. The place is like the Bates Motel. The Jackets check in and they get killed.

Bonus points to Arace for not going with the cliche Hotel California reference, one I could not resist here and here. Sweeping three strong home teams in California should send a message to the rest of the NHL, this team is for real.

Hutton, WorSharks Earn Point In 2-1 Shootout Loss in Portland

The Worcester Sharks offensive woes continued Saturday night against the Portland Pirates with their second single goal game in a row, but this time that lone goal was good enough to take a point after dropping a 2-1 shootout contest in Portland, Maine in front of 4,505 fans.

Despite controlling play in the first period with two power play chances and outshooting the Pirates 9-2, the offensively challenged WorSharks were unable to light the lamp. Steven Zalewski and Brandon Mashinter would both get pucks past Pirates netminder David Leggio on consecutive shots, but as is often the case when teams can’t find the net both chances rang off the iron. Instead Worcester would find themselves the team giving up the first goal on Portland’s first power play chance of the game in the second period. With Cory Quirk in the penalty box for his first of two minors of the game Pirates rookie defenseman Alex Biega would grab his first professional goal when his wrist shot from the left face-off circle beat WorSharks goaltender Carter Hutton. Hutton had a chance on the shot, but the puck glanced off his glove and caromed into the net at 5:49.

Portland would have a golden chance to add to the single goal lead with Quirk sitting in the box again when Nick Schaus joined his teammate in the sin bin giving the Pirates 1:31 of two man advantage. The WorSharks, who have one of the better penalty killing units in the AHL, would survive the penalties unscathed. As is often the case down two men they did need a little luck, and they got some after frequent WorSharks killer Mark Mancari missed a great chance when he whiffed with a wide open net in front of him.

The game would stay 1-0 through the second period and much of the third when Worcester showed that they do have some firepower when needed. With the first line on the ice and battling behind the net the puck would end up on the stick of Jonathan Cheechoo in the right corner. The veteran of over 500 NHL games held the puck until the defense committed to him, and then fired a pass to Sean Sullivan in the slot. Sullivan, who was calling for the puck as soon as he was heading to the slot, blasted the pass by Leggio at 13:26 to knot the game 1-1. Benn Ferriero had the second assist on the goal.

The game would head to overtime where Worcester held a 5-2 shot advantage, but the best scoring chance came in the waining seconds of the extra stanza on Pirates center Travis Turnbull’s bid, but Hutton came up huge to keep the game going into the shootout. Worcester entered the shootout winless in their two previous chances, and Portland was 3-0 in their opportunities. In the end Worcester would still be winless and Portland still undefeated when Cheechoo, Ferriero, Tommy Wingles, and Mashinter would all fail to score for the WorSharks, while Luke Adam and Corey Tropp connected for the Pirates. There was some discussion if Tropp’s shot, which appeared to ring off the post, went past the gaol line or not, but in the long run all that mattered was Worcester couldn’t put the puck in the net and Portland did at least once.

GAME NOTES
With the arrival of Frazer McLaren the WorSharks finally had 12 healthy forwards available, so head coach Roy Sommer went with the normal six defensemen in the contest. That may not last long as McLaren is expected to be recalled back to San Jose after Sunday’s matinee against Springfield. Matt Irwin and Joe Loprieno were the healthy scratches for Worcester, with Tony Lucia and Cam MacIntyre still on the injured list. Alex Stalock was the back-up netminder.

The three stars of the game were
1. POR – 33 David Leggio (29 saves)
2. POR – 4 Alex Biega (g)
3. POR – 14 Corey Tropp (shootout goal)

A 2-1 contest where your team is outplayed for huge stretches of the contest and no visiting player makes it as a star of the game? Come on Pirates, you used to be better than that at naming stars.

The Sharkspage player of the game is Sean Sullivan.

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

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Whitmore Por (holding), 13:13; Adam Por (tripping), 16:29.

2nd Period-1, Portland, Biega 1 (Byron, Parrish), 5:49 (PP). Penalties-Quirk Wor (holding), 4:26; Roloff Por (high-sticking), 9:20; Quirk Wor (interference), 12:45; Schaus Wor (tripping), 13:06.

