Red Wings beat Sharks 2-1 in shootout

By NOAH TRISTER
AP Sports Writer

DETROIT (AP) -- Petr Mrazek capped an impressive January with another sharp performance.

Mrazek made 30 saves, and then stopped Tomas Hertl in the seventh round of a shootout to lift the Detroit Red Wings to a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night. Mrazek went 3-1-1 in January with two shutouts and a .940 save percentage, easily his best month of the season.

"When you get to play, when you play lots of minutes, you get the confidence, the swagger back, and try to build from that," Mrazek said.

Justin Abdelkader scored in the final round of the tiebreaker, and Mrazek's save on Hertl ended the game. Trevor Daley scored for the Red Wings in the third period before Kevin Labanc responded for San Jose.

Gustav Nyquist, Andreas Athanasiou, Tomas Tatar and Abdelkader scored in the shootout for Detroit, while Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture and Chris Tierney scored for the Sharks.

The Red Wings had a season-high 44 shots, but San Jose salvaged a point thanks to goalie Martin Jones and Labanc's goal with 4:59 remaining in regulation. The Sharks spoiled Mrazek's bid for another shutout in January after an extended period in Detroit's zone. Luke Glendening of the Red Wings was caught without a stick, and Labanc's wrist shot through traffic beat Mrazek high to the glove side .

Jones played in a 5-2 loss at Pittsburgh the previous night, allowing one of the goals on a bad giveaway . He was much better against Detroit.

"He looked good and gave us a chance to win a game that we probably didn't deserve," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "The Red Wings looked fresher than we did and played a smart game. Jonesy gave us a chance, but I think getting one point is a fair result."

Detroit was playing its first game after the All-Star break. The Red Wings had their chances before Daley opened the scoring. Darren Helm was unable to convert a clean breakaway early in the second, and Martin Frk had an open net on a third-period rebound, but the puck went wide.

San Jose defenseman Justin Braun, who was without a stick at the time, stuck out a skate and appeared to get a piece of Frk's shot.

"I thought our energy was really good, I thought our compete was really good. I didn't think we were great in the first, I thought we got better as the game went along," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "Some of that is you're coming off break a little bit. But I thought we got better as the game went along and I thought by the end we did lots of good stuff so I thought we deserved the two points."

Daley put Detroit up 1-0 with 13:12 remaining in the third. Jones appeared to have stopped Daley's backhander from a tough angle, but the puck dropped over his left pad and ended up in the net for the defenseman's fourth goal of the season.

The goal came moments after Pavelski hit the post at the other end.

NOTES: San Jose's Brent Burns had six shots in the first period and nine for the game. ... Labanc played his 100th NHL game. The goal was his sixth of the season. ... The Sharks lost their third straight game without Joe Thornton, who is out with a right leg injury.

UP NEXT

Sharks: Visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night.

Red Wings: Visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night. 

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Malkin's hat trick powers Penguins past Sharks 5-2

By WILL GRAVES
AP Sports Writer

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Matt Murray wanted to feel a sense of normalcy, so the Pittsburgh Penguins goalie went back to work Tuesday night for the first time since his father, James, died this month.

"I just tried to come in and forget about the fact I hadn't played in a while and try to get lost in the game," Murray said.

There were no outward signs of emotion. No tears. That's simply not the understated Murray's way. Looking as sharp as he has all season, the 23-year-old Murray stopped 40 shots in a 5-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks, including a handful of spectacular stops early that kept the Penguins in it long enough to rally for their eighth win in 10 games.

"Matt's a mature kid," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "He's grounded. I think he has good perspective on where he's at and the opportunity in front of him."

Murray took a leave of absence following his father's death on Jan. 16. He returned last week but stayed out of the lineup while rookie Casey DeSmith filled in capably as the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions have slowly pulled themselves out of an early-season funk.

By Tuesday morning, Murray was ready to go and he responded by looking very much like the player who backstopped the Penguins to consecutive championships, including a six-game triumph over San Jose in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final.

"We try to support him and know it's huge game for him and hope it gives him a little like push, little bit of confidence," center Evgeni Malkin said.

Malkin did his part, picking up his 12th career hat trick over the final 20:04. The Russian star's 24th goal of the season late in the second period tied it. His 25th early in the third gave Pittsburgh the lead for good and his 26th rolled into an empty net with just more than a minute remaining.

"Like last couple weeks, I feel like I'm so lucky, but it's fine," Malkin said. "It helps the team to win. I feel like my shots, it's coming."

Brent Burns and Logan Couture scored power-play goals for the Sharks but San Jose dropped its second straight game without Joe Thornton, who is out indefinitely with a right leg injury.

Martin Jones finished with 26 saves but also gave the puck away behind the San Jose net in the third period. Patric Hornqvist intercepted Jones' sloppy clearing attempt and fed it in front to a streaking Malkin, who had little trouble putting it into an open net 6:01 into the third.

"You can't beat yourself on the road, let alone going into the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions' building, and that's exactly what we did," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said.

Bryan Rust, hindered by injuries this season, scored twice and nearly beat Malkin to a hat trick but his attempt at an empty-netter clanged off the crossbar. Moments later, Malkin didn't miss.

"I won't hear the end of that for a while," Rust said with a laugh.

Rust's first goal since Nov. 27 on a slick backhand that slid by Jones gave Pittsburgh the lead 11:09 into the first, but the Sharks used a pair of power-play goals in the second to surge ahead. Burns slipped a wrist shot from the point through traffic to tie it at the game's midway point, and Couture pounded home a rebound 18:35 into the second for his 200th career goal.

San Jose's momentum didn't last.

With time winding down in the second, Burns tried a backhand clear behind the San Jose net that Pittsburgh's Phil Kessel chased down in the corner before feeding it to Malkin, who ripped it by Jones with just four seconds left to even things up and give the Penguins a serious boost.

"There are mistakes here and there," Couture said. "Mistakes happen. They scored on a couple tonight. Next game, that probably won't happen. Or next game, we'll probably get those ones. So, I thought we played really well."

NOTES: Penguins captain Sidney Crosby got an assist on Malkin's empty-netter to extend his point streak to 10 games. ... Malkin played in his 754th career game, passing Jean Provonost for fourth-most in franchise history. ... The Sharks scratched forward Jannik Hansen, C Daniel O'Regan and D Tim Heed. The Penguins scratched D Chad Ruhwedel, D Matt Hunwick and forward Ryan Reaves. ... Pittsburgh went 0 for 3 on the power play. The Sharks were 2 for 5 with the man advantage.

UP NEXT

Sharks: Continue their five-game road trip Wednesday in Detroit.

Penguins: Host the Washington Capitals on Friday.

McDonagh's 2 goals lead Rangers past Sharks 6-5

By JOSH DUBOW
Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – After three straight losses to open their road trip, the New York Rangers head into the All-Star break on a high note thanks to an unlikely goal scorer.

Ryan McDonagh scored his first two goals of the season and J.T. Miller added a goal and two assists that helped the New York Rangers salvage the final game of a four-game road trip by beating the San Jose Sharks 6-5 on Thursday night.

"The team needed that," Miller said. "We've done a lot of good things over the road trip but the win category hasn't been where we wanted. That's a good way to cap it off and make it feel good going into the break."

New York had been outscored 13-6 in losing the first three games of the trip with Miller getting benched for the final two periods in Anaheim on Tuesday night because of careless turnovers.

But the Rangers overcame a deficit in the second period with two goals from McDonagh and a short-handed tally from Brady Skjei. Kevin Hayes and Jesper Fast also scored for New York, and Ondrej Pavelec made 23 saves.

"I really believe that on this road trip we played better than our record indicates," coach Alain Vigneault said. "We're 1-3 but in all four games we had good starts. Somehow the second periods might have been a little bit more challenging, but tonight we found a way to get a real strong second. They came at us hard in the third but we were able to do what we needed to do."

Logan Couture scored twice to give him 20 goals on the season. Barclay Goodrow, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Tomas Hertl also scored for San Jose, and Kevin Labanc had three assists.

Aaron Dell made 23 saves.

The Sharks played without star forward Joe Thornton, who will likely miss several weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his injured right knee earlier Thursday. This marked the first time San Jose played a game without Thornton or Patrick Marleau - who left for Toronto in free agency over the summer - since Jan. 21, 2004, at Arizona.

