Malkin's scoring streak ends against Sharks

Russian rookie Evgeni Malkin's record scoring streak came to an end when he failed to find the net in the Pittsburgh Penguins' 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.

Malkin entered the contest bidding to become the first rookie to score a goal in each of his first seven career NHL games.

The 20-year-old Russian has had a spectacular start to his NHL career with a goal in each of his first six games, equaling the record set by the Ottawa Senators' Cy Denneny and the Montreal Canadiens' Joe Malone and Newsy Lalonde in the league's inaugural season in 1917.

Malkin, who has been playing on line with last year's rookie sensation Sidney Crosby, had three shots on goal during the chippy, penalty-filled contest.

The loss also halted the Penguins' five-game winning streak, the team's longest in nearly five years.

Kyle McLaren, Matt Carle and Mike Grier each had a goal for the Sharks, who have won three of their last four.

Michel Ouellet and Dominic Moore scored the Pittsburgh goals.

NHL: San Jose Sharks Still Undefeated

The San Jose Sharks remain unbeaten in the National Hockey League after three games.

Goalie Vesa Toskala made 29 saves and San Jose got goals from four scorers to defeat the host Calgary Flames Monday night, 4-1. Toskala was three minutes away from a shutout when he allowed a goal to Alex Tanguay.

With the win the Sharks stay tied for first place in the Pacific Division with the Anaheim Ducks, who are also 3-0 after beating the St. Louis Blues, 2-0.

The Columbus Blue Jackets remain unbeaten as well after a 5-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes. Nikolai Zherdev scored two goals to lead Columbus, which has two wins and a tie to lead the Central Division.

In other NHL games, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat Florida in a shootout, 2-1, and Atlanta edged Tampa Bay, 1-0.