3rd Period-2, Worcester, Sullivan 4 (Ferriero, Cheechoo), 13:26. Penalties-Henderson Wor (hooking), 1:04.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties

Shootout – Worcester 0 (Cheechoo NG, Ferriero NG, Wingels NG, Mashinter NG), Portland 2 (Adam G, Tropp G, Whitmore NG).
Shots on Goal-Worcester 9-8-8-5-0-30. Portland 2-10-6-2-1-21.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 0/3; Portland 1/4.
Goalies-Worcester, Hutton 1-0-2 (20 shots-19 saves). Portland, Leggio 8-1-0 (30 shots-29 saves).
A-4,505
Referee-Tim Mayer (19). Linesmen-Joe Ross (92), Landon Bathe (80).

WorSharks Lose In Manchester, 3-1

The Worcester Sharks got another great goaltender performance from Alex Stalock but could only convert one one of their 28 shots in dropping a 3-1 Friday night contest to the Manchester Monarchs at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire.

The game in Manchester began a three in three weekend for the fourth place WorSharks, with each game being played against the teams in front of them in the Atlantic Division. After a poor start the defense is starting to show it can compete with any team in the AHL, but the offense still hasn’t found its legs averaging just 2.67 goals per contest after Friday night’s lone tally. And if something isn’t done about that soon the WorSharks will find themselves out of playoff contention before too long.

Manchester would grab the first goal of the game after defenseman Viatcheslav Voynov took a Brandon Kozun feed and sent a pass to Brayden Schenn in the corner to the left of Stalock. With the WorSharks trapped in their own zone and their penalty kill beginning to break down defensively Voynov was able to skate right into the slot and Schenn, an under-20 junior hockey eligible center playing with the Monarchs on an injury rehab assignment from Los Angeles, showed why he’s such a highly rated prospect by firing a pass right back at Voynov. Stalock had no chance on the one timer blast at 6:43.

The WorSharks would knot the game 1-1 at 10:06 while skating with a two man advantage. With Manchester’s Justin Azevedo already in the box for hooking and Monarch’s captain Marc-Andre Cliche joining him twenty seconds later for a high sticking minor Worcester would enjoy a long five on three power play. Despite their offensive woes at even strength the WorSharks power play is one of the best in the AHL, and that success would continue as Benn Ferriero grabbed his 10th on the season after taking a huge blast on net from the left wing face-off circle. Worcester passed the puck around the top of the zone looking for a good opening, and Ferriero found one after accepting a pass from Justin Braun. Ferriero’s blast looked to deflected off a Manchester player as it went on net, flying in over the blocker of Monarchs netminder Jeff Zatkoff. Steven Zalewski had the second assist on the goal.

From the point on for most of the game the play was tilted toward the Worcester zone despite the shots being relatively even. Kozun would add a goal to his first period assist at 3:26 of the second period after crashing the net and poking a rebound home just past Stalock. Cliche would get the back breaker at 13:42 of the third after a wild scramble at the Worcester net as he stole the puck right off forward T.J. Trevelyan’s stick in the slot. After Cliche’s tally Stalock showed his frustrations by swinging his goal stick like an axe at the Worcester net. As one would expect, the net won that encounter. And unless Worcester can find some offense, they won’t be winning many encounters of their own either.

GAME NOTES
With Carter Hutton ready to play goaltender Riley Gill was released from his PTO and returned to the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL. With Mike Moore being recalled earlier in the week the WorSharks had no healthy scratches and went with seven defenseman. That should change in Portland Saturday night as Moore and forward Frazer McLaren have been assigned to the team. McLaren doesn’t need to clear waivers to go to the AHL, and Moore has already cleared once and has 8 more NHL games–or 27 or so days on the NHL roster–before he has to clear again. Cam MacIntyre and Tony Lucia both remain on Worcester’s injured list.

With Jonathan Cheechoo wearing #14 this season, Frazer McLaren will switch to #10. It’s the third different number McLaren has worn in Worcester. He started with #24 at the end of the 2007-08 campaign after finishing his junior hockey season with the Moose Jaw Warriors, and switched to #14 for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. He’s the first WorSharks player to wear three different numbers for the team.

