Sharks Fall 6-2 to Ducks to Start Preseason

Anaheim Ducks Beckett Sennecke (45) and the San Jose Sharks Nolan Allan (5) stay alert for the puck during exhibition NHL action at the Arrowhead Duck Pond in Anaheim on Sun Sep 20, 2026 (San Jose Sharks X photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 6-2 to the Anaheim Ducks Sunday afternoon. It was the Sharks’ first game of the 2026 preseason. Ducks goals came from Jackson LaCombe, Leo Carlsson, and Tristan Luneau, with a hat trick from Beckett Sennecke. Laurent Brossoit was in net for Anaheim. Eric Pohlkamp, and Jimmy Huntington scored for the Sharks. Goaltender Eric Comrie played the first half of the game and Matthew Davis was in net for the second half. Despite the score, the young Sharks squad acquitted themselves well against a more veteran Ducks lineup.

The Sharks took an early lead with a goal from Eric Pohlkamp at 1:37. Ethan Cardwell got the assist.

Anaheim tied the game at 2:57 with a snap shot from Jackson LaCombe. Assists went to Cutter Gauthier and Tristan Luneau.

The Ducks took the lead at 6:07 when Leo Carlsson scored with a snap shot, assisted by Drew Helleson and Nikita Klepov.

At the end of the first period, the Ducks lead on the scoreboard 2-1 and the shot clock 9-3. The Sharks had the only power play in the period when Roger McQueen was called for hooking Zack Ostapchuk at 16:06.

The Sharks had a another power play at 8:41 of the second period when Beckett Sennecke also hooked Ostapchuk.

The Sharks changed goaltenders at the halfway mark, putting Matthew Davis in the net.

Seconds after play resumed, Jimmy Huntington tied the game for San Jose on a breakaway at 11:05. Brett Leason got the assist.

The first Sharks penalty was called against Libor Hajek, for interference on Nikita Nesterenko. This allowed the Ducks take the lead back with a power play goal at 12:15. Sennecke scored with a wrist shot, assisted by Carlsson and LaCombe.

Sennecke padded that lead with his second of the game at 16:07. His slap shot was set up by Luneau and Nico Myatovic.

The shots were much closer in the second period, 14-11 Ducks. The third period opened with an early fight between Travis Mitchell and Andre Gasseau.

The Sharks killed their second penalty of the game early in the third. Anthony Vincent was called for interference on Leo Carlsson at 3:04.

Sennecke completed a natural hat trick at 8:10 of the third period with a backhander assisted by Granlund and Myatovic.

Luneau made it 6-2 for Anaheim at 13:44 with a slap shot from just below the blue line. Alex Killorn got the assist.

The Sharks killed a third penalty after Ethan Cardwell was called for high-sticking Stian Solberg at 14:40.

The Sharks play their next preseason game on Tuesday in San Jose at 7:00 PM PT against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Mary Lisa Walsh covers the San Jose Sharks road games for the 2026-27 season at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Fall 7-6 to Ducks in OT

The Anaheim Ducks Chris Kreider (20) scores on the San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) in the third period at SAP Arena on Sat Oct 11, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 7-6 in overtime to the Anaheim Ducks Saturday. Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke, Alex Killorn, Chris Kreider, and Leo Carlsson scored for Anaheim. Petr Mrazek made 17 saves for the win.

Tyler Toffoli, Ryan Reaves, Mario Ferraro, John Klingberg, Adam Gaudette and Jeff Skinner scored for San Jose. Yaroslav Askarov made 36 saves in the loss. San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini finished the game with three assists.

This was the second overtime loss in a row, the second game that the Sharks lost after holding a lead in the third period. After the game, the Sharks’ Celebrini talked about the team’s difficulty playing with the lead: “We want it so bad that maybe we’re over-thinking, maybe we just kind of panic sometimes. I don’t know, it’s frustrating when you’re that close.”

Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said: “We need some poise. We’re chucking pucks around in the defensive zone, on break-outs, out of d-zone structure, just chucking it around. They were all over us.”

The Sharks took the lead early and often. At 3:40, Tyler Toffoli scored the first goal of the game, skating into the zone during a delayed penalty to catch a pass from Will Smith on the blue line. Celebrini got the secondary assist.

Ryan Reaves made it 2-0 at 11:12. Reaves carried the puck into the zone and along the boards. He looked like he was going behind the net but instead he found a gap between the goalie and the post and he put the puck there. Assists went to Adam Gaudette and Nick Leddy.

Cutter Gauthier cut the lead in half less than a minute later. A pass that missed its mark carried on into the zone where Gauthier caught up with it and shot it around Klingberg and past Askarov. Assists went to Mason McTavish amd Radko Gudas.

Beckett Sennecke tied the game on the power play at 15:14. Sennecke caught the rebound off McTavish’s shot and put it in with a wrist shot. An assist also went to Olen Zellweger.

At the end of the first, the shots were 14-7 Anaheim. The Ducks had two power plays and the Sharks had none.

Mario Ferraro broke the tie at 5:41 of the second period. Mrazek kicked out a rebound after a Will Smith shot and Ferraro sent it back in with a wrist shot. Assists went to Smith and Celebrini.

Less than a minute later, Alex Killorn tied it back up with a goal on a breakaway. An assist went to Mikael Granlund.

At 10:34, Klingberg scored a power play goal to make it 4-3. Celebrini and Smith got the assists.

Gaudette scored another power play goal at 17:14 to give the Sharks a two-goal lead. Alexander Wennberg and Dmitri Orlov got the assists.

Chris Kreider scored on the power play to trim the Sharks lead at 19:29. He got his stick on the puck as it drifted in the blue paint behind Askarov. Assists went to Leo Carlsson and Troy Terry.

Jeff Skinner scored at 5:34 of the third period with a spin shot. Assists went to Ty Dellandrea and Orlov.

Gauthier scored his second of the game, tipping McTavish’s shot at 10:29.

Kreider tied the game again in the final minute of regulation. He knocked in a rebound that Askarov could not cover. Assists went to Leo Carlsson and Terry.

Carlsson scored the game winner 48 seconds into overtime. Celebrini lost the puck in Carlsson’s feet, giving Carlsson the opportunity to break away. Granlund got the assist.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in San Jose at 7:00 PM PT against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes.