Sharks Feast with 4-0 Win Over Jets
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Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/jets-lose-4-0-to-sharks-460024623.html Sharks feast with 4-0 win over Jets By: Jason Bell SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Winnipeg Jets were left smarting from a rather nasty Shark attack Saturday night — especially goalie Steve Mason. After two terrific performances late in the week, the Jets concluded a California getaway with a game that got away from them in San Jose. The Sharks built a two-goal lead after 20 minutes, withstood a strong push from the visitors in the final 40 and hung on to register a 4-0 triumph at SAP Center. It’s the first time Winnipeg has been shut out this season. The Jets might need to promote a goaltender after Mason suffered an upper-body injury in the first period — and there’s concern about a possible concussion – although either guy on the Jets’ AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, looks ready if the call comes. A wicked slap shot from winger Jannik Hansen at 8:43 was the likely cause of Mason’s early exit as the blast struck him squarely in the mask. He gathered himself, stayed in for the ensuing faceoff and finished out the period, stopping 11 of 13 shots. But he was nowhere to be seen after the intermission, as Connor Hellebuyck took over to begin the second. Head coach Paul Maurice said Mason’s health will be evaluated Sunday. That will, undoubtedly, include monitoring for the effects of a possible concussion. "He stayed in (after the shot) and said he was OK after that. We talked to him at the (TV) time out, but by the time he got off the ice he was not feeling right. For us, that’s enough. He’s got to come out," said Maurice. "He wasn’t feeling good. He was sick." The day Mason was signed as a free agent, Michael Hutchinson’s days as a Jets goalie were over — unless either Mason or Hellebuyck hit sick bay. Yet, there’s no denying Hutchinson — with 41 career NHL victories under his belt, has been outstanding with the Moose, going 6-1-1 with a 2.14 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage. His goaltending partner, Eric Comrie, has equally impressive numbers, bolstered by an outstanding 30-save shutout in Milwaukee on Saturday night. The young goalie is 8-4-1 with a 2.30 GAA and .927 SP. Winnipeg (14-6-3) split four games on a road trip that began poorly in Nashville but drastically improved in Los Angeles and Anaheim. Ending it on a losing note wasn’t part of the plan, said captain Blake Wheeler. "It’s all right. They’re games where we stuck with it, even the game tonight," he said, assessing the trip. "A lot of frustration. I thought overall, even in the third period, we were pushing and had some opportunities. Their goalie made some big saves." Sharks goalie Martin Jones, whose 2.19 goals-against average prior to the game will look even better now, was rock-solid, stopping 38 shots. Full marks to the Sharks (12-8-2) for bending but not breaking against one of the NHL’s hottest squads. With his club ahead 2-0, Logan Couture raced away on a short-handed breakaway with just under seven minutes left in the second period and beat Hellebuyck on a deke for his second goal of the night and 13th of the year. Call that tally the back-breaker for the Jets, who were blanked on three power-play chances in the period but gave up the goal to Couture and nearly another when he couldn’t convert on his second breakaway on the same kill. "It hurt, it hurt a lot," said Wheeler. "We had a couple of good chances on the power plays before that. Kyle (Connor) had one sitting on the goal line, you know (at) 2-1 the momentum’s in our favour. Even if the period ends 2-1, that’s a hockey game we like to play. You give up two breakaways on the power play, it’s not good enough." Tim Heed’s point shot on the power-play, his third goal of year, started the scoring for San Jose. Forced to discard his broken stick, Jets centre Matt Hendricks sprawled to block the shot but the puck soared past him and a few other bodies, including Mason. The Sharks, while just fourth in the Pacific Division, remain one of the league’s stingiest clubs, ranking at or near the top in several key categories. Heading into Saturday’s contest, San Jose had yielded the fewest goals (49), the fewest goals per game (2.33), owned the league’s second-best penalty kill (89.7 per cent) and surrendered the fewest shots per game (28.5). Those numbers gleamed even brighter following the tidy win against Winnipeg. "It’s disappointing. I thought we played really well the last two games (2-1 over L.A. and 4-1 over Anaheim). Tonight, we’re come into a tough building and playing a veteran squad over there and they take advantage of some mistakes we made," said defenceman Josh Morrissey. "I just think it wasn’t the game we wanted. We had bigger aspirations for the end of that road trip." Tomas Hertl added an empty-netter, his fifth goal of the year. Maurice changed up his forward units in the third period, elevating Nikolaj Ehlers to the top line with Mark Scheifele and Wheeler, and putting Mathieu Perreault with Bryan Little and Patrik Laine. The moves provided a spark but Jones blocked all 13 shots he faced in the frame. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/chiarot-fined-for-hit-on-corey-perry- 459976103.html Chiarot fined for butt-ending Ducks' Perry By: Jason Bell SAN JOSE, Calif — Corey Perry can get under opponents' skin but crossing the line to try and even the score won't be tolerated by the NHL's Department of Player Safety. Winnipeg Jets blue-liner Ben Chiarot found that out Saturday. Chiarot avoided a suspension but was fined US$3,763.44, the maximum allowable under the NHL's collective bargaining agreement, for butt-ending the Anaheim Ducks forward Friday afternoon. The money goes to the NHL Players' Emergency Assistance Fund. The incident occurred at 14:22 of the second period during a scrum in the Jets end. The combatants came together, Chiarot levelled the butt-end and Perry was left with a big gash on his chin that reportedly required 20 stitches. There was no penalty on Chiarot, but Winnipeg centre Mark Scheifele drew a roughing penalty after other players joined the melee. Perry has been a thorn in Winnipeg's side for years, not just for the points he picks up. Last season, he caught Mathieu Perreault with a slash to the hand and broke his finger, causing the productive forward to miss three games. There was no penalty on the play and no supplemental punishment doled out by the league. The Jets are in San Jose to battle the Sharks tonight at 9 p.m. CT. Winnipeg (14-5-3), second in the Western Conference and tied for third in the NHL, is 2-1 on the road trip after opening with a loss to the Nashville Predators but bouncing back with wins against the Los Angeles Kings and Ducks. Head coach Paul Maurice has elected to go with goalie Steve Mason, whose terrific 38-save effort in L.A. helped solidify a 2-1 Wednesday. He could just as soon flip a coin on his choice of netminders. After a so-so performance in a 5-3 loss to Nashville, Connor Hellebuyck turned aside 30 shots in impressive fashion as the Jets dumped the Ducks 4-1 Friday. Winnipeg hasn't let the sting of defeat carry over, losing back-to-back games in regulation time only — and those were games 1 and 2 of the season. The club did lose consecutive road games in overtime but at least secured points. "I'd like to think for (the goalies) we give them a better chance to have that redemption game, so when they have an off-night it's usually the same time we feel our whole team did. Then, everybody needs to be a little bit better, and the guys in front of them have been and the goalies have been as well," said Maurice, following Friday's triumph. The Jets are 7-3-2 away from Bell MTS Place. "It's really important to win on the road. It's the best place to win because you can put them on the bus and then you put them on a plane and they get to go to a hotel and they can spend all that time enjoying it together," said Maurice. "These (are important) road wins in tough buildings — and we look at this is a very physically difficult stretch of hockey for us." The club returns home to face Central Division foes, the Minnesota Wild, on Monday night. Winnipeg Sun http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/sharks-take-bite-out-of-jets-loss-prevents-california- sweep Sharks take bite out of Jets: Loss prevents California sweep By Ken Wiebe SAN JOSE — It was a special-teams disaster for the Winnipeg Jets. As the Jets attempted to close out a swing through California with a clean sweep, the San Jose Sharks had other ideas, earning a 4-0 victory at SAP Center on Saturday night that included a power-play goal and a shorthanded marker.