Tag: NHL

Celebrini ignites Sharks’ third-period breakout in 6-3 win

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Sharks players huddle up after scoring the first goal vs. Calgary on Dec 16, 2025, at SAP Center in San Jose, CA (Sharks Media)

By: Fernando Abarca

SAN JOSE, CA– Another Hockey night in the Bay Area after a long stretch of games on the road, the Sharks are finally back, hosting the Calgary Flames.

It has been a ride for both teams so far during the last couple of days. The Teal won in overtime after an impressive comeback at Pittsburgh in overtime with a 6-5 score. Calgary, one of the worst teams in the NHL this season, has found some momentum, winning four of the last five. On Saturday night, the Flames took the win against the Kings.

FIRST PERIOD

From the outset, it was a hockey game nobody expected. The Sharks and the Flames delivered a show of back-and-forth hockey. The Sharks struck first as John Klingberg netted the first one with an assist from Macklin Celebrini. Barclay Goodrow put the second up for the Sharks, making it 2-0 close to the final minutes of the first period. Calgary did not back down and responded quickly, with Blake Coleman and Ryan Lomberg netting one each for the visitors to make it an even game. Once again, Barclay Goodrow made his double to seal the period with the lead in the first.

SECOND PERIOD

In the second, the Sharks had to continue on the mission to dominate. At the start of the 2nd, a penalty against Sharks’ defenseman, Timothy Liljegren, in the penalty kill, the Sharks responded accordingly. The game turned very physical for both sides. Both teams came even in shots on goal, 16 for the Sharks and 17 for the Flames. in the 2nd, the score remained the same, up by 1 for the Sharks.

THIRD PERIOD

San Jose extended its lead early in the third when Celebrini finished a deflected score to make it 4-2. Tyler Toffoli added a goal later in the period to push the lead to 5-2. Calgary got one back from Nazem Kadri, but another Sharks tally sealed the 6-3 final.

San Jose outshot Calgary 26-30 and won the faceoff battle while continuing to refine its balanced attack. Calgary was unable to convert on its power-play opportunities and surrendered.

STANDINGS IMPACT: The Sharks improved to 17-14-3 and will look to build on the wins as they continue their homestand with a winning streak and look to improve in the highly contested Pacific division. Next game is at home vs. the Dallas Stars. Calgary dropped to 13-17-4 and will try to rebound in its next game in the Emerald City vs. the Seattle Kraken.

Sharks Score four in 3rd, Beat Penguins 6-5 in OT

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The San Jose Sharks Mackline Celebrini (71) gives a hug to John Klingberg (3) as the Pittsburgh Penguins Sid Crosby (87) skates off the ice at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Sat Dec 13, 2025 (San Jose Sharks X photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks recovered from a third period 5-1 deficit to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-5 in overtime Saturday. Tyler Toffoli, John Klingberg, Willliam Eklund and Macklin Celebrini scored for the Sharks. Yaroslav Askarov made 38 saves for the win. Sidney Crosby. Rutger McRoarty, Kevin Hayes, Bryan Rust and Anthony Mantha scored for the Penguins. Arturs Silovs made 26 saves in the loss.

With their four-goal comeback, the Sharks displayed a ferocious calm that brought to mind their namesakes. They also made the biggest third period comeback in franchise history. “I think we just did a great job just kinda staying with it, playing as a team, playing up and down our lineup, even when we kinda got those injuries. It was a group effort,” said Macklin Celebrini after the game.

Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said: “Credit to that group in there. They were extremely resilient, tough road trip. To finish that road trip like this in that type of game? That is impressive.”

Tyler Toffoli scored the first goal of the game at 10:27. His wrist shot came from the blue line, into the far side of the net. Assists went to Sam Dickinson and Alexander Wennberg.

Sidney Crosby tied it on the power play at 12:41. His with shot came from right in front of the net. Assists went to Anthony Mantha and Bryan Rust.

Rutger McGroarty gave Pittsburgh the lead at 00:19 of the second. McGroarty gathered up the puck in the neutral zone and skated in for a wrist shot. Assists went to Ben Kindel and Kris Letang.

