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.

Sharks Lose 7-3 to Avalanche, Celebrini Scores 20th

San Jose Sharks gets blown out by the Colorado Avalanche 7-3 at the Ball Center in Denver on Thu Mar 6, 2025 (San Jose Sharks X photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 7-3 to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. Joel Kiviranta, Cale Makar, Jonathan Drouin, Martin Necas and Nathan MacKinnon scored for the Avalanche. Mackenzie Blackwood made 31 saves for the win against his former team. Fabian Zetterlund, Macklin Celebrini and William Eklund scored for the Sharks. Alexandar Georgiev made 25 saves in the loss to his former team.

The first goal of the game was a short-handed one from Colorado. Joel Kiviranta scored it at 4:19 of the first period. Cale Makar knocked the puck away from Macklin Celebrini in the Sharks’ zone. Kiviranta carried it all the way to the other end for the shot.

A few minutes later, Colorado scored on the power play. Skating in from the blue line, Cale Makar caught a pass from Jonathan Drouin and scored on Georgiev’s stick side. Assists went to Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon.

Fabian Zetterlund got one back for the Sharks, on the power play at 10:08. Lurking just outside the blue paint, Zetterlund rediretced a shot from Collin Graf behi8nd Blackwood.

Jonathan Drouin made it 3-1 in the last three seconds of the period. Martin Necas passed the puck through the blue paint to Drouin for the goal. An assist also went to Artturi Lehkonen.

Martin Necas scored another power play goal just 40 seconds into the second period. Cale Makar set up the slap shot for Necase. An assist also went to MacKinnon.

Nathan MacKinnon scored the first even strength goal of the game at 10:54 of the second. Cale Makar shot it in and it went wide, then off of the backboards. It boucned right to MacKinnon next to the goal mouth for a snap shot. Assists went to Makar and Josh Manson.

In the final second of the second period, Keaton Middleton put the puck in the net but it was called off due to goaltender interference. It would have been Middleton’s first NHL goal.

MacKinnon scored another even strength goal at 5:21 of the third period to make it 6-1. On a rebound, the puck came right to MacKinnon as he skated to the net. Lehkonen and Makar got the assists.

Macklin Celebrini scored one for the Sharks at 8:10, putting the puck in the top of the net on a power play. It was Celebrini’s 20th goal for the season. Assists went to Will Smith and William Eklund.

Cale Makar restored the five-goal lead with a wrist shot less than a minute after Celebrini’s goal.

William Eklund scored the third Sharks goal at 17:24, the Sharks’ first even strength goal of the game. Three Colorado players were trying to corral the puck right in front of the blue paint. Eklund slid in between them and poked it into the net. Assists went to Tyler Toffoli and Alexander Wennberg.

Colorado out-shot the Sharks 13-9 in the first period. In the second period, it was 13-6 Colorado. In the third period the Sharks made a push, out-shooting Colorado 19-6.

The Sharks next play on Saturday back in San Jose against the New York Islanders at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Rally to Defeat Maple Leafs 3-2 in Shootout; Win ends San Jose’s 8 game loss streak

San Jose Sharks forward Tyler Toffoli (73) is thrilled after scoring his third period goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Mon Mar 3, 2025 (Canadian Press via AP)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won 3-2 in a shootout against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jack Thompson and Tyler Toffoli scored for the Sharks. Toffoli and Fabian Zetterlund scored to win the shootout. Alexandar Georgiev made 25 saves and three in the shootout for the win. John Tavares and Matthew Knies scored for the Maple Leafs, and William Nylander scored in the shootout. Anthony Stolarz made 20 saves and two in the shootout loss.

The win ended an eight-game losing streak and, for the Leafs, it ended a five-game win streak. The Sharks not only won, but came back from a two goal deficit to start the third period. Also to the Sharks’ credit, the two goals they gave up came on the power play. The game was hard won for the Sharks.

John Tavares scored the first goal after a scoreless first period. At 8:28 of the second, Tavares tipped a shot from Mitch Marner on a power play. Assists went to Marner and Nylander.

Matthew Knies made it 2-0 at 19:55 of the second, again on the power play. Knies redirected Auston Matthews’ shot from the goal line. An assist also went to Tavares.

