NHL podcast Jessica Kwong: Stars turn up the offense on Oilers; Will Matthews and Roy return to Leafs to help end their losing streak?; plus more NHL news

Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) can’t stop the Edmonton Oilers Connor Clattenburg’s (64) shot in the second period for a goal at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Tue Nov 25, 2025 (Canadian Press photo via AP)

NHL podcast Jessica Kwong:

  1. Was Tuesday night’s showdown between Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers a preview of a Western Conference power-race?
  2. Can Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies, and Nicolas Roy return in time to help the Toronto Maple Leafs end their skid?
  3. Will the sudden surge of the Utah Hockey Club’s Logan Cooley — coming off a four-goal, five-point night — make him the breakout star of the season?
  4. Are surprise teams like Anaheim Ducks and Buffalo Sabres reshaping the early-season standings more than expected?
  5. Could lineup shakeups and injuries across the league change the playoff-race narrative before December ends?

Join Jessica Kwong does the NHL podcasts every other Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

LaTerraza Mexican Restaurant 1027 2nd Street in Old Sacramento give them a call at 916-440-0874

From the second you step in the front door, the sounds of Latin America will gently seduce your ears and continue as you relax outdoors with your favorite cocktail enjoying the view. The wonderful flavors and aromas of our cuisine will not disappoint.

We use only the finest, freshest, local ingredients in every dish and every dish is prepared to order. Enjoy live mariachi music weekly and on special occasions, catch balet folklorico dance performances among other live entertainment. Come visit us and have a great time! Enjoy fast, friendly service, fantastic food & cocktails, music and allow us to share our beautiful Mexican heritage with you.

LaTerraza Mexican Restaurant at 1027 2nd Street in Old Sacramento give them a call at 916-440-0874.

Utah Mammoth game wrap: Logan Cools Vegas in 5-1 Mammoth Stomping

Utah Mammoth center Logan Cooley takes control of the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Anna Fuder)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Utah forward Logan Cooley scored four goals and assisted on another to exact revenge on the Golden Knights 5-1 from last week’s loss.

The Utah Mammoth (11-8-3) welcomed the Vegas Golden Knights (10-4-7) back to Delta Center on Monday night, just four days after Vegas defeated Utah 4-1 in Salt Lake City.

Dylan Guenther broke open the scoring at 14:54 of the first period with a top shelf blast for his ninth goal of the season, assisted by Logan Cooley and Nate Schmidt. Barely a minute later, Guenther returned the favor to Cooley, setting him up for his tenth goal of the season with the additional assist to Nate Schmidt to give the Mammoth a 2-0 lead heading into the locker room. Karel Vejmelka turned away all 8 Golden Knights shots in the frame.

At 5:24 of the second period, Vegas forward Ivan Barbashev cut the Utah lead in half with his eighth of the season, assisted by Jack Eichel, and Braeden Bowman. It would be the only goal allowed by Vejmelka on 15 shots in the period, while the Mammoth were unsuccessful in all three of their shot attempts.

Whereas Vegas seemed unstoppable last Thursday, Utah turned the tables completely on Monday, particularly in their dominant third period. Logan Cooley deflected a puck for an unassisted goal at 4:19 for his 11th of the season to put the Mammoth up 3-1.

Down by two goals with less than five minutes remaining, Vegas rolled the dice and pulled netminder Carl Lindbom early. The house won on the Golden Knights gamble as Cooley recorded the natural hat trick with goal #12 into the empty net as hats rained down on the Delta Center ice to give Utah a 4-1 lead. With a little more than three minutes to go in the third, Mammoth forward Kevin Stenlund went to the sin bin for holding against Cole Reinhardt.

Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy rolled the dice one more time with nothing left to lose, pulling Lindbom again to go for broke with a 6-4 advantage in the offensive end. The strategy failed as Cooley netted his 4th of the night and 13th of the season into the empty net at 17:43 to seal the 5-1 victory with the shorthanded goal.

