Author: M Walsh

Sharks Give Up 4 Goal Lead, Fall 7-5 to Predators

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San Jose Sharks goaltender Alexander Georgiev (40) and Fabian Zetterlund (20) blocks the path Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) in the second period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Tue Jan 21, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 7-5 to the Nashville Predators Tuesday. Fedor Svechkov, Tommy Novak, Justin Barron, Jonathan Marchessault, Roman Josi, Nick Blankenburg and Filip Forsberg scored for Nashville. Juuse Saros made four saves in the first period. Justus Annunen made 15 saves in the second and third periods. Macklin Celebrini, Luke Kunin, Mikael Granlund and Jake Walman scored for San Jose. Alexandar Georgiev made 34 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said:

“I think we had a good start. We did things that we wanted to do. And then, you know, we got immature with our game again. We got soft with puck plays especially. Made some bad reads, starting in the offensive zone. Tried to make a cross-ice pass when the puck should be delivered to the net.”

The game was an example of extremes for both teams: each had one very good period and one disastrous period. Sharks fans must by now be used to the frustration of watching the team give up leads, but to give up a four goal lead is unusual.

Macklin Celebrini opened the scoring just 1:07 into the first period. Celebrini scored with a wrist shot on a breakaway thanks to Cody Ceci’s stretch pass. Ceci and William Eklund got the assists.

Luke Kunin made it 2-0 at 11:42 with a wrist shot from high in the slot. Ceci got the assist.

Fourteen seconds later, Mikael Granlund made it 3-0 with a slap shot off a cross-ice pass from Will Smith. Smith and Fabian Zetterlund got the assists.

Tommy Novak got one back for Nashville at 12:20, scoring with a wrist shot from close in. That made three goals in 38 seconds. Assists went to Luke Schenn and Zachary L’Heureux.

Alexander Wennberg won the puck along the boards and skated to the net, two-on-none with Jake Walman. Wennberg made a short little pass across the slot and Walman backhanded it in for the Sharks’ fourth goal of the period.

At the end of the period, the shots were even and just one penalty had been called, a puck over the glass against Nashville. The Predators changed goaltenders to start the second period.

Mikael Granlund scored his second of the night with a power play goal at 4:28 of the second period. Celebrini moved like he was going to the net, but instead passed to Eklund on the goal line and Eklund passed it across the crease to Granlund for the shot.

Fedor Svechkov scored for Nashville with a shot from the slot, following a lot of puck movement from Nashville. Assists went to Colton Sissons and Novak.

Justin Barron made it 5-3 just 53 seconds later. Barron’s wrist shot came after another series of quick passes that had the Sharks defense befuddled. Assists went to Filip Forsberg and Steven Stamkos.

The Sharks had just five shots on goal in the second period to Nashville’s 18. That was the beginning of a comeback by the Predators. In the third period, they mirrored the Sharks’ first period with four goals, one on the power play and one into an empty net. The goal scorers were Jonathan Marchessault, Roman Josi, Nick Blankenburg and Filip Forsberg.

The Sharks next play on Thursday against the Nashville Predators in San Jose at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Fall 6-3 to Briuns, Smith Gets Two Points in Homecoming; Loss is San Jose’s Third Straight

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The Boston Bruins right wing Oliver Wahstrom goes airborne and San Jose Sharks right wing Carl Grundstrom both slam into the boards in the second period on Mon Jan 20, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

Vinni Lettieri, David Pastrnak, Charlie Coyle, Brad Marchand and Elias Lindholm scored for the Bruins. Joonas Korpisalo made 25 saves for the win. Barclay Goodrow, Will Smith and Fabian Zetterlund scored for the Sharks. Yaroslav Askarov made 27 saves in the loss.

The game was a homecoming of sorts for several Massachusetts natives on the Sharks team, including Will Smith, Collin Graf and Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky. It was their first time in Boston as NHL players and coach.

