Tag: San Jose Sharks

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NHL (National Hockey League)

The Sharks, showing signs of improvement, begin their Florida road trip against the Lightning

San Jose Sharks (NHL)

The San Jose Sharks are improving, thanks to the play of Macklin Celebrini, and the rookie star will head east this week.

Celebrini, who was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week and the November Rookie of the Month, along with the Sharks, will visit Florida for the first time this season, starting with a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.

The Sharks began their six-game road trip with a 4-2 win over the Seattle Kraken on Nov. 30. They ended the month with a 6-6-3 record, showing clear signs of improvement for a team that has struggled recently in the Pacific Division.

Celebrini, who has been a major factor in the team’s progress, is the main reason for the optimism surrounding the Sharks.

After the team left for the east coast, the No. 1 overall pick in June’s NHL draft, who had just turned 18 two weeks before, made an impact in the Sharks’ 2-1 overtime win against the Washington Capitals. Celebrini assisted on William Eklund’s power-play goal 39 seconds into overtime, helping the Sharks earn points in five of their last seven games (4-2-1).

Celebrini is receiving a lot of attention as the Sharks improve, and he’s certainly earned it.

In mid-November, the 6-foot, 190-pound center was leading the NHL in puck-battle wins among forwards, ranked 20th in loose-puck recoveries, and was 26th in blocked passes. He was also fifth in beating defenders one-on-one with open-ice dekes. So far, Celebrini has scored eight goals and added seven assists in 16 games.

“He’s not afraid to stick his nose in there, and that’s extremely impressive for an 18-year-old in the National Hockey League to go up against some bigger guys,” said Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky. “He puts his nose in there, and he fights for pucks and I think that’s the competitiveness that he has.”

Tampa Bay Lightning (NBA)

The Tampa Bay Lightning showed resilience but lost 5-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs at home on Saturday.

Toronto dominated the first two periods, scoring four goals, and it seemed like the game would end with goaltender Joseph Woll earning his second shutout in three starts. However, Tampa Bay fought back with goals from Michael Eyssimont, Jake Guentzel, and Cam Atkinson in the last part of the third period, making it a one-goal game.

But William Nylander of Toronto scored with 1:16 left, sealing the win for the Leafs and leaving the Lightning with a disappointing 5-6-2 record for November and an 0-3-0 mark against teams in their Atlantic Division.

“We got down there (3-0) and got into a little lull,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper after Toronto scored twice in 33 seconds. “You don’t want to see that in your team, but in a way it’s understandable. A little frustration had set in.

“I think we gave ourselves a chance. I didn’t think we played poorly, and we gave ourselves ample chances to score. … It’s tough when we had our looks and couldn’t score, (then) they had their looks and scored. But there’s no moral victories in this game.”

Nick Paul, who has missed the last six games, and Nikita Kucherov, who sat out the game against the Leafs, both participated in regular practice on Wednesday.

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Sharks win in overtime with a power-play goal against Capitals

San Jose Sharks and Washington Capitals

William Eklund scored a power-play goal just 39 seconds into overtime, helping the San Jose Sharks defeat the Washington Capitals 2-1 on Tuesday.

The Sharks got a power play late in the third period after Washington forward Tom Wilson was penalized for high-sticking rookie Macklin Celebrini. The Capitals managed to hold off San Jose during regular time to secure a point, but Eklund’s one-timer from the right circle slipped past Logan Thompson for his fifth goal of the season.

Tyler Toffoli scored for the Sharks late in the first period, and Celebrini recorded an assist on Eklund’s goal, extending his point streak to five games.

Mackenzie Blackwood made 27 saves for the Sharks, who have won four of their last five games. San Jose is now 2-0-0 on their six-game road trip and 4-7-4 away from home this season.

William Eklund celebrates after a goal

Nic Dowd scored for the Capitals in the second period, and Thompson stopped 29 shots. Washington’s winning streak was stopped at four games, as they were aiming for their second five-game win streak of the season. The Capitals had previously won five games in a row from October 15-23.

Ivan Miroshnichenko assisted on Dowd’s goal, marking a three-game point and assist streak for him.

Toffoli scored the opening goal with exactly one minute remaining in the first period, using Washington defenseman Rasmus Sandin as a screen for a shot from above the circles that beat Thompson. Toffoli’s goal was his team-leading 10th of the season and his first since November 18.

Blackwood kept the Sharks in the lead, stopping all 16 shots he faced in the first period.

Dowd, however, tied the game at 1-1 with 6:58 left in the second period, scoring his seventh goal of the season. He one-timed a pass from Martin Fehervary past Blackwood.

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Sharks use three-goal second period to secure another win over Kraken

San Jose Sharks and Seattle Kraken

Luke Kunin, Cody Ceci, and Will Smith scored in the first 10 minutes of the second period, and the San Jose Sharks held on to win 4-2 against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night.

Mario Ferraro also scored for the Sharks, while Jake Walman and Mikael Granlund each had two assists. Mackenzie Blackwood made 36 saves. This was the Sharks’ second straight win over the Kraken, as they had won 8-5 on Friday in San Jose.

Jaden Schwartz and Jared McCann scored for the Kraken, and Joey Daccord made 19 saves. Seattle has now lost three games in a row, with a combined score of 17-9 in those games.

Ferraro gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 16:54 in the first period. He got a pass from Granlund, skated into the left circle, and shot the puck into the net.