Logan’s run of goals resulted in the first four-goal game in Utah franchise history, and the first in the NHL this season. The last player aged 21 or younger to record four goals in a game was Patrik Laine who scored 5 for Winnipeg against St. Louis exactly seven years ago to the day.

Cooley joins Macklin Celebrini (San Jose) and Connor Bedard (Chicago) as the only players with two hat tricks so far this season, and the Mammoth join the Blackhawks as the only teams with three hat tricks so far on the year.

Cooley talked about his feat in the locker room after the game. “It’s awesome. Any time you do that, it’s special. Just to see how excited the guys were for me too, you get a cool feeling when you get the support of your teammates. I just think in general, we have such a tight group. Guys really care about each other and want everyone on the team to have success. So it’s awesome.” Talking about his mental process going into the game, Cooley said, “Yeah, I think it’s a long season. I think the big thing is consistency, and that’s something that for me, personally, I’m always trying to work on. … It wasn’t the easiest path to tonight, but I think just finding a way to stay with it. It’s a grind of a season, mentally, physically, but I think just leaning on guys that have experience, family, little things like that, get you out of it. And, I was fortunate to have kind of a big game tonight.” On the team’s improvement, he added, “I think just the way we kind of handled the lead too. I think that’s a big thing. I feel like in the past, we’ve been up and kind of get comfortable and teams start to bury us. I think the game against the Rangers and tonight, that’s how we know how to play. When we’re doing that, you see the results we get. For us, it’s about staying consistent with this process and not changing anything. There’s still stuff to clean up, but overall I was really happy about our performance the past two nights.”

Winning goaltender Goaltender Karel Vejmelka, who stopped 33 of 34 shots on the night, said, “Yeah, obviously, this one feels really good. It’s a big two points against a really good team, one of the best so far this season. So it feels really good.” Talking about how the team handles adversity, Vejmelka remarked, “Yeah, I think we are a really good team, and if we want to be successful, we need to find a way every night, and that’s part of being one of the best teams in the NHL. So we need to find a way every single night, no matter what, and we did it tonight. We showed up, and it feels really good.”

Utah Mammoth Head Coach André Tourigny said of Cooley, “He didn’t complicate his game. He didn’t try to get the play of the week. He will be on the play of the week because he scored four, but it was speed and space behind, and when he does that it’s special.” The second period has often been challenging for Utah this season, so it was particularly important to defend the lead. Tourigny commented, “Obviously in the second, they had a hell of a push. Like I said, they’re a good team. They’re a Stanley Cup contender for a reason. So we knew they would have a say in what will happen out there, but the intensity and the urgency we have in those situations and the way we protected that front, even if we’re not perfect and even if there’s a number of things we would like to get better at, I think the mindset is always the most important thing. I think the guys were really good with it. We were composed, we were intense, and we were even-keeled.” Last Thursday, Tourigny said that the team’s emotions got the best of them. Tonight was much different. “There was emotion and there was stress, you don’t want to lose the game, you don’t want to lose the lead, etc, etc. I think we did a pretty good job at staying composed. We did not do a perfect job. You could see the nerve, we didn’t make plays at the same pace, and we didn’t connect as much on our passes. So there’s stuff we can be better at, but that’s why there’s 82 games. We still have a lot of things to get better at, but the mindset of the guys was really good.”

Utah (12-8-3) wraps up the four-game homestand on Wednesday night against the Montreal Canadiens after which they will hit the road after Thanksgiving for six games away.

Another great night in net by Askarov paves the way for Sharks 3-1 win over Bruins

San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (71) is congratulated by teammates after scoring against the Boston Bruins during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) (Jeff Chiu/AP)

By Lincoln Juarez

SAN JOSE, Calif – Yaroslav Askarov owned the crease Sunday night as the Sharks continued to see scoring from up and down the lineup with Shakir Mukhamadullin’s first of the season. San Jose gained a place in the standings after a big night to end the homestand with smiles all around with a 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins.

Looking to win their third game of a four game homestand, the Sharks (10-9-3) matched up against the Bruins (13-10-0). The Ottawa Senators took a close one Saturday night 3-2, but the Sharks hoped to turn the page and beat a good Bruins team on Sunday. San Jose opened up with their second line on the ice which included Alex Wennberg, who was playing in his 100th game as a Shark.

