Tag: Tyler Toffoli

Sharks Fall Short Again, Lose 5-3 to Senators for eighth loss in a row; Sens end 5 game skid

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San Jose Sharks William Eklund (72) takes a shot on Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) in the first period at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Sat Mar 1, 2025 (Canadian Press via AP)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 5-3 to the Ottawa Senators Saturday. Shane Pinto, Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle, David Perron and Michael Amadio scored for the Senators. Linus Ullmark made 34 saves for the win. Tyler Toffoli, Timothy Liljegren and Will Smith scored for the Sharks. Vitek Vanecek made 27 saves in the loss.

Once again, the Sharks gave up a lead to lose the game. “It sucks. It feels like we’ve been playing pretty good hockey. So, it’s just an unfortunate loss,” said Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro. The Sharks power play did well, scoring in three of four chances. It also did badly, giving up a short-handed goal on that fourth try, which was actually their first of the game. That was emblematic of the team’s frustrations lately. It is difficult to see the good in their game when they keep losing.

“I liked our start, we did some good things. Obviously a couple bounces. I didn’t like that line change that we had. We gave up an easy goal,” Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said, of the fourth Ottawa goal.

Shane Pinto started the scoring at 11:05 of the first period, short-handed. After pushing the puck out of the zone, Pinto started skating while Ridly Greig gathered up the puck and passed it ahead of Pinto. Pinto skated into the Sharks zone with no one between him and Vanecek.

Tyler Toffoli tied the game with a power play goal at 5:17 of the second period. Toffoli’s shot from the goal line went off of a Senator and into the net. Assists went to Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini.

Timothey Liljegren gave the Sharks the lead with a second power play goal at 9:47. Liljegren scored with a shot from the blue line through traffic. Assists went to Alexander Wennberg and Klim Kostin.

Brady Tkachuk tied the game again at 1:26 of the third period with a power play goal. Tim Stützle carried the puck in, then passed it across and back to Tkachuk for the shot. Assists went to Stützle and Jake Sanderson.

Tim Stützle gave the Senators a 3-2 lead at the three minute mark. Greig sent the puck in and off the end boards, where it bounced to the front of the net to meet Stützle.

David Perron made it 4-2 at 8:31. Thomas Chabot carried the puck in and took a shot that created a rebound for Perron to gather up and put in the net. Assists went to Chabot and Drake Batherson.

The Sharks pulled their goaltender for an extra skater with more than two minutes left. Soon enough, they drew a tripping penalty and got a power play. Will Smith made it 4-3 with a third power play goal. Assists went to William Eklund and Macklin Celebrini.

The Sharks kept their net empty and with one minute left, Michael Amadio scored into that empty net. An assist went to Artem Zub.

The Sharks next play on Monday at 4:30 PM PT in Toronto against the Maple Leafs.

Kraken Sink Sharks 6-2, Montour Scores Twice

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The Seattle Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour celebrates scoring his second goal against the San Jose Sharks in the second period at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Thu Jan 30, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 6-2 to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday. Chandler Stephenson, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Brandon Montour (2 goals), Jaden Schwartz, and Eeli Tolvane scored for Seattle. Joey Daccord made 26 saves for the win. Carl Grundstrom and Tyler Toffoli scored for San Jose. Yaroslav Askarov made seven saves on 11 shots before being replaced by Alexandar Georgiev, who made 20 saves in the loss.

The Kraken took an early lead at 3:55 of the first period. Chandler Stephenson got a break away courtesy of a series of good passes to get the puck out of Seattle’s zone. By the time the puck got to Stephenson, he was almost at the Sharks blue line and there was no one between him and Askarov. The shot went by Askarov on the glove side. Assists went to Oliver Bjorkstrand and Eeli Tolvanen.

Carl Grundstrom tied the game at 17:55. Grundstrom skated to the net from the right side, passing back and forth with Will Smith, before taking the shot. Assists went to Smith and Mikael Granlund.

The Sharks outshot the Kraken 11-8 in the first period. There were no penalties called in the first.

Oliver Bjorkstrand made it 2-1 at 2:03 of the second period. Bjorkstrand scored from just outside the blue paint off a pass from Chandler Stephenson. Assists went to Stephenson and Vince Dunn.

