San Jose Sharks

The Sharks in the first period. Wow... just... wow. Have you ever seen a more dominant performance in a period? Well, um, until the Kings in the third. Yes, the Sharks almost let this one get away from them despite dominating the Kings in every fashion through forty minutes en route to a 15-3 advantage on the shot clock in the first and a 21-9 advantage through two. However, although that crazy advantage led to a two goal lead headed into the third period, the Sharks almost lost control of this one late. That's not to say that the Sharks weren't the better team tonight. San Jose, led by Joe Thornton, was an absolutely dominant squad for the majority of the evening. The score ended up 2-1, but it could have been 3, 4, 5, or 10 goals for the Sharks if not for the heroics of Jonathan Quick. He's a bit of a baby, especially when he's losing, but he's a great player who's led LA in this series. As I said in the pre game, this series could be over right now if Quick was less than superhuman in games one and two. The Sharks got their first goal of the night after Joe Thornton did what he often did this evening, musclling his way through Kings players to win possession of the puck behind the net. After getting his initial pass to Brent Burns blocked by a defenseman's skate, Thornton regained control of the puck and this time sliced through defenders with a deft pass that met the tape of Burns' stick shortly before it found a home behind Quick. With fifteen shots in the period (nine of them chances, by Neutral's count), there were plenty of opportunities to the Sharks to increase the lead in the first. The most notable was a Tommy Wingels wrister that beat Quick high to the glove slide but slapped the post and dropped just outside of the goal line. San Jose's second period wasn't as dominant as their first on the shot clock, but by my assertion, they were just as difficult to contain. On the Sharks third power play of the game, Dan Boyle popped a shot from the blue line and with Patrick Marleau at the net beside him, Logan Couture got his fifth power play goal of these playoffs. Oh, but then the third period. The Kings flipped the script on the Sharks, and ended up outshooting San Jose 14-2 in the final frame. They would get a goal from Mike Richards on the power play with more than half a period left to play, but the Sharks would weather the storm and survive, tying the series at two games apiece. The Sharks look absolutely fantastic, and fortunately for them, they were able to overcome some unfortunate losses in the first two games of the series. You have to think that the feeling in the room was if the team kept playing like they had, the wins would come eventually. They have, and you can only hope that the strong play and strong results continue. FTF 3 Stars 1st Star: Joe Roarton 2nd Star: Jonathan Quick 3rd Star: Antti Niemi It's a best of three series now, and if the Sharks can steal the next one in LA (which has to happen eventually the way they've played there), a potentially series clinching game in San Jose where the Sharks have been dominant would be fantastic.

Sharks hang on to even series with Kings Dominant through two periods, the Sharks held on for dear life in the third to beat the Kings 2-1 and even their best-of-seven playoff series at two wins apiece. Mike Richards jammed home a power-play goal at 9:46 on Los Angeles' 16th shot of the game. The Sharks scored the only goal of the second period - this time on the power play - to double their lead and tightened up defensively late when the Kings finally made their first push of the game. Los Angeles was held without a shot on two late-period power plays; however, the Sharks dodged a bullet early in the second short-handed situation when Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin lifted a puck over an open cage that may have tipped off of Joe Pavelski's stick. The Sharks won 17 of the period's 22 draws (15 of 17 at even strength) and had another 14 drives toward the Los Angeles net blocked. Joe Thornton's line caused trouble for Kings defensemen Drew Doughty and Robyn Regehr the entire period, and it was the captain's line that struck 5-on-5 when Thornton hooked up with Burns. San Jose put a combined four shots on goal on consecutive power plays - Fraser for hooking Patrick Marleau at 13:19 and Doughty slashing Marc-Edouard Vlasic at 15:26.