The three stars of the game were
1. MCH – 26 Brandon Kozun (g,a)
2. MCH – 36 Jeff Zatkoff (27 saves)
3. MCH – 22 Marc-Andre Cliche (g)

The Sharkspage player of the game was Benn Ferriero.

BOXSCORE
Worcester 1 0 0 – 1
Manchester 1 1 1 – 3

1st Period-1, Manchester, Voynov 4 (Schenn, Kozun), 6:43 (PP). 2, Worcester, Ferriero 10 (Braun, Zalewski), 10:06 (PP). Penalties-Trevelyan Wor (holding), 5:15; Azevedo Mch (hooking), 8:36; Cliche Mch (high-sticking), 8:56; Petrecki Wor (tripping), 16:08; Loprieno Wor (roughing), 20:00.

2nd Period-3, Manchester, Kozun 6 (Azevedo, Hickey), 3:26. Penalties-Henderson Wor (tripping), 3:52; Mullen Mch (delay of game), 15:59.

3rd Period-4, Manchester, Cliche 1 (Loktionov, Moller), 13:42. Penalties-Nolan Mch (tripping), 1:10; Leach Wor (unsportsmanlike conduct), 8:21; Nolan Mch (unsportsmanlike conduct), 8:21; served by Clune Mch (bench minor – too many men), 19:48.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 11-7-10-28. Manchester 12-9-6-27.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 1/5; Manchester 1/4.
Goalies-Worcester, Stalock 6-6-1 (27 shots-24 saves). Manchester, Zatkoff 7-5-1 (28 shots-27 saves).
A-4,003
Referee-Mark Lemelin (84). Linesmen-Jeremy Lovett (78), Brian MacDonald (72).

Hockey Notes – 11/19

– For the second straight game, the San Jose Sharks dropped a late lead en route to a 5-4 OT loss to the Dallas Stars on Thursday night. After the Stars opened the scoring with 2 goals by Brad Richardson and James Neal, the Sharks stormed forward with 4 unanswered goals and looked like they were in control for the remainder of the third period. Then a bizarre series of events lead to their fourth overtime loss of the season (9-5-4, 0-4 OT, 1-0 SO).

The Sharks were credited with a fifth goal on the ice at 12:09 of the third period when a Marc-Edouard Vlasic point shot was deflected past Kari Lehtonen off the stick of Marleau. The goal would have given the Sharks a 5-2 margin of error with less than 8 minutes remaining. It also would have given Vlasic his first point in 18 games played this season. After a very lengthy video review and referee huddle, Paul Devorski waived off the goal as it was ruled to be deflected in with a high stick.

Dallas kept churning. The top line of Neal-Richards-Eriksson generated the third Dallas goal with 2:35 left in the third period. Brad Richards fired a pass in front of the net that deflected off the leg/shin of James Neal and into the back of the net. There was a Dallas and San Jose broadcast of the game last night, but with multiple angles to use for clarification the referee signaled a good goal and a faceoff at center ice. Neal’s second of the game and seventh of the season brought the Stars to within one at 4-3.

With the Sharks broadcast still discussing the Neal goal, and before they had time to spool up a video replay, the Stars struck again 29 seconds later to tie the game at 4-4. This time the goal light did not go on for Stars center Mike Ribeiro, and referees Paul Devorski and Chris Lee opted for a longer video review. Ribeiro’s shot ricocheted off the netting just inside the post. “We got a good goal,” Devorski enthusiastically offered pointing to center ice.

It would go from bad to worse, or in this case from video review to worse, late in the third period. Marc-Edouard Vlasic took inside position on Dallas captain Brenden Morrow, and Morrow opportunistically caught an “edge” and fell to the ice drawing an interference penalty at 18:18. Partisan Dallas Stars television color analyst Daryl Reaugh noted that Morrow was lucky to receive the “semi-phantom” call on the play. It did not take a Kreskin to predict the Stars would drive the net and try to punch their ticket in regulation. With defenseman Douglas Murray and Niclas Wallin out of the lineup with injuries, the Stars were more able to establish position in front of the net.