Kevin Hayes padded the lead with a wrist shot behind Aslarov at 9:42. Assists went to N Acciari and C Dewar.

Bryan Rust made it 4-1 with a slap shot on the power play at 19:53. Assists went to Crosby and Mantha.

Midway through the second period, Phillip Kurashev was injured and left the game.

Early in the third period, Will Smith took a hit from Parker Wotherspoon. Smith went right to the dressing room. Macklin Celebrini responded with some rough stuff that landed him in the penalty box for four minutes.

Mantha scored another power play goal at 5:25 of the third period. His shot came from in close with a scrum at the net. Assists went to Rust and Eric Karlsson.

John Klingberg cut the Penguin lead by one with a power play goal at 7:33. His wrist shot came from the top of the faceoff circle into the far side. Assists went to Tyler Toffoli and William Eklund.

William Eklund made it 5-3 by poking the puck under Silovs at 17:32. Alexander Wennberg and A Gaudette got the assists.

Continuing the climb back in the game, Macklin Celebrini scored with a slap shot at 17:42. Toffoli and Collin Graf got the assists.

Tyler Toffoli tied the game with his second of the game at 18:22. Toffoli’s shot came from close in front of the net and into traffic. Assists went to Wennberg and Celebrini.

John Klingberg scored the OT winner at 2:57 of the extra period. Assists went to Macklin Celebrini and Collin Graf. After the game, Macklin Celebrini was asked about why he passed back instead of shooting. He said: “He gave me a chance like that earlier and I didn’t score so I felt like I had to give it back to him.” Celebrini chuckled.

Neither Kurashev nor Smith returned to the game. There was no update after the game about either player.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in San Jose against the Calgary Flames at 7:00 PM PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast Mary Lisa: Celebrini looking to continue successive offense against Penguins Saturday

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The San Jose Sharks John Klingberg is having some offensive success as he and the Sharks take on the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Sat Dec 13, 2025 (photo by Bay Area News Group)

San Jose Sharks podcast Mary Lisa:

#1 Can Macklin Celebrini continue his recent hot play against Pittsburgh’s defense?
Celebrini leads the Sharks offensively and was key in recent wins with multi-point efforts.

#2 Which Sharks forward — Will Smith, William Eklund, or Alexander Wennberg — will step up to support the offense in this matchup?
Each has been a consistent contributor this season for San Jose.

#3 How will Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic handle the Penguins’ attack, especially with Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell potentially playing?
Pittsburgh has activated Rakell from injured reserve.

#4 What impact will San Jose’s defense — including John Klingberg, Dmitry Orlov, and Nick Leddy — have in limiting Pittsburgh’s scoring chances?
Defense depth will be essential against one of the league’s higher-scoring teams.

#5 Will contributions from depth players like Collin Graf, Adam Gaudette, or Ty Dellandrea make a difference in secondary scoring for the Sharks?

Join Mary Lisa for the San Jose Sharks podcast Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Mammoth Slays The Kraken 5-3

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Utah Mammoth center Nick Schmaltz takes a shot on goal before their game against the Montreal Canadiens at the Delta Center on Fri Dec 12, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Nick Schmaltz had a goal and two assists as the Utah Mammoth goes back on the win column to close out homestand with a win over the Seattle Kraken 5-3.

Fresh off the news that team-leading goal scorer Logan Cooley is expected to miss the next 8 weeks with a lower body injury, the Utah Mammoth (14-15-3) took to the ice on Friday night against the visiting Seattle Kraken (12-10-6) hoping to overcome a stretch in which they have lost seven of nine.

Seattle hasn’t fared much better of late, having lost seven of their last seven. Returning to the ice for Utah was defenseman Olli Määttä who had sat out the previous eight games with an upper-body injury.

Neither team was able to get on the scoreboard in the opening period, with each side failing to score on the power play. Kraken netminder Philipp Grubauer stopped all 11 Mammoth shots, and Utah goaltender Karel Vejmelka turned away all nine shots by Seattle.

Kraken forward Mason Marchment got Seattle going at 3:35 of the second period with his third goal of the season, assisted by Freddy Gaudreau and Chandler Stephenson. At 8:09 of the frame Mammoth forward Nick Schmaltz snagged a loose puck in the Utah defensive zone and went the distance on a breakaway to even things up with his 12th goal of the season, unassisted.

