Month: October 2015

Sharks @ Devils 151016

TV: CSN CA
Satellite radio (click for specific station)
Sharks Radio Network

Sharks twitter list
Twitter list of opponent news

Tuesday’s win in a shutout puts Jones 44 seconds from tying franchise record (held by Stalock). Paul Martin skated in his 700th game. And a successful first coach’s challenge from DeBoer kept it a shutout. (Ovechkin did not play as he overslept and missed morning skate, violating team rules.)  Sharks are crediting their improved shot blocking as one reason why they are up 3-0 this season.

Big news before morning skate is that Couture broke his fibula in practice yesterday; returning to SJ for surgery (on Saturday); expected to be out 4-6 weeks.  Goldobin has been recalled, but appears to be replacing Donskoi in the lineup; Smith expected to make his season debut.  Hertl has moved up to be the 2nd line center from morning skate reports; more may be expected of him.

DeBoer is returning to his previous coaching gig; he was fired the day after Christmas last year, but did take the team to the Stanley Cup final in his first season behind their bench.

On the other side of the ice, the Devils, 0-3-0 are still looking for their first win. Schneider missed the last game for the birth of his son, so could have some extra motivation in net. The Devils have yet to have a lead this season, playing from behind. Zajac hoped to return to the lineup against the Sharks after missing some practices, but remains out with nagging injury.  Larsson moves on from former bench boss, ready to face his team.  Tootoo was fined for a dangerous trip in the Devils last game (max CBA amount).

Barracuda @ Heat 151015

Barracuda hit the road after losing their first.  They took the weekend for some team bonding with a camping trip.

From morning skate: Goldobin not on ice (assumed recall due to apparent Couture injury in NHL).  Dell to start.  Helewka to make pro debut.

Barracuda Preview | Barracuda twitter list | Opponent twitter

AHL game summary | Barracuda recap | Gackle Report recap

Was it the weekend of team bounding, more practice, or something else?  The team played much better, were more cohesive and contained the Heat well, while flexing their offensive muscles.  Good first win.

Emanuelsson and Helewka made their season/pro debuts respectively.

Next up: @ Bakersfield Condors on Saturday

Barracuda vs Ice Hogs 151009

(Apologies; didn’t realize this wasn’t posted last week!)

First game for the Barracuda.  At Home.  Season opener.

Rockford is starting their season on the road.  Here in SJ Friday, and in Stockton on Saturday.

Barracuda Preview | Friday Ice Report (preview with Sommer)

(No, it’s not the first AHL regular season game in San Jose.  During the 2004-05 NHL lockout, the Sharks brought their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Barons to HP Pavilion on November 9, 2004; playing AHL Edmonton.)

AHL game summary | Barracuda recap

The Good: Perfect PK. 50% PP.

The Bad: Nerves, bad bounces, poor positioning.

The Ugly: 2-4 loss in first ever game.

The veterans kept the game from getting totally out of control, while the rookies (including McNally, Goldobin, Jevpalovs) and some young players (including Mueller) had some issues of looking for a perfect shot/pass/positioning, getting out of position to avoid a hit, etc.

Sommer does not have a perfect club, so there will be things to work on, including some better 5×5 offense, as both goals were scored on the PP.  (Now, Rockford does have a top goalie with some NHL experience, but you have to be able to win against all comers.)

Team will take a couple of days after Friday’s game to head out for some team bonding while camping.

Emanuelsson and Karlson did not play as they continue to recover.

Sharks @ Capitals 151013

TV: CSN CA
Satellite radio (click for specific station)
Sharks Radio Network

Sharks twitter list
Twitter list of opponent news

And they’re off!  Sharks are on their first cross country trip of the season.  A chance for the team to bond, and the Eastern Conference pundits to see the mettle of this season’s team teal.  The trip starts in Washington, then three games in/near NYC before heading home to host the Kings. Very similar to the five game road trip, that included Boston, last season.