Brandon Montour scored the third Seattle goal less than a minute later. S Wright stole the puck from the Sharks and passed it over to Montour, who was just skating into the zone. Montour took the shot from high in the slot and beat Azkarov on the glove side.

Jaden Schwartz made it 4-1 at 5:58. Jamie Oleksiak’s pass found Schwartz breaking away at the Sharks’ blue line. No one got in front of him as he skated in and shot at the puck past Askarov.

The Sharks pulled Askarov after that one and put Georgiev in net.

Brandon Montour scored his second of the night on a power play at 7:52. Montour caught a cross-ice pass from Jared McCann before shooting from the hash marks into the far side of the net. Assists went to McCann and Chandler Stephenson.

In the second period, several calls gave the Kraken two power plays and the Sharks one. The Kraken outshot the Sharks 17-9 in the second.

Tyler Toffoli got one back for the Sharks at 8:06 of the third period. Macklin Celebrini got a pass through to Toffoli in the center of the ice. Toffoli got a wrist shot through traffic in front of the net for his 18th of the season. Assists went to Celebrini and Henry Thrun.

Eeli Tolvanen made it 6-2 at 12:18. The Kraken took the puck from the Sharks on a zone entry and went to the other way. Tolvanen used Cody Ceci as a screen for his shot, Ceci being the only Shark to catch him as he skated into the zone. Joshua Mahura got an assist on the goal.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday back in San Jose against the visiting Montreal Canadiens at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Fall 4-1 to Blue Jackets in Vlasic’s 1300th Game; CBJs extend win streak to six

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Columbus Blue Jackets James van Riemsdyk (21) takes a shot on San Jose Sharks goaltender Alexander Georgiev (40) in the second period at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Thu Jan 16, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 4-1 to the Blue Jackets in Columbus on Thursday. Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, and James van Riemsdyk scored for the Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins made 18 saves for the win. Tyler Toffoli scored for the Sharks and Alexandar Georgiev made 30 saves in the loss.

The game was Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s 1300th in the NHL. He had one shot, blocked two and played 14:49. After the game, Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said: “Quite the achievement, and to do it with one team is even more remarkable. True pro and he’s really helped our group since coming back from being hurt.” Sharks goaltender Georgiev said:

“You love playing with guys who are so solid, He hasn’t played for a while and then came back into the lineup. Just good patience, smart decisions every time. He’s in good positioning, from my point of view at least. So, it’s amazing the accomplishment he got. We’re very happy for him.”

The rest of the game left the Sharks with little to celebrate. Sharks forward Tyler Toffoli said: “I don’t think we were very good executing anything. You know, passes, we weren’t forechecking, we weren’t breaking pucks out and obviously turned some pucks over and they capitalized. And obviously we gave them too many chances.”

Zach Werenski intercepted the kind of pass that Toffoli mentioned, then carried the puck all the way down the ice with Adam Fantilli, two on one. Near the goal line, Werenski passed the puck to Fantilli in front of the blue paint for the goal. That was at 12:11 of the first period.

Sean Kuraly knocked the puck away from Mario Ferraro with a hit behind the net. He carried the puck up to the faceoff dot before passing it to Kent Johnson at the net so he could make it 2-0 with a snap shot. The time of that goal was 16:17.

The Sharks were outshot 13-6 n the first period, and had the only power play. The shot count got worse in the second period, ending 12-2 Columbus.

James van Riemsdyk scored the only goal of the second period. From just inside the faceoff circle, he redirected Damon Severson’s shot into the net. Assists went to Severson and Johnson.

The Sharks had two power plays in the second period and took one penalty.

The Sharks got on the board at 7:32 of the third period. Macklin Celebrini sent the puck to the net from the boards and Tyler Toffoli was there to put it away with a wrist shot. Assists went to Celebrini and William Eklund.

James van Riemsdyk scored his second of the night into an empty net from just below the blue line.

The Sharks next play on Saturday in Elmont against the New York Islanders at 4:30 PM PT.

