Today, the San Jose Sharks hosted the New York Rangers in a Saturday matinee. The contest was rather early for the West Coasters, but it was a fun-filled game nonetheless.
The Rangers (40-24-8) closed out their three-game California road trip with a disappointing loss against the Sharks (40-25-6).
The Sharks haven’t always been good at home, but Saturday’s contest was a different story. San Jose opened a six-game home stand on a positive note.
After a scoreless first period, San Jose outshot New York 16-11. Also, Tommy Wingels was penalized for closing his hand on the puck, but the Rangers were unable to capitalize on the power play.
Sharks right winger Joel Ward opened the scoring at 9:50 of the second, recording his 18th goal of the season on the power play, afteer Rangers left winger Tanner Glass roughed up against Wingels for the penalty. Joonas Donskoi and Tomas Hertl accounted for the assists on Ward’s first goal of the game.
Then, New York defenseman and former Shark Dan Boyle tied the game 1-1 with his eighth goal of the season at 17:32. Derick Brassard (27) and Marc Staal (12) picked up the assists. Boyle has now scored against all 30 NHL teams.
The Sharks outshot the Rangers 37-20 after 40 minutes of play.
A late scoring surge by the Sharks in the third put them ahead of the Rangers.
Joe Thornton scored his 17th goal of the season at 5:45 to give San Jose a 2-1 lead. Joel Ward followed with his 19th goal of the season and second goal of the game to make it 3-1 Sharks at 7:34. Joe Pavelski expanded the lead 4-1 with his 33rd goal of the season at 9:05.
The Sharks outshot the Rangers 52-26 after 60 minutes of play, recording a season-high 52 shots. New York committed four penalties while San Jose committed three penalties.
The Sharks beat the Rangers 4-1. Martin Jones made 25 saves for the Sharks. On the other hand, Henrik Lundqvist gave up four goals on 47 shots and was pulled for backup goalie Antti Raanta at 9:05 of the third.
The Rangers finished their California road trip with a 1-1-1 record. They defeated the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 and lost to the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in overtime.
As of Saturday afternoon, the Sharks trail the first-place Kings by five points and are just one point behind the second-place Ducks in the Pacific Division. Meanwhile, the Rangers have 88 points and trail the first-place Washington Capitals by 19 points in the Metropolitan Division.
Three Stars of the Game
1. Joel Ward (#42, SJS, Right Wing)
2. Tomas Hertl (#48, SJS, Center)
3. Joe Pavelski (#8, SJS, Center)
Notes:
Sharks were without forward Matt Nieto and defenseman Marc Edouard-Vlasic after they were injured in a 3-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday. Defenseman Dylan DeMelo was called up Saturday from the San Jose Barracuda to replace Vlasic. Sharks center Tommy Wingels replaced Nieto.
Sharks center Patrick Marleau played his 1,400th NHL game, becoming the 36th player in NHL history to do so. He’s 36 years old and the youngest player (36 years old) in NHL history to reach the milestone.
Up Next:
Sharks host the Coyotes Sunday night at 7 pm PT on CSCA, FSAZ.
Rangers host the Florida Panthers Monday night at 7 pm ET on MSG, FSFL.