Sharks took care of business in their home opener, with Jones notching a shut out and Marleau with two goals —  the only scoring of the game.

First up: Washington Capitals, last season’s home for Joel Ward.  (View of Ward’s return from the other side. Ward looking for his first point against the Caps.)

“No goalie has as many shutouts in as few career games as Martin Jones, ever.  Eight shutouts in 36 games played.”

Ovechkin is historically an offensive force; 1-1=2 in first game.  So the Sharks will need to ensure he’s covered defensively, AND get goals past Holtby (probable starter), to win this one.  Coach Trotz was not impressed with the team’s play in their season/home opener, even though they won. But there is pressure on the team to win.

Time to prove that Teal is Real.  And should be ranked a better team than the Caps. Caps may have issues on faceoffs after off-season personnel changes.

Sharks morning skate cira 8:30am PT; more will be known about starters and if DeMelo will get his NHL debut scheduled.

Sharks vs Ducks 151010

TV: CSN CA
Satellite radio (click for specific station)
Sharks Radio Network

Sharks twitter list
Twitter list of opponent news

Best summary of the Sharks game #1 against the Kings: One game does not a season make, but it did give a good first impression.  Donskoi made his NHL debut, scored his first goal and was +3 (last Sharks player to be +3 in their debut was Sandis Ozolinsh).  Jones was impressive after that first flubbed save and didn’t let in anything else. (Here‘s a nice description of how the team wants to play.)

Now, a chance to see how the Sharks and Ducks play each other in a game that means something. While the Sharks lost both preseason games, in neither did they have their full lineup.  Last season, the Sharks dominated the Ducks.

Interestingly for the Ducks, Saturday’s game will be their season opener, and their 18th season opener on the road. Silfverberg has been skating with the team (after Torres’ hit) and is expected to be in the lineup.

DeBoer indicated that there are no lineup changes planned for the Sharks home opener (meaning that DeMelo will not make his NHL debut until maybe next week’s road trip).

As usual, the Sharks will have a street party before their home opener, so plan your arrival accordingly.

Milestone: Marc-Edouard Vlasic will become the Sharks leader for games played by a defenseman tonight. He passes Mike Rathje.  Congrats, Pickles.

Sharks game day 151007 @ LA Kings (pregame)

TV: NBCSN
Satellite radio (click for specific station)
Sharks Radio Network

It’s the Season Opener for both teams. Both the Sharks and Kings are coming off disappointing seasons where neither team made the post season.

That resulted in many changes.  For the Sharks, a new head coach, #1 goalie, and a few other players were replaced. For the Kings, due to depth chart, cap and legal issues (1, 2), they lost a few players, traded and signed for others.

Sharks have a desire to contradict the many pundits predicting they won’t make a return to the playoffs. (But the analytics say differently?)

Sharks’ Martin Jones is scheduled to start against his former team.  As a key addition to the Sharks roster, he’ll be a focus of many opponents.  Not the least will be his former team, the Kings. This could be a distraction, so getting through that first meeting is a good thing it’s the first game of the season, but more important is getting the win.

The team has other new faces, including a couple of rookies (DeMelo, Donskoi), and some bubble players, they’ve integrated into the season opening roster as well. (And those across the hall in the AHL Barracuda dressing room will be playing their hardest to try and be “the guy” called up when there’s an injury or someone falters in their NHL play.) Arguably, pressure has never been higher to stay on the NHL roster.

Another outside distraction is the public’s/MSM’s voyeurism into the team as they deal with Torres’ suspension (and loss of his playing abilities).

Plus, the Sharks have their six-year season-opening winning streak on the line.

The puck drops tonight.  Let’s see what the new season brings.

News

Sharks twitter list

Kings twitter list

NHL game stats

Sharks/Barracuda Training Camp, leading up to the Sharks season opener

It’s the last hours (days) of camp.

On Monday, the Sharks announced they had reassigned the nine players they had called up from the AHL Barracuda for the weekend, and assigned three players (Goldobin, Karlsson, Mueller) to the AHL Barracuda.  This leaves the team with 23 players on the roster (about $1.99M under the cap) which could be the season opening roster.