Couture did his best to overcome Thornton's void, giving San Jose a 2-1 lead early in the second when he beat Pavelec from the slot after a good rush by Labanc.

But the Rangers erased that deficit with three goals from their defensemen in a span of just over six minutes. McDonagh struck twice in just 1:12 after scoring no goals in his first 44 games. Skjei added the insurance goal with the Sharks on the power play when Labanc cleared a rebound off Skjei's leg and into the net.

"It's a tough league to win in and then you lose a guy like Joe," Couture said. "We have to step up and other guys have to take advantage of the opportunity. We created enough offense but we played bad defensive hockey. They could have scored more than six. We gave them way too much."

Vlasic got the Sharks back within one goal midway through the third, but San Jose couldn't manage the equalizer against Pavelec.

Miller then scored with 1:50 remaining to restore the two-goal lead which was crucial when Hertl scored with 49.7 seconds to play.

"It was a pretty sloppy game in general," Vlasic said. "There were chances at both ends. We could have scored 10 and they could have scored 10 as well."

The Rangers got a boost from Hayes, who returned to the lineup after missing six games with a leg injury. Brent Burns got caught too far up ice, allowing Hayes to take a pass from Miller and come in alone on Dell to beat him with a slap shot.

The Sharks answered with two goals before New York tied it again late in the period when Fast scored off a cross-ice pass from Michael Grabner.

NOTES: According to the Elias Sports Bureau, McDonagh was the first Rangers defenseman to score two goals in a span of 72 seconds or fewer since James Patrick did it in 11 seconds on March 25, 1986, against New Jersey. ... Burns' assist on Goodrow's goal extended his points streak to six straight games.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Host Toronto next Thursday night.

Sharks: Visit Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.

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More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

Sizzling Avs win 8th straight by holding off Sharks 5-3

By PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writer

DENVER (AP) -- The Colorado Avalanche looked unstoppable early and shaky down the stretch in nearly blowing a big lead.

Bottom line: The streak goes on.

Nathan MacKinnon scored twice during a 58-second span in the first period, Matt Nieto added a late insurance goal and the Avalanche won their eighth straight by holding off the San Jose Sharks 5-3 on Thursday night.

Carl Soderberg also scored, while Mikko Rantanen had a goal and two assists for the Avs, who've won eight in a row for the first time since the 2005-06 season. It's tied for the third-longest streak in franchise history.

Even more, Colorado has never trailed during the stretch and has outscored teams by a 34-13 margin.

"We are earning what we get right now," MacKinnon said. "We are playing some good hockey and we are a good team.

"We know we aren't going to win every game - we could lose two or three in a row. But this is a good foundation for us to realize how we are going to win. We're not just lucky, winning eight straight. There is a reason why. So when some adversity comes in, we can look back on this."

What looked like a cakewalk turned into anything but with Colorado nearly squandering a 4-0 advantage. The Sharks sliced the deficit to a goal when Joe Thornton scored early in the third period. Nieto sealed the win with a goal against his former team with 3:14 remaining. The Sharks pulled goaltender Martin Jones for around 3 minutes, but couldn't score.

Timo Meier and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also had goals for San Jose.

Jonathan Bernier stopped 45 shots to run his winning streak to a career-best seven games. He's filling in with starter Semyon Varlamov sidelined by a lower-body injury.

Bernier made a big save on a power play in the third period, when he just stuck out his left pad to thwart Tomas Hertl , who had several opportunities to tie up the game.

"I should score like five goals. The goalie owned me today," Hertl said. "It's a little bit on me, because the chances were there. I should put it in. They should be goals."

Still, the Sharks showed some late spunk, which pleased their coach.

"You don't get points in the standings for that, but we've got a group that doesn't lay down in those situations," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "We take a lot of pride in that."

Colorado weathered seven penalties and was outshot by San Jose 48-22.

"You can't play a perfect game, you have to learn from it," Bernier said. "We're happy to get this thing rolling."

Speaking of rolling, the line of Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog and MacKinnon combined for three goals and four assists.

There's no place quite like Pepsi Center for MacKinnon, who leads the league in scoring at home with 44 points (17 goals, 27 assists) in 25 games. He put the Avalanche up early in the first period when he sent a wrist shot through the legs of Vlasic and through the pads of Jones.

He added another on a slap shot that ticked off Jones' glove and went in. MacKinnon also was credited with an assist on a goal in the second period that hit Rantanen off and bounced in. It gave Colorado a 4-0 lead.

There was a scary moment in the second when Soderberg took a skate to the neck when he fell to the ice. He headed to the bench and into the dressing room to get about five stitches. He returned later in the second.

"I'm OK," Soderberg said.

NOTES: The Sharks are in a stretch during which they play 14 of 18 games on the road. ... This was the first of three meetings between San Jose and Colorado. ... Avalanche C Tyson Jost (lower body) was out of the lineup, while LW J.T. Compher (upper body) returned after missing six games. "They're kind of trading off injuries," coach Jared Bednar said. ... F Sven Andrighetto (lower body) was placed on injured reserve. ... Varlamov has resumed skating, Bednar said. ... Colorado has scored 92 goals on home ice, the most in the league.

UP NEXT

Sharks: Host Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Avalanche: Wrap up a three-game homestand Saturday against the New York Rangers.

Pavelski scores in shootout to lift Sharks over Coyotes

By JOSE M. ROMERO
Associated Press

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- It took Aaron Dell 38 games to get into his first career shootout, and the San Jose Sharks goalie made it a good one.

Dell was perfect through the three rounds of the shootout and had 30 saves, and Joe Pavelski scored the only goal of the tiebreaker to lift San Jose over the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 on Tuesday night.

"I only had to make one save. The other two guys missed the net," Dell said.

Pavelski scored on San Jose's first attempt. Joe Thornton and Mikkel Boedker had regulation goals for San Jose.

Arizona had a power play in overtime after Tomas Hertl was called for tripping, but they couldn't convert. The Coyotes had rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the second period.

The Sharks beat Arizona for the second time in four days after Saturday's overtime win.

"Nights like this is where you need a spark from somebody," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said of Dell. "That's the reason he's in there. He gave us one."

Antti Raanta had 20 saves for Arizona. Brad Richardson had a goal and assist, but the Coyotes lost their fourth straight game and have dropped 17 of 21.

Still, Arizona earned its fifth point in the past five games by forcing overtime for the third time in that stretch.

"Our team played well. You'd like to obviously win the game but that's a veteran team over there," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "They've got a lot of experience. Five-on-five, I thought obviously we were the better team."

The Sharks, playing the second game of a back-to-back for the eighth time this season, scored first on a power play. Thornton centered to Logan Couture, who turned and delivered a backhand pass to Thornton. Raanta left too much empty net to allow Thornton his 11th goal at 5:37 of the first.

"Every time we touch the ice, good things seem to happen right now," Thornton said the Sharks' power play, which is 5 of 10 in its last five games. "Just got to continue to work at it."

Boedker made it 2-0 when he scored against his former team. Boedker, traded away from Arizona in February 2016 during his eighth season in the desert, sent a wrist shot past defenseman Alex Goligoski and Raanta 34 seconds into the second period.

"We come up with speed through the neutral zone and I was able to get a good shot off through their defenseman, and it went in," Boedker said.

The Coyotes made it 2-1 at 16:05 of the second. Jordan Martinook knocked down Jason Demers' high shot with his stick and into the net for Martinook's fourth goal.

Richardson was there to clean up a rebound when Nick Cousins' shot bounced off Dell's body. The goal at 6:10 of the third culminated a stretch of strong offensive play from the Coyotes, who put shot after shot on Dell in the final period as fatigue seemed to set in on the road-weary Sharks.

San Jose played its 10th game of the past 14 on the road.

"Going back-to-back is tough. Obviously we didn't play the third like we wanted to," Thornton said. "But to get points on the road ... it's a huge two points."

NOTES: San Jose is 11-2-3 against Pacific Division teams. Arizona is only 1-7-5 against division opponents this season. ... Coyotes D Luke Schenn returned after missing the past two games, with D Kevin Connauton scratched for the first time in 15 games. ... Sharks F Jannik Hansen missed his seventh game in the Sharks' last eight.

UP NEXT

Sharks: At Colorado on Thursday night.

Coyotes: At Nashville on Thursday night.