Sharks Beat Red Wings 6-3 end 3 game skid, Wings end 7 game win streak, SJ scores 4 in third period

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The San Jose Sharks defenseman Cody Ceci and defenseman Jan Rutta (84) celebrate a first period goal that put the Sharks up on the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tue Jan 14, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Detroit Red Wings 6-3 on Tuesday. Jan Rutta, Nico Sturm, William Eklund, Mikael Granlund, Tyler Toffoli and Mario Ferraro scored for the Sharks. Alexandar Georgiev made 25 saves for the win. Vladimir Tarasenko and Lucas Raymond scored for the Red Wings. Ville Husso made 18 saves in the loss.

The Sharks have given up the lead in the third period in several recent games. After the game, Jan Rutta said: “We’ve been in this situation more than a few times this year. So, we got the job done today. Hopefully that’s just a sign of us taking steps in the right direction and that when we have the lead we can play like tonight.”

Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky talked about Georgiev’s performance in the win: “He was tracking pucks, he was locked in, made some huge saves for us, so… You can see his game it’s been trending in the right direction. So happy that he got rewarded tonight with the win for sure.”

The Sharks took an early lead with a goal from Jan Rutta at 1:45. Alexander Wennberg stole the puck away from Detroit below the goal line, then centered it for Will Smith. Smith took the shot and then caught his own rebound. He passed it up to Rutta above the faceoff circles. Rutta took the shot from high in the slot through some traffic. Assists went to Smith and Wennberg.

The Sharks added to their lead with a short-handed goal at 17:41. William Eklund broke away into the neutral zone then lost the puck before he got to the Detroit blue line. He gathered the puck back up and passed it to Nico Sturm on the blue line. Sturm carried the puck in and took the shot from just above the goal line. Assists went to Eklund and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

The Sharks were badly outshot in the first period, 12-6 by the Red Wings. The Sharks took the only first period penalty. Their penalty kill allowed two shots but also took two shots and scored once.

Vladimir Tarasenko got the Red Wings on the board at 1:28 of the second period, catching a rebound from Simon Edvinsson’s shot for a snap shot. Assists went to Edvinsson and Jonatan Berggren.

The Sharks outshot the Red Wings in the second, 9-6. The Sharks also took the only second period penalty. The penalty kill got one short handed shot and did not allow any shots against.

William Eklund made it 3-1 28 seconds into the third period. Eklund passed the puck behind the net to Celebrini, who then passed it back through the blue paint to Eklund, who knocked it into the net. Celebrini and Tyler Toffoli got the assists.

Tarasenko trimmed the Sharks’ lead again, with his second of the night. Erik Gustafsson shot the puck off the backboards so that it centered just as Tarasenko arrived at the net to shoot it in. Gustafsson and Joe Veleno got the assists.

The Sharks took back their two goal lead at 7:43 with a power play goal. Mikael Granlund caught a pass from Macklin Celebrini at the top of the faceoff circle. Granlund carried the puck almost past the net before scoring with a backhand shot.

Lucas Raymond got one back for Detroit at 9:56 with a wrist shot. Going right to the net after a faceoff, he caught the pass from faceoff winner Dylan Larkin.

Tyler Toffoli made it 5-3 at 10:57. William Eklund gathered up a loose puck in front of the net and passed it ahead to Toffoli, who shot it in from a bad angle.

Mario Ferraro scored an empty net goal at 18:22 with a shot from just above the Sharks’ goal line.

The shots were almost even at 10-9 Sharks in the third period. The Red Wings took their first penalty of the game and the only one called in the third. The Sharks power play got two shots on goal and scored.

The Sharks next play on Thursday at 4:00 PM PT in Columbus against the Blue Jackets.

Sharks Win 4-3 Over Blues, Celebrini, Kovalenko, 3 Points Each

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San Jose Sharks Tyler Toffoli (right) is congratulated by teammates Jake Walman (96) and Macklin Celebrini (71) after scoring a first period goal against the St Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center in St Louis on Thu Dec 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the St. Louis Blues 4-3 on Thursday. Macklin Celebrini scored twice and Tyler Toffoli and Jake Wallman also scored. Recent addition Nikolai Kovalenko had three assists and Alexandar Georgiev made 17 saves for the win. Jake Neighbours, Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou scored for the Blues. Jordan Binnington made 27 saves in the loss.