At 13:24, a shot by Mammoth forward Kailer Yamamoto which got past Grubauer was waived off for goaltender interference by Liam O’Brien. Fans in the arena were vocal as the in-house replay showed O’Brien outside the crease and not engaging in any particular physical contact with Grubauer.

Utah head coach André Tourigny challenged the call, and the replay officials agreed with him to overturn the referee on the ice to the roaring approval of the Mammoth faithful. Yamamoto’s goal was his 4th of the season, assisted by O’Brien and Kevin Stenlund.

Utah has won five of six coach’s challenges so far this season, most in the NHL. Utah took the 2-1 lead to the locker room, with Vejmelka having stopped 14 of 15 Seattle shots while Grubauer turned away 11 of 13.

The Mammoth put themselves in a tight spot at 5:13 of the third period when defenseman John Marino took a slashing penalty against Jordan Eberle followed 18 seconds later with a delay of game penalty by defenseman Ian Cole who shot the puck over the glass from the defensive zone.

Utah’s penalty killing unit fought off the minute and 42 seconds 5-on-3, with Vejmelka making four great saves in addition to the defensive efforts of his teammates. A couple of minutes later, however, Mason Marchment struck again for the Kraken to double his season goal total at four, assisted by Ryan Lindgren and Brandon Montour, evening the score again at two apiece.

Lindgren gave the Mammoth a man-advantage opportunity at 12:34 when he took a trip to the sin bin for cross-checking against John Marino. The struggling Utah power play unit capitalized on the penalty with Dylan Guenther drilling a slap shot past Grubauer for his 14th goal of the season, tying him for the team lead, assisted by Schmaltz and Mikhail Sergachev putting the Mammoth ahead 3-2.

With Grubauer pulled for an extra attacker with a little more than two minutes to play, Utah forward JJ Peterka took a short pass from deep in the Mammoth defensive zone and flew down the ice, dodging four different Seattle skaters as he drove coast-to-coast and backhanded a shot while diving to the ice into the empty net to ice the game 4-2.

Peterka’s goal was his 13th on the season, assisted by Kevin Stenlund. With Grubauer still sitting on the bench for an extra attacker, Lawson Crouse made it 5-2 with 62 seconds left, launching his 8th goal of the season into the empty net, assisted by Schmaltz and Kevin Stenlund.

With 43 seconds remaining in the game, Kraken forward Ben Meyers flung a wrist shot past Vejmelka to make the score 5-3, but that would be the end of the Seattle threat as Utah finished the homestand on a winning note, sporting a 8-5-1 home record so far this season.

After the game, Nick Schmaltz talked about the “it” factor for the team in playing a complete game. “When we’re moving our feet, making plays, using our transition game against teams…We knew they weren’t as good off the rush and so we wanted to exploit that. I thought we did a good job tonight. Whether they scored or we scored, I thought we managed our emotions pretty well and kept fighting. It was a big two points.” Commenting on the mindset of playing with a lead in the third period, Schmaltz remarked, “I feel like we’ve been on the wrong side of a lot of one-goal games lately. It’s huge for our confidence to be able to (win one). Even though they tied it up, we get one on the power play and the power play wins it for us. That’s huge for our team and for the power play…We’ve got to be better, myself included. That was huge.” Schmaltz invoked the word “huge” again when talking about the 5-on-3 penalty kill. “That’s huge. 5-on-3 for a minute and 40 seconds is no joke. It’s usually your goalie that’s your best penalty killer in those situations, and (Karel Vejmelka) was great. He made some crazy saves with guys ringing one-timers off his head and whatnot. He was great.”

“(Everyone) was really good. It’s tough when you’re out there for a minute and 30 seconds. You get tired,” said forward Dylan Guenther. “They hung in there and they blocked shots. (The PK) was a big part of that win.” When asked about his power play goal, Guenther explained, “We’ve talked about loose puck recoveries. We did a really good job getting (the puck) back. When (Nick Schmaltz) got in the middle there, it was a tough play for them. He made a really nice pass.” With Logan Cooley out of commission through the Olympic break, Guenther said, “I think everyone has to step up. It’s not like one player is going to fill that space. That’s a huge role to fill. We just need a little bit better from everybody.”

