Tag: Justus Annunen

Sharks Beat Predators 3-2, End Colossal Losing Streak

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Nashville Predators left wing Zachary L’heureux (68) crashes into San Jose Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (33) as defenseman Luca Cagnoni (42) and defenseman Vincent Desharnais (5) defend during the second period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, April 13, 2026.ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks won 3-2, defeating the Nashville Predators on Monday. The win was the Sharks’ first against the Predators after losing 15 in a row over seven years. Igor Chernyshov and Macklin Celebrini scored for the Sharks. Alex Nedeljkovic made 25 saves for the win. Luke Evangelista scored both Nashville goals and Justus Annunen made 20 saves in the loss.

“We played pretty good tonight from start to finish. We were solid, we were on our toes and I thought we just played a pretty all-around complete game tonight,” said Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic.

“I thought we played extremely hard tonight, we tracked pucks, we were more engaged all over the ice. So, I’m proud of the group,” said Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky.

In a penalty-free first period, the Sharks outshot the Predators 11-6. Igor Chernyshov scored the first goal of the game at 9:53 of the second period. The goal came on the power play, a shot from just above the faceoff dot. William Eklund set him up with the pass and Michael Misa got an assist as well.

The second period saw the Predators outshoot the Sharks 9-5. The only penalty went against Steven Stamkos and Nashville.

Macklin Celebrini made it 2-0 at 3:04 of the third period. After an icing call and a draw in the Predators’ Sharks got the puck in the neutral zone and rushed back in. Assists went to Chernyshov and Will Smith.

Nashville scored their first of the game at 15:39. Luke Evangelista skated into the zone with the puck and took his shot from the edge of the faceoff circle. Assists went to Nick Perbix and Ryan Ufko.

Celebrini scored his second of the game at into an empty net. Skating into the zone three-on-one with Collin Graf and Alexander Wennberg, Celebrini took the shot from high in the slot. Assists went to Graf and Wennberg.

Evangelista scored his second at 18:50, deflecting a shot from Ufko. An assist also went to Roman Josi.

The Sharks next play on Wednesday at 5:30 PM PT in Chicago against the Blackhawks.

Sharks Fall 4-1 to Avalanche, Eklund Scores in Return

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Colorado Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson (42) and San Jose Sharks center Luke Kunin (11) settle their issues on the ice in the first period at SAP Center in San Jose on Sun Oct 10, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 4-1 to the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. Ross Colton, Joel Kiviranta and Cale Makar scored for Colorado. Justus Annunen made 25 saves for the win. William Eklund scored for San Jose. Vitek Vanacek made 18 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro talked about what the message was after the 8-3 loss to Winnipeg on Friday:

“We came off of who we are as a team and I think we just got a little lazy. So, that was kind of the message to go out there today and get back to the way that we need to play in order to win games and we were closer. We’ve still got some steps to take.”

Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky showed cautious optimism, saying: “Definitely a step in the right, well, better than Winnipeg. Still got to find a way to create more offense, win a hockey game.”

Ross Colton gave the Avalanche the lead with a power play goal at 6:23 of the first period. Nathan MacKinnon sent the puck to him in the slot for a wrist shot. Assists went to MacKinnon and Cale Makar.

Colton scored his second goal at 16:37. With a series of quick passes, the Avalanche moved up the ice and sent Colton into the zone at speed with the puck. Another wrist shot made it 2-0. Assists went to Mikko Rantanen and Makar.

William Eklund cut the lead in half with a power play goal at 18:25. Mikael Granlund found Eklund near the post for a wrist shot. An assist also went to Tyler Toffoli.

At the end of the first, the Sharks had been outscored 2-0 and out-shot 12-6. They were also short-handed twice while Colorado was only short-handed once.

In the second period, the Sharks had two overlapping penalties to kill, but the Avalanche had three penalties, two overlapping to give the Sharks some five-on-three time. Despite all of those, neither team scored in the second period. The Sharks did out-shoot the Avalanche in the period, 13-6.

The next goal went to the Avalanche, at 9:57 of the third period. Josh Manson sent the puck to the net where Joel Kiviranta caught it and then backhanded it around Vanacek. Assists went to Manson and John Ludvig.

The Sharks pulled Vanacek for the extra skater with just under four minutes left in the game. They did get some chances after but Cale Makar scored into the empty net at 18:23. Assists went to MacKinnon and Samuel Girard.

The Sharks finished the third period with seven shots to Colorado’s four.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in Anaheim against the Ducks. At 7:15 PM PT.