Tag: NHL

Sharks can’t pull off win lose in close contest to Isles 4-3

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New York Islanders Matthew Schaefer (48) scores against the San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) in the second period at UBS Arena in Elmont Tue Oct 21, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Jessica Kwong

ELMONT, NY. — The San Jose Sharks (0-4-2) played their best game yet of the season but fell 4-3 to the New York Islanders (3-3-0) at UBS Arena on Tuesday night and remain at a zero-win record.

San Jose had a promising start, with right wing Collin Graf making a shorthanded goal assisted by center Ty Dellandrea 8:29 into the first period, putting them up 1-0. Graf stood at the blue line and executed on getting it off as quickly as possible.

But that good start was short-lived, as Islanders center Bo Horvat less than a minute later made a power play goal assisted by center Mathew Barzal and defenseman Matthew Schaefer to tie the game. Then center Casey Cizikas scored an unassisted goal at 10:30 to put the Islanders up 2-1.

Graf called it “like the worst thing ever, basically”, to fall to the Islanders.

“I mean, it sucks especially when you play, like I thought we played well especially in a good road game and to you know, play really well at the start of the period and still be down is sort of frustrating,” he said.

“But I think as a group we still battled through the second and third period and we just came up a little bit short.”

At 14:16 into the first period, Sharks right wing Adam Gaudette scored, assisted by center Michael Misa and Graf to tie the game at 2-2. Misa, the second-overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, said it was a “good play” for Graf to find him in the middle of the pass and that he saw Guadette coming down and hit it over.

“It sucks, you know, we’re still trying to find out first win, it’s frustrating,” said Misa.

“I think we play well overall, we tried to play back there in the end, but you know, we’re just going to keep pushing.”

The Islanders came out on top at the end of the period as left wing Emil Heineman made a power play goal assisted by left wing Anders Lee and right wing Max Shabanov at 19:30.

In the second period, Schaefer scored assisted by left wing Anthony Duclair and center Kyle Palmieri at 6:38 to put the Islanders up 4-2. That set off “Matthew Schaefer” chants for the 18-year-old No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

Sharks center Macklin Celebrini scored at 10:16 into the third period, assisted by defensemen Dmitry Orlov and Mario Ferraro, cutting the Islanders’ lead to 4-3. But the Sharks offense faltered after that.

Despite the team’s 0-4-2 record, Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky had a positive outlook for the next game.

“Today was probably I think, our most complete game, even probably better than Vegas in a sense. We had some really good looks in the offensive zone. It’s going to start going in, it’s going to start turning. We’re going to stick together,” said Warsofsky.

“I told the group after, stick together, and just keep getting better and get a little bit better tomorrow and be ready to get our first win at MSG.”

The Sharks continue their four-game road trip facing the New York Rangers (3-4-1) at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. The puck drops at 4 p.m. PT.

Mammoth Beats Bruins 3-2 To Remain Undefeated At Home

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Utah Mammoth defenceman Nate Schmidt takes a shot against the Boston Bruins in the second period at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sun Oct 19, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Dylan Guenther scored the third Period go-ahead goal and Vítek Vaněček locked down the net as the Utah Mammoth improves to 3-0-0 on their opening homestand beating the Boston Bruins at the Delta Center 3-2.

Coming off of back-to-back home wins at Delta Center to begin the 2025-2026 season, the Utah Mammoth (3-2-0) welcomed the Boston Bruins (3-3-0) to Salt Lake City on Sunday afternoon for the third of four games on the homestand.

At 3:30 of the first period, Boston’s Elias Lindholm was whistled for hooking against Dylan Guenther to put Utah on the power play. Nearly a minute later, Mammoth captain Clayton Keller found forward Nick Schmaltz in front of the net whose one-timer hit linemate Logan Cooley squarely in the back on the numbers, bouncing over his left shoulder and over the head of Bruins netminder Joonas Korpisalo, falling cleanly into the net to open the scoring.

Cooley was credited with his second goal of the season. Keller’s assist gave him an NHL-high 35 power play points (9G, 26A) over his last 61 games going back to December 8, 2024. Just past the halfway mark of the period, Mammoth forward Dylan Guenther was called for tripping against Morgan Geekie to give the Bruins the man advantage, which David Pastrnak cashed in for his 3rd of the season, assisted by Pavel Zacha and Charlie McAvoy, to tie things up. As the buzzer sounded, Korpisalo had stopped 11 of 12 shots in the frame while Vítek Vaněček turned away 9 of 10.