Sharks beat rival LA Kings for 3rd straight time, 4-1

By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- There's nothing like a visit with the Los Angeles Kings to get Martin Jones and the San Jose Sharks on top of their game.

Chris Tierney had a goal and an assist, and Jones made 35 saves in the Sharks' third straight victory over their longtime rivals, 4-1 Monday.

Barclay Goodrow and Mikkel Boedker ended lengthy goal droughts for the Sharks, who built a three-goal lead during another strong game by Jones against his former Los Angeles teammates.

The goalie who won a Stanley Cup ring as Jonathan Quick's backup followed up his 2-0 win over the Kings at the Shark Tank on Dec. 23 with another near-shutout of Los Angeles. Jones improved to 9-3-2 in 14 career appearances against his former organization, but he spread the praise for a comprehensive win throughout the Sharks' lineup.

"It's easy to prepare for games against these guys, or any division game," Jones said. "We know what the standings are like, and what these games mean. We play well as a team (against the Kings). When we play in the offensive zone that much, it makes everybody's job easier."

Dylan DeMelo returned from a three-game injury absence with two assists for his second career multipoint game for the Sharks, who were in control from the opening faceoff of a rare matinee at Staples Center. Joonas Donskoi also had two assists, and Joe Thornton added an empty-net goal.

"You battle a bit more when you're playing a rival and a division team that's ahead of you in the standings," Tierney said. "That's what this team is built for, is playing those tight games where you try to lock it down."

Trevor Lewis ended Jones' shutout bid with 7:18 to play, but the Kings lost their fourth straight to match their longest skid of the season. Los Angeles has been outscored 8-3 in losses to its two California rivals since returning from the bye week last Saturday.

"We had some guys that were really off tonight," Los Angeles coach John Stevens said. "I don't know if the break affected us that way or not, but certainly something did. We've got to regroup here. I feel like we got some good efforts out of our key veteran guys, but they cannot do it on their own."

Darcy Kuemper stopped 29 shots in his first start since Dec. 16 for the Kings, who have slumped into third place after leading the Pacific Division for a good chunk of the season. With a 5-7-3 record in division play, LA is just one point ahead of the Sharks, who have two games in hand.

"It's tough. We were ahead of the pack for a while there, and now we're right in the thick of things," Lewis said. "We've just got to figure it out in a hurry here."

The Sharks went ahead just 4:38 in when the Kings lapsed on defense, allowing Donskoi to make a pass across the crease to an unchecked Tierney for his 11th goal into an open net.

Goodrow got his third goal of the season midway through the second period, converting DeMelo's rebound in the slot. The goal was his first since Dec. 7.

San Jose had an extra step on the Kings throughout the first two periods and nearly added to its lead in the closing seconds, but Los Angeles defenseman Christian Folin stopped a shot with his skate on the goal line.

Boedker added his first goal since Nov. 24 in the third period, ending a 12-game drought.

Lewis got help from Marian Gaborik in scoring his 11th goal. The grinding forward scored a career-high 12 goals last season while playing in all 82 games.

NOTES: Kuemper lost in regulation for the first time in his debut season with the Kings. He is 5-1-3. ... Quick got the day off for the Kings after nine consecutive starts. The former Conn Smythe Trophy winner gave up three goals in LA's loss to Anaheim last Saturday. ... Sharks D Tim Heed was scratched in DeMelo's place.

UP NEXT

Sharks: At the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night.

Kings: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

Donskoi ties it with 15.4 seconds left, Sharks win in OT

By GIDEON RUBIN
Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – It all happened in a flash amid a scramble in front of the goal, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic didn't want to dwell on the details - like whether he actually touched the puck on the winning goal.

It was no matter.

Vlasic was credited with an overtime goal as the San Jose Sharks beat the Arizona Coyotes 6-5 on Saturday night.

Joonas Donskoi tied it with 15.4 seconds left for the Sharks with his second goal of the game, and Vlasic followed with his fifth of the season amid a scramble in front.

"Why would you ask that?" Vlasic said when asked if he touched the puck.

"Lucky bounce," Vlasic said. "It popped up, I crashed the net and I was lucky enough to poke it in."

Coyotes goalie Scott Edgewood offered a different version of events.

"I kicked my legs out and they had two guys coming in hard and it glanced of (Coyotes center Christian) Dvorak's skate," Edgewood said.

"We got beat by a bounce off our own skate," Arizona center Derek Stepan said.

Donskoi scored with San Jose goalie Aaron Dell pulled for an extra skater after Arizona scored twice earlier in the period. Vlasic scored with an assist from Joe Thornton, who had a goal and two helpers to move ahead of Hall of Famer Adam Oates for 17th on the career scoring list (1,420 points).

Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture also scored for San Jose, and Dell stopped 13 of 15 shots after replacing Martin Jones in net.

"I hadn't scored in a while, so it was nice to get a couple tonight and I hope I can score more goals in the future," Donskoi said.

The Sharks were coming off a bye week and hadn't played since Jan. 7. They'd lost three straight and four of their last five going into Saturday.

"First game back, it took a while to find our legs but we found a way to win," Vlasic said. "It's all about getting points."

Arizona got goals from Stepan, Alex Goligoski, Christian Fischer, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Josh Archibald. Wedgewood made 38 saves.

Thornton opened the scoring at 5:53 of a frantic first period in which the teams combined for six goals. Pavelski and Couture also scored then for San Jose, while Stepan, Goligoski and Fischer combined to make it 3-3 at the first intermission.

Donskoi scored his ninth of the season late in the second period, but then Ekman-Larsson and Archibald scored early in the third to make it 5-4 Coyotes.

NOTES: Arizona has lost five of six. ... Thornton has 85 points against the Coyotes in 22 games, more than he has against any other team. ... Arizona F Zac Rinaldo was back in the lineup for the first time after a six-game suspension for a blindside punch to Colorado's Samuel Girard. Coach Rick Tocchet scratched C Nick Cousins to make room for Rinaldo. ... San Jose F Mikkel Boedker, a healthy scratch in the team's last game before its break on Jan. 7, was back in the lineup. ... D Dylan DeMelo, out with flu symptoms, is expected to come off injured reserve for Monday's game against the Los Angeles Kings.

UP NEXT

Coyotes: Host the Sharks on Tuesday night.

Sharks: Play at Los Angeles on Monday.

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Mathieu Perreault scores twice to help Jets beat Sharks 4-1

Associated Press

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) -- The Winnipeg Jets shoved aside yet another opponent at Bell MTS Place.

Mathieu Perreault scored twice, Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves and Winnipeg beat the San Jose Sharks 4-1 on Sunday to extend its home winning streak to five games.

Matt Hendricks and Marko Dano also scored to help the Central Division-leading Jets improve to 16-3-1 at home and 25-11-7 overall. Their home power-play unit is the most-efficient in the NHL.

"It's great coming to the rink knowing we have a strong game here at home," Perreault said. "Not so sure why it's been that way but we're having a lot of fun right now. We're just really happy with how things are going."

Jets coach Paul Maurice said confidence has been the key to the home success.

"We also know that a big chunk of our home games are still ahead of us," Maurice said. "November, December were tough schedules. We made the most of our home games which was really, really critical. Some of those road trips can be a little taxing for your club, so you got to be good at home."

Logan Couture had a power-play goal for San Jose.

"I thought we were in the game," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "They jumped on us in the first five, six minutes. I thought we knew that was going to happen and I thought we got our legs underneath us. I really liked our game. Really, the third goal was killer. Overall, we're OK. "We're not perfect. We're not exactly where we want to be, but it could be worse."

The Jets opened the scoring midway through the first period on Hendricks' breakaway. He beat Martin Jones to the glove side on the backhand for his fourth goal of the season.

Winnipeg made it 2-0 midway through the second when Dano deflected Jacob Trouba's point shot for his second goal of the season.

Couture connected on the power play with 5:13 left in the period for his 16th of season and first since Dec. 9.

Perreault restored Winnipeg's two-goal cushion with a power-play goal late with 58 seconds left in the second. Perreault added an empty-netter, giving him 12 goals.

"We would have liked to get another power-play goal and shut them down on our (penalty kill)," said Couture. "But they scored some timely goals that won the game. The third was tough to come back down two against that team in the third period. They shut it down pretty good."