Longtime Sharks foil Mike Ribeiro scored what appeared to be the game winner on the ice with 18 seconds left in regulation. But wait, for all intents and purposes, there was a metaphorical flag on the play. Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi stopped a big point shot, but the rebound dropped in front of the crease. Defenseman Mike Moore and Jason Demers tried to contain Dallas captain Brenden Morrow, but Morrow bull rushed his way to shovel the puck on net. While the pile of bodies laid in front of the crease, Ribeiro came in from the slot and poked the puck into the net. The game winning goal was waived off due to the referee’s “intent to blow”.

The Sharks generated two quality scoring chances in overtime, but neither resulted in a shot on goal. The only registered shot came to Joe Pavelski from just inside the blueline. The Stars would take advantage. Brenden Morrow cross checked Dan Boyle from behind to free up the puck behind the Sharks net. With Boyle on the ice, Morrow dug the puck out in front to Ribeiro. Antti Niemi blocked the lower portion of the net, and knocked the puck off his stick as Ribeiro tried to wait it out far side. The wily Dallas center quickly regained control and lifted a shot over a prone Niemi for the game winner. 5-4 Stars, no video review.

“The question is going to be, two nights in a row almost identical high stick disallowed, two goals late in the game,” San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan told CSNCA. “Our forwards ran out of gas a little bit. That happens when you play that many games… I think we have a mature enough group, a strong enough group, that we should have a little more composure down the stretch.”

– Dallas Morning News Stars-Sharks photo gallery from Thursday night.

– There were a number of odd bounces to go along with the video reviews and physical play during the game. James Neal’s goal in the first period bounced awkwardly off the stanchion/glass. While goaltender Antti Niemi moved left to right, the puck instead dribbled to the left side. Alone with the puck in front of an empty net, Neal may have scored the easiest goal of his young 3-year NHL career.

Logan Couture, the NHL’s leading rookie goal scorer, earned his 8th goal of the season after defenseman Karlis Skrastins tried to poke the puck out of the zone in the second period. The puck deflected high off Couture, and was corralled by Ryane Clowe along the boards. After a short Clowe pass to Couture, the rookie Sharks centerman drove the net. His centering pass to Joe Pavelski deflected off defenseman Matt Niskanen to beat Kari Lehtonen.

– A few comments after the game noted that left wing Jamie Benn’s early second period hit on Joe Thornton was a blindside, lateral hit to the head. It happened at a very quick pace, more from behind than lateral, and there was far more controversy on tap for later in the game for the refs to focus on the incident. Devin Setoguchi immediately dropped the gloves with Benn, but it may have been as much for the hit or for a subsequent shot taken at Thornton while he was prone. Setoguchi and Benn were given matching 5-minute fighting majors, Steve Ott was called for a slashing penalty.

Setoguchi vs. Benn was the second of three fights in what was a very physical pacific division contest. Rookie Sharks defenseman Mike Moore leveled Steve Ott with a check in the first period, and Mark Fistric made his way through a crowd to initiate a fight. Fistric and Moore each fell down once, but kept going until the Sharks dman used a cross body throw to torque him to the ice. Fistric and Moore earned matching 5-minute fighting majors. Jamal Mayers fought a grizzled Krys Barch midway through the second period. Third line center Torrey Mitchell also received a 10 minute misconduct in the second period, both teams combined for 68 total penalty minutes.

– The outcome of the Sharks visit to Colorado on Wednesday night was more of the same. After building up a 3-1 lead after two periods, San Jose allowed Chris Stewart, Paul Stastny and Kevin Porter to score three unanswered goals en route to a 4-3 OT win. The Sharks outshot Colorado 28-12 after 40 minutes, and would outshoot them 15-8 in the third, but it was not enough.

An apparent Jamie McGinn goal 5:35 into the third period was waived off after a video review. The 4-1 lead turned into a 3-2 lead when Chris Stewart scored 3:03 later. On a breakaway, Stewart fired a hard wrist shot far side to beat goaltender Antero Niittymaki. The Western Conference’s leading offense ramped up the attack in the third period, and Paul Stastny scored a pretty goal on a hard angle shot far side at 14:48. 2008 Hobey Baker award winner Kevin Porter scored the game winner in overtime at 2:07.