At 5:46 of the second period, Boston took its first lead of the game on a goal by David Pastrnak, his 4th of the season, assisted by Marat Khusnutdinov, as a vocal minority of yellow-clad cheering Bruins fans made their presence known. At 15:57, with Brandon Tanev and Nikita Zadorov serving offsetting roughing penalties, Keller put a rebound off a shot by Schmaltz past Korpisalo on the 4-on-4 for his second goal of the season with the additional assist going to Ian Cole. Keller and Schmaltz have combined on six goals over the past six periods. The period would end with the two squads knotted up at 2-2.

The two squads played to a draw in the first half of the third period until Dylan Guenther broke through at 10:37 of the frame with his 3rd goal on the season, assisted by JJ Peterka, to give Utah a 3-2 lead. Boston pulled Korpisalo with a minute and a half to go, but was unable to solve Vaněček who earned his first victory of the season, saving 24 of 26 shots. Guenther’s goal was his second game-winner of the season and an NHL-leading 8 over his last 36 games going back to February, putting him ahead of Sidney Crosby and Cole Caufield who have six each.

After the game, captain Clayton Keller addressed the team’s resilient third period. “We had a good third. For whatever reason, our second hasn’t been great, but we’ve been able to bounce back and play hard in the third, get back to our style of hockey, and I think we did a great job of that tonight.” Praising Vítek Vaněček’s performance in net, Keller added, “V was unreal all game, key saves at the right times, so it’s great to see him get a win here tonight at home. I’m sure that’s a huge confidence booster as well, making great stops and having an unbelievable game like that.”

Game-winning goal scorer Dylan Guenther spoke of scoring in front of his parents for the first time. “I mean it only took 25 years, so this might have been the last road trip if I hadn’t gotten one, but this one is special. Growing up as a kid always dreaming of playing in the NHL and getting to score with your family in the stands is pretty cool.” Speaking of the Mammoth playing calm in pressure situations, Guenther said, “We have a lot of leaders here, a lot of guys who have won. And heading into the third, you have to be comfortable in those situations and own it. That’s when you want to play when the game’s tied, you’re at home and the crowd is into it. I think it’s just a ton of fun. So if we embrace that, we continue to get better at it.”

Utah Mammoth Head Coach André Tourigny was all smiles in the interview room. Speaking of the chemistry between Dylan Guenther and JJ Peterka, Tourigny said, “I liked their third period, and I talked to JJ after the second about using his speed in every phase and putting speed on their D and stuff like that. I really like the way he responded too, he attacked right in from the first shift in the third period, and he attacked with a lot of speed. He (Dylan Guenther) elevated this game in the third, and on the winning goal, he had a great reload, great strip, made a good pass, and obviously, Gunner took a really good shot. But I like that line in the third, and the way they responded.” What is it like to be undefeated at home to begin the season? “Trying not to get ahead of ourselves, in the sense that I don’t want to get too excited, but obviously we’re happy about how it happened so far. And we know we have 41games at home, and we want to take advantage of it. But so far, so good.”

Utah (4-2-0) concludes its homestand on Tuesday against the visiting Colorado Avalanche (5-0-1) who previously defeated the Mammoth on their October 9 home opener.

Penguins Shut Out Sharks 3-0; Sharks…Still Waiting For Victory to Come

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By Fernando Abarca

SAN JOSE, CA — After a painful loss in Utah, it was a vibrant Hispanic Heritage Night at SAP Center in San Jose — but not a celebratory one for the San Jose Sharks (0-3-2). San Jose hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins (4-2-0) in hopes of securing their first win of the season, yet they fell short once again, extending a difficult start to the campaign losing in a shutout 3-0.

Coming into the game, the Sharks sat near the bottom of the league standings, largely due to a troubling goal differential and ongoing defensive struggles. Key defensive pieces such as John Klingberg, Ryan Reaves, and Shakir Mukhamadullin were unavailable for the matchup, further complicating San Jose’s lineup decisions.