Head Coach André Tourigny began his post-game remarks by saying, “I liked the result, that’s an easy one. I liked the way we went at the net, and we generated offense against a super stingy team. They are a little bit like Florida and LA. I think we keep improving offensively. I liked that part. There are things to clean up for us defensively, but I think we’re progressing offensively. We play with a lot of energy around the net, and now we break down teams with more shot volume and net presence. I like the fact that we have more weapons for us.” Special teams came up big for the Mammoth when it mattered most. Bear commented, “It’s not just producing, it’s producing when you need a goal. It’s when it’s a key opportunity. That they did on the power play. On the flip side, the PK was unreal. Five-on-three like that, when you lead by one, lose the lead after, but we’re leading by one at the moment. That was huge. Veg (Karel Vjemelka) was rock solid, but the entire PK unit was rock solid. There were block shots, good reads, good sticks, and good clearings. There was a lot of good stuff.” When asked about Schmaltz who recorded 3 points on the night, Tourigny said, “He works so hard. Sometimes it goes under the radar. He’s always at the net offensively. He drives that line, no doubt about it, in the sense that he is at the net all the time. He does all the dirty work, and he’s elite defensively. He’s always the first guy back, and he’s playing down low. He will sleep well tonight, and I guarantee that. He works really hard.” Tourigny also credited the video team for recommending the challenge to Yamamoto’s goal. “I think Hunter Cherni and Alec Rippetoe (video coaches) did very well. What you have to understand is the follow-up of daily calls in the NHL, and to stay on top of the rules and how every call goes. When I saw that, I’m not studying as much as them. When I saw the play, I said we need to make sure. He was really adamant about it. There was no doubt in his head. Really good job, and it was a key call at a key time, and that turned the game around a little bit.”

Utah (15-15-3) now hits the road for a trio of games against Pittsburgh, Boston, and Detroit before returning to Delta Center next Friday to face the New Jersey Devils.

Sharks Bounce Back to Beat Maple Leafs 3-2 in OT

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San Jose Sharks’ William Eklund (72) and Alexander Wennberg (21) celebrate the game-winning goal against Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Dennis Hildeby (35) during overtime NHL hockey action in Toronto on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime. Dmitry Orlov, John Klingberg and Alexander Wennberg scored for the Sharks. Alex Nedeljkovic made 28 saves for the win. Dakota Joshua and Auston Matthews scored for Toronto. Dennis Hildeby made 29 saves in the loss.

Dakota Joshua opened the scoring at 14:33 of the first period. He tipped a shot from Jake McCabe. An assist also went to William Nylander, who started the play with a pass from behind the net.

The Sharks had two power plays in the first and took no penalties. The shots were even at 11.

Auston Matthews doubled the Maple Leafs lead with a power play goal at 14:32 of the second period. Nylander’s pass from acoss the ice found Matthews near the goal line and ready to shoot. An assist also went to Morgan Rielly.

Less than a minute later, Dmitry Orlov cut the Toronto lead in half. He took his shot from the left face-off dot and put it off the bar. Assists went to John Klingberg and Alexander Wennberg.

The shots were 14-8 Toronto in the second. The Sharks took two penalties and had no power plays.

At 8:54 of the third, Ryan Reaves put the puck in the net, redirecting a shot from Barclay Goodrow. The Maple Leafs challenged the play as offsides. Though Gaudette seemed to have control of the puck while backing into the zone, the challenge succeeded.

With their net empty, the Sharks tied it at 18:35 of the third. John Klingberg scored with a slap shot through traffic. Assists went to Macklin Celebrini and Wennberg.

Each team took one penalty and the Sharks outshot Toronto 11-5 in the third.

Wennberg capped off his three point night with the overtime game winner 2:49 into the extra frame. Skating into the zone two-on-one with William Eklund, Wennberg scored on the rebound from Eklund’s shot.

The Sharks next play on Saturday in Pittsburgh against the Penguins at 12:00 PM PT.

