SAN JOSE SHARKS NOTES:
JUST KEEP SWIMMING
After a trying first 11 games to start the season in which San Jose went 0-10-1 to open the campaign, the Sharks have rebounded with nearly-.500 hockey over the club’s next 14 contests – a record of 6-7-1, including wins in five of the past seven home games, points in six of those contests, and the team’s first road win of the season (Dec. 1 at NJD). Within the last 14 games, San Jose has avenged losses to teams from the first 11 games with victories over Vancouver (Nov. 25) and Washington (Nov. 27). The second segment of play thus far in the season has featured more scoring and stingier defense as well as better play from both special teams units.
HERE’S GRANNY
Forward Mikael Granlund enters Tuesday’s game against the Islanders with 10 points (2g, 8a) in the past 10 games, most recently notching an assist in San Jose’s Sunday contest against the Rangers. Inside the 10-game run was a three-point effort (1g, 2a) in the Dec. 1 win at New Jersey, the first three-point game by a Sharks skater on the year and his first since Feb. 23, 2023, a game in which he posted two goals and an assist against the Sharks as a member of the Nashville Predators. He netted his first goal as a Shark in last Saturday’s (Nov. 25) win against Vancouver, a highlight-reel marker to take a 3-2 lead in the third period’s opening minute. He has found the score sheet in four of the past five games, totaling seven points (2g, 5a) in that window.
THE DUKE ABIDES
Forward Anthony Duclair has found the back of the net in consecutive games, posting back-to-back multi-point efforts with three goals and an assist over the past two contests. It was the second time this season that the offseason acquisition has tallied back-to-back two point nights [previous: Nov. 4 (1g, 1a) and Nov. 7 (1g, 1a)]. With his production, Duclair pulled within a single score of the team lead of seven, currently held by Fabian Zetterlund. The forward has 10 points (3g, 7a) in 16 career games against the New York Islanders, three points in six career games when skating on Islanders’ ice.
ZETT SETTER
Forward Fabian Zetterlund took the team lead with his seventh goal on the year, coming Sunday against the New York Rangers to establish a career high, besting his 2022-23 total of six set in 67 games split between the New Jersey Devils and the Sharks. He scratched the goal column with San Jose on Oct. 17 against Carolina, his first marker with the club since being acquired as part of the trade that sent Timo Meier to the Devils in February, and went on to finish the contest with his first multi-point effort (1g, 1a) as a member of the Sharks. Zetterlund has six points (4g, 2a) over the past 14 games since the team’s 0-10-1 start and has found the back of the net in three of the past five games.
TIGHT MARGINS, BIG RESULTS
Sunday’s 6-5 setback against the New York Rangers was the Sharks’ first one-goal loss of the year to come in regulation, San Jose now 4-1-2 on the year in games decided by one score. The Sharks’ .714 points percentage in one-goal games placed the club tied for 10th in the NHL alongside the New York Islanders as of games played through Dec. 3, heading into the matchup between those teams on Tuesday. Only the New York Rangers (9-0-1), St. Louis Blues (3-0-1), Vegas Golden Knights (6-0-4) and Tampa Bay Lightning (2-0-5) remain undefeated in regulation in one-goal contests.
HERT SO GOOD
Forward Tomáš Hertl leads the Sharks with 18 points (4g, 14a) on the year, most recently adding an assist in San Jose’s Sunday meeting with the New York Rangers. Hertl, who has six assists in the past five games entering Dec. 5 at NYI, recently posted back-to-back two-assist efforts (Nov. 24 and 25), passing Owen Nolan for sixth on the Sharks’ all-time multi-point games list (110). With his most recent marker, his fourth of the year, Hertl passed Nolan (206) for sole possession of fifth on the Sharks’ all-time goals list. He is two game-winning goals from tying Jonathan Cheechoo (36) for fifth on the team’s all-time GWG list. With his pair of helpers on Oct. 17, Hertl (453 points) surpassed Nolan (451) for sixth on San Jose’s all-time points list and moved beyond Jeff Friesen for eighth on the team’s all-time multi-assist games list (38), and his multi-helper game against Pittsburgh tied him with Erik Karlsson for seventh. Hertl entered 2023-24 after posting a career-best 41 assists in 2022-23, a season in which he tallied 63 points (22g, 41 a) in 72 games. It was the second time in his career that he hit the 20-goal plateau in consecutive seasons and the first since 2017-18 (22) and 2018-19 (35).