The Sharks dominated play early in each regulation period, but the Colorado Avalanche battled back and dictated play for stretches late. The Sharks outshot Colorado 43-22, but including shots that missed the net and blocked shots, that figure rose to 68-42. Colorado Avalanche defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk scored his first career NHL goal in the first period on the power play. According to CSNCA, that is the 73rd first goal the San Jose Sharks have allowed opponents in franchise history.

San Jose Sharks defenseman Mike Moore scored his first career NHL goal 9:14 into the second period, assisted by Dany Heatley. “It wasn’t the hardest shot I ever took, but it found the back of the net,” Moore said during an intermission interview. “I was pretty excited, but you want to look like you have been there before,” he said when he was asked about playing it cool on the bench after scoring his first goal.

ARTURS IRBE INDUCTED INTO SJ SPORTS HALL OF FAME - PHOTO SJSHOF

Former San Jose Sharks goaltender and current Washington Capitals goaltending coach Arturs Irbe was inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday. The 5-foot-8 Latvian helped the San Jose Sharks earn a pair of startling first round Stanley Cup playoff upsets in the first two seasons played in San Jose, once over top seeded Detroit in 1993-94 and again over the Calgary Flames in 1994-95. His affable personality and popularity helped re-establish hockey in Northern California after the departure of the Oakland Seals.

Inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame earlier this year, Irbe represented the Latvian national team at the 2002 and 2006 Olympics. Prior to that he helped the Soviet Union win World Championships in 1989 and 1990, but he refused to play for the team after Latvia declared independance on May 4th, 1990. Irbe began his 5-year tenure with the San Jose Sharks during their inaugural season in 1991. He would play a then-record 4412 minutes in goal during the 1993-94 regular season, and represent the Bay Area at the NHL Allstar Game. He would earn another ASG nomination with Carolina in 1999, and help lead them to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2002. Irbe finished his 13-year NHL career with a 218-236-79 record playing for San Jose, Dallas, Vancouver and Carolina.

Arturs Irbe’s induction video is available from the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame here. The first San Jose Sharks player represented at the SJSHOF, his bronze plaque will join owner George Gund’s on display at the HP Pavilion concourse 365 days a year.

Irbe SJSHOF photo used with permission.

– Pizarro: Former Shark Arturs Irbe still owns HP Pavilion – San Jose Mercury News.

– Adding to the 30-minute post-NHL Hockey Central highlight show, Versus added the hourlong Hockey Overtime nightly discussion/analysis program this week. After a debut with 31,000 viewers on Monday, the program built up to a 41,000 viewer average according to Steve Lepore of Puck the Media.

SAN JOSE GM DOUG WILSON GUEST AFTER HOURS - HNIC

San Jose Sharks GM/EVP Doug Wilson and power forward Ryane Clowe were guests on Hockey Night in Canada’s After Hours program last Saturday night after playing the Calgary Flames. With hosts Kevin Weekes and Scott Oake, Wilson discussed changes to goaltending equipment, offered a final word on the 2-game suspension to Joe Thornton, and talked about the role of physical play in the modern day NHL in comparison to the “Chuck” Norris Division play of the 70’s and 80’s.

GM Doug Wilson on After Hours:

“I am going to be very protective of our own player. I thought it was more of a collision than a hit, similar to the Willie Mitchell hit on Jonathan Toews, where he came out of the box. I think it was an ill advised pass by the defenseman. As both Joe and David Perron said after the game, what other choice did Joe Thornton have in that situation. It wasn’t premeditated or targeting the head. We don’t want to see players get hurt in this league. I am a supporter of this rule, it is just the clarification process going forward.”

“We lost him that game, and I was comfortable with the officals call on the ice. I made our case in a hearing, they made their decision, and we move forward. In the big picture, we are trying to prevent injuries to players.”

“This is a physical game. Unfortunately injuries are going to be a result of that. I laugh sometimes when people talk about the respect factor for players. When you go back to some of the games I saw in the 70’s in the Norris Division, there were people who did not neccessarily get along and respect each other. The game and the rule package we voted on sped up the game, the neutral zone. We just have to make sure that there is not a type of predatory hit. Hit people, don’t hurt people with the intention of taking advantage of a vunerable player.”