Early offensive pressure and a physical fourth line of Goodrow, Ostapchuk, and Reaves led to a few Sharks power plays. The 10th ranked Bruins penalty kill kept the Sharks scoreless on the power play in the first (0-for-2). However, it was right after team teal’s second try on the man advantage that Shakir Mukhamadullin scored his first goal of the season. It was Mukhamadullin (1) from Mario Ferraro (5) and Barclay Goodrow (2) at 15:53 of the first period.

The Sharks out-shot the Bruins 12-10 in the first period and left the ice with a 1-0 lead.

Things slowed down for the Sharks in the first half of the second period. The Bruins tallied a lot of shots forcing Sharks goaltender, Yaroslav Askarov to stay strong in net. He came up huge with what seemed to be his best save of the night, to keep Boston from tying the game, on a one-time shot by David Pastrnak.

Askarov was also a dominant factor of the Sharks penalty kill as they forced the Bruins to go 0-for-2 on the power play in the second period, while Askarov stopped five Bruin shots down a man.

Boston was held scoreless in the second period and trailed 2-0 heading into the second intermission thanks to Macklin Celebrini’s 14th goal of the season, on the power play, from Orlov (13) and Toffoli (7). Celebrini’s goal was a product of the momentum shift in the second for the Sharks, following Dmitry Orlov’s disruptive hit on Sean Kuraly which led to Ty Dellandrea drawing the penalty for the ensuing power play.

The Sharks defense took charge in the third period in front of Yaroslav Askarov who described his d-men as “unreal” tonight. Every attack by the Bruins in the offensive zone was answered with physicality and tight pressure. Askarov turned away nine of 10 shots he faced in the final period including another cross-crease, one-time save which triumphed over his save on Pastrnak in the second.

It was Pastrnak assisting on Morgan Geekie’s goal to bring the Bruins within one with some time left in regulation. The Sharks stood strong and turned down Boston’s attempt to tie the game. Colin Graf added his name to the score sheet with an empty-net goal to put the game away and send a packed SAP Center home happy.

Askarov stopped 34 of 35 shots he faced and the Sharks penalty kill snubbed the Bruins man advantage as they went 0-for-3 on the power play.

Team teal wrapped up the four game homestand with three wins in an effort to re-establish a home ice advantage in San Jose. “We feel the tank has got some energy back,” said head coach Ryan Warsofsky. “We want to run with the energy and use it as our advantage and make it a tough place to play.” he added as his team has won six of eight home games in the month of November with one left to play.

The Sharks will hit the road before the Thanksgiving break in Colorado to face the Avalanche for the second time this season after their 3-2 overtime win at SAP Center on November 1st.

Utah Mammoth game wrap:Mammoth Snaps Losing Streak with 3-2 Victory Over The Rangers

Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) and left wing Lawson Crouse (67) celebrate their victory over the New York Rangers at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sat Nov 22, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–JJ Peterka scored his fifth goal in six games and Nick DeSimone netted the game-winner on his 31st birthday as Utah gets back on track with win over New York.

The Utah Mammoth (10-8-3) hosted the New York Rangers (10-10-2) at Delta Center on Saturday night for the second of four games on the current homestand. Both teams entered the night’s contest looking to snap losing streaks, with Utah having lost its previous four and New York having lost its previous three.

Midway through the first period, Thursday’s lone goal-scorer for the Mammoth, Nate Schmidt, put the puck on the net with the rebound tipped in by JJ Peterka for his 9th goal of the season with the additional assist to Jack McBain.

The goal was Peterka’s fifth over the past six games. That Utah lead would last a little more than 5 minutes before Rangers defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov tipped a shot from Adam Fox into the Mammoth net for his 3rd goal of the season. The period concluded with the clubs knotted up at 1-1. Jonathan Quick turned away 12 of 13 shots in the frame while Karel Vejmelka denied 11 of 12.