“I thought for the majority of the game I liked our game. We just got very immature in the third period,” said Ryan Warsofsky. “Just a young team that got scrambly. You know, they put us on our heels and we couldn’t relieve the pressure by making some plays. We got back to kind of flipping pucks to the middle of the ice and they feed off of that stuff.”

Vinni Lettieri scored the first goal at 9:27 of the first period. Lettieri tipped Jordan Oesterle’s shot from the blue line. Assists went to Oesterle and Oliver Wahlstrom.

Barclay Goodrow tied the game with a goal at 13:16. Ty Dellandrea dumped the puck in from the centerline. Nico Sturm chased it down and then passed it back to a trailing Goodrow for the shot.

Boston outshot San Jose 11-6 in the first period. The Sharks pushed back in the second, outshooting Boston 14-10.

David Pastrnak gave the Bruins their second lead with a power play goal at 7:02 of the second period. Pavel Zacha carried the puck around behind the net and then sent the puck to Pastrnak in the circle. Patrnak scored with a snap shot. Assists went to Zacha and Elias Lindholm.

Will Smith tied it again at 8:52. Smith took the puck away from John Beecher, then carried it back across the blue line and passed it back and forth with Mikael Granlund before shooting it by Korpisalo on the short side.

Fabian Zetterlund gave the Sharks their first and only lead of the game at 15:18. Zetterlund carried the puck all the way from the Sharks’ zone, took a shot, caught his own rebound and put it in the net. An assist went to Will Smith.

Charlie Coyle tied the game again at 8:22 of the third period. Skating to the net, Coyle caught a pass from the boards and snapped it in. Assists went to Matthew Poitras and Brad Marchand.

Coyle scored again at 14:11. Shooting as he crossed the goal line, his shot went off of Askarov and in. Assists went to Poitras and Mason Lohrei.

Brad Marchand made it 5-3 with an empty net goal at 18:45. Assists went to Pastrnak and Brandon Carlo. Elias Lindholm made it 6-3 with a second empty net goal at 19:35. Assists went to Coyle and Andrew Peeke.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in Nashville against the Predators at 5:00 PM PT.

Sharks Fall 4-1 to Blue Jackets in Vlasic’s 1300th Game; CBJs extend win streak to six

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Columbus Blue Jackets James van Riemsdyk (21) takes a shot on San Jose Sharks goaltender Alexander Georgiev (40) in the second period at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Thu Jan 16, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 4-1 to the Blue Jackets in Columbus on Thursday. Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, and James van Riemsdyk scored for the Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins made 18 saves for the win. Tyler Toffoli scored for the Sharks and Alexandar Georgiev made 30 saves in the loss.

The game was Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s 1300th in the NHL. He had one shot, blocked two and played 14:49. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said: “Quite the achievement, and to do it with one team is even more remarkable. True pro and he’s really helped our group since coming back from being hurt.” Sharks goaltender Georgiev said:

“You love playing with guys who are so solid, He hasn’t played for a while and then came back into the lineup. Just good patience, smart decisions every time. He’s in good positioning, from my point of view at least. So, it’s amazing the accomplishment he got. We’re very happy for him.”

The rest of the game left the Sharks with little to celebrate. Sharks forward Tyler Toffoli said: “I don’t think we were very good executing anything. You know, passes, we weren’t forechecking, we weren’t breaking pucks out and obviously turned some pucks over and they capitalized. And obviously we gave them too many chances.”

Zach Werenski intercepted the kind of pass that Toffoli mentioned, then carried the puck all the way down the ice with Adam Fantilli, two on one. Near the goal line, Werenski passed the puck to Fantilli in front of the blue paint for the goal. That was at 12:11 of the first period.

Sean Kuraly knocked the puck away from Mario Ferraro with a hit behind the net. He carried the puck up to the faceoff dot before passing it to Kent Johnson at the net so he could make it 2-0 with a snap shot. The time of that goal was 16:17.

The Sharks were outshot 13-6 n the first period, and had the only power play. The shot count got worse in the second period, ending 12-2 Columbus.

James van Riemsdyk scored the only goal of the second period. From just inside the faceoff circle, he redirected Damon Severson’s shot into the net. Assists went to Severson and Johnson.