NOTES: Winnipeg captain Blake Wheeler assisted on Perreault's power-play goal to extend his points streak to six games. He has eight points in five games since moving to center after Mark Scheifele was injured. ... Jones made 26 saves.

UP NEXT

Sharks: Host Arizona on Saturday night.

Jets: At Buffalo on Tuesday night.

Meier scores twice, Sharks win 4-1 to extend Canadiens' skid

Associated Press

MONTREAL (AP) -- The Montreal Canadiens called a team meeting after a loss to the San Jose Sharks extended their losing streak to five games.

Reporters were kept waiting for more than 15 minutes outside the dressing room as Canadiens players discussed the listless play of late that has left them well out of playoff position with half the season still to play.

"We didn't have everyone on board and that's frustrating," captain Max Pacioretty said after Tuesday night's 4-1 defeat. "All things considered, coming back from a road trip and where we are in the standings and knowing how many games we dropped and how many people are struggling, that's upsetting.

"We have to find a way to compete harder and win more battles."

Timo Meier had two goals, and Joe Thornton and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also scored for the Sharks (21-12-4), who were coming off a 6-0 setback Sunday in Dallas. San Jose has won four of five.

"We carried the puck with a lot of speed into the other end and I think we had them on their heels for most of the night," said Sharks veteran Logan Couture.

Andrew Shaw scored for Montreal (16-20-4), which has just four goals in the last five games and now has to face the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.

The Canadiens were starting a five-game homestand after a dismal 2-5-0 road trip.

They had some early chances against the Sharks, but seemed to sag when Thornton opened the scoring 12:57 into the game. By the third period, fans were booing the home side.

"Not good," Pacioretty said. "We play with pride.

"The best part about playing in Montreal is the fans and the city and the passion for hockey, so when we take that out of the building through poor play and through not winning or being exciting and scoring goals and giving the fans a show, it's upsetting. Especially when it's your job to produce."

Pacioretty, a steady 30-goal scorer in recent seasons, has only eight in 40 games and has not scored since Nov. 30, but he's not the only Canadiens player struggling to find the net. Among others, Jonathan Drouin has only five goals, and none since Nov. 29.

Montreal coach Claude Julien said frustration has crept in.

"When that happens, the compete level isn't where it should be," he said. "We're just not doing our jobs out there.

"We need to refocus and get back to being committed to doing the job in all areas."

San Jose outshot Montreal 33-31.

The Canadiens wasted a string of early chances, and San Jose scored first. Justin Braun shot wide from the right point but Thornton stopped the puck and put it in from the side of the net at 12:57.

Vlasic finished a 2-on-1 with Mikkel Boedker at 11:27 of the second.

Montreal broke a drought of 132 minutes without a goal at 16:07, but it took a two-man advantage to do it. And the Canadiens didn't even shoot the puck into the net, as Pacioretty's pass to Shaw went off the center's skate and past goalie Aaron Dell.

Meier was at the edge of the crease to finish a tic-tac-toe play with Chris Tierney and Kevin Labanc on a power play at 19:50. Meier got his second of the game and eighth of the season when he picked the top corner against Carey Price on an off-wing rush down the right side 1:13 into the third.

Dell made 30 saves and has won six straight starts.

NOTES: A moment of silence, along with a scoreboard video tribute, was observed before the game for former Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Johnny Bower, who died last week at the age 93. ... In a sign of how impotent Montreal's attack has been, minor league call-up Nicolas Deslauriers won the December edition of the Molson Cup, a team award based on three-star selections.

UP NEXT

Sharks: Thursday night at Toronto.

Canadiens: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.

Labanc's goal in OT gives Sharks 5-4 win over Canucks

By GIDEON RUBIN
Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Less than two months removed from a stint in the minors, Kevin Labanc is getting ice time on San Jose's top line and power play.

Showing he belongs, too.

Labanc scored 1:53 into overtime and had three assists as the Sharks beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-4 on Thursday night.

"If you're on the power play, on the first unit, you've got to produce - whether it be shooting pucks, getting chances - you've got to do something when you're on there," Labanc said.

Joe Thornton scored twice for San Jose and added an assist as he moved past Doug Gilmour for 18th place on the NHL list with 1,416 career points.

Labanc's fourth goal of the season came off an assist from Tomas Hertl, and the Sharks improved to 4-1-2 over their last seven games.

"You've got to experience the downs and then learn how to get out of them, keep a good head on your shoulders and keep working," Labanc said.

The Canucks are 1-6-1 in their last eight games, with the lone win during that span coming against San Jose on Dec. 15.

Vancouver trailed 4-3 before Daniel Sedin scored at 2:09 of the third period to tie it. The Canucks rallied from a 3-1 deficit.

Jake Virtanen scored to bring Vancouver within a goal at 8:49 of the second, and Brock Boeser tied the game at 16:02.

Boeser's goal was his 19th of the season and eighth in 11 games.

"A point's big, but we definitely feel we could've won that game," Boeser said. "Obviously, we need to clean up some special teams there."

Hertl scored on a 5-on-3 power play with 1:04 left in the second to give the Sharks a 4-3 lead.

San Jose trailed 1-0 before Thornton tied Gilmour with a goal at 11:52 of the first period. The Sharks took a 2-1 lead at 5:20 of the second when Timo Meier scored his fifth goal.

"I think we found a way to win," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "It wasn't a perfect game. There were a lot of good areas. Our special teams were really good, but obviously we don't like getting into shootouts like that and giving up four goals. But it's that time of year and you're dealing with some injuries.

"There's no style points. We got two points in an important game and that's what mattered."

Brendan Gaunce scored the game's first goal at 1:58 of the first period on a play Virtanen started with a backhand pass to trailer Erik Gudbranson. He fired a shot that Gaunce redirected for his first goal of the season.

Late in the first period, defenseman Michael De Zotto saved a goal when he cleared a puck that got past goalie Jacob Markstrom inches from the net.

The Sharks dominated on special teams, scoring on three of five power plays while blanking Vancouver on four tries.

"I loved the way we played tonight, minus our penalty killing," Canucks coach Travis Green said.

"You score four goals on the road, you come back a couple of times, that's the kind of game we want to play. If we play that way every night we're going to be fine."

NOTES: Canucks D Ben Hutton was a healthy scratch. RW Nikolay Goldobin, a former Shark, also was scratched. ... Sharks D Paul Martin had a setback in his recovery from ankle surgery. The injury isn't a recurrence of the same injury. Martin has been on injured reserve since Oct. 12. There is no timetable for his return. ... C Logan Couture, out with a concussion he suffered against the Canucks last week, missed his second game. ... The Sharks recalled forwards Marcus Sorenson and Danny O'Regan from the AHL.

UP NEXT

Canucks: Host the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.

Sharks: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday.

Oilers hit milestone in win over Sharks

EDMONTON, Alberta -- Ryan Strome potted two goals, including the 10,000th the Oilers have scored in the NHL, leading Edmonton to a 5-3 win Monday over the San Jose Sharks.

Patrick Maroon scored what would eventually become the winning goal. But his slapper over the shoulder of Sharks netminder Martin Jones won't be his most watched highlight of the game. Late in the second period, with the teams in a scrum, Maroon ended up face-to-face with Sharks defenseman Brent Burns, owner of the most famous beard in the NHL. In front of a full house at Rogers Place, Maroon gave Burns' beard a tug.

"I do some crazy stuff sometimes," said Maroon. "I was laughing about it and he was laughing about it. I thought he would be mad at first, but he just asked me if I liked it and I said 'yeah, it's a pretty nice beard.' It was just in my face and I decided to pull it."

"It happens more than you think," Burns said of having his beard yanked. "It wasn't really a tug, he was just kind of petting it. ... I kinda fell there, he kind of fell on top, he was just asking, I don't know, I think it was like 'are we all right?' It's a nice beard."

The game marked the first game between the Sharks and Oilers since the teams collided in the first round of the 2017 playoffs, with Edmonton winning that series in six games.

Oilers goalie Cam Talbot won his second in a row since returning from a stint on injured reserve, making 18 saves. Jones remained stuck on 99 career wins. The Oilers got 29 shots on goal.

The Sharks took the lead at 6:15 of the first period. On the power play, Joe Pavelski wristed home a rebound off a point shot from Kevin Labanc.

The Oilers tied it at 14:42, as Mark Letestu one-timed a pass from Leon Draisaitl.