Jack Thompson started the Sharks comeback at 2:23 of the third. Alexander Wennberg sent the puck in from the blue line. The shot went off of the boards behi8nd the net and back up to Thompson for a shot form above the faceoff dot. Assists went to Wennberg and William Eklund.

Tyler Toffoli tied the game at 10:10. Wennberg carried the puck into the zone, around behind the net and then centered it for a waiting Toffoli. An assist also went to Shakir Mukhamadullin.

In the shootout, Georgiev stopped Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews and John Tavares. William Nylander scored.

Stolarz stopped Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. Tyler Toffoli and Fabian Zetterlund scored.

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

Canadiens Sink Sharks 4-3 in OT, Sharks Losing Streak at 7

Montreal Canadians Alex Newhook (15) scores on the San Jose Sharks goaltender Alexander Geogiev in the third period at the Belle Centre in Montreal on Thu Feb 27, 2025 (Canadian Press via AP)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 4-3 in OT to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. Nick Suzuki, Alex Newhook and Cole Caulfield scored for Montreal. Sam Montembeault made 23 saves for the win. Fabian Zetterlund, Nico Sturm and Will Smith scored for San Jose. Alexandar Georgiev made 29 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks forward Will Smith said: “We gotta learn how to win. It’s been I don’t even know how many times this year so, it adds up and we’ve just gotta be better.”

Nico Sturm explained what was missing from the Sharks’ game at this point: “I think the one thing we haven’t done all year is score another goal. Either when we’re up or the game is tied, just score another goal and put a two goal lead or three goal lead. That’s what we haven’t done.”

The game got off to a flying start with four goals scored in the first period. At 3:56, Fabian Zetterlund scored to give San Jose the lead. Will Smith won the race for the puck and carried it behind the net. He passed it up to Zetterlund for a snap shot just outside the goal post. Assists went to Smith and Alexander Wennberg.

Nick Suzuki tied the game at 6:49 with a snap shot from high in the slot. Assists went to Cole Caulfield and Juraj Slafkovsky.

Nico Sturm made it 2-1 Sharks at 12:39. Sturm and Klim Kostin skated into the zone. Kostin carried the puck below the goal line before sending it back up to Sturm for the shot. Assists went to Kostin and Collin Graf.

Nick Suzuki tied it again in the final minute of the period. Suzuki won the offensive zone face-off, then caught Lane Hutson‘s pass from the blue line and took the shot from just above the hash marks. Assists went to Hutson and Jayden Struble.

Will Smith gave the Sharks their third lead of the game at 17:21 of the second period. Alexander Wennberg won a faceoff in the defensive zone and got the puck to Shakir Mukhamadullin. Mukhamadullin passed it to Smith, who carried it through the neutral zone, into the Canadiens’ zone, and scored with a shot from the hash marks.

Alex Newhook tied it 3-3 at 2:22 of the third period. Newhook, Patrik Laine and Owen Beck swarmed the crease and the puck ping-ponged around among them. Laine and Beck got the assists.

Cole Caulfield scored the game winner at 3:21 of OT. He caught Suzuki’s pass on the Canadiens’ blue line and carried the puck all the way down the ice for a snap shot from in close. Assists went to Suzuki and Montembeault.

The Sharks next play on Saturday at 4:00 PM PT in Ottawa against the Senators.

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

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 2-1 to Utah, Close Not Good Enough

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 Blow Out Kings 7-2, Celebrini With 2 Goals

Macklin Celebrini center (71) who scored two goals for the San Jose Sharks celebrates his third period against the Los Angeles Kings at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Nov 25, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharls defeated the Los Angeles Kings 7-2 on Monday. Nico Sturm, Macklin Celebrini, Fabian Zetterlund, Alexander Wennberg and Luke Kunin scored for the Sharks. Yaroslav Askarov made 22 saves for the win. Brandt Clarke and Anze Kopitar scored for the Kings. David Rittich made 14 saves in the loss.

The game generated some very good numbers for San Jose. Macklin Celebrini became just the third 18 year old Sharks player to have a multi-point game. The first was Jeff Friesen, the second was Patrick Marlowe. Additionally, the last time the Sharks scored five goals in a period at home was in 2015.