Utah Mammoth game wrap: Florida Foils Utah 4-3 In Final Minute

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Utah Mammoth lost a close on to the visiting Florida Panthers at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Wed Dec 10, 2025 (Utah Mammoth X photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–The Mammoth surrendered goals in the final minute of both the first and third period in loss to the Panthers 4-3.

The Utah Mammoth (14-14-3) took to the ice Wednesday night at Delta Center against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers (14-12-2) for the second game of a three game homestand. Utah fell to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday and are desperate to put some wins together after dropping 15 of their last 21.

The Mammoth caught a break at 11:17 of the opening period when a shot by Florida forward A. J. Greer banked off the goal post to Utah defenseman John Marino who rifled the puck to a wide open Dylan Guenther who beat netminder Sergei Bobrovsky on the breakaway for his 12th goal of the season to give the Mammoth a 1-0 lead. With just under a minute left in the frame, however, Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe beat Karel Vejmelka on the other end to tie things up with his 9th of the year, assisted by Aaron Ekblad and Sam Bennett. Barrett Hayton set a Utah franchise record with 6 shots on goal in the first period, but went to the locker room with nothing to show for it.

Florida took its first lead of the game at just a minute and forty seconds into the second period when Sam Bennett put a snap shot into the back of the net for his 8th of the season, assisted by Evan Rodrigues and Niko Mikkola. Less than two minutes later Bennett would strike again with a wrist shot to put the Panthers up 3-1, assisted by Verhaeghe.

Florida’s two-goal lead would last just 13 seconds as Guenther matched Bennett with his own second goal of the game, a backhand that beat Bobrovsky for his 13th of the season assisted by Lawson Crouse and John Marino, to bring Utah back within one.

Only Logan Cooley, who is currently sidelined with a lower-body injury, has more goals for the Mammoth with 14. At 14:37 of the second, Utah forward Jack McBain went down on his knees while knocking in a backhand for his third of the season to tie things up at three apiece, with Sean Durzi and Ian Cole picking up the assists.

Though the two teams were scoreless through 19 minutes of the third period, there was nothing even handed about the final frame. The Panthers, bolstered by two power play opportunities, spent most of the period in their offensive zone, outshooting Utah 19-4 as Vejmelka repeatedly bailed out the defense from the onslaught.

With 57 seconds remaining in the game, Florida’s Anton Lundell won a faceoff against Barrett Hayton, and then five seconds later put the Panthers ahead for good on a wrist shot assisted by Eetu Luostarinen and Sam Reinhart.

“I think we did a pretty good job getting to the net,” said Utah forward Jack McBain in the locker room after the game. “I think not only bodies, but we also had pucks there. I think we were pretty stingy for most of the game. I think obviously we need to learn from it, move on and try to be better.” When asked about how the Mammoth can get on the winning side of one-goal games, McBain responded, “Yeah, you have to find ways to win. I think, when you look around the league, good teams find ways to win hockey games, even when they don’t have their best or they’re close games. That’s something as a group, we got to figure out. Obviously, it’s been a challenging stretch. We know we have it in this group and in the locker room, so we are just trying to figure it out.”

“I thought we played pretty well, and even in the third, I thought we managed it well,” said Mammoth forward Dylan Guenther. “They played really well, and we were on our heels too much, probably just a few more pucks in deep, and a few more offensive zone drives.” Guenther lamented the team’s inability to get Vejmelka the win in the hard fought contest. “He played really well. I feel for him; we want to get that win for him. He kept us in it, especially in the end. I think they had like 19 shots in the third, that comes with power plays, but still too many.” When asked the same question about coming out ahead in one-goal games, Guenther remarked, “I think (we need to) shoot a few more pucks. Be comfortable in those situations. When the game is tied, I don’t think we have to get on our heels. Just keep pressing, keep attacking them. It’s unfortunate, but we play again in two nights, so make sure we get one to close it out.”