San Jose looks to even the series by holding serve on home ice for the second straight game. While the Sharks may have dodged a huge bullet by winning game three in overtime on Saturday, they still have some significant work to do. No, this series isn't over by any means, and yes, the argument could be made that the Sharks should be looking at a 2-1 or even 3-0 series lead if it wasn't for the play of Jonathan Quick. However, history still isn't smiling too brightly on the San Jose Sharks. As is currently stands, and as you currently know, the Sharks trail the Kings 2-1 after dropping the first two away games in the Western Conference Quarterfinals. One hundred and fifteen NHL teams have been in that same situation (LOSS-AWAY, LOSS-AWAY, WIN-HOME) and only twenty five have come back to win the series. Before you go cry in a corner, though, let me preemptively wipe away those tears. Did you know that of the twenty five teams to wrangle a win in the series after trailing 2-1, eight times it has been our Sharks? Despite all the heartache that's been associated with our franchise, that's a really nice statistic. Let's keep adding on the good stats. When the LA Kings are leading a series 2-1, they've only won the next game in the series once out of their last six tries. And when the Sharks are trailing in a series 2-1, the boys in teal are a healthy 7-4 in the next game. If the Sharks can get another win at home, and the way they've played there's a great shot of them doing just that, the series is pretty much a crapshoot best-of-three. Much of this doesn't matter when you consider the sample size, but I've also been combing through some super advanced stats. These are the things that Neutral and Snark don't even catch, and I think I might be on to some really significant ones. Keep your eye out for these in the next few games (I understand if you can't catch them though, as they are SUPER ADVANCED. In fact, these stats have an ASL/AS [Advanced stat level per advanced stat] that's astronomical). BGrow/Gm (Beard Growth Per Game) Brent Burns has been one of the best Sharks on the ice this entire season, especially after he was moved to forward. However, it's hard to really explain his rapid increase in quality of play. I've gone through the tape and analyzed the beard of Brent Burns, and quickly come to the conclusion that he has the downright best BGrow/Gm of any current NHL player. Can go from sparse "forgot my razor at home this weekend" beard to "missing in woods for six months" beard in the span of just a few contests. Can't be a coincidence. hACT/hPER (Heart Actual / Heart Perceived) While Patrick Marleau still catches a bad rap in the media for what has been called a lack of heart, his five goals and three assists in just seven postseason games indicate that his actual heart measurement is more GDAC (another advanced stat, GDAC stands for "Grinch Day After Christmas") than it is GDBC. The Sharks will continue to rely heavily on Marleau throughout the series, but I would suggest he gets checked out for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy after the series. QUALSIB (Quality of Siblings) This is a crazy one, because Logan Couture is absolutely killing it in this series, overcoming an extraordinarily low QUALSIB. I am going to have to continue digging on this one. DIU/60 (Douchin' It Up per 60) This number skyrocketed for the Sharks in game one of the series, but dropped in games two and three, for reasons I can't quite put my finger on. Still high when Andrew Desjardins is on the ice. We'll see how these factors play out when the Sharks take to the ice tonight. Here's hoping they point to a Sharks win and an even series. Game 4LAK leads 2-1 7PM PST | HP Pavilion | San Jose, CaliforniaTV: CSNCA-HD, NBCSN | Radio: 98.5 KFOX, SJSharks.comKnow Your Enemy: Jewels From The Crown, Battle Of California, The Royal Half Projected Sharks Lineup Patrick Marleau - Logan Couture - Joe PavelskiT.J. Ga

I thought I'd work off some gameday nerves and revive an old tradition - the enemy anagram!Keaton Ellerby - Only Bleak Tree Kyle Clifford - Fickle Old Fry Rob Scuderi - Cod Bruiser Drew Doughty - Whey Dog Turd Anze Kopitar - Eat Nazi Pork Dustin Brown - Bird Now Nuts Trevor Lewis - Relive Worst Darryl Sutter - Tardy Rustler Los Angeles Kings - Sneaking Leg Loss Try it on your favorite foe at http://futureboy.us/lookup/nph-anagram.pl Stay bloodthirsty, my friends. I thought I'd work off some gameday nerves and revive an old tradition - the enemy anagram!Keaton Ellerby - Only Bleak Tree Kyle Clifford - Fickle Old Fry Rob Scuderi - Cod Bruiser Drew Doughty - Whey Dog Turd Anze Kopitar - Eat Nazi Pork Dustin Brown - Bird Now Nuts Trevor Lewis - Relive Worst Darryl Sutter - Tardy Rustler Los Angeles Kings - Sneaking Leg Loss Try it on your favorite foe at http://futureboy.us/lookup/nph-anagram.pl Stay bloodthirsty, my friends.