Eight minutes into the second period the Rangers went up 2-1 on a snap shot goal by Artemi Panarin, his 6th of the season, assisted by Vincent Trocheck and Gavrikov. At 11:15 of the period, Mammoth fans erupted in cheers believing their team had just scored, but the on ice officials did not signal for play to stop and coaches on the Utah bench waved their arms frantically and screamed for their players to get back on defense.

About 15 seconds later, with the puck now behind the Mammoth net, the goal horn sounded and play on the ice stopped. It was determined that the fans weren’t crazy and Utah captain Clayton Keller Goal had indeed scored his eighth of the season, assisted by Kailer Yamamoto tying the score at 2-2 which is how the period ended in which Quick turned away 7 of 8 Mammoth shots and Utah’s defense continued its season-long trend of limiting shots on goal by their opponents with Vejmelka turning away 2 of just 3 total shots.

At 7:32 of the third period, with Utah applying pressure around the New York net, the Rangers attempted to bat the puck out of the zone but instead found the stick of Mammoth defenseman Nick DeSimone at the top of the red circle who one-timed a slap shot through traffic and into the back of the net for his second goal of the season, unassisted, to regain the Utah lead 3-2.

Both DeSimone goals this season have come against opponents from his home state of New York. At one point near the middle of the frame, the Rangers were all over the crease as Vejmelka gave his best ninja impression to fight off the attack. With a little more than three minutes remaining, Mammoth forward Michael Carcone crashed the Rangers crease leaving Jonathan Quick keeled over inside the net.

After an extended break it was determined that Quick could remain in the game, but the damage was already done as Utah snapped its losing streak while New York extended theirs. The Mammoth improved their home record to 6-2-1, with Vejmelka stopping 20 of 22 shots on the night.

DeSimone’s goal held up as the game winner as he also celebrated his 31st birthday. When asked if it was the best birthday present he had ever received, he was torn between saying yes and ultimately wisely crediting his wife. It was the second game-winning goal in his career.

DeSimone was all smiles addressing the media in the locker room after the game. “Everyone bought in tonight. Every guy was playing out the game, and we just stuck with it for the whole night, and we got rewarded for it.” Speaking of the team gaining momentum later in the game, the defenseman added, “Each game, we have a different plan of how we want to create. We always want to get the middle or get pucks to the net and reward our forwards, or take cross-checks. We just want to get the puck there and let him get some chances.” Asked about how he stays ready for big moments, DeSimone said, “It’s my job to be ready whether I am playing or not playing. Just being in a good mood, being grateful for every day, and showing up. If I’m playing, I just try and do what I can to help.”

JJ Peterka began his interview opining on the team’s overall performance. “Good team effort throughout the whole game. Even when we went down tonight, we found a way to get back in the game and stuck to the game plan.” Regarding his team’s mindset and goals for the game, he remarked, “Competing harder. That was the message over the last couple of days. We got a little away from that over the last couple of games, and I think today we did a much better job of getting to the shooting line and getting second chances. That gave us a win.” The German forward praised Karel Vejmelka’s performance in the net, saying “Super consistent game. Huge saves. In the third, with four or five rebounds, it kept us in the game the whole game, and we did our job on the other side.” Peterka added, “Keeping it simple was the message for the game. It turned out to be good. Just a lot of pucks to the net and a lot of second efforts to the net. That won us the game.”

Mammoth Head Coach André Tourigny was in high spirits as he entered the media room. “Saturday night. The Rangers. Two points. What a beautiful night in Utah, huh?” Tourigny continued, “I cannot be more proud of the battle level, the way we drove the net, the way we moved the puck quickly and we won battles forward. There’s a lot of guys I’m proud of, a lot of guys. There’s a lot of guys who could have, and should have been on the ice in the last minute of play. Hard to pick, but I had to pick guys, but it was fun to coach that game.” With regard to momentum swings, the coach said, “We had a tough shift in the third where we turned it over, and then Cool’s (Logan Cooley) line went on the inside, and we talked on the bench about momentum and how to get the momentum back. And not just by their decision, but they scored a goal on top of playing the right way on that shift. So that was good, and we need to give credit to Vej (Karel Vejmelka), because that key moment, like you just mentioned, he made a key save.” He concluded, “what we could control, we did it with pride, with intensity, with focus, and with determination. So it’s good, I’m happy about the way we play, but at the same time, it’s midnight rules, great, celebrate, good job. But it doesn’t mean anything anymore, we just have two more points. We need to be ready for the next game in front of our fans against Vegas, and have a bounce back game.”