Edmonton took the lead with 1:09 left in the period, thanks to a tic-tac-toe passing play, with Jujhar Khaira feeding Draisaitl, who pushed the puck across the goalmouth for Ryan Strome to put in past a helpless Jones.

Strome's goal was the 10,000th for the Oilers since the team joined the NHL in 1979. But a disclaimer: That total includes 65 shootout winners.

"It's kind of cool, but Leon deserves credit for that goal," said Strome. "I just had my stick on the ice and he hit it. It was unbelievable. It's a cool accomplishment, especially with the rich history of this team. But I was the beneficiary of a hell of a pass there."

Six minutes into the second, the Oilers had a series of great chances to extend the lead, but Jones robbed Jesse Puljujarvi twice and then stoned Connor McDavid for good measure in a frantic 10-second sequence. But while Jones closed the door on the Oilers, he couldn't stop his own team. On the next shift, he was beaten by his teammate, Pavelski, who inadvertently tipped in what was meant to be a centering attempt from Oiler Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Tomas Hertl made it 3-2 at 8:32.

Maroon got the Oilers their two-goal lead back, making it 4-2 at 8:23 of the third with a blast over Jones's shoulder. But Marcus Sorensen made it a nail-biter at 11:58, as he was able to wrap the puck around Talbot's outstretched pad. With Sorensen's goal, Maroon's marker became the game winner.

Strome got an empty netter with 7.6 seconds left.

Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said it was frustrating that his team did such a good job on reigning MVP McDavid, holding him pointless, but were badly outplayed by the other lines.

"We're not as tight defensively as we have been, we've also got some guys out of the lineup who weren't out earlier in the year, too," he said. "I think we did a good job on McDavid tonight. I thought the difference in the game was the depth, they got some more depth scoring than we did. ... Other guys have got to get up and get the job done, and they didn't tonight. The fourth line got pinned in their own zone for extended periods to the point where we couldn't really play them. And then you overuse other guys, and you've got to find a way."

NOTES: Sharks C Logan Couture was out with a concussion suffered in Friday's overtime loss to Vancouver; he leads the Sharks with 15 goals and 26 points. ... The Sharks moved LW Mikkel Boedker from injured reserve to the roster ahead of Monday's game. Boedker hadn't played since Dec. 1. ... Edmonton activated D Adam Larsson from injured reserve before the game. Larsson had been out since Nov. 30. ... To make room for Larsson, RW Anton Slepyshev was assigned to the Oilers' AHL affiliate in Bakersfield, Calif. ... The Oilers scratched D Eric Gryba, D Yohann Auvitu and LW Mike Cammalleri. ... The Sharks scratched D Paul Martin and RW Jannik Hansen.

Donskoi's late goal lifts Sharks over Flames

CALGARY, Alberta -- Joonas Donskoi made the most of his return to the lineup after missing the past six games with a lower-body injury.

Donskoi scored at 17:12 of the third period to lead his San Jose Sharks to a 3-2 victory over the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday.

"I thought he was awesome," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "He was on the puck all night, hounding it, carrying it, making plays. I thought he was one of our better players."

Donskoi, who also had a first-period assist, drove hard to the net to poke a loose puck through Calgary goaltender Mike Smith's legs to give San Jose the victory.

"The puck was loose behind Smith. It was the kind of goal we needed at that point," said Donskoi, while adding he felt better as the game progressed. "It was hard, to be honest, at the beginning. It's never easy to come back after you've been out for a while. I think I felt better as the game went along.

"No matter how hard you practice, it's different to play a game. I'm super excited to be back. It was hard to be out."

Donskoi played on a line with Chris Tierney and Timo Meier, who chipped in with a goal and an assist apiece for the Sharks (17-10-3).

"He creates a lot of offense out there and he's scoring a lot of goals and big-time goals for us," Tierney said of Donskoi. "It's huge to have him out there and he adds a lot of depth to our team."

Michael Frolik and Johnny Gaudreau scored for the Flames (16-13-3), who had gone 2-0-2 in their previous four games.

"We gave up a late one," Calgary captain Mark Giordano said. "There's not much more to the game than that. It's a pretty even game.

"They get a rush and nobody knew it was just sitting there in the crease. Tough one to lose a game on."

San Jose's Aaron Dell stopped 32 shots, while Smith finished with 26 saves.

"The last goal, it's got to be stopped," Smith said. "It's a stoppable puck, a controllable puck, so it's on me. I had no idea where the puck was. I just tried to stay still and hope it was under me somewhere."

On his first shift, Troy Brouwer had a great chance for the Flames, but his shot from the slot went just wide.

Joe Thornton found himself alone in front of the Calgary net a short time later, but he wasn't able to jam the puck past Smith.

Frolik opened the scoring at 4:42 of the first period when he intercepted Tim Heed's clearing attempt before wristing a shot through Dell's legs.

The Sharks tied it 3:53 before the first intermission on Meier's fourth goal of the year. Smith did a nice job to poke check the puck off Tierney's stick but it went right to Meier, who quickly swatted a shot into the Calgary net.

The Flames had a two-man advantage for 37 seconds early in the middle frame, but weren't able to capitalize on the opportunity.

Frolik had another great chance at 6:30 of the second. After a failed wraparound attempt by Matthew Tkachuk, the puck lay in the crease for several seconds, but Frolik wasn't able to poke it past Dell.

Tierney gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead 10 minutes into the second when he slipped a shot from the slot through Smith's legs during a San Jose man advantage.

"For whatever reason, it felt like we were losing a lot of puck battles, especially in the middle period there," Giordano said. "I thought in the third period our mindset got way better."

Calgary pulled back into a 2-2 tie when Gaudreau scored at 7:39 of the third. Gaudreau swatted a pass from Garnet Hathaway just under the arm of a diving Dell for his 13th goal of the season.

"You're just trying to look for a spark in the third and I thought we got it," Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan said. "We should have got points tonight. It was a hard-fought game both ways. They're a good team."

NOTES: Flames RW Jaromir Jagr missed his fifth straight game with a lower-body injury. ... Calgary's other scratches were C Freddie Hamilton and D Matt Bartkowski. ... Although the Sharks recalled C Danny O'Regan from the AHL's San Jose Barracuda on Tuesday, he was a healthy scratch along with D Paul Martin and D Joakim Ryan. ... The Sharks have recorded points in four straight games (3-0-1). ... C Ryan Carpenter, who was placed on waivers by the Sharks on Tuesday, was claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights the following morning.

Sharks storm back to beat Hurricanes in OT

SAN JOSE -- Brent Burns called it as he saw it. The game wasn't pretty, but it was entertaining.

The Norris Trophy-winning defenseman scored only his second goal of the season 22 seconds into overtime as the San Jose Sharks beat Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 Thursday night at SAP Center.

The Sharks trailed 3-0 after the first period and 4-2 after the second period.

"Pretty good game for the fans probably, huh?" Burns said. "It's hockey. That game had everything in it. Tough start, great finish. You got to try to learn what we were struggling with, and it worked at the end. It felt good."

Joe Pavelski's pass set up Burns, and Joe Thornton picked up the second assist to move into No. 19 on the NHL's career scoring list with 1,410 points. Thornton scored a goal earlier in the game in addition to assisting on another.

"It started with Jumbo (Thornton), made a great play, coming to help in the defensive zone," Burns said. "And then Pavs obviously made just a great pass there, nice saucer over two sticks, and nice to see it go in."

After falling behind by three goals early, San Jose tied the game in the final period with its third and fourth goals on special teams.

"Our five-on-five play early was good. Our specialty teams hurt us tonight," Carolina coach Bill Peters. "We were minus-4 on special teams. It's tough to win when you do that."

Logan Couture scored his 14th of the season with a power-play strike at 8:31 of the third to bring the Sharks within 4-3 after defenseman Dylan DeMelo drew an interference penalty on Justin Faulk.

Then, Barclay Goodrow scored his second of the season with a short-handed tally -- San Jose's second of the game. He converted a breakaway at 11:56.

"I figured we would push back. We usually do," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "There's a lot of character in that room, a lot of proud guys. When we've been in that spot before, we usually push back, and we did tonight. Fortunate obviously to get a win. That's not the way you draw it up to start the game. We dug ourselves out of a hole. You got to win all kinds of ways in this league over 82 games."

