Despite surrendering the opening goal to the New Jersey Devils, the San Jose Sharks were able to respond offensively tonight, putting up five goals, including three unanswered, and winning their second straight game.
The Sharks got off to a slow start, allowing the Devils to generate scoring chances and the opening goal. With an innocent looking shot, Drew Stafford beat Martin Jones, squeezing the puck past him for the Devils to take the early lead. That woke up the Sharks’ offense. Timo Meier betted a tying goal and Joe Pavelski grabbed his 20th goal of the season to give the team a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission.
Against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday, it was Lukas Radil who score his first NHL goal. Tonight, it was his fellow countryman, Radim Simek who finally found his first career goal, giving the Sharks a 3-1 lead in the second period. However, the Devils responded less than two minutes later when Andy Greene crashed the net and scored off a pass from Kyle Palmieri. With about five minutes left in the period, Meier beat Keith Kinkaid top-shelf and restored the Sharks’ two-goal lead.
The final period was a bit quieter on the score, but the Sharks were able to get the period’s lone goal courtesy of Tomas Hertl, who put the game further out of reach for New Jersey. It wasn’t the only scoring opportunity the Sharks were able to generate, but Kinkaid tried to keep the Devils in the game. Nevertheless, the team could only muster three scoring chances at even strength and the Sharks walked away with the victory.
Pregame
After snatching a victory in the final minutes against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday, the San Jose Sharks are coming home to open up a two-game homestand.
First up, the New Jersey Devils, who are coming into the Bay Area on the seond half of a back-to-back. While the Sharks were off yesterday, the Devils suffered a shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks, which means the team didn’t depart for Northern California until late last night.
The Devils’ offense runs through their first line of Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri and Nico Hischier. The trio have a combined 30 goals and 75 points. As for the Sharks, they hope that Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture can match the Devils’ top line in offensive production tonight. With both teams averaging over three goals per game, expect some offense tonight.
With the resurgence of the Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights in the Pacific Division, the Sharks can’t afford to leave points on the table, particularly against opponents like the Devils, who are currently in last place in the Atlantic Division and playing without rest.
Lines
The lines look similar to what the team rolled out in Arizona. Lukas Radil is back on the fourth line, while Antti Suomela remains a healthy scratch. Meanwhile, in net, Martin Jones is back after a having night off against the Coyotes.
Projected lines for the #SJSharks as they take on the #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/EFYm6Lqktj
— Fear the Festivus ❄️ (@fearthefin) December 10, 2018
As for the Devils, the only significant change is Keith Kinkaid drawing into the net as Corey Schneider played in Anaheim last night.
Forwards
Taylor Hall — Nico Hischier — Kyle Palmieri
Marcus Johansson — Pavel Zacha — Jesper Bratt
Miles Wood — Travis Zajac — Blake Coleman
Brian Boyle — Brett Seney — Stefan Noesen
Defense
Andy Greene — Damon Severson
Will Butcher — Sami Vatanen
Egor Yakovlev — Ben Lovejoy
Goaltenders
Keith Kinkaid
Cory Schneider
Finally, here’s how both teams stack up statistically
A 👀 at the 🔢 ahead of tonight’s matchup.
🗒: https://t.co/pbBOuFLcYC pic.twitter.com/M0YTYNA9Mn
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) December 10, 2018
Where to Watch
Puck drop from SAP Center is at 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET, broadcast on NBC Sports California or heard on KFOX 98.5. Check back then for updates and live coverage.
Hey everyone, Eddie here and I’ll be with you liveblogging tonight’s action as the Sharks take on the Devils.
First Period
20:00: Let’s drop the puck and get this game underway!
19:33: Martin Jones with a vital blocker save on Travis Zajac
18:44: Jones with some key early saves, Devils don’t look like they played last night
14:21: Penalty. Sharks head to the penalty-kill after Radil is called for tripping
12:21: Sharks kill the penalty as the Devils were unable to muster much of a threat
9:24: Sharks with a scoring chance with bodies crowding the crease but Kinkaid keeps it out
7:55: Goal. Drew Stafford fires it towards the net and it squeaks past Jones
4:10: GOAL! Timo time! Timo Meier goes down the wing and fires the puck far-side to beat Kinkaid and it’s 1-1
1:57: GOAL! Joe Pavelski gives the Sharks a 2-1 lead as he picks up the rebound in front of the net and scores
1:05: Meier comes close to getting his second goal with a tip-in shot, but Kinkaid is able to corral it
Second Period
18:23: Meier sets up Vlasic but Kinkaid stops the puck with his pad, Meier is really feeling it tonight
14:43: Sharks with a 3-on-1 opportunity but Kinkaid denies the scoring chance
13:11: Another Sharks scoring chance but the puck stays out of the Devils net
12:41: GOAL. Radim Simek gets his first NHL goal as he helps extend the Sharks lead and it’s 3-1 midway through the second period
11:01: Goal. Andy Greene crashes the net and scores off a pass from Kyle Palmieri and cuts the Sharks lead to one
9:49: Power Play. Brett Seney is called for slashing and the Sharks will get their first odd-man advantage of the game
7:49: The Devils are able to kill the penalty and it’s back to full strength
7:25: Penalty. Sharks are called for interference as the Devils head to the power play
5:25: Sharks are able to kill off the Devils power play
5:08: GOAL. Meier goes top-shelf and gets his second goal of the game and it’s 4-2 Sharks
2:00: Jones fights off a shot from Miles Wood as the Devils are pushing to cut the lead to one
:13: Erik Karlsson with a bomb from the blue line but Kinkaid fights it off
Third Period
18:05: Kevin Labanc dekes but is unable to score as Jesper Bratt is there to prevent the goal
13:14: With little action, Brain Boyle fires a shot from the blue line but Jones is there to gobble up the puck
11:49: Greene gets his skate knocked off and is skating on one foot for a funny moment
10:31: Labanc again with a scoring chance but Kinkaid denies him again
8:33: The puck is around the net, but Kinkaid is able to find and cover the puck
5:07: Boyle generates a turnover and Stafford picks up the puck as he dekes but is unable to beat Jones
5:45: Power Play. Miles Wood is serving the unsportmanlike penalty for Sami Vatanen as the Sharks head to the man advantage
5:37: GOAL! Power play goal as Tomas Hertl gets his ninth goal of the season and it’s 5-2 Sharks
2:08: Meier with a chance at the hat-trick but Kinkaid plays the spoiler and denies him
Final: Sharks 5, Devils 2
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