Utah’s Thursday night opponent, the Vegas Golden Knights, return to Delta Center again on Monday for the 3rd game of 4 on the current homestand.

Sharks Fall 3-2 to Senators, Home Win Streak Ends at four

Ottawa Senators Tim Stutzle (18) scores on the San Jose Sharks goalie Alex Nedeljkovic (33), center Nick Cousins top right, right wing Ryan Reaves (75) in the third period at SAP Center on Sat Nov 22, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 3-2 to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Dylan Cozens, Fabian Zetterlund and Tim Stützl scored for the Senators. Linus Ullmark made 17 saves for the win. John Klingberg and Barclay Goodrow scored for the Sharks. Alex Nedeljkovich made 24 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks defenseman John Klingberg said: “They just kept coming at us from pucks not getting deep, tired people on the ice. Tired minds, makes you make mistakes. I think that’s what happened.”

Sharks forward Barclay Goodrow said: “It definitely wasn’t our best game. I thought we were good in the first and then not very good after that. Too many errors, not enough o-zone time. Break-outs not connected enough and we were spending way too much time in our end.”

Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky described it in terms of possession: “We couldn’t win a puck, at all, defensively, offensively. And when you don’t win pucks you basically just skate and chase it. And that’s what we did.”

The Sharks started well. Will Smith put the puck in the net just over a minute into the game but the goal was called back for offside.

Ottawa took the lead at 7:50 with a power play goal from Dylan Cozens. From his position between the hash-marks, he tipped a shot from Tim Stützle. An assist also went to Jake Sanderson.

John Klingberg tied it, also on the power play, at 16:16. Klingberg’s shot came from the point with assists to Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith.

The shots were not plentiful in the first period. The Sharks had 6 and the Senators had 5. The Sharks took one penalty and the Senator took three.

Barclay Goodrow deflected Alexander Wennberg’s shot to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead at 7:47 of the second period. An assist also went to Mario Ferraro.

Fabian Zetterlund tied it back up again at 18:38 with a wrist shot from the right circle. An assist went to Tyler Kleven.

The shot count was very different in the second period. The Senators outshot the Sharks 15-7, possibly reflecting the penalty situation. The Sharks took two penalties and the Senators had none apart from the major to Hayden Hodgson for fighting Ryan Reaves.

The game-winner was scored at 13:22 of the third. The goal came on a clumsy play with John Klingberg’s stick hung up on his goalie’s pad and Tim Stützle arriving at just the right time to poke the stalled puck across the line. Assists went to Nick Cousins and Drake Batherson.

The Sharks next play on Sunday at 5:00 PM PT against the visiting Boston Bruins.

San Jose Sharks podcast Mary Lisa: Sharks could open up a can on Ottawa with Smith and Celebrini tonight

Los Angeles Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg (31) deflects a shot by the San Jose Sharks center Alexander Wennberg (21) in the second period at SAP Center on Thu Nov 20, 2025. The Sharks host the Ottawa Senators Sat Nov 22, 2025 at SAP Center in San Jose. (AP News photo)

San Jose Sharks podcast Mary Lisa:

  1. Can the Sharks’ youth offensive core — led by Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith — continue their recent surge to break through against Ottawa’s defense?
  2. How much will William Eklund’s playmaking ability matter in this game?
  3. Can veteran defenseman Dmitry Orlov help stabilize the Sharks’ back end and limit Ottawa’s attack?
  4. Which goaltender will give the Sharks the edge: Yaroslav Askarov’s hot streak or a possible change in net?
  5. How will the Sharks respond in the third period, especially given their coach’s comments about improving late-game play?