After the game, Mario Ferraro talked about how the game felt early: “They had a good start to the game. They were hemming us in quite a bit at the beginning. And then I think [Sturm] finishing that off just helped calm us down, calm the game down a bit.” It took the team a while to turn that calm into scoring but they got there.

The above-mentioned goal came at 1:47 of the first period. Nico Sturm scored with a wrist shot off of a breakaway and a pass from Mario Ferraro. Askarov also got an assist.

That was it for scoring in the first period. The teams finished even in shots on goal at six. The Sharks had one power play and another a few seconds before the end of the period.

The Sharks did not score on that power play to start the second. Soon after it elapsed, the Kings tied the game. Brandt Clarke took a shot from inside the right faceoff circle, after the Kings entered the zone with a lot of puck movement. Assists went to Adrian Kempe and Anze Koptar.

Anze Kopitar gave the Kings a lead at 8:58 with a backhand shot, cleaning up a stray puck after Adrian Kempe’s shot did not go in. An assist also went to Warren Foegele.

Fabian Zetterlund tied the game back up at 13:59. His attempt to center the puck from below the goal line went off of a Kings defender and into the net. Assists went to William Eklund and Macklin Celebrini.

In the second period, the Sharks started on the power play but took two penalties after that and were outshot by Los Angeles 12-5.

1:03 into the third period, Macklin Celebrini carried the puck up the ice and into the zone and then scored with a shot into the top corner. Assists went to Henry Thrun and Jan Rutta.

A little more than a minute later, Timothy Liljegren made it 4-2. His shot came from just above the faceoff circle. An assist went to Will Smith.

Los Angeles challenged that goal for goaltender interference. Mario Ferraro did skate through the crease but he made no contact and was out of the crease before the shot happened. The goal stood up, putting the Kings on the penalty kill. Ealry in that power play, Warren Foegele was called for tripping Celebrini, giving the Sharks more than a minute of five-on-three power play time.

Celebrini scored a power play goal with a slap shot off of a William Eklund pass. Will Smith got the secondary assist.

Alexander Wennberg made it 6-2 with a power play goal at 10:46. Wennberg deflected a shot from Jake Walman on the blue line. Wennberg won the face off to get the puck to Walman as well.

Luke Kunin made it 7-2 at 18:39. He chased down a stray pass in the neutral zone and then carried it through traffic to the net for the shot.

The Sharks next play on Wednesday at 7:30 PM PT in San Jose against the visiting Ottawa Senators.

Still Winless, Sharks Fall 3-2 to Kings; Foegele scores twice for LA

San Jose Sharks center Luke Kunin (11) fights Los Angeles Kings left wing Andre Lee (47) with Kings defenseman Joel Edmundson (6) behind and holding Kunin in the first period Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Thu Oct 24, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 3-2 to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. Jordan Spence and Warren Foegele scored for the Kings and Mikael Granlund scored for the Sharks. David Rittich made 24 saves for the win. Mackenzie Blackwood made 27 saves in the loss. The loss gave the Sharks the dubious honor of being the second team in NHL history to lose the first eight games of the season in consecutive seasons.

All three of the Kings’ goals were scored in just over seven minutes during the first period. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said: “Just can’t do that in the first period in this league. We did some good things in the second and third. We’re still giving up too many chances.”

Sharks forward Fabian Zetterlund talked about how the team played better in the second and third periods: “When we move the puck and we actually make plays and have fun, you know, that’s part of [hockey]. When we do [that] kind of stuff we look like a really good hockey team.”

Jordan Spence gave the Kings the lead at 4:31. After some back and forth in the neutral zone, Trevor Moore got control of the puck and the Kings skated up ice at speed. Just inside the zone, Moore passed the puck to Spence for a snap shot. Phillip Danault also got an assist.

Warren Foegele made it 2-0 at 8:47, poking the puck past Blackwood and Henry Thrun in a net-front battle. An assist went to Alex Laferriere.

Foegele scored his second at 11:36, tipping a shot from Brandt Clarke just below the blue line. Laferriere also got an assist.

At the end of the first period, the Sharks had been outshot 17-7, but they had not been short-hamded yet. They did get two power plays.