The organization also took the opportunity to honor the local community with Hispanic Heritage Night, celebrating the rich cultural presence of Latinos in San Jose and across the Bay Area.

First Period: Promise Without Results

San Jose opened the game with energy and offensive intent, showing flashes of chemistry and creativity against a Penguins team anchored by veteran experience. Both teams traded chances, but neither was able to break through, ending the first period scoreless. The Sharks looked more structured, generating quality rushes and forecheck pressure.

Second Period: Crosby Capitalizes

The momentum shifted in the second. Defensive lapses by San Jose allowed Sidney Crosby to find space and open the scoring, giving Pittsburgh a 1–0 lead. The Sharks struggled to respond, managing offensive zone time but lacking the finish to beat the Penguins’ goaltending. This has been a consistent theme — San Jose entered the night averaging among the fewest goals per game in the NHL.

Third Period: Penguins Seal It Late

In the final frame, Anthony Mantha doubled Pittsburgh’s lead, converting on another Sharks breakdown. With seconds remaining, Evgeni Malkin added the third goal, putting the game out of reach and sealing yet another defeat for San Jose.

Key Stats & Takeaways

  • Shots on Goal: Penguins 31 – Sharks 26 (approximate/game trend)
  • Power Play Struggles: Sharks remain without a power-play goal in multiple games.
  • Goal Differential: San Jose continues to carry one of the worst in the league (-15 or worse entering the game).
  • Bright Spot: Increased compete level and improved offensive zone entries compared to previous outings.

Despite the loss, the Sharks showed glimpses of competitiveness and depth, particularly among their younger forwards. However, significant work remains — especially on the defensive end — if they hope to end their winless stretch.

What’s Next?

The Sharks now head to the East Coast for a challenging back-to-back against the New York Islanders Tue Oct 21, New York Rangers Thu Oct 23, two disciplined teams with strong forechecking systems. A response will be needed if San Jose wants to avoid an early-season spiral. They will conclude the road trip against the New Jersey Devils on Fri Oct 24.

Sharks apologize for offensive message on scoreboard on Hispanic Heritage night: The Sharks issued an apology for a message that was shown on the video board regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the same night that they were celebrating Hispanic heritage night.

The message was displayed on the video board during the first intermission that read, “SJ SHARKS FANS/LOVE ICE !!/GET ‘EM BOYZ !”

The Sharks in a statement said “an offensively worded message which had been externally submitted was inadvertently displayed on the in-arena scoreboard.”

“Sharks Sports & Entertainment deeply regrets that this message, which does not meet our organization’s values, was not detected during our standard review process,” The Sharks in the statement also added. “The Sharks organization sincerely apologizes for this oversight, and we are actively working to determine the origin of the message.”

San Jose Sharks podcast Mary Lisa: Sharks host Penguins tonight at SAP Center in second of back to back games

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San Jose Sharks left wing Jeff Skinner stretches out to take a shot against the Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) in the first period at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Fri Oct 17, 2025 (AP News photo)

San Jose Sharks podcast Mary Lisa:

#1 The Utah Mammoth’s Nick Schmaltz scored a hat trick with three goals and an assist as the Mammoth defeated the visiting San Jose Sharks 6-3 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City Friday night.

#2 The Mammoth’s Clayton Keller scored a goal and got three assists and Liam O’Brien and Michael Carcone got goals for the Mammoth.

#3 Utah further stopped the Sharks offense as goaltender Karel Vejmelka saved 18 shots and the Mammoth picked up their third win in four games. The Sharks lose their fourth straight game and remain winless.

#4 The Sharks Tyler Toffoli, Jeff Skinner, and Macklin Celebrini all scored for San Jose but it wasn’t enough falling short in another loss.

#5 The Sharks get another bit at the apple again in the second of back to back games this time against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins (3-2) on Saturday night at SAP Center in San Jose. The Pens have played .500 hockey in their last four games winning two of their last four. The Penguins beat the LA Kings in their last game Thursday 4-2 in LA. Mary Lisa how do you see these two teams Saturday night?

Join Mary Lisa for the San Jose Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Mammoth Win 6-3 As Schmaltz Slays Sharks With Hat Trick

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Utah Mammoth center Liam O’Brien (38) celebrates his goal with left wing Brandon Tenev (13) against the San Jose Sharks in the second period at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Fri Oct 17, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Nick Schmaltz recorded 3 goals and an assist and Liam O’Brien scored his first career Utah goal in a 6-3 victory over San Jose.