The Sharks also announced Joe Pavelski as the 12th captain in team history (9th “full time” captain), with Logan Couture and Joe Thornton as the assistant captains.

On the Barracuda side, 10 were released/assigned from camp (7 to ECHL Allen, including G Joel Rumpel and newly signed to two-way AHL deal Dan Federico; 3 to other ECHL teams).  That leaves Doremus, Helewka, and Timmins without contracts (announced).

Raffi Torres had his hearing Monday with the NHL Department of Player Safety for his Match Penalty from Saturday’s game in Anaheim over the hit of Silfverberg. (He waived an in-person hearing.) He was given a 41-game suspension (half a season). No word on if Torres or the Sharks will appeal the suspension or let it stand.

(How it impacts the Sharks roster/cap situation during a suspension…. Torres’ contract would count against the Sharks cap, with the funds going to the Player emergency fund.  Torres would take up one of the 23 NHL roster spots.  Now, if there was a situation where less than 18 skaters were healthy/able to play, the Sharks could do an emergency recall, exceeding the roster count for the duration of the emergency, if they remained under the salary cap.  So being able to only have 22 “active” players on the roster may not be as big a hardship as it might appear at first glance.)

(It is left to the reader of this blog to find reaction articles on Torres’ suspension.  While I do not condone his actions, neither will I further vilify him by sharing those articles.)

News of the half week

SJ Sharks

SJ Mercury News

Gackle Report

SF Chronicle

CSN Sharks

Puck Daddy

Barracuda game day – preseason @ Condors 151002

The team heads on the road for their first road preseason game.  (And last preseason game.)

Nine players were called up to the NHL, so Rumpel will be starting, backed up by Dell.  Lots of try out players will have their last opportunity to get a contract.

First period: Condors score two.

Second period: Parker gets the Barracuda get on the board, but the Condors score two more.  4-1.

Third period: DiPaolo notched the only score of the period.  Barracuda 2-4 Condors final score.

Rumpel made 26 saves on 30 shots.  Barracuda made 32 shots.

Barracuda recap
Crane, Emanuelsson and Jevpalovs out due to injury.

Sharks Training Camp day 16 (151003) @ Ducks

TV: none
Satellite radio (click for specific station)
Sharks Radio Network

Stalock scheduled to start.  The 8 skater call ups may get some time in the lineup today, for one last chance to be seen by the NHL brass (for future in-season call ups).

Recap:

First period featured a (reputation?) call of Match Penalty to Torres for head contact (5 min major PK) overlapped by major boarding call to Haley (another 5 min major PK).  Sharks killed both off.  Period ended 0-0.

In the second, Demelo scored first on the PP, but the Ducks answered with two. The second was an excellent screen of Stalock.  2-1 Ducks after 2.

In the third, the Ducks showed they pretty much had their season starting roster vs a lot of AHL players, scoring 3.  Final score 5-1.

Update: Raffi Torres suspended pending hearing with NHL Player Safety department. In person hearing waived (so, they’ll teleconference); being held on Monday.

News

Sharks twitter list

Ducks twitter list

NHL game stats

Sharks Training Camp day 15 (151002) @ Coyotes

TV: none
Satellite radio (click for specific station)
Sharks Radio Network

Penultimate preseason game.  DeBoer has announced that Jones will start this game and Stalock against the Ducks.  Sharks have recalled 9 players from AHL (for the weekend?). Melker Karlsson is skating, but won’t be traveling with the team to this weekend’s preseason games (perhaps he’ll start the season on the IR?).

Looks like Smith will make his preseason debut for the Coyotes.

Jones was perfect in regulation.  Pavelski scored two, and Hertl notched the other.

But in the mandatory OT, Jones gave one up.  Still pretty good preseason for Jones.

News

Sharks twitter list

Twitter list of Coyotes news

NHL preview, stats and stuff