The Sharks had two power plays in the second period and took one penalty.

The Sharks got on the board at 7:32 of the third period. Macklin Celebrini sent the puck to the net from the boards and Tyler Toffoli was there to put it away with a wrist shot. Assists went to Celebrini and William Eklund.

James van Riemsdyk scored his second of the night into an empty net from just below the blue line.

The Sharks next play on Saturday in Elmont against the New York Islanders at 4:30 PM PT.

Sharks Beat Red Wings 6-3 end 3 game skid, Wings end 7 game win streak, SJ scores 4 in third period

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The San Jose Sharks defenseman Cody Ceci and defenseman Jan Rutta (84) celebrate a first period goal that put the Sharks up on the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tue Jan 14, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Detroit Red Wings 6-3 on Tuesday. Jan Rutta, Nico Sturm, William Eklund, Mikael Granlund, Tyler Toffoli and Mario Ferraro scored for the Sharks. Alexandar Georgiev made 25 saves for the win. Vladimir Tarasenko and Lucas Raymond scored for the Red Wings. Ville Husso made 18 saves in the loss.

The Sharks have given up the lead in the third period in several recent games. After the game, Jan Rutta said: “We’ve been in this situation more than a few times this year. So, we got the job done today. Hopefully that’s just a sign of us taking steps in the right direction and that when we have the lead we can play like tonight.”

Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky talked about Georgiev’s performance in the win: “He was tracking pucks, he was locked in, made some huge saves for us, so… You can see his game it’s been trending in the right direction. So happy that he got rewarded tonight with the win for sure.”

The Sharks took an early lead with a goal from Jan Rutta at 1:45. Alexander Wennberg stole the puck away from Detroit below the goal line, then centered it for Will Smith. Smith took the shot and then caught his own rebound. He passed it up to Rutta above the faceoff circles. Rutta took the shot from high in the slot through some traffic. Assists went to Smith and Wennberg.

The Sharks added to their lead with a short-handed goal at 17:41. William Eklund broke away into the neutral zone then lost the puck before he got to the Detroit blue line. He gathered the puck back up and passed it to Nico Sturm on the blue line. Sturm carried the puck in and took the shot from just above the goal line. Assists went to Eklund and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

The Sharks were badly outshot in the first period, 12-6 by the Red Wings. The Sharks took the only first period penalty. Their penalty kill allowed two shots but also took two shots and scored once.

Vladimir Tarasenko got the Red Wings on the board at 1:28 of the second period, catching a rebound from Simon Edvinsson’s shot for a snap shot. Assists went to Edvinsson and Jonatan Berggren.

The Sharks outshot the Red Wings in the second, 9-6. The Sharks also took the only second period penalty. The penalty kill got one short handed shot and did not allow any shots against.

William Eklund made it 3-1 28 seconds into the third period. Eklund passed the puck behind the net to Celebrini, who then passed it back through the blue paint to Eklund, who knocked it into the net. Celebrini and Tyler Toffoli got the assists.

Tarasenko trimmed the Sharks’ lead again, with his second of the night. Erik Gustafsson shot the puck off the backboards so that it centered just as Tarasenko arrived at the net to shoot it in. Gustafsson and Joe Veleno got the assists.

The Sharks took back their two goal lead at 7:43 with a power play goal. Mikael Granlund caught a pass from Macklin Celebrini at the top of the faceoff circle. Granlund carried the puck almost past the net before scoring with a backhand shot.

Lucas Raymond got one back for Detroit at 9:56 with a wrist shot. Going right to the net after a faceoff, he caught the pass from faceoff winner Dylan Larkin.

Tyler Toffoli made it 5-3 at 10:57. William Eklund gathered up a loose puck in front of the net and passed it ahead to Toffoli, who shot it in from a bad angle.

Mario Ferraro scored an empty net goal at 18:22 with a shot from just above the Sharks’ goal line.

The shots were almost even at 10-9 Sharks in the third period. The Red Wings took their first penalty of the game and the only one called in the third. The Sharks power play got two shots on goal and scored.

