San Jose Sharks Earn Win Against St. Louis Blues

Republished By Plato

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On Thursday November 16 the San Jose Sharks earned their first multi-goal victory against the St. Louis Blues (5-1).

The Sharks’ backup goalie Kaapo Kahkonen (.978 save percentage) started in net and earned his first win of the season making 44 saves. Kahkonen also earned the first star of the game. This marks the tendy’s first win in six starts.

“Shutouts are cool,” Kahkonen said, “But I only care about the win.”

Mike Hoffman scored two goals in the game finally getting him up in points for the season. The defenseman now has four points in 16 games played and earned the second star on Thursday.

Givani Smith scored his first goal as a Shark and was the third star of the night. Smith also improved his points with an assist. The winger has three points in 15 games, trailing Hoffman.

“Every night, we learn,” Smith said, “Every day, every practice, every game. It’s big for myself, the team, and all the young guys that are here.”

William Eklund and Luke Kunin also picked up goals.

The lone Blues goal came from forward Pavel Buchnevich.

While the Sharks earned a surprising win at home, they were outshot 45-35. In their only other two wins of the season the team faced the same feat. Against the Edmonton Oilers the Sharks saw shots 41-18 and against the Philadelphia Flyers 39-19. Team teal continues to struggle with their offense even in wins.

“I thought we played on our toes all night long” coach David Quinn said, “I thought we did a much better job not giving them time and space. We’ve had a little bit more of a willingness and a desire to defend the red line.”

The 21-year-old winger Danil Gushchin was recalled from the Sharks’ AHL affiliate San Jose Barracuda. Gushchin had his season debut with the Sharks in their 5-3 loss to the Florida Panthers. Though a loss, the rookie picked up one assist and logged two shots on net. Against the Blues, Gushchin made just one shot on goal and was reassigned to the AHL Friday.

San Jose will look to other players to develop offensive production. Nico Sturm was also placed on injury reserve for a leave of absence due to personal family matters. Sharks Public Relations announced Friday that Sturm would miss the two upcoming games against Vancouver and the Seattle Kraken.

The center has two assists in 17 games played.

In other news, left winger Oskar Lindblom was placed on injury reserve with a week-to-week lower body injury.

Defenseman Jacob MacDonald was placed on injury reserve on November 8, expected to be out a minimum of one week. Sharks could expect to see MacDonald back in the lineup soon.

The Sharks travel to Vancouver on Monday to face the Canucks. The two teams last played each other in San Jose on November 2, where the Sharks suffered a 10-1 loss.