Sharks rout Canadiens with Kahkonen’s shutout

Sharks rout Canadiens with first Kahkonen’s shutout

San Jose Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen makes a save against Montreal Canadiens’ Cole Caufield as Sharks defenseman Matt Benning watches during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, in Montreal. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press via AP)

2022.11.29 – Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 28 shots for his first shutout for San Jose and the Sharks rout the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 on Tuesday night.

“It’s great, but it also tells how we’ve played as a team,” Kahkonen said. “Huge blocks, huge (penalty) kills, good sticks on the PK and boxing out guys so I could see pucks, so huge thanks to the guys in front of me.”

Tomas Hertl scored twice in the third period, including an empty-netter. Matt Nieto and Logan Couture also scored as the Sharks opened a four-game set against Eastern Conference teams by snapping a three-game losing streak.

Kahkonen re-signed with the Sharks in the summer after playing 36 games last season for Minnesota and San Jose. After a convincing 5-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 21, he had allowed four or more goals in four of his last five games. Filling in for injured starter James Reimer, Kahkonen recorded his first shutout since March 16, 2021.

“I think he’s really confident because he’s building off the game in Ottawa,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “He played OK in Seattle, but to come back and play the way he did today, I think it’s just another step in the right direction for him. And it was a big step tonight.”

2022.11.29 – Sharks @ Montreal Canadiens (NHL Video Highlights)

The puck deflects off the crossbar behind San Jose Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen on a shot by Montreal Canadiens’ Christian Dvorak during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, in Montreal. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press via AP

2022.11.29 – Sharks @ Montreal Canadiens (NHL Video Highlights)

Watch this video on YouTube

2022.11.29 – Sharks @ Montreal Canadiens (NHL Video Highlights)

“Honestly, I feel so happy for him,” added Sharks forward Hertl. “He was great and that’s kind of what we need from him in the back. He looked confident and that he made good plays on PK and it wasn’t easy because we gave up some chances but it was a really, really strong game from him.”

Jake Allen made 20 saves for Montreal, which was 0 for 6 on the power play against San Jose’s league-leading penalty kill unit.

“It’s a bit of everything,” said Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis. “We’ll look at the video and we’ll learn lessons for this game, (the power play) was the difference tonight.”

“Maybe we just had to be in better spots for the low plays, I think we had a few chances to try and take it to the net,” added Montreal forward Nick Suzuki. “I kept watching it on the iPad, trying to figure out things during the game. I mean, I don’t know how many chances we had on the power play but we had enough for us to score for sure.”

The Sharks opened the scoring at 1:33 of the first period when winger Alexander Barabanov attempted a wraparound and Nieto zoomed into the crease and tapped the puck in off a rebound.

2022.11.29 – Sharks @ Canadiens (Brody Brazil: Post-game) Video

San Jose Sharks’ Jaycob Megna moves the puck away from Montreal Canadiens’ Sean Monahan, left, and Josh Anderson during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, in Montreal. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press via AP)

2022.11.29 – Sharks @ Canadiens (Brody Brazil: Post-game) Video

Watch this video on YouTube

2022.11.29 – Sharks @ Canadiens (Brody Brazil: Post-game) Video

Montreal coach Martin St. Louis challenged the play for offside, but video review confirmed that Barabanov was onside in the lead-up and the goal stood.

In the second, Canadiens forward Christian Dvorak appeared to beat Kahkonen to tie the game, but the goal was called off. The referee indicated that Montreal winger Evgenii Dadonov took an interference penalty on the play when he checked defenseman Nick Cicek in San Jose’s net.

The Canadiens started the third period on a 5-on-3 power play due to a late delay-of-game call, but the Sharks successfully killed the penalty and countered with three goals.

Hertl redirected a Kevin Labanc pass into the back of the net at 2:29 of the third. Just over a minute later, defenseman Matt Benning located Couture with a pass and the Sharks’ captain beat Allen on a breakaway to give the Sharks a 3-0 advantage.

Couture scored his team-leading 13th of the season at the 3:34 mark, and now has seven goals in his last eight games. His nine goals this month match his career-high for one calendar month, set in Dec. 2011.

Hertl scored an empty net goal with 2:14 left in the third period and Nieto scored in the first period as the Sharks (8-13-4) won for just the second time in their seven games.

“We needed it,” Sharks coach David Quinn said of the win. “Obviously it was a funny game. We haven’t had that type of game in a long time, so special teams were huge, and our penalty kill was huge. That kill at the start of the third period, and a huge block by Benning gave us a little bit of juice and we score right after it.”

The Sharks’ road trip continues with games in Toronto on Wednesday, Ottawa on Saturday, and Buffalo on Sunday. The Sharks are now 6-5-0 on the road this season.

Quinn said Tuesday that he hasn’t decided who his goalie would be against the high-powered Maple Leafs, as the Sharks also have Aaron Dell on the roster. James Reimer is on the road trip but is on injured reserve with an undisclosed ailment.

In five previous games this month, Kahkonen had a 1-2-2 record, a .869 save percentage and 4.19 goals against average, which included a 37-save performance on Nov. 21 at home against the Senators.