NHL: SHARKS: Memories Flood Back For Former Shark Whitney

He was surrounded by a horde of reporters seeking information. He had seen mob scenes like this before in June, when he used to live in Edmonton and was the stickboy for the often-crowned Stanley Cup champion Oilers in the 1980s. This time, Ray Whitney was on the other side, as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes, competing for a Cup title against a new era of Oilers.It was less than 24 hours after Whitney had scored two of Carolina's four third-period goals en route to a 5-4 victory in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. He was answering each question with rapid-fire confidence, about his goals, once being a stickboy and getting a $100 Christmas gift for personally shaving Wayne Gretzky's sticks so well for "The Great One", how he still has the Oilers jacket he wore in 1986-87 and 1987-88, when the team won the third and fourth of its five championships, and the night Marty McSorley, while shaving his playoff beard, took the scissors to Whitney's mullet.Then suddenly, Whitney was stumped ... briefly, when the subject of the seriousness of the injury to Oilers' No. 1 goaltender Dwayne Roloson came up and someone wondered about who might be in goal for Edmonton in Game 2.The choices were obviously Ty Conklin or Jussi Markkanen. But ... with a twist."Any thoughts on Floyd being the third goalie?" one reporter asked, referring to Ray's dad, Floyd, a retired cop and former head of the canine unit for the Edmonton Police Department who has served for years as a third goalie for the Oilers ... and actually was signed to a one-game contract and was sitting in the team's locker room in full gear for a game against Washington in December of 1999 in case Tommy Salo got hurt after Bill Ranford, the No. 1 goalie, left the game with a bruised toe.After pausing briefly to chuckle, Ray Whitney said, "I hope so."When Oilers coach Craig MacTavish was quizzed on the same subject, he, too, laughed and said, "Ray would go from two goals to six. ... And that's with Floyd trying."Ray Whitney knows that as the Oiler's stickboy when he was 14 and 15 back in the 1980s, he was privileged to get a firsthand look at how the locker room of one of the greatest NHL teams of all-time worked."What kid wouldn't want to be in my shoes working for the Oilers?" Ray asked. "That was when Gretzky was in his heyday. ... I remember watching the games from the bench. You couldn't get a better seat than that."Those Oilers didn't lose often, and when they lost ugly, it got ugly in the room. Maybe growing up and seeing that made an impression. They didn't rant and rave all the time, but when it was needed, they weren't shy."Whitney also took from those old Oilers a sense of what it means to love the game and how important it is to have fun playing it.After being a second-round pick in the 1991 draft by the San Jose Sharks, Whitney fondly recalls his first NHL goal in a 26-game stint in 1992-93 being a goal against Oilers goalie Ron Tugnutt in San Jose in a 3-1 loss in December of that season."My goal came on a power play," he recalled after Game 1, quickly spitting out all of the details like it happened yesterday. "It was a turnover by Edmonton and it went from Doug Zmolek, across to Pat Falloon, who I played juniors with, and he threw it backdoor to me and I scored off Ron Tugnutt. It was on TV back home, so everybody from where I was from obviously saw it. It was very special to get it against Edmonton."Whitney spent the first six years of his career playing for the Sharks after they made him the 23rd overall pick in 1991. The left wing registered 121 points (48 goals, 73 assists) in 200 career games with the Sharks before leaving in the 1997-98 season to play with Edmonton.The Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, native, who is now 34, played in nine games with the Oilers in 1997-98, with one goal and three assists, as part of a 14-year NHL career in which he has also performed for Florida, Columbus and Detroit, before signing with the Hurricanes last August. He had 17 goals and 38 assists for Carolina in the regular season and now eight goals and five assists in 18 playoff games.You could say Whitney now has a chance to get back at the Oilers for first passing on him once in the 1991 draft ... and then putting him on waivers back in November of 1997. But, while there are still feelings about his old team, Ray and Floyd are only thinking about beating Edmonton ... this time."There's no revenge whatsoever. I wouldn't trade those times with the Oilers for anything," Whitney laughed. "My dad might think a little differently, because of me. Blood, you know. I guess you could say he's a man without a team ... for now. Or maybe he's a man with two teams."You can see the poise in the step of the undersized 5-foot-10, 178-pound Whitney, from the time well-spent in the championship Oilers' locker room. He didn't waste any time pouncing on his old team in Game 1."It's nothing personal, all business," he laughed.Then, Whitney went off on another one of those fanciful trips down memory lane."I remember being added late to the All-Star Game in Toronto in 2000 and scoring a goal," Whitney said. "It was ironic, because I scored against Tommy Salo and Mark Messier assisted on the goal. The funny part of the story is that I guess I had a flashback to the old Oilers days, because I swear, I remember waiting for him to tell me to get the shoeshine box."For now, Whitney is one of those veterans who has a knack for finding the holes in an opponent's zone. The diminutive winger also adds plenty of grit and an innate ability to shoot on the move that has allowed him to score more than 20 goals in a season five times, setting a career-high in 1997-98 when he combined that season with Edmonton and Florida."He's a smart player," said Hurricanes captain Rod Brind'Amour. "He's small, but he never quits working and fighting to find an opening.""And he's got a real quick release and dangerous shot," said center Doug Weight."He makes everyone else better," coach Peter Laviolette said. "And he's not shy about speaking his mind in the locker room. He's never shy about that. He makes everyone else better."Though he now wears No. 13 for the Hurricanes, he has long worn No. 14 because of his fondness for current Oilers coach Craig MacTavish."We always knew Ray has a lot of pretty good skills" MacTavish said. "You don't just will 20-goal seasons like he has so often in his career. It takes talent and a lot of mental toughness to fight through the heavy traffic areas where he scores a lot of his goals. I'd like to think he got some of that passion from watching us back in the 1980s."There always seems to be a story-within-a-story theme when the Stanley Cup is up for grabs. Seeing Ray Whitney and Oilers left winger Ryan Smyth on the ice after being stickboys in Edmonton is yet another delightful morsel in Cup history.It wouldn't be too trite to say that Smyth and Whitney now have a chance to carve out a little of their own history.