The Utah Mammoth (2-2-0) welcomed the San Jose Sharks (0-1-2) to Delta Center on Friday night for their first encounter of the season. All three games between the two teams last season were decided by a single goal, with San Jose winning their first matchup in Salt Lake City, overcoming a 4-1 deficit in the 3rd period and stealing the win in overtime, and Utah prevailing in the other two.

The Sharks put themselves in an early hole as tripping penalties a minute apart by Nick Leddy and Dmitry Orlov gave the Mammoth a 5-3 advantage. A half minute into the dual penalties, Utah forward Nick Schmaltz ripped a snap shot past San Jose netminder Yaroslav Askarov for his first goal of the season, assisted by Logan Cooley and Clayton Keller. At 13:31 of the first, Schmaltz made it 2-0 with another wicked shot, assisted again by Keller, which marks the fastest two goals in franchise history at 3:52 apart. It would be nearly 12 minutes into the game before the Sharks would record their first shot on goal. Karel Vejmelka turned away all 7 San Jose shots in the period, while Askarov stopped 10 of 12.

San Jose came out swinging in the second period with a burst of energy. At 4:33 Jack McBain was called for interference against Jeff Skinner, and on the ensuing power play Tyler Toffoli cut the Sharks deficit in half with his second goal of the season, assisted by Dmitry Orlov and Will Smith. Less than two minutes later, Jeff Skinner netted his third goal of the season, assisted by Macklin Celebrini and Vincent Desharnais, to tie things up 2-2. With just under four minutes remaining in the period, however, Mammoth forward Liam O’Brien scooped up a puck in front of the net and wrapped it past Askarov to reclaim Utah’s lead 3-2, with new acquisition Brandon Tanev recording his first point on the assist. For O’Brien, a feisty fan-favorite who missed the first four games of this season due to injury, it was his first career Utah goal having been kept out of the opposition net in 28 games during the team’s inaugural season.

Less than a minute into the third frame, Mammoth forward Nick Schmaltz put the puck past Askarov again for his second career hat trick, and the first of the season for the Utah Mammoth, to increase the lead to 4-2. Schmaltz noted after the game that his grandfather has seen him play twice in the NHL, and he scored a hat trick both times. The only other hat trick in Utah franchise history came last season by Barrett Hayton against the Los Angeles Kings on February 22, 2025. At 3:25 of the third, Mammoth forward Michael Carcone took advantage of an Alexander Wennberg giveaway to record his first goal of the season, assisted by Lawson Crouse, to put the Mammoth up 5-2. Utah wasn’t done, however. Just past the halfway mark of the period, Schmaltz returned the earlier favors, feeding captain Clayton Keller for his first goal of the season, with an additional assist by Barrett Hayton, to give the Mammoth a commanding 6-2 lead. At 16:51 of the third, with Dylan Guenther in the sin bin for cross-checking against Collin Graf, Macklin Celebrini scored his first goal of the season, assisted by Skinner and Wennberg, to bring the Sharks within three but there would be no 3rd period comeback this time as Utah claimed its third win of the season while San Jose falls to 0-2-2. Vejmelka finished the night turning away 18 of 21 shots for the win.

After the game in the visitor locker room, San Jose Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky addressed the third period meltdown. “We give up that one, Asky was the one behind out there, and then we just sat in our heels there a little bit in the third and that’s what good teams will do to you. … I thought there was good energy in the bench heading into the period. In the guys’ dressing room, we were saying the right things, but we have to start doing the right things.”

Sharks Defenseman Mario Ferraro echoed Warsofsky’s remarks. “We were back on our heels too early. We’ve got to start with the opposite and put them back on their heels. Obviously it’s a road game, but we’ve got to be even tighter in situations like that. I think just playing simple and getting pucks in and getting pucks out are really important. They put a lot of pressure on us, especially in the neutral zone. They came through the neutral zone with a lot of speed, so if we’re as tight as we can be next time in these road buildings to be tight and gapped up and not give them that time and space, maybe they’ll help us out a little bit. But for sure, our start wasn’t good enough tonight.”