Melker Karlsson got the Sharks on the board at 10:21 of the second period by completing a two-on-one, short-handed break to make the score 3-1.

The Hurricanes went back up by three when San Jose defensemen Paul Martin and Burns found themselves on the weak side, allowing Justin Williams to walk in from the left circle and assist Jeff Skinner on his 11th goal in front at 14:44.

San Jose converted on the power play as Thornton scored his fifth at 17:51 of the second with a wrist shot from the left circle. Tomas Hertl screened Carolina goalie Cam Ward, helping the Sharks pull within 4-2.

The Hurricanes struck for three goals in the span of four shots in the opening period.

Sebastian Aho scored at the side of the net at 9:01 as Sharks goalie Martin Jones skated out from his crease to challenge a possible point shot that turned into a pass.

Victor Rask scored his fifth of the season at 11:37 to cap a faceoff win by the Hurricanes in the Sharks' zone.

Aho scored his second of the period and seventh of the season by picking the top corner over Jones' left glove at 14:14.

"We did pretty good five-on-five. We just needed to create more opportunities," Aho said. "We have to play better. We need to go back to work and play our game for 60 minutes."

NOTES: D Paul Martin returned from a 24-game absence (lower-body injury) and paired with D Brent Burns on San Jose's back end. ... San Jose LW Melker Karlsson returned after missing two games with a laceration. ... Sharks LW Joonas Donskoi (ribs) went on injured reserve to open a roster spot for Martin. ... San Jose also was without F Mikkel Boedker (lower body) and D Tim Heed (upper body). ... Carolina D Klas Dahlbeck and D Phillip Di Giuseppe replaced D Josh Jooris and D Haydn Fleury, who were both healthy scratches. ... The Hurricanes make their third stop of a six-game road trip on Saturday in Los Angeles. ... San Jose continues its stretch of playing three times in four nights with a home game Saturday against Ottawa.

Ovechkin lifts surging Capitals past Sharks

WASHINGTON -- When he was growing up, Alex Ovechkin was a San Jose Sharks fan.

On Monday night, the Sharks were just his latest victims.

Ovechkin scored his league-leading 20th goal of the season and added an assist, Philipp Grubauer stopped 24 shots and the Washington Capitals defeated the Sharks 4-1.

Ovechkin collected his sixth goal in seven games and moved ahead of Mark Recchi into sole possession of 20th place on the NHL's all-time goals list with 578.

"When Ovi is skating like he was skating tonight, he's a force," Washington coach Barry Trotz said. "I was told ... that he (passed Recchi) and the difference is about 700 games. It blows my mind that (he) can pass some great players in this league in term of production and do it with a difference of 700 games."

Monday marked the Capitals' first win at home against the Sharks since 2009, and it was just Washington's second regulation win in their last 26 games against San Jose, the team Ovechkin rooted for while growing up in Russia.

"I was (a fan), but that was a long time ago," Ovechkin said.

Devante Smith-Pelly, Brett Connolly and Jakub Vrana also scored for the Capitals (16-11-1), who have won five of six and are 2-1-0 on their season-high, five-game homestand.

After losing his first six starts, Grubauer has allowed two goals in winning his last two.

"I thought when the game was 2-0, 2-1 (Grubauer) was outstanding," Trotz said. "We left him alone on a couple of odd-man situations and he stood tall."

Timo Meier scored for the Sharks (14-10-2), who finished 2-2-0 on their four-game road trip.

Martin Jones made 25 stops in his first career loss to Washington after four wins.

Washington F T.J. Oshie left the game with an upper-body injury late in the second period after a hit by San Jose's Joe Thornton as Oshie was falling near the boards.

"I bumped him. It felt like my hip kind of hit him in the head," Thornton said. "It's just unfortunate what happened."

At the start of the third period, Washington's Tom Wilson challenged the 38-year-old Thornton to fight. They did, and the result was a chippy third period interrupted by several more fights.

"If someone would have grabbed Joe in the heat of the moment, after the play, because they thought a liberty was taken, then I've got to problem with that," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "But to go into the dressing room, think about it, then come out on the first shift and do that pre-meditated crap is just garbage."

Trotz did not have an update on Oshie after the game.

The first period was scoreless until, with 3:11 left, Smith-Pelly deflected John Carlson's shot from the point past Jones.

Ovechkin made it 2-0 at 7:11 of second period. When San Jose defenseman Brent Burns could not corral a pass at his feet from Kevin Labanc at the Washington blue line, Ovechkin scooped up the puck, skated in alone on Jones and beat him with an elevated backhander.

"He's been working on it for ages," Grubauer said. "Since I've been here he's been working on his backhand and it paid off today."

The Sharks halved the deficit when Justin Braun's blast from the blue line rebounded off the end boards to Meier, who shot it past Grubauer at 11:32.

"We had chances. I thought we could have had three or four (goals)," DeBoer said. "It thought it was a pretty even game. Kind of slipped away from us in the third."

Late in the period with Washington on the power play, Evgeny Kuznetsov, falling down after a hit at the San Jose blue line, pushed the puck to Ovechkin on the left side. Ovechkin fed Connolly and his backhand was in and out so quickly that play continued. When there was finally a stoppage, the play was reviewed and the goal awarded at 19:08.

The goal then survived a challenge by Sharks coach Peter DeBoer, who contended that the Capitals entered the zone offside.

Vrana closed out the scoring with his eighth goal at 11:36 of the third period on a power play.

NOTES: Mark Rechhi played 1,652 games in his career. Alex Ovechkin has played 949. ... Capitals F Travis Boyd, the team's sixth-round pick in the 2011 draft, made his NHL debut. F Chandler Stephenson (upper body injury) sat out and is day-to-day. ... Washington F Andre Burakovsky (thumb surgery) took part in the morning skate for the first time since his injury. He has missed 19 games. ... San Jose now holds a 25-10-2-1 lead in the all-time series vs. Washington. ... Sharks F Marcus Sorensen, recalled from San Jose of the AHL on Saturday, was on the third line. F Ryan Carpenter was scratched.

Booed off the ice: Sharks send Flyers to 9th straight loss

By MIKE CRANSTON
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The boos picked up steam in the second period. The “Fire Hakstol” chants became louder in the third.

When the Philadelphia Flyers’ ugly 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks was over Tuesday night, players held a closed-door meeting, general manager Ron Hextall was insisting they’re still a playoff team and coach Dave Hakstol was shaking off calls for his job.

Mired in a nine-game losing streak — its longest skid in nearly in 10 years — things are getting ugly in Philadelphia.

“Nobody said this was going to be easy,” Hakstol said. “If you don’t want to be in this spot, it’s a choice. That’s how I react to it. There are high expectations in this market.”

Joe Thornton scored the go-ahead goal late in the first period, Chris Tierney and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also scored and Logan Couture had two assists for the Sharks, who kicked off a four-game trip with their second straight win.

“The toughest game is always the first one,” Thornton said. “Three-hour time change, you get here late, dinner late, everything is kind of off. So this first game is huge for us.”

Claude Giroux scored 48 seconds in before the Flyers were blanked the rest of the way by backup Aaron Dell, who made 22 saves.

“They can chant whatever they want. We’re in this together,” Giroux said of his coach. “We’re all in the same boat here. It’s not on him, it’s on everybody.”

Thanks to blown leads and overtime and shootout defeats, Flyers are 0-4-5 since their last win, Nov. 9 against Chicago. It’s the longest streak since an 0-8-2 stretch in February 2008.

After a players-only meeting postgame, Hextall addressed reporters.

“If we were playing poorly, I’d be the first to say, ‘We’re playing poorly.’ I would be,” he said. “We’re not playing poorly. To look objectively at our team right now and to say we’re playing poorly, no. Are we shooting ourselves in the foot at times? Yes, we are. Critical mistakes at critical times, yes.”

San Jose was without top goaltender Martin Jones, who sustained an unspecified injury near the end of his shutout of Winnipeg on Saturday. Jones traveled and is expected to play on the trip.

After Giroux’s 11th goal, Dell looked sharp. Tierney tied it from the right circle at 10:29, and then Thornton’s 5-on-3 goal with 1:18 left in the first period put the Sharks ahead 2-1.

Vlasic scored with 3:56 left in the second period as the Sharks improved to 6-2-1 on the road.

“Our style is good for the road, but I think our style is good for wherever we are playing,” Vlasic said.