Sharks In Good Position For Next Season

The San Jose Sharks have had a week to digest their semifinal loss to the red hot Edmonton Oilers and although the loss was difficult for Team Teal, the 2005-06 season was still successful. But now it’s time to look toward the future and start preparing for the 2006-07 season. Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson and his staff have not only done an excellent job of developing players from within, but also of signing them proactively. For this reason, the Sharks will be returning virtually their entire roster filled with players that propelled the Sharks one of the top teams in the League. Wilson made decisions in the middle of the season that will help the Sharks for years to come. He signed Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner Jonathan Cheechoo to a multi-year deal as well as the goaltending duo of Vesa Toskala and Evgeni Nabokov. Patrick Marleau signed a multi-year deal before the beginning of the 2005-06 season and the trade that brought Hart Trophy candidate Joe Thornton also brought a contract that will guarantee he will be in San Jose for the next two years. Other crucial pieces to the puzzle that are locked up for next season include defensemen Matt Carle, Josh Gorges, Scott Hannan, Kyle McLaren and Tom Preissing. On the offensive side, rookie standouts Milan Michalek and Steve Bernier, as well as Nils Ekman and Ville Nieminen, will also be wearing Teal come September. There are a handful of current Sharks that are restricted free agents, meaning the team has exclusive rights to sign them before anyone else gets a crack at it. Current Sharks in this category are Rob Davison, Christian Ehrhoff, Jim Fahey, Marcel Goc, Doug Murray, Scott Parker, Patrick Rissmiller, Mark Smith and Grant Stevenson. Alyn McCauley is the only unrestricted free agent on Team Teal. Because he is unrestricted he will be able to sign with any club he chooses. Overall the Sharks are in great shape. In addition to all the key players that are locked up, their minor league system is in the same boat. Former first rounders Lukas Kaspar and Devin Setoguchi are signed and will be ready in the coming years to make the transition to the NHL. Without a doubt, the Sharks are sitting in a good position to make another run at the Stanley Cup in 2007.

The Season Is Over For The San Jose Sharks

The Edmonton Oilers have reached the Western Conference finals for the first time in 14 years by downing San Jose 2-to-0. The Oilers won the last four games of the series after dropping two at San Jose.
The Sharks flew home overnight. Instead of preparing for a decisive Game 7 at the Shark Tank tomorrow night, the team will pack up their lockers and head for their perspective home towns.
The Sharks had the momentum early in the series, but the team seemed to fall apart during their final home game in San Jose. The Sharks couldn't even score one goal last night in Edmonton.
Dwayne Roloson posted his first career playoff shutout by stopping 24 shots while helping the Oilers kill off the Sharks' eight power plays. Roloson faced only 12 shots after the first period.

Michael Peca put the Oilers ahead to stay by beating Vesa Toskala eight-21 into the contest. Shawn Horcoff added an insurance goal midway through the final period.
It's the first time the Oilers have won a series after trailing two-games-to-none. Edmonton now prepares for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

And a Child Shall Lead Them

By Mike Brody
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Rookie goaltenders have had success in the Stanley Cup Playoffs before – most notably with Ken Dryden in 1971 and Patrick Roy in 1986, both leading the Montreal Canadiens to the Cup – but never before has a crop of rookie goalies dominated the playoffs like they have this season.

Of the five remaining teams in this year’s playoffs, three are led by rookie goalies and another by a first-year starter. Carolina’s Cam Ward, Buffalo’s Ryan Miller, Anaheim’s Ilya Bryzgalov, and San Jose’s Vesa Toskala have all enjoyed incredible playoff success thus far.

Seven-year veteran Dwayne Roloson of the Edmonton Oilers, who was acquired in a mid-season trade with the Minnesota Wild, is the only experienced goaltender left. I don’t think anyone would have predicted that, especially with the presence of such big-name goalies as Martin Brodeur and Miikka Kiprusoff, and other veteran backstops or NHL powerhouses like Detroit’s Manny Legace, Dallas’s Marty Turco, and Colorado’s Jose Theodore, among the contenders.

The New Favorite

Thanks to a surprisingly easy 4 games to 1 victory over the New Jersey Devils, and a dominating performance winning four straight games over Montreal after losing the first two in Round 1, the Carolina Hurricanes have emerged as the new favorite to win Lord Stanley’s Cup. Despite finishing the regular season with 112 points, just 1 behind Eastern Conference leader Ottawa, the Hurricanes’ odds of winning the Cup entering the playoffs were posted at 10-1. That was before the oddsmakers had seen Ward turn away almost every shot he’s faced.