The Sharks next play on Thursday at 4:00 PM PT in Columbus against the Blue Jackets.

Sharks Fall 2-1 to Utah, Close Not Good Enough

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Utah Hockey Club center Clayton Keller (9) moves the puck against San Jose Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun (3) in the first period at the Delta Center on Fri Jan 10, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 2-1 to the Utah Hockey Club on Friday. Nick Schaltz and Barrett Hayton scored for Utah and Karel Vejmelka made 18 saves for the win. Fabian Zetterlund scored for the Sharks and Alexandar Georgiev made 23 saves in the loss.

Although the game was close, it was disappointing for the Sharks. “It wasn’t good enough tonight. Puck play was awful. It just wasn’t enough,” said Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky. Mikael Granlund said: “We weren’t really good with the puck. Didn’t really get anything going on offensively all night so… they defended well but we got to be better with the puck, we got to win some battles and sustain some o-zone time.”

Perhaps the only bright spot was that Sharks goalie Georgiev played well. Granlund said, of the goaltender: “He was great tonight. He gave us a chance to win this game and we were in it. So, too bad we couldn’t get it done.”

The first goal of the game came just 58 seconds in. Mikael Granlund took a shot from the face off circle. Vejmelka stopped that but Fabian Zetterlund jumped on the rebound and put it in the net. Assists went to Granlund and Cody Ceci.

Utah outshot the Sharks 10-8 in the first period. The Sharks took the only penalty of the period.

Nick Schmaltz tied the game at 5:57 of the second period. He skated with the puck most of the way around the Sharks’ zone before taking his shot from inside the faceoff circle. Assists went to Clayton Keller and Nick DeSimone.

The Sharks only had three shots on goal in the second period while Utah had six. Utah took the single penalty called in the second period. The Sharks got their first shot of the third period at the nine minute mark, by which time Utah had two shots.

At 3:22 of the third period, Keller put the puck in the net but the goal was called back after Warsofsky challenged it for goaltender interference. Schmaltz skated into the blue paint and bumped Georgiev from behind.

Barrett Hayton scored the tie-breaking game winner with just 32 seconds left in regulation. He took a snap shot while skating across the top of the faceoff circle. Assists went to Nick Bjugstad and Olli Maatta.

With just five seconds left in the game, William Eklund took a high stick to the face and earned the Sharks a four minute power play. That was the only penalty called in the third. By the end of the period, The Sharks had eight shots on goal and Utah had nine.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 7:00 PM PT in San Jose against the visiting Minnesota Wild.

Sharks Fall 4-3 to Canucks, Demko 12-0 Against Sharks

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Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko (35) puts the stop on a shot by the San Jose Sharks in the first period at Rogers Center in Vancouver on Mon Dec 23, 2024 (Canadian Press via AP)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 4-3 to the Vancouver Canucks Monday in the last game before Christmas. Brock Boeser, Kiefer Sherwood and Elias Pettersson scored for the Canucks, with Pettersson scoring twice. Thatcher Demko made 26 saves for the win. William Eklund, Cody Ceci and Luke Kunin scored for the Sharks. Yaroslav Askarov made 20 saves in the loss.

The win was Thatcher Demko’s 12th against the Sharks, maintaining a perfect record against San Jose. While the Sharks improved their third period performance, a brief collapse in the second period was the difference in the game. After the game, Barclay Goodrow talked about that collapse:

“A couple pucks we didn’t get deep, I failed to get behind their D, they turn it up, it’s in the back of our net. That created momentum for their team and next thing you know they’ve scored three. Obviously if we don’t have that little stretch in the game it might be a different outcome.”

Shortly after being hit hard into the boards by Tyler Myers, William Eklund scored the first goal of the game. On a five-on-three power play, Eklund took the shot from the faceoff circle through traffic. Assists went to Mikael Granlund and Macklin Celebrini. The goal was scored at 11:36 of the first period.