The Sharks Live Blog for the May 21, 2013 game between the San Jose Sharks and the Los Angeles Kings on NBCSN and KFOX 98.5/102.1 FM.

San Jose Sharks forward Bracken Kearns already had played for seven different minor-league teams over six-plus seasons before he made his NHL debut, Oct. 20, 2011, as a member of the Florida Panthers. Kearns turned 32 two days before making his...

While the Sharks may have dodged a huge bullet by winning game three in overtime on Saturday, they still have some significant work to do. No, this series isn't over by any means, and yes, the argument could be made that the Sharks should be looking at a 2-1 or even 3-0 series lead if it wasn't for the play of Jonathan Quick. However, history still isn't smiling too brightly on the San Jose Sharks. As is currently stands, and as you currently know, the Sharks trail the Kings 2-1 after dropping the first two away games in the Western Conference Quarterfinals. One hundred and fifteen NHL teams have been in that same situation (LOSS-AWAY, LOSS-AWAY, WIN-HOME) and only twenty five have come back to win the series. Before you go cry in a corner, though, let me preemptively wipe away those tears. Did you know that of the twenty five teams to wrangle a win in the series after trailing 2-1, eight times it has been our Sharks? Despite all the heartache that's been associated with our franchise, that's a really nice statistic. Let's keep adding on the good stats. When the LA Kings are leading a series 2-1, they've only won the next game in the series once out of their last six tries. And when the Sharks are trailing in a series 2-1, the boys in teal are a healthy 7-4. If the Sharks can get another win at home, and the way they've played there's a great shot of them doing just that, the series is pretty much a crapshoot best-of-three. Much of this doesn't matter when you consider the sample size, but I've also been combing through some super advanced stats. These are the things that Neutral and Snark don't even catch, and I think I might be on to some really significant ones. Keep your eye out for these in the next few games (I understand if you can't catch them though, as they are SUPER ADVANCED. In fact, these stats have an ASL/AS [Advanced stat level per advanced stat] that's astronomical). BGrow/Gm (Beard Growth Per Game) Brent Burns has been one of the best Sharks on the ice this entire season, especially after he was moved to forward. However, it's hard to really explain his rapid increase in quality of play. I've gone through the tape and analyzed the beard of Brent Burns, and quickly come to the conclusion that he has the downright best BGrow/Gm of any current NHL player. Can go from sparse "forgot my razor at home this weekend" beard to "missing in woods for six months" beard in the span of just a few contests. Can't be a coincidence. hACT/hPER (Heart Actual / Heart Perceived) While Patrick Marleau still catches a bad rap in the media for what has been called a lack of heart, his five goals and three assists in just seven postseason games indicate that his actual heart measurement is more GDAC (another advanced stat, GDAC stands for "Grinch Day After Christmas") than it is GDBC. The Sharks will continue to rely heavily on Marleau throughout the series, but I would suggest he gets checked out for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy after the series. QUALSIB (Quality of Siblings) This is a crazy one, because Logan Couture is absolutely killing it in this series, overcoming an extraordinarily low QUALSIB. I am going to have to continue digging on this one. DIU/60 (Douchin' It Up per 60) This number skyrocketed for the Sharks in game one of the series, but dropped in games two and three, for reasons I can't quite put my finger on. Still high when Andrew Desjardins is on the ice. We'll see how these factors play out when the Sharks take to the ice tonight. Here's hoping they point to a Sharks win and an even series. Game 4LAK leads 2-1 7PM PST | HP Pavilion | San Jose, CaliforniaTV: CSNCA-HD, NBCSN | Radio: 98.5 KFOX, SJSharks.comKnow Your Enemy: Jewels From The Crown, Battle Of California, The Royal Half Projected Sharks Lineup Patrick Marleau - Logan Couture - Joe PavelskiT.J. Galiardi - Joe Thornton - Brent BurnsJames Sheppard - Scott Gomez - Tommy WingelsBracken Kearns - Andrew Desjardi

SAN JOSE, California - In response to the devastating tornadoes and storms that occurred this week in Oklahoma and other parts of the Midwest, the Sharks Foundation will be hosting a collection drive at tonight’s game to benefit the American Red C...

