News des Forums » the San Jose Sharks made the biggest splash

Last February Petr Mrazek Jersey Womens , the San Jose Sharks made the biggest splash at the NHL trading deadline when they acquired Evander Kane to bolster their offense.And for an encore? They brought aboard arguably the league’s top defenseman to join one who’s consistently among the NHL’s best.With Erik Karlsson in the fold, the Sharks open the 2018-19 season Wednesday night against the Anaheim Ducks at SAP Center.Article continues below ...San Jose acquired the 28-year-old Karlsson — a two-time Norris Trophy winner — from the Ottawa Senators on Sept. 13 in exchange for defenseman Dylan DeMelo, center Chris Tierney and a package of draft picks and prospects.“It’s extremely rare that players of this caliber become available,” general manager Doug Wilson told the league’s official website on the day of the trade. “The word ‘elite’ is often thrown around casually but Erik’s skillset and abilities fit that description like few other players in today’s game.”The addition of Karlsson — who is eligible for free agency next July — to join fellow Norris winner Brent Burns, 33, gives the Sharks two of the top blueliners in the game and an expected boost on offense.Since his rookie year in 2009-10, Karlsson leads the league in scoring by defensemen with 518 points, while Burns is second with 449. Burns has the most goals at the position in that span with 147. Karlsson tops the list with 392 assists.With a roster that features Joe Pavelski (34 years old) and Joe Thornton (39) coming back from a serious knee injury, San Jose has to be hyped about seeing what the 27-year-old Kane can do over course of a season.Kane, selected fourth overall in the 2009 NHL Draft, never lived up to lofty expectations in nine-plus seasons with the Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets and Buffalo Sabres before being dealt to the Sharks for center Danny O’Regan and draft picks.In 17 games with his new club, Kane collected nine goals — including a career-high four against the Calgary Flames on March 16. In his first postseason action, Kane recorded four goals in nine contests Jordan Schroeder Jersey Womens , but the Sharks lost in the second round to the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in six games.Kane signed a seven-year contract extension in May.“We’re not asking him to, and we never have asked him to, carry the mail here,” coach Peter DeBoer told the San Jose Mercury News on Sept. 28. “He’s a piece of what we’re doing, and an important piece, but it’s not a situation where if he doesn’t produce, we don’t win.”Anaheim finished one point ahead of San Jose in the regular season, but was outscored 16-4 while being swept by the Sharks in the opening round of the playoffs.This is also a team looking to get younger. For years, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry were synonymous with the Ducks, but both are 33 and heading into their 14th seasons. Getzlaf is coming off a campaign in which he matched a career low with 11 goals, while Perry — a one-time 50-goal scorer — has 36 combined over the last two seasons.It will be a while before Perry takes the ice again. He underwent knee surgery in September and will miss up to five months.“It’s a big blow to our club,” defenseman Cam Fowler told the Orange County Register on Sept. 27. “You feel for Corey, first and foremost. … Unfortunately, it is part of the business and we have to move on.”On Tuesday Matt Calvert Jersey Womens , the club said emerging star Ondrej Kase — a 20-goal scorer last season — is out indefinitely with a concussion suffered in Saturday’s exhibition finale.All that makes Rickard Rakell more valuable. The 25-year-old winger scored a team-high 34 goals last season to follow up the 33 he tallied in 2016-17. Youngsters such as Max Comtois, Sam Steel and Troy Terry will also need to contribute immediately as veterans Patrick Eaves (shoulder) and Ryan Kesler (hip) continue to heal.One position the Ducks won’t have to worry about is in goal. John Gibson, armed with an eight-year contract extension, is back after collecting a career-best 31 wins. Since 2014-15, the Pittsburgh native is tied for second in the league in save percentage (.923) and ranks third in goals-against average (2.30).Backup Ryan Miller embarks on his 16th NHL campaign and second with Anaheim. He logged 12 wins and a 2.35 goals-against average in 28 games (21 starts) last season.Martin Jones, coming off his third straight 30-win season, will see the bulk of the playing time for San Jose, while backup Aaron Dell (15-5-4, 2.64 GAA, two shutouts) has the skills to start for several teams. GLENDALE, Ariz. — When the calendar turned from October to November a year ago, the Arizona Coyotes didn’t have to look at a statistics sheet or analyze their upcoming schedule to know they were already out of playoff contention.Their 1-10-1 record told them that.The numbers — and their record — tell an entirely different story this season. While their 6-5-0 record remains modest, the Arizona Coyotes are beginning to take on the look of a team that could reach the Western Conference playoffs for the first time since 2012.Article continues below ...That’s one reason why the Carolina Hurricanes, just like the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Ottawa Senators before them Cale Makar Jersey Womens , hope they’re not catching them at the wrong time.The Coyotes will try to win their fifth in a row when they play the Hurricanes at Gila River Arena on Friday night. It might seem like only a moderately long streak, but the Coyotes haven’t won that many in a row in five years, or since Oct. 26-Nov. 5, 2013. They haven’t win five straight in regulation since the final five games of that 2011-12 playoff season.“Hopefully it can keep going — we’ve got a good feeling in the room and want to build from that,” team captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson said. “It’s not fun to be out of the playoffs like we were last year in October. It means a lot to us to get a good start and feel like we have a chance to beat every team in the league. We’re playing good and building our game.”That game of theirs looks nothing like it did a season ago, when their goaltending was in disarray, they weren’t getting scoring out of anyone except forward Clayton Keller and their defensive system was a mess.Now, they’re beginning to create a stir around the league not just because they’re winning, but how they’re winning. Their 27 goals over their last six games (5-1-0) are the most in the league, and they have a 20-4 edge during their four-game winning streak. Their 1.91 goals-against average is the NHL’s best, and they lead the league with six short-handed goals — five in their last three games.In their last two games, they opened up 3-0 first-period leads against both the Lightning (7-1 win) and the Senators (5-1 win). It’s a major turnaround from the start of the season, when the Coyotes were shut out three times while losing four of five. Keller leads them with five goals and three assists.“I didn’t feel panic in the guys (then),” coach Rick Tocchet said. “The one thing we were hanging our hats on was we weren’t giving teams much and the goalies (Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper) were playing great for us. I thought the defensemen were playing good Riley Nash Jersey Womens , we just weren’t scoring. But guys were sticking with it, playing hard and (we thought) the goals will come.”The Hurricanes (6-5-1) wish they’d start coming for them. They’ve been held to two goals or fewer five times while losing five of seven, including home-ice losses of 3-2 to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday and 2-1 to the New York Islanders on Sunday.The Hurricanes are beginning a four-game road trip that opens up with back-to-back games against the Coyotes on Thursday and the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.“We need to come up with some wins on this road trip, we know that,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We’re playing pretty good hockey, and if we get a few bounces here or there we have a different outlook. … We want to be in better shape (after the road trip) that we are now.”Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho has a team-high 17 points on four goals and 13 assists, and he joined Wayne Gretzky and Ken Linseman as the only players in NHL history to get at least one assist in each of the first 12 games of a season. No player has a 13-game assist streak to start a season.“He (Aho) is our special player, there’s no secret now, but he needs to be that every night,” Brind’Amour said.