Mary Lisa is a San Jose Sharks beat writer and does the Sharks podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast Lincoln Juarez: Sharks look for third straight win in Ottawa Saturday night

San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (71) moves past the Los Angeles Kings defenceman Joel Edmundson (6) and right wing Quinton Byfield (55) in the second period at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Nov 20, 2025 (AP News photo)

San Jose Sharks podcast Lincoln Juarez:

#1 Macklin Celebrini has been a standout rookie — how do you expect him to influence tonight’s game against Ottawa, and can he keep driving the Sharks’ offense?

#2 San Jose added veteran defensemen Dmitry Orlov and John Klingberg in the offseason. How important will their experience be against a young Senators squad?

#3 Between goaltenders Yaroslav Askarov and Alex Nedeljkovic, which goalie do you think will start, and how confident should the Sharks be in net tonight?

#4 With forwards like William Eklund, Tyler Toffoli, and Jeff Skinner in the mix, what lines do you anticipate head coach Ryan Warsofsky will deploy to generate scoring?

#5 On the back end, how will players like Mario Ferraro, Timothy Liljegren, and Shakir Mukhamadullin handle Ottawa’s speed and puck movement — can the Sharks limit high-danger chances?

San Jose Sharks podcasts with Lincoln Juarez are heard Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Utah Mammoth game wrap: Golden Knights Spear Mammoth 4-1

Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) shoots into an open net while four Utah Mammoth defensemen and a goaltender look on at the Delta Center on Thu Nov 20, 2025 (AP News photo)

Utah snaps overtime loss streak with regulation loss to the Vegas Golden Knights

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–It took 18 games of the 2025-2026 season for the Utah Mammoth to suffer its first overtime loss, 3-2 against the New York Islanders last week at home. The Mammoth were less than five seconds away from victory in Anaheim on Monday when Troy Terry found the back of the net to force overtime, and Olen Zellweger scored in overtime for a 3-2 Ducks win.

The next day in San Jose, Macklin Celebrini scored twice in the first six minutes to put Utah in a hole which JJ Peterka dug them out of with two goals of his own in the third period. With the Mammoth on the penalty kill due to a too many men on the ice penalty,

Celebrini would celebrate a game-winning hat trick to hand the Mammoth its third consecutive 3-2 overtime loss. It was Utah’s 8th loss in the past ten games, with both victories coming at the expense of the Buffalo Sabres home and away.

Utah (10-7-3) returned to Delta Center on Thursday to open a four-game homestand against the Vegas Golden Knights (9-4-6). The first period saw a lot of action but no scoring as Akira Schmid turned away all 9 Mammoth shots while Karel Vejmelka kept Vegas off the scoreboard stopping all seven of their attempts.

Jack Eichel opened the scoring for the Golden Knights at 3:09 of an action packed second period with his 9th goal of the season, assisted by Pavel Dorofeyev and Shea Theodore, just moments after the conclusion of a full two-minute 4-on-4 which felt more like a Vegas power play as the Golden Knights offense swarmed the Utah net for nearly its entirety.

19 seconds later, Ben Hutton netted his second of the year, assisted by Cole Reinhardt, to give the Vegas a 2-0 lead. At 6:16 of the period both teams dropped their gloves in a brawl in front of the Utah net which involved everyone but the goalies.

When the dust settled, Reinhard and Kaedan Karczak were charged with roughing penalties for the Golden Knights, while Mikhail Sergachev and Logan Cooley each received roughing penalties for the Mammoth.

Cooley was assessed two separate roughing penalties in the scrum, but got his money’s worth at the expense of Karczak’s face. 11 seconds later the Mammoth went on the power play when Braeden Bowman was whistled for interference against Ian Cole, and eleven seconds into the man advantage Utah’s Nate Schmidt cut the deficit in half with his first Mammoth goal, assisted by Ian Cole and Clayton Keller. At 16:51 Jack Eichel regained the two-goal Vegas lead with his tenth of the season, assisted by Bowman and Theodore.

