SAN JOSE SHARKS NOTES:
LAST GAME
Game 52 – 2/7 – SJS 4 at TBL 3 OT…San Jose became the first club to beat Tampa Bay this season when trailing after the first period
(trailing 3-1 at the end of the first period, prev. 20-0-0) and snapped the Lightning’s franchise-record 12-game home winning streak.
Erik Karlsson (1g, 2a) and Timo Meier (2g, 1a) led the Sharks in scoring and connected on the overtime game winner. Karlsson
passed Dan Boyle (47) for the second-most multi-point games by a defenseman in franchise history. Tomas Hertl (0g, 2a) logged
multiple assists. Kaapo Kahkonen saved 34 of 37 shots, including all 15 he saw in the final period.
SJ Goals: Karlsson (17 pp), Meier (29 pp), Gadjovich (3), Meier (30)
SF: 22
SA: 37
SJ PP: 2/3
SJ PK: 5/6
W: Kahkonen
OTL: Elliott
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
2/5 Acquired a conditional 2023 fourth-round selection (Seattle’s choice) from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for D Jaycob Megna
2/5 D Nikolai Knyzhov returned from his long-term injury conditioning loan with the San Jose Barracuda; assigned Knyzhov to the Barracuda
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT – FLORIDA PANTHERS
The Sharks and Panthers meet tonight for game two of the season series, as the Sharks look to sweep the Florida road trip for the sixth time in franchise history. The Panthers took the first meeting between these two teams, 4-3 in the shootout, on Nov. 3. San Jose erased a two-goal deficit entering the third period but gave up a late game-tying goal with Florida’s net empty. Matthew Tkachuk recorded three assists In the game, and Anton Lundell (0g, 2a) and Carter Verhaeghe (1g, 1a) also earned multiple points. Florida is coming off a dominant 7-1 win against Tampa Bay on Feb. 6. Tkachuk earned five points (2g, 3a) in the contest, his first five-point game of the season and third of his career.
FLORIDA PANTHERS NOTES:
BAPTIST HEALTH INJURY REPORT
- F Anthony Duclair | Games Missed: 53
- F Patric Hornqvist | Games Missed: 28
Total Man Games Lost Due to Injury: 164
LAST GAME
Panthers 7, Lightning 1 – Feb. 6 – FLA Live Arena
FLA Goals: Verhaeghe (27), Bennett (13), Tkachuk (26), Luostarinen (11), E. Staal (8), Verhaeghe (28), Tkachuk (27)
TBL Goals: Kucherov (20)
FLA Goalie: Bobrovsky (W) – 32 Saves
TBL Goalie: Vasilevskiy (L) – 42 Saves
FLA Shots: 49
TBL Shots: 33
Notes: Matthew Tkachuk matched his career high with five points (2-3-5), extending his point streak to seven games (5-10-15)…Tkachuk’s six-game assist streak is tied for the longest of his career…Carter Verhaeghe matched his career high with four points (2-2-4)…Sam Bennett matched his personal season high with three points (1-2-3)…Brandon Montour notched an assist to extend his point streak to 10 games (3-7-10), the longest by a d-man in FLA history…Eric Staal scored his 449th NHL goal…Aaron Ekblad notched two assists…FLA PP: 1-2, FLA PK: 2-2
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- Feb. 6: G Alex Lyon loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
PANTHERS vs. SHARKS
ALL-TIME vs. SJS: 20-13-7-1
ALL-TIME HOME vs. SJS: 8-6-5-1
2022-23 vs. SJS: 1-0-0
GOTTA GO TO MO’
Feb. 6 vs. TBL marked Paul Maurice’s 800th win as an NHL head coach, becoming just the sixth in League history to accomplish the feat following Scotty Bowman (1,244), Joel Quenneville (969), Barry Trotz (914), Ken Hitchcock (849) and Lindy Ruff (815). Maurice is one of just four with at least 1,700 NHL games as a head coach (1,737), and he is one of three bench bosses to earn at least 300 wins with two different franchises.
CATS AND SHARKS
The Panthers face off against the Sharks for the second and final time in 2022-23, with Florida earning a 4-3 shootout win at SAP Center on Nov. 3, 2022. Sam Reinhart tallied the lone shootout goal in the game, with Matthew Tkachuk (0-3-3), Carter Verhaeghe (1-1-2) and Anton Lundell (0-2-2) producing multiple points in regulation. The Panthers have earned wins in each of their past seven games against the Sharks dating to Jan. 1, 2019 and own a 9-1-0 matchup over their prior 10 meetings. The Cats have outscored San Jose 31-17 over their previous seven meetings, averaging 4.43 goals for per game.
HOME SWEET HOME
Florida has earned at least one point in three of their past four contests at FLA Live Arena (2-1-1). The Cats have averaged 3.92 goals per game on home ice this season, second only to TBL (4.04), and Florida’s 37.7 shots on goal per game at home lead the league. Matthew Tkachuk’s 1.73 points per game at FLA Live Arena is tied for third-best among League skaters, behind only Nikita Kucherov and Connor McDavid.