It was no surprise that Nick Schmaltz and Liam O’Brien were selected to speak with the media in the winning locker room after the game. Talking about his hat trick, Schmaltz said, “Yeah, it was good. I feel like I’ve had a lot of chances early on in the season here and trying to shoot the puck more, take it to the net, be around the net more. A couple guys made some great plays by me in open areas, and it was fun to see a couple go in there. … It was awesome, especially in front of our home fans and shoutout to my grandpa, he’s been here. He’s watched me play two times now, in Arizona and here, and he’s seen a hat trick both times, so it’s pretty cool and special to have him here. Shout out to him.”

O’Brien talked about his emotions after scoring his first goal at Delta Center. “There’s a little sense of relief. Took longer than I wanted, but felt good, and I’m just happy we got the win too. … That second period was a little ugly for us. We didn’t like it, and we had a chat in between periods, and we fixed it. We came out and you see our top guys, turn it on like that, and you see how good those guys are. So, I thought we responded really well in that third period.”

Utah Mammoth Head Coach André Tourigny addressed his team’s performance in his opening statement. “I liked the first and the third, obviously, wasn’t in love with the second, but extremely proud of the way the boys reacted in the third. There was a lot of maturity, a lot of focus, and we played it right away. We put the puck behind, and we got a reward early, great play by Kells’ line, putting the puck deep and going on the forecheck. So that’s good” Commenting on Nick Schmaltz’s performance, Tourigny commented, “Honestly since the start of the season he’s been playing really good. You know, he had a lot of opportunities. He reloaded really well on both sides of the puck. He’s a trap. He’s inside a lot. Has a lot of opportunities inside. So it was a matter of time. I had a chat with him yesterday, saying, yeah, just do the right thing when you have those numbers and scoring chances, it’s because you’re doing the right thing, and it will come. Today was the day.” He was particularly pleased with the offensive effort of his squad. “I like the way we have generated offense lately, or the last two games I should say, you know, I have a ton of trust in our team. I know if we do the right thing and we go inside goals will come. I think what’s important is the win, six goals is always great. But more importantly, the way we responded in the third period and we left no doubt, that’s the way.”

Utah (3-2-0) will go for its third straight home victory to open the season on Sunday as they face off against the Boston Bruins (3-2-0).

San Jose Sharks podcast Lincoln Juarez Fri Oct 17, 2025: Sharks in search for first win face Utah tonight at Delta Center

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AP File–San Jose Sharks goaltender Yarslov Askarov (30) defends against a shot by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second period on Mon Jan 27, 2025 at SAP Center in San Jose. The Sharks face off against the Utah Mammoth in Utah Fri Oct 17, 2025 in the first of back to back games. They face the Pittsburgh Penguins in San Jose Sat Oct 18, 2025.

San Jose Sharks podcast Lincoln Juarez:

#1 The San Jose Sharks who are looking for that first win of the 25-26 season were dropped by the Carolina Hurricanes in their last game by a whopping 5-1.

#2 The Hurricanes damage against the Sharks came by William Carrier and Eric Robinson who who both scored withing four and half minutes of each other in the second period. How badly did the Sharks defense let down on those goals?

#3 The Sharks William Eklund scored the only goal for San Jose. The Sharks offense on Wednesday didn’t crash the net enough you covered the game what did you see of the break down on offense?

#4 Sharks goaltender Alex Nedelijkovic was overwhelmed in net. He faced 43 shots and saved 38 of them allowing five goals. Was this a matter of not enough protection from the skaters up front or was it a matter of Nedelijkovic having an off game?

#5 The Sharks are in Utah Friday (tonight) at the Delta Center. The Mammoth (2-2) come into this game at .500. Their most recent win Wednesday beating the Calgary Flames 3-1. The Mammoth started their first three games on the road and opened up against Calgary last Wednesday. The Sharks played their first two games on the road and one at home.

Lincoln Juarez does the San Jose Sharks podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Mammoth Extinguish Flames 3-1 In Home Opener

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Utah Mammoth center Barrett Hayton (27) scores against the Calgary Flames in the second period at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Wed Oct 15, 2025 (AP News photo)

Mammoth Extinguish Flames 3-1 In Home Opener

JJ Peterka nets game-winner in Delta Center debut as Karel Vejmelka locks down the Utah net.