LIKE MIKE
Forward Mike Hoffman has overcome a slow start on the offensive end, most recently adding to his point total with his second multi-point game in teal (1g, 1a) and adding his then-team-leading sixth goal of the season in the Sharks’ 4-3 win over Vancouver on Nov. 25. Hoffman’s marker was his first game-winning goal as a Shark. Hoffman now has six goals and seven points (6g, 1a) in the past 10 games entering Tuesday at the New York Islanders, including a multi-goal effort on Nov. 16 against St. Louis. Hoffman, acquired over the summer in the trade that sent defenseman Erik Karlsson to Pittsburgh, has registered 20 or more goals in six of the past nine seasons. He played in his 700th career game in San Jose’s win over Washington (Nov. 27).
NEW YORK ISLANDERS NOTES:
RECENT TRANSACTIONS & UPDATES
Dec. 4 Mathew Barzal has been named the NHL’s “Second Star” for the Week ending on December 3, 2023
INJURIES DATE (GAMES MISSED)
Sebastian Aho Nov. 25 (Four)
Mathew Barzal Dec. 2 (One)
Bo Horvat Nov. 7 (One)
Matt Martin Nov. 16 (Eight)
Scott Mayfield Oct. 17 – 30 (Seven)
Adam Pelech Nov. 4, Nov. 9 – Nov. 11, Nov. 25 (Seven)
2023-24 Man Games Lost: 27
THE ISLANDERS VS. SAN JOSE
LAST FIVE MEETINGS (2-0-1)
Mar. 18, 2023 SAP Center W (4-1)
Oct. 18, 2022 UBS Arena W (5-2)
Feb. 24, 2022 SAP Center L/SO (4-3)
Dec. 2, 2021 UBS Arena L/OT (2-1)
Feb. 23, 2020 Nassau Coliseum W (4-1)
TEAM NOTES
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
Tonight, the New York Islanders host the San Jose Sharks in the first of two matchups between the two clubs this season. The last time these teams met was March 18, 2023, when Jean-Gabriel Pageau recorded a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win at SAP Center. The Islanders begin their longest home stand of the season tonight and will play six games at UBS Arena in the next ten days. They enter tonight’s matchup with a 5-1-1 record in their last seven games, including wins in their last two games on Saturday in Florida and Thursday in Raleigh.
ASSISTS
The Islanders are 5-0-0 when forward Brock Nelson records an assist this season (6-1-4 when he records a point). Nelson tallied his second multi-assist game of the season on Saturday night in Florida, including an assist on Anders Lee’s power play goal to open the score. Each of Nelson’s multi-assist contests this season have been recorded in his last five games.
SHORTHANDED
Islanders forward Simon Holmstrom has found the back of the net three times in his last five games, and in each of the Islanders’ last two victories on Thursday and Saturday. The Tranas, SWE native recorded his third shorthanded goal of the season on Thursday in Raleigh, tied with Logan O’Connor (Colorado) and Colton Sissons (Nashville) for the league-lead. The 22-year-old is one of just four Islander skaters in club history to tally three shorthanded goals before their 23rd birthday, joining Josh Bailey, Bryan Trottier, and Denis Potvin, is the second to do so in a single season (Bailey), and is also the fourth Islander to score three of his first 12 career goals shorthanded (Dan Plante, Billy Carroll and Dave Lewis).
POWER PLAY
The Islanders enter tonight’s matchup with a 23.4% success rate on the power play through 23 games this season. It is good for ninth in the league and sixth in the Eastern Conference. They are 4-for-14 on the power play in their last five games and have converted on the man advantage at least once in their last three straight contests.