In his debut with the team, Alexandar Georgiev was less busy than Sharks goaltenders have been this season. After the game, he described what he saw going on at the other end of the ice:

“Just a lot of pace. Our breakout was great, first passes were so quick in the first and as the game kept going as well. It was a treat to watch. Spent a lot of time in the offensive zone in the first and that always helps. I think everybody was buzzing there.”

Tyler Toffoli gave the Sharks a lead just 1:21 into the game, sweeping the puck over the line during a scramble in front of the net. Assists went to Macklin Celebrini and Nikolai Kovalenko.

Jake Neighbours tied the game at 10:26. He caught Ryan Suter’s pass at the center line and carried the puck all the way to the Sharks zone faceoff circle before a shooting. Suter and Colton Parayko got the assists.

The Sharks outshot the Blues 14-4 in the first period. Ty Dellandrea and Nathan Walker fought early in the period. The Sharks had one power play and one penalty at the end of the period.

Macklin Celebrini made it 2-1 Sharks at 5:43 of the second period. Celebrini carried the puck in two on one with Tyler Toffoli against Colton Parayko. Celebrini’s first shot hit Parayko burt came to Celebrini for the scoring shot. Assists went to Timothy Liljegren and Nokolai Kovalenko.

Celebrini scored again at 18:53. This goal came on a power play, with a wrist shot into the far side of the net. Assists went to Mikael Granlund and Jake Wallman.

The Sharks outshot the Blues 11-8 in the second period. The Sharks had one penalty to kill in the second period. Jan Rutta and Dylan Holloway had matching roughing penalties but Holloway drew blood, giving the Sharks the late power play.

Brayden Schenn trimmed the Sharks lead with a goal at 5:34 of the third period. With a crowd in front of the net, Schenn skated into a rebound and shot it in. Assists went to Zack Bolduc and Jake Neighbours.

Jake Wallman bumped the Sharks back to a two goal lead at 6:01. Kovalenko carried the puck into the zone with Wallman two on one against Matthew Kessel, then made the pass across so Wallman could shoot. Assists went to Kovalenko and Nico Sturm.

Jordan Kyrou scored the last goal of the game at 7:57, shooting into a crowd in front of the net. Assists went to Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas.

The Blues outshot the Sharks 8-6 in the third period. There were no penalties called.

The Sharks next play on Saturday back at home against the Utah Hockey Club at 7:00 PM PT.

Sharks Fall 3-1 to Panthers, Blackwood Makes 50 Saves

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Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) and defenseman Dimitri Kulikov (7) defend the net against the San Jose Sharks right wing Tyler Toffoli (73) at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise FL on Sat Dec 7, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost to the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Saturday. Matthew Tkachuk scored two goals for Florida and Aleksander Barkov scored the third. Sergei Bobrovsky made 27 saves for the win. Tyler Toffoli scored for San Jose and Mackenzie Blackwood made 50 saves for the Sharks.

Of Blackwood’s performance, Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said: “One of the best goalie performances I’ve ever seen really. He stood on his head for us to be in that game even, on the score sheet, what he did was super impressive. Not surprised though.”

After the game, Sharks forward Nico Sturm talked about what a team could learn from the Florida Panthers:

“Tempo-wise for sure, the fastest team we’ve played against. I mean it goes to show why they’re winning. It’s because they don’t do it just in playoffs. They do it in September, in December. Doesn’t matter if they play the best team in the League or the worst team in the League. They’ve got everybody rolling, top to bottom.”

The Sharks seemed tentative at times in the game. Warsofsky said “I don’t think we respected them too much. They have our respect, I think they have the whole League’s respect. I think at times we play in fear and we lose our swagger. And that’s where we’re at right now.”

Matthew Tkachuk gave the Panthers a lead just 23 seconds into the game. Sam Bennett crashed the net and shot the puck but Mackenzie Blackwood stopped that. The puck went up in the air and Tkachuk batted it into the net.

That was it for scoring in the first period. Florida took the only penalty in the first but still outshot San Jose 14-6.

Tkachuk made it 2-0 midway through the second. Carrying the puck in, he scored with a backhand as he skated to the right of the net. Tomas Nosek got an assist.

Aleksander Barkov made it 3-0 with a power play goal at 13:17. Carter Verhaeghe centered the puck and Sam Reinhart, in front of the blue paint, tapped it over to Barkov on the other side of the net. Barkov took the shot from just above the goal line.