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–The Utah Mammoth returned to Salt Lake City Wednesday night for their home opener following a 1-2-0 road trip through Colorado, Nashville, and Chicago to begin the 2025-2026 NHL season. For the second straight year, Utah forward Dylan Guenther scored the team’s first goal of the season, this time in a 2-1 loss to the Avalanche on October 9.

Before the puck drop at Delta Center, Tusky the Mountain Blue mammoth made its mascot debut, officially ending the double duties of Jazz Bear from the city’s NBA squad.

At 7:21 of the first period, Mammoth defenseman Mikhail Sergachev went to the sin bin for high-sticking Blake Coleman. Just over a minute later, Calgary’s Rasmus Andersson cashed it in to give the Flames an early 1-0 lead, assisted by Morgan Frost and Nazem Kadri. Calgary netminder Devin Cooley, no relation to Utah’s Logan Cooley, turned away all ten shots he faced in the opening frame while Karel Vejmelka stopped four of the five shots he faced.

It didn’t take long in the second period for Utah to even the score. At 1:16 of the period, Mammoth forward Barrett Hayton found the back of the Calgary net for his first goal of the season, assisted by Nick Schmaltz and John Marino. Three minutes later, JJ Peterka took advantage of a giveaway by Brayden Pachal and flew the full length of the ice before beating Devin Cooley unassisted for his second goal of the season and a new entry into the Mammoth highlight reels to give Utah the 2-1 lead. The second period was all Mammoth as the home squad put 18 shots on goal to Calgary’s three.

The Flames fought back in the third period, outshooting Utah 12-4, but both netminders held the line until Devin Cooley got pulled to give Calgary a 6-5 offensive advantage. The Flames peppered Karel Vejmelka with shots in the closing minutes, but Utah forward Kevin Stenlund banked a rebound off the dasher boards and into the empty Calgary net for his first goal of the season to put the game away.

New acquired forward JJ Peterka faced the media in the locker room for the first time after the game. Describing his first home opener as a Mammoth, Peterka said, “The crowd throughout the whole game was unbelievable. Started with the anthem in the warmups, with how many kids and how many fans came out. Just throughout the whole game, when we needed energy, we for sure got it from the crowd.” As for the game itself, the winger added, “I think that was a tough game, but we stuck to our game plan throughout the whole 60 minutes. We knew they were going to make a push and throw everything in there, and I think Veggie was unbelievable throughout the whole game, but especially in the third, he made some huge stops to secure the win.” With regard to Calgary’s third period push, Peterka commented, “We kind of played a little bit more defensively, made sure we are in the shot lanes and in passing lanes, and outweighed them because we knew they come pretty hot out of the locker room.”

Winning goaltender Karel Vejmelka was asked about getting that first W at home. “Obviously, first home game of the season, so we wanted to play a good game and we did. We found a way to win. It wasn’t an easy game. But like I said, we found a way.” Having faced only 8 shots combined in the first two periods, Vejmelka was asked about staying focused while being largely uncontested for much of the game. He responded, “You know, it’s all about staying sharp and mentally focused. It wasn’t easy for us in the first period, but [there was] pressure in the third and we played a really good job defensively, but I needed to make a couple of good saves. It’s a big team win. As for the energy of the fans on opening night, the Utah netminder said, “Well, it’s always fun to play again in front of our fans. It’s so much fun and I enjoy every minute on the ice. It’s really special to be back home, and really appreciated all of that.”