Brock Boeser tied the game at 14:10. Skating to the net, he tipped in a shot from Quinn Hughes. An assist also went to Vincent Desharmais.

Though Eklund played through the period, he did not return after the first intermission.

The Sharks outshot the Canucks 10-6 in the first period. Each team took two penalties and a fighting major.

Kiefer Sherwood gave the Canucks a lead at 16:42 of the second period. Sherwood skated into the Sharks zone and shot around Henry Thrun. Assists went to Teddy Blueger and Nils Hoglander.

Elias Pettersson scored Vancouver’s third goal of the game at 17:08 of the period. The Sharks challenged the goal for goaltender interference. While Connor Garland made some contact with Askarov, the NHL upheld the call on the ice, putting the Sharks on the penalty kill.

The Canucks made it 4-1 on that power play. Elias Pettersson Had too much time to pick his shot and he used it to put the puck in the top corner. Assists went to J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes.

Vancouver outshot the Sharks 14-6 in the second period. Early in the third period, Henry Thrun took a shot to the face and had to leave the ice for repairs. He did return to the game with a gash on hi8s forehead. Elias Pettersson took one shift in the third period and then left the game.

Cody Ceci made it 4-2 with a shot from the point at 4:21 of the third period. Demko almost stopped it but it trickled through. An assist went to Fabian Zetterlund.

With just under 2:30 to go, the Sharks pulled Askarov for an extra skater. With six seconds left in the game, Luke Kunin caught a rebound and shot it in from a tight angle. Assists went to Celebrini and Toffoli.

The Sharks outshot the Canucks 14-4 in the third period.

The Sharks next play on Friday at 7:30 PM PT in San Jose against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Sharks Fall 3-2 in OT to Oilers, Give Up another Lead in the Third

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Edmonton Oilers Connor Brown (28) scrambles for the puck against the San Jose Sharks Cody Ceci (4) in the second period at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Sat Dec 21, 2024 (Canadian Press via AP photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks were defeated by the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 in overtime Saturday. Zach Hyman, Mattias Ekholm and Leon Draisaitl scored for the Oilers. Calvin Pickard made 20 saves for the win. Luke Kunin and Jan Rutta scored for the Sharks. Yaroslav Askarov made 39 saves in the loss. Askarov’s 23 saves in the second period were the most saves in one period by a Sharks goaltender since the 2015-16 season.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said, of the goaltender: “He was outstanding. He’s the reason we got a point. He was seeing the puck really well, quick. He made some really big saves.”

The Sharks took the lead twice in the first period, then held it until the last minute of overtime. Warsofsky talked about how the game got away from the Sharks: “We got slow, we got put on our heels, we didn’t defend quick enough. We didn’t skate to make them move the puck a little quicker.”

Luke Kunin opened the scoring 3:23 into the game. Alexander Wennberg chased the puck all the way down the ice into the Oilers’ corner, then passed it back to the trailing Kunin for the shot. Assists went to Wennberg and Timothy Liljegren.

Zach Hyman tied the game at 7:07. Connor McDavid carriws the puck around behind the net and then sent a pass across the slot to Hyman. Assists went to McDavid and Evan Bouchard.

Jan Rutta gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead at 8:21. Jake Walman carried the puck through the neutral zone and down as far as the faceoff circle before making a pass back to Rutta at the top of the slot. Rutta scored with a snap shot down up the middle. Assists went to Walman and Macklin Celebrini.

The Sharks were outshot 9-7 in the first period, and then 23-7 in the scoreless second period. In the first period there was a single penalty called, and that was against Edmonton. In the second period, the Sharks took the only penalty.

At 19:42 of the third period, with their goaltender pulled, the Oilers tied the game. Skating down from the point, Mattias Ekholm caught a pass from Corey Perry and shot through traffic. Assists went to Perry and McDavid.

Leon Draisaitl scored gane overtime winner 18 seconds into overtime. Daraisaitl carried the puck into the zone and then passed it across the ice to Bouchard. Bouchard gave it to McDavid, who passed it back to Draisaitl for the shot.

