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

San Jose Sharks podcast Len Shapiro: Sharks have improved their post season chances with drafts; With Trades picking up Darrell Nurse

Former Edmonton Oiler Darnell Nurse joins the San Jose Sharks after exploring the free agency market and got picked up right away by San Jose. Nurse said he was impressed by what he saw when he played against the Sharks Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith during the 26-27 regular season. (AP file photo)

San Jose Sharks podcast Len Shapiro:

#1 The San Jose Sharks traded for Edmonton Oilers star Darnell Nurse to expand the Sharks strength and Len general manager Mike Grier also finalized some more trades.

#2 Free agent signing Jacob Trouba for a four year deal, Trouba formerly played for the Anheim Ducks. Mason Marchment whose father played for the Sharks. Earlier the Sharks signed Michael Kesslering from the Buffalo Sabres. The Sharks signed a goaltender Eric Comrie from the Winnipeg Jets.

Ivar Stenberg – 2nd overall Forward from Sweden. A highly skilled offensive player known for his skating, playmaking, and scoring ability.

Keaton Verhoeff – 9th overall Right-shot defenseman from Canada. Considered one of the top defensive prospects in the draft, with size, mobility, and strong two-way play. Ryan Lin – 21st overall Defenseman from Canada. The Sharks traded up to select him after he slid down the draft board. He’s known for his puck-moving ability and offensive upside from the blue line. Both going back college in the States.

Len Shapiro is an NHL analyst at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks End Season With 6-1 Win, Celebrini Breaks Thornton Record

San Jose Sharks Dimitry Orlov (9) congratulates goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (33) after defeating the Winnipeg Jets at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg on Thu Apr 16, 2026 (San Jose Sharks X photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks ended the 2025-26 season with a 6-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. Sharks goals came from Macklin Celebrini, William Eklund, Will Smith, Igor Chernyshov, Collin Graf and Michael Misa. Alex Nedeljkovic made 25 saves for the win. Cole Koepke scored for the Jets and Eric Comrie made 27 saves in the loss.

Celebrini earned three points in the game, giving him 115 points for the season. That was enough to surpass the Sharks all-time single season record. Joe Thornton held the previous record with 114 points in the 2006-07 season. Celebrini also tied Thornton’s record for three-point games in a season with 18. Eklund and John Klingberg also had three-point nights and Will Smith had two points in the game.

The Jets scored first after a puck slipped by Mario Ferraro and out of the zone. Koepke had the jump on everyone and skated into the zone unimpeded for a snap shot into the top corner. That was at 3:28.

Igor Chernyshov tied the game with a power play goal at 6:26. Chernyshov got his stick on the rebound from Eklund’s shot, then he got his own rebound and put the puck behind the goaltender. Assists went to Eklund and Celebrini.

Will Smith gave the Sharks the lead at 16:54. Celebrini made a pass across the ice and Smith snapped it home from just inside the faceoff circle. Assists went to Celebrini and Klingberg.

The Jets outshot the Sharks 12-7 in the first period. Each took had a single penalty.

Collin Graf made it 3-1 at 5:51 of the second period. He knocked the puck free in the d-zone and carried it all the way to the Jets net to score.

The next goal did not come until late in the period, at 18:01. Michael Misa skated end-to end with the puck, entering the Jets zone two-on-one with Kiefer Sherwood. Misa took the shot from the face-off circle, then caught his own reboudn as he skated by the net and tapped it in. Assists went to Eklund and Klingberg.

William Eklund’s goal came even later, at 19:55. Eklund was one of several Sharks around the net, taking shots. Eklund found the puck as it trickled clear of the goaltender and, while dropping to his knees, Eklund pushed the puck over the line. Assists went to Mario Ferraro and Kiefer Sherwood.

The Sharks outshot the Jets 16-7 in the middle frame. The only penalty called went against the Sharks for too many men on the ice.

Macklin Celebrini scored the final goal of the game at 1:14 of the third. After passing the puck to his teammates several times, Celebrini finally took the shot from the slot to set a new single-season scoring record for the Sharks. Assists went to Klingberg and Smith.

Celebrini finished the season in fourth place for points and tied for fourth place in goals. The Sharks finished the season in 24th place in the league.