Head Coach André Tourigny was disappointed in the outcome, but not necessarily his team’s effort. “Obviously, a tough pill to swallow with the way that happened,” he began. “(Karel Vejmelka) was really good. I think we showed a lot of character being down by two goals; (to) come back in the game and give ourselves a chance. Like I said, it’s really frustrating to lose in that fashion. I think in the third period, we got in trouble. We got in the box; that’s how (Florida) got their momentum. I think that 5-on-5, we played good. A little too much on our heels, but mostly from our penalties. I thought we defended well until the last minute.” Looking at positives, Tourigny spoke of the team’s strong start in the opening period. “I was happy about that. We were focused, we were urgent. Obviously, (Florida) is a good team. I think we did a lot of good stuff…We didn’t play bad; we made two mistakes and they capitalized on those two mistakes. It’s not what you want, but at some point I’m (also) not expecting to play a perfect game. The second (goal) was unforced–that, I didn’t like. But other than that, it wasn’t like we were not playing well. We were playing well and made individual mistakes. Then, we showed a lot of character to come back in the game and tie the game. We had good momentum, we applied a lot of pressure; we did a lot of good stuff. Like I said about the third period, that’s unfortunate.” Bear’s frustration was evident, feeling his team deserved a better outcome. “Nobody will convince me that our guys are not resilient…You saw how they react during the game, the prep for the game, the way we start the game, et cetera, et cetera. I think that our guys are digging deep. I think last week was a really demanding schedule, and I felt the guys did everything they could to manage the rest the right way. Today, we had energy. We were not a tired team. We learned that as a young team. (We) will have a lot of teaching moments in (tonight’s) game. It is one thing to be a good NHL player; there’s another thing to play a brand of hockey like Florida plays; the physicality and everything. There will be a lot of good teaching opportunities for us.”

The Mammoth (14-15-3) hope to salvage the final game of the homestand on Friday against the Seattle Kraken (12-10-6) before embarking on a 3-game swing through Pittsburgh, Boston, and Detroit.

San Jose Sharks podcast Len Shapiro: Sharks take on Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena Thursday

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San Jose Sharks Macklin Celebrini (71) scores a goal against the Winnipeg Jets on Fri Nov 7, 2025 at SAP Center in San Jose. Celebrini and the Sharks take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thu Dec 11, 2025 (AP News photo)

San Jose Sharks podcast Len Shapiro:

#1 The San Jose Sharks took a tough loss on Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia getting beat by three goals 4-1.

#2 The Flyers Travis Konecny scored his 500th point of the season and Flyer goaltender Dan Vladar stopped 17 shots and allowed only one goal.

#3 The Sharks Collin Graf scored the first goal of the game when he drove it past the cross slot from a John Klingberg pass at 11:33.

#4 Sharks starting goaltender Yaroslav Askarov was out with an illness and the Sharks started Alex Nedelijkovic who stopped 26 shots but allowed four goals. The Sharks signed 39 year old geologist Justin Kowalkoski as an emergency back up who hadn’t played hockey since his college days 17 years ago at Colgate to a one game amateur contract.

#5 Up next for the Sharks the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night at 4pm PT. The Leafs have won four of their last five games and are 14-11-4. The Leafs are fifth in the Eastern Conference. The Sharks have lost three of their last four games as they visit the Leafs at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Join Len Shapiro for the San Jose Sharks podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

NHL podcast Jessica Kwong: Oilers have an offense that could make them #1 in West; Will the Bruins blue line help them make a push towards the post season; plus more news

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Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers has control of the puck at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Tue Dec 9, 2025 (Canadian Press via AP News)

NHL podcast Jessica Kwong:

#1 Can the Edmonton Oilers’ red-hot offense carry them to the top of the Western Conference?

#2 Will the Boston Bruins’ revamped blue line hold up through the playoff push?

#3 Is Connor Bedard poised to break franchise rookie records for the Chicago Blackhawks?

#4 Can the Vancouver Canucks maintain their surprising early-season dominance?

#5 Will the New York Rangers’ new coaching changes spark a deeper postseason run?

Jessica Kwong does the NHL podcasts every other Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings Double Up Mammoth 4-2 To Open Homestand

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Utah Mammoth Daniil (19) battles with the Los Angeles Kings Cody Ceci (5) at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Mon Dec 8, 2025 (Utah Mammoth photo)

By Tom Walker

SALT LAKE CITY–Los Angeles struck twice in the first period and never looked back while defeating deflated Utah.