Kunin increased the lead to 2-0 at 1:51 of the second period with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle.

Seattle Kraken and Nashville Predators

Ceci made it 3-0 at 8:59, scoring his first goal of the season and his first road goal in 128 games. After a shot by Macklin Celebrini missed the net, the puck came off the end boards to Ceci, who swept it into the net from a sharp angle.

Smith added another goal 46 seconds later to make it 4-0 after finishing off an odd-man rush.

The Kraken got on the board at 10:17 of the second period. Matty Beniers took a shot that missed the net and bounced off the end boards. Blackwood tried to poke the puck away, but it went to Schwartz, who fired it into the net to cut the lead to 4-1.

McCann scored his 10th goal of the season at 6:27 of the third period with a wrist shot from the left circle, narrowing the Sharks’ lead to 4-2.

With just over three minutes left, the Kraken pulled Daccord for an extra attacker. They thought they had scored when Beniers put the puck in the net with seven seconds left, but after review for goalie interference, the goal was disallowed.

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Sharks aim to build on their young talent in the rematch against the Kraken

San Jose Sharks (NHL)

It looks like the San Jose Sharks’ future is bright.

Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 overall pick in this past summer’s NHL draft, and Will Smith, the No. 4 overall pick in 2023, each scored a goal and had an assist as the Sharks beat the Seattle Kraken 8-5 on Black Friday.

The two Pacific Division teams will finish their home-and-home series on Saturday night in Seattle.

Celebrini has scored four goals in his last three games, and Smith had his third straight game with multiple points, recording two goals and four assists. With the win, the Sharks improved to 2-2-1 in their last five games.

Celebrini became the second 18-year-old in franchise history to score in at least three straight games. Jeff Friesen had a five-game scoring streak in 1994-95.

San Jose’s 8-5 win was their highest-scoring game since an 8-2 victory over Philadelphia on October 9, 2018. This came just two games after a 7-2 win against Los Angeles on Monday.

Ethan Cardwell, in just his fourth game, scored his first NHL goal. Cardwell made a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle at 7:37 of the third period to put the Sharks ahead by two goals.

“I think I blacked out there for a minute,” Cardwell said about his goal. “It was an awesome moment, everything I dreamed of. To have a crowd go crazy like that and see all the boys’ excitement to come to the bench made it all that much worth it.”

Klim Kostin, who was moved up in the lineup, had a Gordie Howe hat trick — scoring a goal, recording an assist, and getting into a fight.

Seattle Kraken and Columbus Blue

“I didn’t expect (to play with Mikael Granlund and Smith) when I go to the rink,” Kostin said. “When I saw the lineup, I was like, ‘Hey man, you gotta take that opportunity to prove yourself that you can play hockey.’”

However, Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky wasn’t completely happy with the team’s performance.

“It was whoever wanted to play defense would probably win the hockey game,” Warsofsky said. “(There are) some things we got to look at and be better for (Saturday).”

Kraken coach Dan Bylsma chose his words carefully when asked about the game in the postgame press conference.

“The finishing statement will be that we gave them a lot of opportunities to demonstrate their skill,” Bylsma said.

The Kraken got two power-play goals from Shane Wright, the No. 4 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, while Chandler Stephenson scored a goal and had two assists. Oliver Bjorkstrand added a goal and an assist, but goalie Philipp Grubauer only stopped 19 of 26 shots, leaving him with a 1-7-0 record this season.

“Just not the type of game we want to get into,” said Wright, who has five points (three goals, two assists) in three games since returning to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for three games. “Any time you give up eight goals, it’s not going to end well for you.”

Bjorkstrand said the Kraken are focused on bouncing back in the next game.

“We have something to prove,” Bjorkstrand said. “It’s going to be a statement game, that we’re not going to have very many of these.”

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Macklin Celebrini records his first 3-point game, leading Sharks to victory over Kings

San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings

Macklin Celebrini and Timothy Liljegren helped the San Jose Sharks end a three-game losing streak with a 7-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.

Celebrini, the top pick in this year’s draft, scored two goals in the third period, marking the second two-goal game of his career. He also added an assist for his first-ever three-point game, bringing his total to six goals.

Nico Sturm, Fabian Zetterlund, Alexander Wennberg, and Luke Kunin also scored for the Sharks, while Will Smith and William Eklund each recorded two assists. San Jose scored five goals in the third period to seal the win.

Yaroslav Askarov made 22 saves for the Sharks, who won their second game against the Kings this season after failing to beat them in regulation in the last two seasons.

For the Kings, Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist, Brandt Clarke scored once, and Adrian Kempe added two assists. David Rittich made 14 saves as Los Angeles lost for the fourth time in six games.

San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings (NHL)

In a 2-2 tie, Celebrini put the Sharks ahead 1:03 into the third period. Liljegren followed with a goal just 1:11 later, making it 4-2. Celebrini then scored again on a two-man advantage after the Kings unsuccessfully challenged Liljegren’s goal and were called for tripping.

Midway through the period, Wennberg scored on a power play to make it 5-2, and Kunin added another goal late to seal the win.

The Sharks took an early 1-0 lead when Sturm scored on a breakaway just 1:47 into the game, assisted by Mario Ferraro.

The Kings briefly led in the second period with goals from Clarke at 2:32 and Kopitar at 8:58. Zetterlund tied the game for San Jose with his ninth goal of the season at 13:59.