The Sharks next play on Monday in Vancouver against the Canucks at 6:00 PM PT.

Sharks Win 4-3 Over Blues, Celebrini, Kovalenko, 3 Points Each

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San Jose Sharks Tyler Toffoli (right) is congratulated by teammates Jake Walman (96) and Macklin Celebrini (71) after scoring a first period goal against the St Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center in St Louis on Thu Dec 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the St. Louis Blues 4-3 on Thursday. Macklin Celebrini scored twice and Tyler Toffoli and Jake Wallman also scored. Recent addition Nikolai Kovalenko had three assists and Alexandar Georgiev made 17 saves for the win. Jake Neighbours, Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou scored for the Blues. Jordan Binnington made 27 saves in the loss.

In his debut with the team, Alexandar Georgiev was less busy than Sharks goaltenders have been this season. After the game, he described what he saw going on at the other end of the ice:

“Just a lot of pace. Our breakout was great, first passes were so quick in the first and as the game kept going as well. It was a treat to watch. Spent a lot of time in the offensive zone in the first and that always helps. I think everybody was buzzing there.”

Tyler Toffoli gave the Sharks a lead just 1:21 into the game, sweeping the puck over the line during a scramble in front of the net. Assists went to Macklin Celebrini and Nikolai Kovalenko.

Jake Neighbours tied the game at 10:26. He caught Ryan Suter’s pass at the center line and carried the puck all the way to the Sharks zone faceoff circle before a shooting. Suter and Colton Parayko got the assists.

The Sharks outshot the Blues 14-4 in the first period. Ty Dellandrea and Nathan Walker fought early in the period. The Sharks had one power play and one penalty at the end of the period.

Macklin Celebrini made it 2-1 Sharks at 5:43 of the second period. Celebrini carried the puck in two on one with Tyler Toffoli against Colton Parayko. Celebrini’s first shot hit Parayko burt came to Celebrini for the scoring shot. Assists went to Timothy Liljegren and Nokolai Kovalenko.

Celebrini scored again at 18:53. This goal came on a power play, with a wrist shot into the far side of the net. Assists went to Mikael Granlund and Jake Wallman.

The Sharks outshot the Blues 11-8 in the second period. The Sharks had one penalty to kill in the second period. Jan Rutta and Dylan Holloway had matching roughing penalties but Holloway drew blood, giving the Sharks the late power play.

Brayden Schenn trimmed the Sharks lead with a goal at 5:34 of the third period. With a crowd in front of the net, Schenn skated into a rebound and shot it in. Assists went to Zack Bolduc and Jake Neighbours.

Jake Wallman bumped the Sharks back to a two goal lead at 6:01. Kovalenko carried the puck into the zone with Wallman two on one against Matthew Kessel, then made the pass across so Wallman could shoot. Assists went to Kovalenko and Nico Sturm.

Jordan Kyrou scored the last goal of the game at 7:57, shooting into a crowd in front of the net. Assists went to Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas.

The Blues outshot the Sharks 8-6 in the third period. There were no penalties called.

The Sharks next play on Saturday back at home against the Utah Hockey Club at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Lose 3-2 to Hurricanes, Kunin Scores Twice

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San Jose Sharks Barclay Goodrow (32) can’t control the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes Sean Walker (26) and Shane Gostisbehere (4) at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh NC on Tue Dec 10, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 3-2 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. Shayne Gostisbehere, Brent Burns and Jalen Chatfield scored for the Hurricanes. Pyotr Kochetkov made 21 saves for the win. Luke Kunin scored twice for the Sharks and Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves in the loss.

This was the Sharks first game after the trade of Mackenzide Blackwood to the Colorado Avalanche on Monday. Vitek Vancecek was in net, with his last appearance being in the first period in Tampa Bay two games ago. After Tuesday’s game, Luke Kunin said, of Vanecek: “He was great, he’s been great for us all year. Kept us in that one early. Yeah, our goaltending’s been phenomenal.”