Less than a minute into the third period, Braeden Bowman tipped in a shot by Jack Eichel for his 3rd goal of the season, padding the Vegas lead at 4-1 where it would remain until the final buzzer. Throughout the period Utah came across as outmatched on both ends of the ice.

Every flash of offensive opportunity fizzled with broken up passes and routine stops by Akira Schmid. The Mammoth squad which dazzled during its seventh-game winning streak, impressing to the point of reaching second on The Athletic’s Power Rankings, have now dropped 9 of their last 11 while falling to sixth place in the Central Division standings.

Captain Clayton Keller expressed frustration in the losing locker room. “I think it was a pretty emotional game. Maybe we didn’t get some calls that we should have, or there were some weird ones, but that’s part of the game, and those are things that we have to be able to tune out and get back to our game quickly. Whether it goes our way or doesn’t. So I think that’s something that we can take from the game for sure.” Keller continued, “You know that there’s going to be adversity. It’s a long season, it’s hard, it’s the best league in the world and I think our group has continued to stay motivated and confident, while still going through tough stretches. When there’s something that we want to attack and get better at, we address it and respond right away. So tomorrow we will have a good practice. We’ll break down the game tonight, talk about it, figure out how we can be better. That’s the good thing about, sometimes losing is that’s when you learn the most about your team and yourself and it makes it even that much better when things do go your way and you kind of get out of it.”

Utah Mammoth Head Coach André Tourigny opened his post-game remarks by saying, “I obviously did not like the way we responded to the emotion of the game. We had a good first period, then we arrived in the second, and stuff happened to Stenny (Kevin Stenlund). I didn’t like the way we reacted to it at first. We got emotional and got out of our game. They took over, and it was difficult for us to get back at it. That was disappointing. We got a push in the third, but it’s clear we cannot have five-minute, two-minute, a few shifts where we lose our focus like that, and that costs us dearly.” Tourigny added, “Adversity and frustration are part of the game. We cannot lose our focus like that because of a call, a goal, a hit, or whatever. We can’t lose our temper and start running around. Vegas is a good team, and as soon as we started to run around, they made us pay for it. We need to learn from that. There are other things we need to do better in our 5-on-5 games. We need to play way faster, move the puck faster, and be more predictable with each other. It comes from a good place, from the player; they want to do more and do great. But, often less is more. We need to make sure we play with a lot of pace and play fast. That means moving the puck, moving the puck into space, and skating, support, and those kinds of things. We will address that, but the emotion thing is a big deal.”

Utah (10-8-3) will attempt to turn things around Saturday against the New York Rangers (10-10-2) who are currently in last place in the Metropolitan Division.

Drama Until the Very End: Sharks Win 4-3 in Penalty Shootout Against the Kings.

Yaroslav Askarov celebrates the win against the LA Kings at SAP Center on Nov 20, 2025, Courtesy of the San Jose Sharks.

By Fernando Abarca

SAN JOSE, CA– The Sharks are back at home against the LA Kings on a Rivalry night showdown. Last time the Kings were in town, the Sharks lost 4-3 in OT. Things have been changing for good and better for the Teal, and will try to replicate the same success from Tuesday Night.

The night kicked off in an emotional mode as the Sharks organization celebrated one of the greatest players the NHL has ever seen, and one of the players who represented the teal core, Joe Thornton, returned to the tank after his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto last week.

FIRST PERIOD

It did not take too long to get the crowd excited. Two minutes into the first period, the Sharks put themselves on the scoreboard. Yaroslav Askarov sent the puck from behind the Sharks net as the LA Kings defenseman, Brandt Clarke, recovered the puck, but San Jose, Ty Dellandrea found his way and set up the play for Adam Gaudette to make it 1 – 0.

LA waited toward the end of the period to make it even, a short-handed goal and deflection along the boards, and stealing the puck from Celebrini allowed the LA Kings, Joel Armia, to take advantage and make it even.