“Big players stepping up at big times,” said Scott Hannan regarding Patrick Marleau setting up Logan Couture’s GWG in Game 3. GAME DAY PREVIEW – GAME 4 VS. KINGS May 21, 2013 Each Game Day on SJSHARKS.com, make sure to catch the “Game Day P...

As the American Hockey League playoffs continue on and many more teams join the Worcester Sharks in having the summer off it’s time to grade the WorSharks players. We’ve set the arbitrary limit at 30 games, and then made an exception for enforcer Jimmy Bonneau. The players are listed by position, with forwards going first, followed by the defense and goaltenders. The last section is off ice personnel. Players have been graded on how well they’ve done against the expectations that have been set for them and how well they’ve done compared to the other players on the roster. When looking at the grades remember that a “C” is average, meaning the player has done what was expected of them or that their play based on the other players on the roster has been average in nature. The contract status listed is what they will be as July 1st at the time of this posting, and NHL salary listed is their potential amount against the NHL salary cap. Forwards Bracken Kearns (66 games, 21-25-46, -2, 73PIM) Contract status: NHL UFA Statistically Kearns had an average season for him, but those numbers were good enough to be the WorSharks leader in goals, assists, points, shots, and was second only to Tim Kennedy in points per game. He was the WorSharks lone representative at this season’s AHL All-Star Classic, replacing the injured Kennedy. Simply put, Kearns was Worcester’s best all around player. He’s a player Worcester fans would love to have back next season. Grade: A Tim Kennedy (37 games, 13-24-37, +8, 19PIM) Contract status: NHL UFA When he was recalled to San Jose Kennedy was the team leader in every offensive stat you can think of. Despite playing in far less games that most of the top scorers Kennedy still ended up tied for fourth in goals, and second in assist and points. His +8 was second on the team, and he was one of only three regular players to be plus on the season. Kennedy was the only WorSharks player to average a point per game. Without him in the line-up Worcester’s anemic offense sputtered even more. Grade: B Jon Matsumoto (60 games, 14-18-32, -17, 30PIM) Contract status: NHL UFA Matsumoto was the biggest disappointment on Worcester’s roster this season. Entering this campaign on a five season 20 goal streak Matsumoto sleepwalked through most of the year netting just 14 goals and had a team worst (-17) on the season. His three game winning goals all came in a seven game span over the Christmas holidays, but other than that he was basically invisible. And for the highest paid player on the team, that is simply unacceptable. Grade: F Danill Tarasov (43 games, 14-14-28, E, 20PIM) Contract status: 1st of 2 year NHL ELC ($800K/$60K) After spending the first half of the season on the AHL roster but only playing in a single game (the WorSharks have never officially commented as to why that was) Tarasov was sent off to San Francisco. After posting 14 points in 17 ECHL games Tarasov was recalled to Worcester and never looked back, averaging a point per game over his next 12 AHL contests and ending up fourth on the team in scoring. Toward the end of the season it looked like many teams were shadowing Tarasov. High praise for a rookie. Grade: B Freddie Hamilton (76 games, 13-13-26, -9, 16PIM) Contract status: 2nd of 3 year NHL ELC ($878,333/$67,500) The scouting report on Hamilton was a shutdown defensive forward, but the rookie showed lots of offensive skills notching a team leading four game winning goals and two shorthanded tallies. It took Hamilton a little while to catch on to many of the pro “tricks” on taking face-offs, but by season’s end he was Worcester’s top centerman on draws in their defensive end. The WorSharks don’t have a “best prospect” award, but if they did Hamilton would be an easy winner. Grade: A John McCarthy (65 games, 9-16-25, -12, 12PIM) Contract status: 2nd of 2 year NHL contract ($612,500) It would take only a handful of seconds