Doug Wilson was also a guest on Hockey Night in Canada radio Thursday (may be restricted to Canada-only listeners).

– Campbell explains supplemental discipline process – NHL.com.

NHL disciplinarian Campbell defends himself against characterizations attributed to him in emails regarding Marc Savard and his son Gregory Campbell, denies they influenced his decision not to suspend Matt Cooke for his hit on Savard, defends his integrity, denies that a panel making supplemental NHL discipline decisions would be feasible, and noted that the current process is as transparent as it could be. He also apologizes for the tone of the recently revealed emails, and defended his criticism of one of the referees targeted in the emails, Dean Warren.

– The San Jose Sharks assigned defenseman Mike Moore and left wing Frazer McLaren to their AHL affiliate in Worcester on Friday. One of ailing defenseman Douglas Murray or Niclas Wallin are expected to return to the lineup Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

– Episode 7 of the San Jose Sharks television/radio broadcaster hockey hotstove features Randy Hahn, Drew Remenda, Jamie Baker and Dan Rusanowsky. Two thumbs up for Baker’s scorer table challenge suggestion, allowing NHL officials to challenge a play with a red flag. Sounds good, as long as they have to throw it at the infringing player.

– Patrick Marleau’s first period goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning broke a 156:59 long goalless streak, the third longest in Sharks history. Logan Couture wasted no time breaking the Sharks road goalless streak on Wednesday. His even strength tally 42 seconds into the game against Colorado snapped a 185:57 drought than included 3-straight road shutout losses.

– The San Jose Sharks/Edmonton Oilers ECHL affiliate Stockton Thunder swept the Bakersfield Condors in the 3-game “Thunder Goes Pink” series earlier this month to raise money for breast cancer awareness. Over 20,000 Northern California hockey fans saw a pair of shutouts by goaltenders Bryan Pitton and Tyson Sexsmith, and a hat trick by Chris D’Alvis in the third game. The Stockton Thunder won ECHL attendance titles in the franchise’s first 4 seasons, and drew over 200,000 fans in the fifth season to finish 3rd.

– Back-to-back NHL hit leader in 2008-09 and 2009-10, Minnesota Wild forward Cal Clutterbuck, was a guest on the Yahoo Puck Daddy podcast earlier this month. Clutterbuck was asked by Greg Wyshynski and Joe Ross who the best hitters in the NHL were. Clutterbuck differentiated between guys that are hard to hit, like Boston defenseman Zdeno Chara and Sharks defenseman Douglas Murray, and guys who hit hard. Guys who hit hard according to Clutterbuck: Dustin Brown, Mike Richards, Patrick Kaleta.

Clutterbuck also left it up to bloggers to come up with a non-existent trophy celebrating the NHL hit leader. There is really only one namesake candidate for the generation that grew up with the internet and blogs, former New Jersey Devils defenseman Scott Stevens. Trophies and awards are too commonplace, the hit leader deserves a commemorative goblet. Clutterbuck currently sits in second place for the 2010-11 hit lead with 71. New York Rangers forward Ryan Callahan leads the league with 75.

– Longtime NHL head coach Patt Burns passed away today at the age of 58. R.I.P.

[Update] Why full team didn’t practice today, medical updates — plus Mike Moore and Frazer McLaren off to Worcester – David Pollak for the Working the Corners blog.

[Update2] Sharks Defenseman Jason Demers blossoming in 2010 – Fear the Fin.

DOH Podcast #124: New York Islanders, Logan Couture, Devin Setoguchi, defensive trade speculation

[audio:http://dudesonhockey.com/podcast/doh_2010_1117.mp3]

Mike Peattie and Doug Santana discuss the mess surrounding the New York Islanders and fired head coach Scott Gordon, wins over Calgary and Los Angeles, the raised level of play of Logan Couture, Devin Setoguchi, speculate on possible trade acquisitions for the blueline, and talk about the latest email scandal surrounding NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell on the 124th 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.