Mikael Granlund got the Sharks on the board with a power play goal at 10:05 of the second period. Catching a pass from Jack Thompson, Granlund put the puck in the top corner with a wrist shot. Alexander Wennberg also got an assist.

In the second period, the Sharks took two penalties and had two power plays. The shots were even at seven each.

Granlund scored a second power play goal in the final minute of the game with a wrist shot from above the faceoff circle. Assists went to Thompson and Wennberg.

The Sharks next play on Saturday against the Golden Knights in Las Vegas at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Lose Last Game of Season 5-1 to Flames

The Calgary Flames forward Matthew Caronato (27) stops a shot by the San Jose Sharks goaltender Devin Cooley (1) at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Thu Apr 18, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost their final game of the season 5-1 to the Calgary Flames on Thursday. Adam Klapka, Blake Coleman, Oliver Kylington, Kevin Rooney and Mackenzie Weegar scored for the Flames. Dustin Wolf made 16 saves in the win. Fabian Zetterlund scored the lone Sharks goal. Devin Cooley made 18 saves for the Sharks before being pulled. Georgi Romanov made 14 saves in relief. The Sharks finished the season with a record of 19-55-9.

Mikael Granlund finished the season on a 13 game point streak. The game was also noteworthy for being the first to see two Bay Area born goaltenders start in an NHL game. After the game, Devin Cooley said, of playing against Wolf:

“I don’t know him personally, but I’ve been following him for a while, obviously, in the American League. He’s had a great career so far and it’s really awesome to see how far youth hockey has come in Northern California and in the Bay Area. It was really cool to be able to play against him tonight and I hope we continue to see more guys from the Bay Area make the NHL.”

Fabian Zetterlund played his 82nd game of the season, the only Shark to do so this season. Of this accomplishment, Zetterlund said: “I mean, obviously that’s nice, you know, I feel fresh every game. I try to stay in shape, ready to go every night. That was my goal before the season and, yeah, I made it.”

Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said, of the season’s final games:

“We’ve made a lot of changes, there’s a lot of new faces here. It’s tough to learn on the go, in a short period of time, what’s expected of you. You know, it’s just hard. But we’re not the only team that’s gone through it. As I’ve said repeatedly, we’re in a situation where we kind of understood that this was going to be a difficult year but we will be better for it moving forward.”

All of the Flames goals came in the first two periods, not unlike the Sharks loss on Monday. Adam Klapka scored his first NHL goal at 12:13 of the first period. His wrist shot through traffic gave Calgary the lead.

Blake Coleman made it 2-0, redirecting a shot from Connor Zary. The goal came at 14:40, just as a Flames power play expired. Assists went to Zary and Rasmus Andersson.

The Sharks were outshot 16-5 in the first period. Early in the second period, Givani Smith and Adam Klapka squared off for a fight. Klapka lost his balance in the fight and both retired to the penalty box.

Oliver Kylington made it 3-0 about a minute after the fight. Andrew Mangiapane acted as a screen for Kylington’s shot from above the faceoff circle. An assist went to Andrei Kuzmenko.

Kevin Rooney made it 4-0 at 5:59. His shot from the slot went through several Sharks defenders and into the far side of the net. Assists went to Martin Pospisil and Matt Coronato.

MacKenzie Weegar scored the Flames’ fifth goal of the night at 6:56, for a total of three goals scored in 3:03 of play. It was another shot through traffic that went by Cooley on the glove side. Assists went to Daniil Miromanov and Blake Coleman.

The Sharks pulled Cooley after that goal and put Georgi Romanov in net. Romanov stopped all the shots he faced for the remained of the game. The Sharks were outshot 13-6 in the second period and 8-6 in the third.

Fabian Zetterlund scored a power play goal in the final ten seconds of the game. He scored his 24th goal of the season with a wrist shot from the faceoff circle. Assists went to Mikael Granlund and Collin Graf.