In 10 playoff games, the 22-year-old rookie has allowed just 17 goals while posting a 1.77 goals against average (GAA). Ward let in just five goals in Carolina’s four victories over New Jersey as he outplayed his boyhood idol Brodeur. With his stellar play, and the Hurricanes’ opportunistic offense, led by 100-point scorer Eric Staal, Carolina will be tough to beat.

The Upstart Challenger

The Sabres’ Miller is the only U.S.-born goalie among the Fab Four. He hopes to duplicate the feat of another rookie American goalie, Ron Hextall, who led the Philadelphia Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1987. After a shaky start in Game 1 against Ottawa, Buffalo’s defense and Miller shut down the Senators the rest of the way, allowing two or fewer goals in each of the last four games. The Michigan native has a 2.25 GAA and a .921 save percentage in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Buffalo’s defense has been stellar in front of Miller. Defensemen Toni Lydman and Henrik Tallinder lead all playoff performers in plus/minus at plus-13. The Sabres’ offense has been scoring in bunches. Buffalo has a team-leading 43 goals scored in 11 games and is riding high after winger Jason Pominville’s shorthanded, overtime goal clinched the series against Ottawa.

Mr. Perfect – Almost

Anaheim’s Bryzgalov has been the most surprising and impressive of all the rookies. Bryzgalov didn’t even enter the playoffs as the Ducks’ No. 1 goalie. That honor went to Jean-Sebastian Giguere, who led Anaheim to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2003, his second year in the league, and was named the Conn Smythe winner as the MVP of the playoffs that season.

After splitting their first four games against Calgary in Round 1, the Ducks made the switch to Bryzgalov and they haven’t regretted it. The 24-year-old Russian has practically stood on his head as he is sporting a ridiculous 0.87 GAA and .967 save percentage. He recorded three straight shutouts, including Game 7 at Calgary to clinch that series. In doing so, Bryzgalov set a rookie playoff record, holding opponents scoreless for 249 minutes, 15 seconds. Only Montreal’s George Hainsworth, 270:08 in 1930, has had a longer playoff scoreless streak.

The Final Four

San Jose’s Toskala is hoping to join his fellow first-year netminders in the conference finals. After an excellent series against Nashville in Round 1, including a shutout in Game 2, and two 2-1 victories to open the Edmonton series, Toskala and the Sharks find themselves on the ropes as the Oilers have stormed back to take a 3-2 series lead. Edmonton will try to close it out at home on Wednesday night.

San Jose’s offense is led by Patrick Marleau, who leads all playoff goal scorers with nine. The Sharks will need to get an early lead and help Toskala protect it to force a Game 7 at home on Friday.

The Finals

The matchup between Ward and Miller should be as entertaining as it gets. Both are capable of stealing a game or two for their respective teams. Carolina is the favorite, but Buffalo has a lot of momentum and Miller has shown he can win the close games with four one-goal victories against Ottawa. Look for the Sabres to get to the Finals.

The Ducks have had a long time off after unexpectedly sweeping the Avalanche. Anaheim may be a little rusty to start the conference finals, but the Ducks have good veteran leadership in Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne and will ride the stellar play of Bryzgalov past either the Oilers or the Sharks to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.