Utah Mammoth Head Coach André Tourigny began the postgame interview with a statement. “It was a positive outing, and lots of opportunities. Unfortunately, we could not convert, but it was a positive outing. And then the third, they had a really good push, but I liked the way we managed it defensively. We turned the puck over a little bit too much when we were protecting the lead, a little bit too safe. But our game in general, when it comes to the physicality, balancing, the hits, and trying not to draw penalties.” Talking about giving up Calgary’s early goal, Tourigny commented, “I think we reacted well after the first. In the first, it was a war, maybe a little bit too into it. But after we reacted really well. I really like the mental strength of our team, and even when they had the push, we still played well. When you dominate the way we dominate for two periods, and you arrive in the third, and they have a push, I didn’t feel any panic. The guys were trying to do the right thing, not necessarily having success at it, but we’re doing the right thing, and we defended really hard. So that’s tough for them to get to our net front, but when they did, Veggie came up big.” Overall, Tourigny was satisfied with his team’s performance for the night. “Our forecheck was big, and I think that when we’re on top of our opponent and we skate the way we did in the first two periods, we are tough to play against, and we drew a lot of penalties. That’s a really good game for us. … Part of playing good defense is that you need to be able to break out the puck a little bit better than we did in the third. It was a strength of ours in the first two periods. In the third, it was a little bit tougher. And they obviously pressed a bit differently than they did in other situations. So it put us in a little bit of some adversity, which is something we will talk more about and improve, but the way we played without the puck was really good, and much more comfortable.”

The Mammoth return to action at the Delta Center on Friday against the San Jose Sharks, continuing with games next week against the Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche to conclude the season opening homestand.

San Jose Sharks podcast Len Shapiro: Sharks go down 0-3 get clobbered at home by Canes 5-1

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Carolina Hurricanes left winger William Carrier (28) scores a goal against the San Jose Sharks Alex Nedelijkovic (33) in the second period at SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Oct 14, 2025 (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 How did Carolina Hurricanes rookie goaltender Brandon Bussi perform in his NHL debut, and how did his performance impact the game?

#2 Which players contributed offensively for the Hurricanes, and how balanced was their scoring?

#3 What role did the Sharks’ rookie Michael Misa play in the game, and how did he handle his NHL debut?

#4 How did injuries or lineup changes affect both teams’ rosters going into the game?

#5 It’s off to Salt Lake City and the Utah Mammoth for the Sharks. The Mammoth lost their last game against the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago on Monday night 3-1. The Mammoth are 1-2-0. The Sharks are winless and pretty much left no doubt in their loss to the Hurricanes that it was a forgone conclusion in their 5-1 at SAP Center on Tuesday night.

Len Shapiro does the San Jose Sharks podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks get dominated 5-1 by Canes; SJ remains winless through 3 games

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San Jose Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic deflects a shot in the second period against the Carolina Hurricanes at SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Oct 14, 2025 (AP News photo)

Sharks get dominated 5-1 by Caines; SJ remains winless through 3 games

By Lincoln Juarez

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Five different Hurricanes scored to blow through San Jose in a 5-1 win. Michael Misa was kept off the score sheet in his NHL debut and the Sharks ugly start to the season continues.

After two gut-wrenching, late-game losses to open up the season the San Jose Sharks aimed to weather the storm of the Carolina Hurricanes at SAP Center. The Sharks second overall pick from the 2025 draft, Michael Misa made his highly anticipated NHL debut Tuesday night. The 18 year old forward from Oakville, Ontario, who scored 134 points in his final OHL season last year with the Saginaw Spirit, finally took to NHL ice.

The Sharks had not trailed in regulation until Tuesday night when Carolina’s Sean Walker opened up the scoring with his first of the year. It was also the start of a rough night for Alex Nedeljkovic in the Sharks net.

Nedeljkovic, who made a costly error last Thursday night resulting in the Vegas Golden Knights overtime win, hoped to make a better second impression on Sharks fans at SAP Center. Instead, he allowed five goals on 43 shots with not much help from his defense in front of him.

Five different Hurricanes scored on Nedeljkovic as Carolina ran away with the game in the third period, not giving the Sharks any chance to make it close.

As for top prospect Michael Misa, he was held to 0 shots and a -2 in 15:06 of total ice time. The only Sharks offense came in the second period by William Eklund on a breakaway goal to tie the game at one at the time. It was Eklund’s first of the season and the lone San Jose goal.

One of the biggest concerns from Tuesday night was the Sharks powerplay. San Jose went 0-5 on the man advantage, generating just four shots on goal. Failure to capitalize on Carolina penalties put the Sharks deeper into the hole they’ve dug for themselves.

They have a chance on Friday night in Salt Lake City to get themselves out of it and tally that elusive first win of the season.

Puck drop on the front half of a back-to-back will be at 6:00pm on Friday night in Utah against the Mammoth.

Sharks Fall 7-6 to Ducks in OT

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

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.