The penalty count went up in the second period, with the Sharks taking three and the Panthers taking two. Florida outshot San Jose 20-9 in the second.

Tyler Toffoli got the Sharks on the board at 18:35 of the third period with a power play goal. Toffoli tipped in a shot by Mikael Granlund. Jake Walman got an assist as well.

The Panthers outshot the Sharks again in the third period, 20-13. They also took six penalties to the Sharks’ three.

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

Sharks Beat Capitals 2-1 in OT, Win Streak at Three

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San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (71) takes a shot on goal in front of the Washington Capitals center Lars Eller (20) in the second period at the Capital Center in DC on Tue Dec 3, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Washington Capitals 2-1 in overtime on Tuesday. The win capped the Sharks’ second three-game win streak of the season,. It qualifies as an upset since the Capitals are currently ranked third in the League and first in the Eastern Conference.

Tyler Toffoli and William Eklund scored for the Sharks. Mackenzie Blackwood made 27 saves for the win. Nic Dowd scored for the Capitals and Logan Thompson made 29 saves in the loss.

The Sharks took the lead at the end of the first period. With just a minute left, Tyler Toffoli intercepted a pass I the neutral zone, carried the puck the other way and scored from just over the blue line.

The Capitals outshot the Sharks 16-8 I the first period. The Sharks took two penalties in the first half of the period, and the Capitals took one in the second half of the period.

Nic Dowd tied the game at 13:02 of the second period. Martin Fehervary sent the puck across the ice to Dowd in front of the net. Dowd shot as he dropped to one knee and beat Blackwood on the stick side. Assists went to Fehervary and Ivan Miroshnechenko.

The Sharks took the only penalty in the second period. The Capitals again outshot the Sharks, but by a much smaller margin, 9-7.

The Sharks pressed during the third period, outshooting the Capitals 13-4. They balanced the shot count but could not score, even with two power plays.

One of those power plays was a double minor at the end of the period, carrying 1:43 into overtime. That was Tom Wilson, high-sticking Macklin Celebrini. It was during that overtime power play that the Sharks scored.

39 seconds into overtime, Mikael Granlund’s pass found William Eklund in the faceoff circle. Eklund used a slap shot to put the game away. An assist also went to Macklin Celebrini.

The Sharks next play on Thursday at 4:00 PM PT in Tampa Bay against the Lightning.

Sharks Fall 4-3 in SO to Penguins, Come Back From 3-0 to Tie Game, Again

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Pittsburgh Penguins Bryan Rust (17) celebrates his goal with Evgeni Malkin (71), Jack St Ivany (3) and Michael Bunting (8) first period against the San Jose Sharks at PPG Pants in Pittsburgh on Sat Nov 16, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday. Bryan Rust, Evgeni Malkin, Jesse Puljujarvi and Sidney Crosby scored for the Penguins. Alex Nedeljkovic made 26 saves for the win. Tyler Toffoli and Mikael Granlund scored for the Sharks. Vitek Vanacek made 8 saves on ten shots in the first period. Mackenzie Blackwood made 25 saves on 26 shots in the second, third and overtime periods.

The Sharks earned points in three games in this four game road trip. Of this tally, Tyler Toffoli said: “We’re staying in games and giving ourselves a chance to win. It’s a matter of time before we are able to play with leads and finish games off.”

The Sharks have made some impressive comebacks recently. Of this trend, Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said:

“Credit to the guys, we stuck with it. It’s a hole we don’t want to be in and we’re in it too often right now. But I give the guys a lot of credit for battling back and getting a point in this game where it wasn’t looking pretty for a long time. We’ve got to look and find some ways to start on time.”

Blackwood said that he had about five minutes to prepare to get in the game. “It’s tough, you know. Obviously you’re cold and you have no feel of the game so you gotta go in there and get into the game quick. Typically, I struggle with that, I’ve struggled to come off the bench and put up a good performance. So I’ve been working on it.”

Warsofsky said, of his goaltenders: “I haven’t gotten an update yet on Vitek, just told he wasn’t coming back. Outstanding by Blackwood. Some of the best saves you’ll see in this League this year I assume.”