San Jose Sharks vs. Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers have embraced the underdog role throughout the playoffs. They eliminated the Presidents' Trophy winner in the first round. They fell behind 0-2 in the second round. They even had their national anthem booed on the road in Game 5.Through it all, the Oilers continue to persevere. Now they look to wrap up their Western Conference semifinal series against the San Jose Sharks and advance to the conference finals for the first time since 1992.Despite entering the playoffs as the eighth seed in the West, the Oilers players may be the only ones who are not surprised about being on the cusp of the third round."Everybody believes in that locker room," Oilers defenseman Chris Pronger said. "That's the first step for us. Everybody is buying into the system. Even when we were down 0-2, we just felt we could win two home games and be right here."After a rough start, Edmonton has righted itself to take control of this series from San Jose. The Oilers have scored 12 goals in their last two games and exploited weak penalty killing by the Sharks Sunday to post a 6-3 road victory in the pivotal Game 5.The Sharks seemed to have every advantage that game: they were playing at home, they outshot the Oilers 24-18 and outhit them 34-16, yet Edmondton still pulled out a 6-3 win in large part to San Jose's inability to shut down the Oilers' power play.Fernando Pisani ended a wild four-minute sequence at the start of the third period by converting a 2-on-1 from Ryan Smyth and beating Sharks goaltender Vesa Toskala to snap a 3-3 tie. Jarret Stoll and Smyth added power-play goals later in the period for Edmonton, which went 3 for 7 with the man advantage and left Sharks coach Ron Wilson looking for answers to try and extend this series to a decisive seventh game."We've made it obviously pretty hard on ourselves," Wilson said. "You can't blame Tosk. We gave up 2-on-1's, a giveaway, a deflection ... very easily correctable mistakes, and we have to hold each other accountable to do things right. We've got to work a heck of a lot harder."Toskala will start this game trying to find the form from his first seven games, when he allowed 12 total goals. But he has not been the same since allowing a game-winning goal to Shawn Horcoff that ended Game 3 in triple overtime."I don't think we have to make a goaltending change," Wilson said. "Vesa has been a rock back there. Last night, he didn't have a chance in any one of the goals. We didn't do a good job of supporting him and our focus now is to make sure we get back to doing what we do best which is playing sound defensive hockey."While Edmonton's power play has thrived, San Jose's has been brutal. The Sharks are just 2-for-27 (6.9 percent) in this series, a far cry from their 18.2 percent (91-for-500) success rate in the regular season."They are pressuring us up the ice and we're coasting back for pucks," Wilson said. "We've got some guys who might be viewing themselves as they have a right to be on the power play instead of the view that it's a privilege."Including the regular season, the Sharks have lost seven of their last 10 games in Edmonton, but the Oilers feel the urgency to close the series out and avoid a return trip to San Jose, where they lost the first two games of the series."The fourth win is always the hardest. We have to come prepared," Pronger said. "They are going to bring their best game. They battled back hard. There's no quit in that team. We've got to make sure we're focused and prepared. It's going to be a battle in Game 6."If the Sharks win, they will host Game 7 Friday. If the Oilers win, they will meet the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the conference finals.

San Jose Sharks vs. Edmonton Oilers

The San Jose Sharks is one of the teams that ended the season playing really good. They had one of the best records towards the end. That reflected the result of the first round in the playoffs against Nashville, a series that many thought the Predators would win.

Currently they are 2-0 against the Oilers and they expect to continue with the winning record in the next game that hopefully gives them the advantage to try and sweep this series and go to the conference finals.

San Jose didn’t have a regular season that many expected and they barely made it to the playoffs. But here they are proving to everybody they can beat any team in the NHL and they are going for the Stanley Cup no matter what and the best part is that they have the talent and the discipline to achieve that.

Recent Transactions
4/18 Recalled G Nolan Schaefer from Cleveland of the AHL. 4/11Recalled F Ryane Clowe and F Tomas Plihal from Cleveland of the AHL. 4/10Recalled RW Ryane Clowe and LW Tomas Plihal from Cleveland of the AHL. 4/8Signed RW Devin Setoguchi.

Much was expected from Edmonton at the beginning of the season; they had a hard time getting to the playoffs but they did. Not with the best record but they were in managing to get pass the first round against the Red Wings a team that was the favorite to win this series. As a matter of fact most sports books lines had them as favorites but they just couldn’t make it against the Oilers.

Edmonton is now facing the San Jose Sharks a very physical team that won’t give any room for error and a team that’s playing really good. The series is currently 2-0 in favor to the Sharks and the Oilers needs to avoid going 0-3 because it will be their end if that happens.

"I really feel like home-ice advantage is going to be a big advantage in a series like this, one that has been as physical as this one's been," he said. "The hometown fans get behind (the players) and provide a lot of energy and a lot of adrenalin for the players to finish their checks. There's no doubt in my mind we'll bounce back tomorrow." –Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish.

Recent Transactions
5/1 Signed C Tyler Spurgeon to a three-year contract. 3/29 Recalled Brad Winchester from Hamilton of the AHL. 3/13 Recalled Marc-Antoine Pouliot from Hamilton of the AHL. 3/9 Acquired F Sergei Samsonov from Boston for Marty Reasoner, Yan Stastny and a 2006 second-round draft pick. 3/8 Placed G Mike Morrison on waivers.