William Eklund also credited Vanecek with keeping them in the game despite the team’s regrettable third period: “It’s just, obviously we’ve had good third periods this year. That’s been our thing I felt like. And today it wasn’t our thing. We shoot ourselves in the foot a little bit.”

Shayne Gostisbehere scored the first goal of the game at 4:26. As Gostisbehere skated in from the blue line, he caught a pass from Wiliam Carrier in the slot and snapped the puck past Vanecek. Assists went to Carrier and Jack Roslovic.

Luke Kunin tied the game at 18:51. Macklin Celebrini brought the puck in and then found Kunin with a pass to the slot. Kunin snapped it by Kochetkov. Assists went to Celebrini and Cody Ceci.

There were no penalties called in the first period. The Hurricanes outshot the Sharks 11-9.

Kunin scored again to give the Sharks a lead at 11:44 of the second period. William Eklund took the puck below the goal line and behind the net before sending it back up to Kunin. Kunin was just arriving by the net and tapped it past the goaltender.

The teams were very close in shots during the second period, 8-7 Hurricanes. The Sharks took three penalties and the Hurricanes took two.

Brent Burns tied the game back up at 4:11 of the third period. A turnover at the Hurricanes blue line sent the home team racing the other way. Sebastian Aho’s pass found Brent Burns approaching the Sharks net with Vanecek unable to get across. Assists wet to Aho and Martin Necas.

Jalen Chatfield scored the game winner at 17:21 of the third period. He intercepted a failed clearing attempt and sent it back to the net through traffic.

The Sharks next play on Thursday in St. Louis against the Blues at 5:00 PM PT.

Sharks Fall 3-1 to Panthers, Blackwood Makes 50 Saves

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Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) and defenseman Dimitri Kulikov (7) defend the net against the San Jose Sharks right wing Tyler Toffoli (73) at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise FL on Sat Dec 7, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost to the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Saturday. Matthew Tkachuk scored two goals for Florida and Aleksander Barkov scored the third. Sergei Bobrovsky made 27 saves for the win. Tyler Toffoli scored for San Jose and Mackenzie Blackwood made 50 saves for the Sharks.

Of Blackwood’s performance, Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said: “One of the best goalie performances I’ve ever seen really. He stood on his head for us to be in that game even, on the score sheet, what he did was super impressive. Not surprised though.”

After the game, Sharks forward Nico Sturm talked about what a team could learn from the Florida Panthers:

“Tempo-wise for sure, the fastest team we’ve played against. I mean it goes to show why they’re winning. It’s because they don’t do it just in playoffs. They do it in September, in December. Doesn’t matter if they play the best team in the League or the worst team in the League. They’ve got everybody rolling, top to bottom.”

The Sharks seemed tentative at times in the game. Warsofsky said “I don’t think we respected them too much. They have our respect, I think they have the whole League’s respect. I think at times we play in fear and we lose our swagger. And that’s where we’re at right now.”

Matthew Tkachuk gave the Panthers a lead just 23 seconds into the game. Sam Bennett crashed the net and shot the puck but Mackenzie Blackwood stopped that. The puck went up in the air and Tkachuk batted it into the net.

That was it for scoring in the first period. Florida took the only penalty in the first but still outshot San Jose 14-6.

Tkachuk made it 2-0 midway through the second. Carrying the puck in, he scored with a backhand as he skated to the right of the net. Tomas Nosek got an assist.

Aleksander Barkov made it 3-0 with a power play goal at 13:17. Carter Verhaeghe centered the puck and Sam Reinhart, in front of the blue paint, tapped it over to Barkov on the other side of the net. Barkov took the shot from just above the goal line.

The penalty count went up in the second period, with the Sharks taking three and the Panthers taking two. Florida outshot San Jose 20-9 in the second.

Tyler Toffoli got the Sharks on the board at 18:35 of the third period with a power play goal. Toffoli tipped in a shot by Mikael Granlund. Jake Walman got an assist as well.

The Panthers outshot the Sharks again in the third period, 20-13. They also took six penalties to the Sharks’ three.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in Raleigh against the Hurricanes at 4:00 PM PT.