Sharks responded quickly, a shot by Collin Graf appeared to deflect off of Ty Dellandrea and in with coverage around the Kings’ net. Sharks are once again up 2-1 at the end of the first.

SECOND PERIOD

A minute into the period, the Kings tied it up. In the offensive Sharks zone, the veteran Anze Kopitar scored the 2nd for the Kings after taking a pass from Trevor Moore that went through the legs of Yaroslav Askarov.

The Kings scored after Joel Armia took a loose rebound in the Sharks’ net, but it was challenged and after review, the goal was in offside and the score remained 2-2.

The Sharks ended the period one goal up as Phillip Kurashev, assisted by the stars Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith in front of the net, scored the third of the night for the Teal.

THIRD PERIOD

The game remained tied during the course of the period, but the LA Kings showed some more fight. Anze Kopitar netted the 3rd one for the night for the Kings and will send things past the 60-minute mark. the game headed to OT and Penalty Shootout.

Of course, the figures of the night were not Macklin or Will; however, we give them credit for contributing, but the men in action tonight were Phillip Kurashev for giving the winning goal for the Teal, and an absolute performance of Yaroslav Askarov.

This win for the Shark put them in good place to climb up in the standings, Next game is this Saturday Night at home against the Ottawa Senators.

Macklin Celebrini’s Hat Trick Lifts Sharks Past Mammoth in Overtime 3-2

Macklin Celebrini #71 of the San Jose Sharks is congratulated by teammates after he scored his third goal of the night for a hat trick in overtime to win their game against the Utah Mammoth at SAP Center on November 18, 2025 in San Jose, California. (Mandatory Photo Credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

DOWNTOWN SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks returned home from a three game road trip as winners of five of their last eight games to take on the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday night. The Sharks, having lost the final two games of the trip and looking for a win, defeated the Utah Mammoth in overtime, 3-2, as Macklin Celebrini recorded a hat trick.

The Sharks pounced on the Mammoth early on Tuesday night as Macklin Celebrini scored on a wrister on the left side of the Sharks offensive zone after just 1:47 gone in the first period. Celebrini’s shot was assisted by Will Smith and Philipp Kurashev to give the Sharks the early 1-0 lead.

However, Macklin Celebrini and the Sharks weren’t done yet. Celebrini followed up his early goal with a second goal at the 5:58 mark to give the Sharks the 2-0 lead over the Mammoth. It was an early Macklin hat trick watch for Sharks fans at the Tank. Macklin’s second goal was a wrister that was clocked at 84.6 MPH as Celebrini tucked it just under the right blocker of Vitek Vanecek.

The Sharks finished the first period up 2-0 and in a commanding position in the game.

In the second period, both the Sharks and the Mammoth played a less urgent brand of hockey. Neither team was really commanding the puck or checking, which led to a slow and uneventful second period.

In the third period, it was all Utah. The Mammoth, who had yet to score in the game, scored twice in the third period to tie the game and send the game to overtime. Utah also had to overcome a goal that was waived off after it was deemed the Mammoth interfered with Yaroslav Askarov. The game went to overtime and Utah had all the momentum going for them. 

In overtime, of course it was Macklin Celebrini who came through for the San Jose Sharks. After the Sharks started the overtime slow and without much time in the offensive zone, the Mammoth were charged with a penalty, and this got a fourth man on the ice for the Sharks. Macklin Celebrini ended the game scoring the overtime goal with 2:08 to go in the overtime session as he sent the SAP Center crowd into a frenzy. His goal was assisted by William Eklund and Will Smith. It was a hat trick for Celebrini who provided all the scoring for the Sharks in the 3-2 victory in overtime.

As expected, Macklin Celebrini led the Sharks with three points on his three goals in the game. Will Smith finished the game with two points on his two assists as Collin Graf, William Eklund, and Philipp Kurashev each added a point via assists.

The Sharks improved to 9-8-3 on the season which is good enough for 21 points and just two points out of a Wild Card spot.

Up Next:

The Sharks will stay home to take on the LA Kings on Thursday at 7 p.m. PST in San Jose at SAP Center.