The Utah Mammoth (14-13-3) returned to Delta Center on Monday night to face the Los Angeles Kings (13-8-7)  following a six game road trip in which the team went 2-4-0. The road trip began on a tragic note when the father of Mammoth captain Clayton Keller passed away unexpectedly Thanksgiving night. Keller played the following day in a tough 4-3 loss at Dallas, and then again the following night in his hometown of St. Louis where the Mammoth fell 1-0 to the Blues.

Utah would go on to lose their fourth consecutive game in San Jose, 6-3, before breaking out with a 7-0 shellacking of the Pacific Division leading Anaheim Ducks.  Following a 4-1 victory against the Canucks in Vancouver, the road trip concluded in Calgary where the Flames shut out the Mammoth 2-0. 

Adding injury to insult, Utah forward Logan Cooley, who leads the Mammoth with 14 goals and is 3rd in points with 23, sustained a lower-body injury in Vancouver which will keep him out of the lineup indefinitely.

When the puck dropped in the first period, Utah radio play-by-play announcer Matt McConnell officially registered his 2000th NHL game behind the microphone.  His 29-season broadcasting career began in 1993 with the expansion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and then continued with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Atlanta Thrashers, Minnesota Wild, and in 2011 he landed with the Phoenix Coyotes which were renamed the Arizona Coyotes before the 2014-2015 season.

When the assets of the Coyotes were sold and the team relocated to Salt Lake City, McConnell remained behind the mic for the new franchise.

Kings forward Adrian Kempe gave Los Angeles the first lead of the game with a backhand shot at 7:50 of the first period for his 10th goal of the season, assisted by Kevin Fiala.  Just over two minutes later, Fiala assisted on a breakaway goal by Joel Armia, his 6th on the year, to put the Kings up 2-0. 

At 11:05 of the frame, Mammoth forward Brandon Tanev had a breakaway of his own which he put into the back of the net, however the replay showed he was unquestioningly offside and L.A. held onto its two-goal lead heading into the locker room. Kings netminder Darcy Kuemper turned away all 7 Utah shots in the period, and Mammoth goalie Karel Vejmelka stopped 10 of 12.

Utah began the 2nd period on the power play, courtesy of an interference penalty by Andrei Kuzmenko against Dylan Guenther which carried over from the first period.  Just 34 seconds into the period, as fans were still settling into their seats, Clayton Keller fed Guenther a perfect pass which he one-timed into the Kings net for his 11th goal of the season to bring the Mammoth to within one, with defenseman Mikhail Sergachev picking up the second assist.

The goal is the fastest to begin a period so far this season for Utah.  Guenther’s 3rd power play goal of the season ties him for the team lead with Nick Schmaltz and Logan Cooley.  His 7th one-timer goal of the season also ranks third-most in the NHL.  The period would end with Kuemper stopping 5 of 6 shots, and Vejmelka turning away all 7 attempts by L.A.

In the 3rd, Kings captain Anze Kopitar put a backhand shot past Vejmelka for his 6th goal of the season at 3:27, assisted by Kempe and Joel Edmundson, to restore L.A.’s two-goal advantage.  At 12:15 of the third, Clayton Keller brought Utah back to within a goal with a beautiful backhand top shelf shot which Kuemper had absolutely no chance to save.

Keller’s 10th of the season was assisted by Nick Schmaltz and JJ Peterka who joined the top line in place of the injured Cooley. With Vejmelka pulled for the extra attacker, Kings forward Joel Armia scored his second goal of the game into an empty net, unassisted, to put the game away 4-2.

Utah Mammoth forward Brandon Tanev addressed the media after the game.  “Disappointed we didn’t get the two points. That’s a team that likes to play stingy through the neutral zone, and to generate offense, you’ve got to be simple with the puck. Get pucks to the net and ultimately create traffic. I think we did a little bit of that, but we didn’t do enough at the end of the day.” Talking about what the team needs to do moving forward, Tanev said, “I think we understood that wasn’t our best tonight, even though we fought and clawed at the end there. That’s a good hockey team. At the end of the day, we need to understand what makes us successful. Work on that in practice, and then we’ve got to get back here for the next one.”