The Penguins scored just 1:01 into the first period. Bryan Rust carried the puck up from behind the net and backhanded it under Vitek Vanacek. Assists went to Michael Bunting and Evgeni Malkin.

Evgeni Malkin put the puck in the net at 5:46. Carrying the puck in, he cut across the slot and shot the puck off the post and in with a backhand. The Sharks challenged the goal as offside and the goal was overturned.

Jesse Puljujarvi got that goal back at 6:34. Drew O’Connor took a shot from the boards, and the rebound from that shot slid in front of Puljujarvi as he arrived at the net. Vanacek could not get across in time and Puljujarvi had an open net. A secondary assist went to Owen Pickering.

The teams were tied in shots at the end of the first period at 10-10. The Penguins took the only penalty of the period. Vanacek did not return for the second period due to injury. Blackwood stepped in.

Sidney Crosby made it 3-0 at 4:19 of the second with a shot through traffic from the point. Assists went to Erik Karlsson and Anthony Beauvillier.

Tyler Toffoli got the Sharks on the board with a power play goal at 12:05 of the second. Will Smith got the assist. Macklin Celebrini carried the puck into the zone but his pass was intercepted. Will Smith got the puck back and sent it to the net. Toffoli arrived at the net just in time to gather up the puck and score.

The Penguins outshot the Sharks 10-7 in the second period. The Sharks had two power plays and one shortened penalty kill in the period.

Mikael Granlund cut the lead to one goal at 6:56 of the third period. William Eklund made a pass off the boards to Fabian Zetterlund in the neutral zone. Zetterlund carried it over the blue line and made a cross-ice pass to Granlund, who caught the puck in the slot and shot without breaking stride.

Tyler Toffoli tied the game with his second goal of the night. Ty Dellandrea carried the puck in along the boards before finding Toffoli on his way to the net. Toffoli skated around several defenders to get in position for the shot. Assists went to Dellandrea and Jake Wallman.

Third period shots were close again, 11-10 Sharks. The Penguins took the only penalty in the period. In overtime, the Penguins dominated 6-1 in shots but Blackwood shut the door.

Mikael Granlund and William Eklund scored in the shootout. Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and Alexander Wennberg were stopped by Nedeljkovic.

Sidney Crosby, Anthony Beauvillier and Evgeni Malkin scored in the shootout. Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell were stopped by Blackwood.

The Sharks next play on Monday back in San Jose against the visiting Detroit Red Wings at 7:30 PM PT.

Sharks Defeated 8-3 by Jets, Take a Big Step Back, Loss is Fifth Straight

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The Winnipeg Jets Gabriel Valardi (13) and Nikolaj Ehlers (27) celebrate Ehler’s goal as the San Jose Sharks Mikael Granlund (64) skates by in first period action at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg on Fri Oct 18, 2024 (Canadian Press photo via AP)

By Mary Walsh

The Sharks fell 8-3 to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday. Josh Morrissey, Nikolaj Ehlers, Neal Pionk, Kyle Connor, Cole Perfetti and Vladislav Namestnikov scored for the Jets, with two goals each from Ehlers and Perfetti. Connor Hellebuyck made 19 saves for the win. Tykler Toffoli, Luke Kunin and Fabian Zeterlund scored for the Sharks.MacKenzie Blackwood made 13 saves on 18 shots before being replaced by Vitek Vanacek, who made 15 saves on 18 shots.

After the game, Sharks forward Nico Sturm said:

“The truth is, we did take a big step back these last two games. I thought we looked really really good the first three games of the season. I thought we looked really good in Dallas, on the road against a Stanley Cup contender. And then we took two massive steps back these last two nights. It felt a lot like last year, these last two games.”

Josh Morrissey opened the scoring for the Jets at 1:59. Nikolaj Ehlers carried the puck in to the goal line before passing it back to Colin Miller at the point. Miller passed it along the blue line to Morrissey for a long shot into the far corner of the net.

Ehlers scored the next one for the Jets at 9:25. Mark Scheifele passed the puck to Gabriel Vilardi at the net. Instead of trying for the shot, Vilardi sent the puck back out to Ehlers in the faceoff circle. Ehlers did take the shot.

Tyler Toffoli made it 2-1 with a power play goal at 11:43, tipping a shot from Jake Walman at the point. Mikael Granlund also got an assist.