Mary Lisa Walsh is a San Jose Sharks beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oilers Rout Sharks 9-2, McDavid Earns 100th Point of Season

The San Jose Sharks William Eklund (72) taking a shot that was blocked by the Edmonton Oilers Evan Bouchard (2) in the third period at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Mon Apr 16, 2024 (The Canadian Press via AP)

By Mary Walsh

Connor McDavid, Adam Henrique, Warren Foegele, Dylan Holloway, Corey Perry, Cody Ceci, Evan Bouchard scored for the Oilers. Stuart Skinner made 19 saves for the 9-2 win over the San Jose Sharks at Rogers Place in Edmonton. Connor McDavid earned his 100th assist of the season in the game, only the second Oiler and the fourth NHL player to do so.

Danil Gushchin and Fabian Zetterlund scored for the Sharks. Mikael Granlund extended his point streak to 12 games with an assist. Devin Cooley made 14 saves on 22 shots before being pulled in the second period. Georgi Romanov made 15 on 16 shots saves in his NHL debut.

For the third time this season, the Sharks allowed nine or more goals. After the game, Sharks Head Coach David Quinn said: “We never looked like we were really… thought we had a chance. That’s kinda what it felt like. We were slow, very slow in everything that we were doing. We were losing a lot of battles and it was a lot of hesitation in our game.”

Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro said: “That was really what I thought went wrong today, is we maybe looked at the lineup on the other end and we played scared in the first period. And obviously it was a snowball effect.”

Sharks center Luke Kunin talked about the disappointing game and how the team let goaltender Devin Cooley down: “We didn’t help him out at all. With the odd-mans, how many looks he was getting, with the way that we started the game. You know, try to say a few things to him, obviously he’s a competitive guy as well, it wasn’t his fault by any means.”

Connor McDavid started the scoring just 53 seconds into the first period. McDavid carried the puck into the zone at speed and as he approached the goal line, he centered the puck for Zach Hyman. The pass did not get through. Instead, it hit Marc-Edouard Vlasic and went into the net. An assist went to Darnell Nurse.

Adam Henrique made it 2-0 at 4:01. Catching a Brett Kulak pass from the blue line, Henrique settled the puck down in traffic before lifting it over Cooley for the goal.

Warren Foegele added another at 10:40. Skating in two-on-one with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Foegele scored with a wrist shot from inside the faceoff circle. An assist went to Leon Draisaitl.

At this point, the Sharks still only had one shot on goal. By the end of the period, they had six shots ot the Oilers’ 10.

At 19:35, Dylan Holloway tipped in the fourth Oilers goal off a shot from Adam Henrique. Assists to Henrique and Nurse.

The Sharks got on the board at 1:58 of the second period. Danil Gushchin took a shot from the goal line that snuck between the Skinner and the post. An assist went to Thomas Bordeleau.

Less than three minutes later, Foegele scored his second of the night to make it 5-1. Foegele redirected a shot from Nugent-Hopkins. Cooley stopped that but the puck got away from him and Foegele followed up and poked the puck over the line. Assists went to Nugent-Hopkins and Draisaitl.

Corey Perry made it 6-1 near the midpoint of the period. Evan Bouchard went for the shot and Cooley came out to stop it. But the puck went past him and Perry was lurking by the other post to poke the puck in. Assists went to Bouchard and Holloway.

Cody Ceci made it 7-1 at 13:18. Trailing the play and then going ot the net, Ceci redirected a pass from Henrique. Assists went to Henrique and Hyman.

Evan Bouchard made it 8-1, just 31 seconds later. In a play almost exactly like the prior one, Corey Perry sent the puck across the ice for Bouchard to redirect past Cooley on the glove side. Assists went to Perry and Holloway.

The Sharks pulled Cooley after that one and put rookie Georgi Romanov in net.

A little less than a minute later, Zach Hyman scored to make it 9-1. In another two-on-one, Connor McDavid and Hyman skated in. McDavid a short pass for Hyman to nudge in. Assists went to McDavid and Nurse.

That was it for the Oilers. The Sharks scored one in the third period. Mikael Granlund carried the puck in two-on-one with Fabian Zetterlund. Granlund took a shot while skating through center ice. Skinner stopped that. William Eklund got a stick on it but it did not go in. The puck bounced around in the blue paint before Zetterlund got his stick on it and scored with a backhand shot. Assists went to Eklund and Granlund.

The Sharks will play their final game of the season at 6:00 PM PT on Thursday in Calgary against the Flames.