Captain Clayton Keller commented, “Not a great first from us. They’re an experienced team. They’re structured. They defend really hard, and they made it tough on us in the first. We were able to kind of bounce back in the second. That’s one of our best second periods of the year in terms of everything. Game management and trying to outchange them and use our speed. It sucks to have that little push there and not be able to get it done.” Weighing in on what needs to be better, Keller stated bluntly, “Starting on time is obviously a big one. We’re a tough team to play against, and I think that’s the main thing from us. We know what we have to do each night. The coaches do a great job telling us how we have to play and how we can break them down and have success. Our execution was a little sloppy tonight, but as the game went on, it got a little bit better.” Talking about the third period he added, “There’s never any quit in this room. Guys play for one another. It sucks to not get the win. We did kind of push there. There are moments where we have a chance to score on the six-on-five, and we have to find a way to do it. Teams have done it to us, and that’s something over the last two years that we haven’t been able to do. That’s something that we can take away from it. Really dial that in. Practice it. Watch video. Our coaches do a great job, and it’s on us to execute and go out there and do it.”

Head Coach André Tourigny began his post-game remarks by saying, “We obviously didn’t have the start we were hoping for, and we needed to. Against that kind of team, it is tough to create offense. I like the way we played in the second and third. I thought we competed really hard, and our effort was there; the focus was there. Unfortunately, when you have that kind of a start, I often repeat in front of you, it’s a one-goal game all the time, so you cannot give any free opportunities to your opponent. I didn’t like our start, and, like I said, a really good second and third.”  Bear continued, “I think what LA does really well is counterattack. If you mismanage the puck or if you force play, they counterattack. In the first period, we definitely gave them too much space. We let them take the middle on the rush, so they had too many entries. I think after the guys adjusted well and did a really good job at it. But they’re number one in the league at certain things, for a reason, and I think by giving them the lead, it made them play in their strength even more so that was the unfortunate part of the night, because I think the effort, as I said, was good in the second and the third.”  During morning practice one of the players commented that the team was playing too much on the perimeter. Tourigny agreed.  “I think tonight we did. But I think tonight you could see in the third and the second we went in there, in the dirty area, and we got a few tips and a few rebounds. And I think the effort from the guys was definitely there.”

When a reporter for KSL.com noted that fans at Monday night’s game gathered to write letters to Keller after the unexpected passing of his father, Tourigny responded, “The community has a heart in the right place, there is no doubt about it.  We saw it last year when Ingram was going through a tough time, and again now they rally [for] Kells. I think when we often talk about home, how important are our fans, and how much we care and how much they care for us. I think I often talk about a relationship, I think always in tough moments you see who you can rely on.”  

The Mammoth (14-14-3) return to the ice Wednesday for the second game of three on this homestand against the Florida Panthers (14-12-2), followed by the Seattle Kraken on Friday.

San Jose Sharks podcast Mary Lisa: Sharks face off with hot Hurricanes Sunday in Raleigh

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San Jose Sharks podcast Mary Lisa Sat Dec 6, 2025:

The Dallas Stars Sam Steel (18) takes a shot against the San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) in the third period at American Airlines Center on Fri Dec 5, 2025 (AP News photo)

#1 Given that Collin Graf scored the lone San Jose Sharks goal in the 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars Friday night, what could he — or the coaching staff — have done differently to generate more momentum or follow-up chances after tying the game 1-1 in the second period?

#2 With Yaroslav Askarov stopping 20 of 23 shots but still giving up three third-period goals, was fatigue or defensive breakdown in front of him more to blame — and what does this say about the Sharks’ defensive effort in that final frame?

#3 Considering veteran forward Jeff Skinner returned from injury for this game, did his presence (or performance) make any noticeable difference — and should the Sharks lean more on him offensively going forward?

#4 The Sharks went 0-for-4 on the power play — what could players like Macklin Celebrini or Graf have done better on the man advantage to avoid giving up control to Dallas in transition?

#5 After conceding three unanswered goals in the third period, what lessons should the Sharks draw for their road game strategy — and which players Askarov, defensemen, forwards need to step up to avoid a repeat collapse?

Mary Lisa does the San Jose Sharks podcasts Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com