Ehlers scored his second of the game at 13:31. Cole Perfetti took the puck away from the Sharks in the neutral zone and passed it to Ehlers, who skated into the Sharks zone and scored.

Neal Pionk made it 4-1 at 18:48 with a wrist shot from the point. Assists went to Ales Iafallo and Vladislav Namestnikov.

At the end of the first period, the Sharks had been outscored 4-1 and outshot 15-8. They also took three penalties, two of which overlapped for some five on three time and the third was a too many men penalty. Altogether not a good period for the Sharks, but they did score a power play goal.

Kyle Connor made it 5-1 with a wrist shot from the slot less than two minutes into the second period. Assists went to Pionk and Valardi.

The Sharks changed goaltenders after that goal.

Luke Kunin scored to cut the Jets’ lead to 5-2. Cody Ceci took a shot from the point but it went off of Iafallo. Carl Grundstrom gathered it back up and passed it back to Kunin in the slot.

At the end of the second period, the Sharks had again been outshot 14-8, but were not outscored in the period.

Cole Perfetti made it 6-2 with a power play goal at 9:50 of the third period. Iafallo carried the puck almost to the net before passing it back to Perfetti in the slot for the shot. An assist also went to Namestnikov.

Fabian Zetterlund showed some push back with a goal less than 20 seconds later. Toffoli carried the puck in two-on-one with Zetterlund and made a late pass to set up the shot. An assist also went to Granlund.

Perfetti scored his second of the night, another power play goal at 12:55. Pionk and Namestnikov assisted. Namestnikov scored with a wrist shot in the final minute to make it 8-3. Pionk and Perfetti got the assists.

The final shot count was 36-22 Jets.

The Sharks next play on Sunday back in San Jose, against the Colorado Avalanche at 5:00 PM PT.

Sharks Lose 4-2 to Blackhawks, Penalty Kill Falters

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San Jose Sharks goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) puts the stop on a Chicago Blackhawks shot at the United Center on Thu Oct 17, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 4-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Blackhawks’ home opener Thursday. Taylor Hall, Tyler Bertuzzi, Nick Foligno and Jason Dickinson scored for Chicago. Petr Mrazek made 20 saves for the win. Tyler Toffoli and Fabian Zeterlund scored for San Jose and Vitek Vanecek made 23 saves in the loss.

In one of their more lopsided losses of the young season, the Sharks had a very slow start. In the first two periods, they were outshot 23-11 and took seven penalties, two of those overlapping. It is unsurprising, then, that the Sharks’ perfect penalty kill was broken as they gave up two powerplay goals.

After the game, Sharks forward Mikael Granlund talked about that start: “We were playing too slow with the puck, skating-wise. It’s tough to play when you’re just chasing the game, we were chasing the game the whole period. So we gotta be better at that and that cost us the game tonight.”

Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said: “We didn’t do anything well. Got off to a slow start, hasn’t been us. Couldn’t defend in our own end, couldn’t close quick enough, couldn’t get the forecheck going. Didn’t do anything well.”

The Blackhawks’ first goal came from Taylor Hall at 4:20 of the first period. Hall caught a long pass from TJ Brodie and entered the Sharks’ zone with speed before scoring with a wrist shot.

Tyler Bertuzzi made it 2-0 at the end of the period, on the power play. Teuvo Teravainen sent the puck to the net frpm the wing and Bertuzzi tipped in from the slot. Assists went to Teravainen and Connor Bedard.

Nick Foligno made it 3-0 in the first minute of the second period, again on the power play. Bedard sent the puck across the ice to Teravainen, who sent it back to Foligno in front of the net for a redirect.

Tyler Toffoli got one back for the Sharks at 18:17 of the period. William Eklund carried the puck to the goal line before centering the puck for Toffoli. Assists went to Eklund and Mikael Granlund.

Jason Dickinson made it 4-1 at 2:19 of the third. Joey Anderson passed the puck behind the net to Dickinson, who swept it around the post and into the net before Vanacek could get across.

Fabian Zetterlund made it 4-2 at 2:52, deflected Mikael Granlund’s shot off of his lower body. Assists went to Granlund and Eklund.

The Sharks next play Friday at 5:00 PM PT in Winnipeg against the Jets.