It marked the seventh time in nine games the Flyers have blown a lead during their skid. And undisciplined play continues to be a problem.

Philadelphia took three penalties in 3 minutes late in the first period. Then while trailing 2-1, the Flyers went on the power play early in the second period, only to have it negated 9 seconds later when Jakub Voracek tripped Tomas Hertl.

On the second day of a back-to-back, backup Michal Neuvirth made 31 saves for the Flyers, who showed little energy in the third period. They had just one shot on goal until Hakstol pulled Neuvirth for an extra attacker with about 3 minutes left.

“I don’t have answers for you,” Giroux said.

The Sharks earned a split in the season series after losing on opening night to the Flyers 5-3 behind Wayne Simmonds’ hat trick. Simmonds has scored just four goals in 24 games since.

“We get booed every once in a while,” said Simmons, who took two penalties. “But when we’re getting booed the whole game, it’s pretty embarrassing.”

NOTES: Sharks F Joonas Donskoi left in the second period with an injury. . Sharks C Melker Karlsson (upper body) returned after a four-game absence and played on the fourth line. . Flyers D Radko Gudas served the sixth game of his 10-game suspension for slashing.

UP NEXT

The Sharks play at Florida on Friday.

The Flyers host Boston on Saturday before a three-game trip to western Canada next week.

Vermette scores winner in shootout, Ducks edge Sharks 3-2

By RICK EYMER
Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Antoine Vermette made sure Reto Berra had a memorable first start with Anaheim.

Vermette beat goalie Martin Jones in the ninth round of a long shootout to give the Ducks a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Monday night.

Corey Perry, Cam Fowler and Brandon Montour also scored during the tiebreaker for Anaheim.

Joonas Donskoi, Tim Heed and Brent Burns had shootout goals for the Sharks. Tomas Hertl missed his attempt in the ninth round, leaving Vermette a chance to win it.

“I tried to change pace, change direction,” Vermette said. “I started a little quicker and then I slowed down, changed sides and saw how he was going to react.”

Perry and Rickard Rakell scored in regulation for the Ducks. Berra made 40 saves in his first start of the season.

“The last two weeks, since I played my last game, I felt really good in practice and the same in the game,” Berra said. “It was a tough start and good chance that they scored (on), but after that I got better and better into the game. I stayed calm, I stayed big, and so I’m really happy.”

Donskoi had two goals for the Sharks, including the tying score in the third period. Jones stopped 28 shots.

“He’s one of the guys who has driven this team,” Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. “It was a big night for him. He stepped up. You could see right from the start he had legs and he wanted to play the puck.”

Donskoi helped create his own goal by knocking the puck away from a Ducks defender and getting it to Logan Couture for a give-and-go as the Sharks took a 1-0 lead 3:31 into the game.

The Ducks came back in the second period to even the score 45 seconds in. After winning a faceoff in the San Jose zone, Montour sent a sharp pass to Perry’s stick. Perry settled it and fired into the net for the equalizer.

Rakell gave the Ducks a 2-1 advantage midway through the second, just as a power play ended. Perry took a shot that bounced off Jones’ pads, and Rakell knocked it into the net before Jones could cover up.

“Our goaltender made some big stops and got us to overtime and made a couple more in overtime,” Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. “And obviously the shootout, we scored one more than they did.”

The Sharks snapped an 0-for-17 streak on the power play with a goal midway through the third to tie it. Donskoi tracked down a rebound and flipped it off Berra’s right pad and into the net for his second career multi-goal game.

“It felt good to get a power-play goal,” Donskoi said. “We haven’t been so good on the power play. We’ve got a lot of good players in this room, a lot of young guys who have a chance to play a bigger role.”

NOTES: Ducks D Cam Fowler returned to action after missing 12 games with a knee injury. ... Sharks C Melker Karlsson missed the game with an upper-body injury. ... Sharks forward Kevin Labanc, who hasn’t played much recently, started on the top line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. Donskoi was moved to the second line. ... Ducks G Ryan Miller missed the game with a lower-body injury. Berra made his fourth appearance this season. ... Perry has seven points in his last five games. ... Rakell has a point in seven of his past eight games, with a total of 11 during that span. ... The Sharks scored their second power-play goal in eight November games.

UP NEXT

Ducks: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.

Sharks: Play at the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday.

Luongo stops 35 shots in Panthers’ 2-0 win over Sharks

By RICK EYMER
Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Roberto Luongo likes playing in San Jose. After making 35 saves for his 74th career shutout, he has even more reason to enjoy it.

Luongo was rock solid as the Florida Panthers blanked the Sharks 2-0 Thursday night on goals by Colton Sceviour and Nick Bjugstad.

“The first 40 minutes was probably some of the best hockey we’ve played, system-wise,” Luongo said. “No matter what the situation was in the game, we didn’t deviate from our system. Even though we had the lead, we still kept playing the right way. We didn’t sit back and try to protect.”

Florida coach Bob Boughner won in his return to San Jose. He served as an assistant coach for the Sharks the last two years.

“The two points are the most important thing to me,” Boughner said. “We talked this morning about how important this place was to me and the connections I had and how first-class this organization was in taking care of me and giving me a chance. But the two points are the most important.”

Luongo earned his first shutout of the season and first in 32 games against San Jose.

“That guy never ceases to amaze,” Boughner said. “He kept his composure, especially in the scrambles. He wasn’t over-moving. He was real square every time.”

Martin Jones was nearly as good for the Sharks. He stopped 26 shots, but that wasn’t enough to keep the Panthers from winning for the seventh time in their last eight trips to San Jose.

Sharks defenseman Tim Heed had a goal disallowed on a coach’s challenge a little less than five minutes into the second period. Replays showed he came into contact with the puck just behind the blue line, making the play offside.

San Jose had another goal overturned after a replay review. Brent Burns took a hard shot that Luongo nearly caught but couldn’t handle and it bounced along his pads. Marc-Edouard Vlasic was one of three Sharks trying to poke at the puck and he used his stick to push both the puck and Luongo’s pad into the net.

“The ref was telling me the puck was loose,” Luongo said. “Even if it was, the player pitchforked my leg into the net and there was no way I was going to make the save in that situation.”

Vlasic didn’t see it that way.

“The puck crossed the line,” he said. “You’re jabbing at the puck and it hits his pad. It should have been an absolute goal. The one was offside, that’s all there is to it. The other one is a judgment call. I don’t know the rules anymore.”

Sceviour scored a minute into the second after digging out the puck along the boards behind the net. He skated around the cage and poked a shot that hit Jones’ pads. He took a second shot that got over the goalie’s pads and went in.

Sceviour has four points in six games since returning from injury. He had two points in his first six games this season.

The Panthers, who have won three of four, added an insurance goal with less than eight minutes remaining. Radim Vrbata intercepted a pass in the Sharks zone and played it to Jamie McGinn, who got Jones to commit before dishing to Bjugstad.

“We have to create more offense, make smarter decisions and get hungrier around the net,” San Jose’s Logan Couture said. “We’re not going to win many games if we’re scoring two or less.”

NOTES: Panthers C Michael Haley received a warm ovation from Sharks fans. He played in San Jose the last couple of years. ... Sharks D Paul Martin missed his 15th game with a lower-body injury, though he has been skating pain-free for the past two weeks. ... Florida center Vincent Trocheck has 12 points in his last 10 games. ... The Sharks have not scored on their past 15 power plays.

UP NEXT

Panthers: At the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

Sharks: Host the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

Ward's skate deflection goal tips Sharks past Kings, 2-1

By GREG BEACHAM
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — After the Sharks and the Kings struggled to shoot any pucks into either net throughout a defense-dominated night, Joel Ward put his best foot forward.

Ward scored the tiebreaking goal on a long deflection off his skate with 7:10 to play, and San Jose rallied from a third-period deficit for a 2-1 victory over the Kings on Sunday night.

Melker Karlsson scored the tying goal early in the third before Ward got creative and lucky , using his left skate from the faceoff circle to redirect Barclay Goodrow’s shot past Drew Doughty and Jonathan Quick for his third goal of the season.

“I started playing soccer the last couple of days,” Ward said with a laugh, referring to many hockey players’ long-standing tradition of using soccer to warm up before games in arena hallways. “I don’t know. I saw it coming my direction. I actually knew Timo (Meier) was on the back side, and I just tried to redirect it over to his area.”

Instead, it somehow went straight into Los Angeles’ net for the eventual winner in the latest chapter of this long-standing California rivalry.

Martin Jones made 26 saves for the Sharks, who have won six of seven overall after evening the season series with Los Angeles.

“Especially when you come back in the third period to win it, it’s even more rewarding,” Goodrow said. “It’s always a tight-checking game against these guys.”

Dustin Brown scored on a first-period power play for the Pacific Division-leading Kings, who have lost four of six after a 9-1-1 start. Quick stopped 31 shots, but Los Angeles lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.

“I thought we played 20 (minutes) really well, and then 40 the way they wanted to play,” Kings coach John Stevens said. “There were lots of issues before (Ward’s) ricochet happened. It may look like an unlucky play, but there was an awful lot of things that could have gone better prior to that puck going into the net.”

Captain Anze Kopitar extended his points streak to a career high-tying eight games with an assist for the Kings, but the game was appropriately low-scoring for a meeting of the NHL’s two stingiest defensive teams.

“We just pulled back and we weren’t attacking as much as we did in the first couple of periods,” Kopitar said. “They were able to capitalize on that, but it was just a couple of fluky goals, really.”

The Kings went ahead in the first period on Brown’s redirection of Kopitar’s shot for the Kings’ sixth power play goal in six games.

The 33-year-old Brown was stripped of the Kings’ captaincy last season and seemed to be on the downslope of his career with an immovable, multi-year contract and declining production.

But the two-time Stanley Cup winner has been utterly revitalized under new coach John Stevens. Playing with his usual physicality while rediscovering his offensive ability, Brown scored his eighth goal of this season nearly three months earlier than he hit the same mark last year, when he failed to crack 40 points for the fourth consecutive season.

After a scoreless second period featuring 15 saves by Quick, Karlsson tied it with his third goal of the season after a Kings clearing attempt took an odd deflection. Logan Couture got his Sharks-leading 15th point with an assist.

NOTES: Kopitar also has a seven-game assists streak, another career high. He leads the Kings with 21 points. Kopitar scored his 21st point last season on Jan. 12. ... Sharks RW Kevin Labanc returned to the lineup after a two-game stint in the minors. Jannik Hansen was a healthy scratch. ... Kings F Adrian Kempe returned to the lineup after missing one game. Rookie Michael Amadio was scratched for the first time since his NHL debut Oct. 26.

UP NEXT

Sharks: Host Florida Panthers on Thursday to open a three-game homestand.

Kings: Host Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday in the third game of a five-game homestand.

Couture, Tierney score 2 each, Sharks beat Canucks 5-0

By RICK EYMER
Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Aaron Dell helped the San Jose Sharks keep up their dominance of the Vancouver Canucks.

Dell stopped 41 shots for his second career shutout as the Sharks beat the Canucks for the sixth straight time, 5-0 on Saturday night.

“You continue to believe in yourself and never give up,” Dell said. “It takes a lot of hard work.”

Logan Couture and Chris Tierney each scored twice, and Tomas Hertl had a goal and an assist as San Jose won for the fifth time in six games. The Sharks swept all five games of last year’s series from the Canucks and picked up where they left off.

With San Jose leading 2-0, Dell delivered a highlight-reel save with just over five minutes remaining. The Sharks turned the puck over in their own zone, with the Canucks getting two clear shots before Dell’s glove save kept the puck out of the net.

“Their goalie played well. We didn’t deserve to be shut out but that’s how it goes sometimes. You run into a hot goalie,” Canucks defenseman Derrick Poulet said. “Short-handed goals are momentum killers for sure. And on the power plays you have to find a way to put a couple in the net. It’s a big thing.”

Couture and Tierney added empty-net goals in the final two minutes, and Tierney converted his first penalty try in three attempts with 12.2 seconds left.

Jacob Markstrom stopped 26 of 29 shots for Vancouver, which has lost three of four.

For the second game in a row, the Sharks scored within the first minute. Hertl had a shot by Justin Braun glance off his skate and into the net off Markstrom’s pads. He has seven points in his last six games against Vancouver.

“It’s a lucky goal but I’ll take it,” Hertl said. “It was really a hard game. It was 2-0 until the final two minutes.”

Unlike the last game, when the Sharks were shut out the rest of the way, Couture added a goal late in the second period. Hertl won the puck along the board during a Canucks power play and floated a pass to the streaking Couture, who beat Markstrom 1-on-1 for the Sharks’ first short-handed goal of the season.

“It’s always nice to contribute offensively,” Couture said. “I thought everybody played great.”

Despite the lop-sided score, the Canucks were happy with their overall performance.

“We played a great hockey game, a really good hockey game,” Canucks coach Travis Green said. “It was 2-0 until late. We outshot them 37-14, I think, over the last 50 minutes, minus the two empty-net shots. We played a good road game but didn’t get the results we wanted.”

NOTES: Canucks F Loui Eriksson returned to the lineup after missing 12 games with a knee injury. ... Sharks C Melker Karlsson played in his 200th NHL game. ... Hertl recorded a multiple-point game for just the second time. ... Couture ended a five-game goalless streak. ... The Canucks killed off four penalties after allowing five power-play goals in their previous 10 chances. ... The Sharks allowed a season-high in shots.

UP NEXT

Canucks: At Los Angeles on Tuesday night.

Sharks: At Los Angeles on Sunday.

Namestnikov scores 2 as NHL-best Lightning stop Sharks, 5-1

By RICK EYMER

Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — NHL scoring leader Steven Stamkos needs only to look across the dressing room to keep track of his closest competitor. That would be Tampa Bay Lightning teammate Nikita Kucherov, two points behind.

“We don’t think about it that way,” Stamkos said. “It’s a treat to play with him. Vlady, too. I know he flies under the radar but he’s a huge part of our line.”

Vladislav Namestnikov had two goals, Kucherov scored his 15th of the season and the Lightning ended San Jose’s four-game winning streak by beating the Sharks 5-1 on Wednesday night.

Jake Dotchin got his first career goal and Slater Koekkoek also scored for the Lightning (12-2-2), who lead the NHL standings with 26 points.

“That was a big moment,” Dotchin said. “That’s something I’ve been looking forward to since Day One of being in the league. Coming on a day we win makes it even better.”

Stamkos had three assists for Tampa Bay. Kucherov added two and Namestnikov had one as all three players finished with three points. Stamkos (28 points) and Kucherov (26) rank 1-2 in the league in scoring.

“It’s fun,” Stamkos said. “And we work hard as a line to get better. Vlady is a great player and he makes our line better.”

Joonas Donskoi scored for the Sharks, who allowed five goals for the third time this season. They gave up a total of six during their winning streak.

“We didn’t do anything well,” coach Peter DeBoer said. “When you play an elite team, you’ve got to bring your A game and we didn’t do that across the board.”

Donskoi scored 25 seconds into the game as the Sharks peppered Andrei Vasilevskiy with a myriad of shots before Donskoi found a hole.

“Yeah, good start,” San Jose’s Marc-Edouard Vlasic said. “Then they scored five goals. That’s not what we wanted. If you miss assignments and leave them alone, they’ll bury them.”

Vasilevskiy was a wall the rest of the way, stopping 32 shots on the night.

Sharks starter Martin Jones allowed four goals on 21 shots and was pulled after two periods. Aaron Dell stopped eight of nine shots in the third.

“Our game tailed off,” San Jose’s Logan Couture said. “We turned pucks over, didn’t forecheck and they felt comfortable. They had the puck all night. They’re so talented, all four lines, and fast.”

Dotchin joined Tampa Bay’s scoring frenzy midway through the first after taking a pass from Brayden Point. One of the NHL’s top offensive teams, the Lightning added three goals in the second period against one of the best defensive teams in the league.

“That was our best period all year,” Stamkos said.

NOTES: Sharks C Joe Pavelski’s next goal will be his 300th. ... Vlasic returned to the ice after missing a game due to a blow to the head. ... Sharks forward Jannik Hansen was in the lineup after sitting out the previous six games. ... Kucherov has at least one goal and one assist in five of his past eight games. ... Point has nine points in his last eight games. ... Stamkos had his ninth multi-point game of the season.

UP NEXT

Lightning: Continue their road trip at Los Angeles on Thursday.

Sharks: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.