Will Smith Scores 2, Leads Sharks to 3-2 Win!

The San Jose Sharks host the Chicago Blackhawks at SAP Center.

Will Smith scored his first (and second) NHL goals, Alex Wennberg added, and the Sharks win 3-2.

Period 1

Strong opening shift by the San Jose Sharks’ top line. Picking up where they left off.

3 in: Will Smith with a good DZ exit pass in a tight spot.

5 in: Thompson did good net front work on Bertuzzi, played desperate. He’s a little light, but if he can play desperate there, that will go a long way.

Maroon Grade-A, looks like Hawks forecheck got to Walman.

Smith goal: There you go! No cheapie, Will picked it. Good pass and vision by Kunin.

Donato goal: Sharks do have a problem (like last year and the year before) of giving up that quick response goal. Looks like a breakout pass handcuffs Toffoli in a dangerous area, Donato makes no mistake in the slot.

7 in: Walman does a nice job evading Teravainen up top.

San Jose Sharks getting loose defensively though. Bedard just got behind the defense when Walman attacked. Gotta re-watch, but where’s Walman’s help?

Bertuzzi goal: As I was saying…Just off the draw, Bertuzzi beats Ferraro net front, got a bounce there, I’ll say in defense of Ferraro.

8 left: Smith still looking around too much in D-zone. Also loses it when he has a chance to exit coming out of slot. Not piling on him, just a shift that will be interesting to contrast to where he’s at Game 82.

7 left: Grundstrom has rush through NZ, poor next pass to Sturm though. Those unforced errors kill you, Chicago counterattack.

4 left: Good Smith pass to Kunin in a dangerous area. Will with some mojo offensively tonight, good for him.

1 left: Walman playing with a lot of confidence, in the words of Ice Cube, he’s deking the forecheck like he’s MJ.

A little bit of a disappointing opening frame by the Sharks, started off strong, but then they got loose. They should be up.

Period 2

Wennberg goal: Started with a nice Thrun to Wennberg stretch. Then the second line got moving. Another Walman assist.

Huge save by Mrazek on Granlund. Could be a game-changer. Dead to rights chance.

10 left: Eklund off the post, solid Sharks power play by PP1.

Smith goal: Holy jumpin’!

How ballsy is it to be 19, you don't score in your first 8 NHL games, people are saying you should go to the AHL, and not only do you call your shot & say that you'll score your first NHL goal tonight, but then you score two?

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 1, 2024

Goodrow did not like that hit that (Alex) Vlasic just put on Smith, talking with him all the way to bench, maybe trying to get him to go. Vlasic declines

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 1, 2024

Also a solid response period by the San Jose Sharks, like how they’ve defended.

2 left: Smith can’t get inside on Reichel there defensively but he does a good job skating with him.

1 left: Good work by Gushchin, stick snapped off, still competing hard in DZ, making life hard for Connor Murphy trying to roll down, take advantage.

Period 3

3 in: First and second lines defending entire shifts. Kept in structure, it looks like, but dangerous. Gushchin does pop out on exit, dekes a Hawk for entry, pretty. Those are little, meaningful offensive plays.

Really seeing Walman up in the attack tonight, haven’t seen a San Jose Sharks defenseman freelance like that since Erik Karlsson. Not a criticism, has looked responsible enough, his teammates have covered. Just an observation. Has shown he has the skating chops to do it.

7 in: Really good in-tight exit pass from Cardwell to Ceci. That’s an NHL play all day.

9 in: All that defending leads to a San Jose Sharks penalty. If Sharks get out of the kill, they need to turn up OZ pressure.

8 left: That’s a DZ exit play there, I think you want Smith to skate it out, if you’re going to try that pass to Goodrow, you gotta be 100 percent. Skate it up a little, look for your wingers again, nothing there, just dump it in. You want aggressive hockey, for sure, but you also have to play it with some caution.

5 left: Smith playing fast there on attack, like.

Granlund uses net to deke Kaiser, whoa. Sharks need to get a shot on here. Been a while. They’re bending not breaking defensively, but need offense.

3 left: Can’t give Teravainen that in slot. Blackwood has been strong in this period.

2 left: 3-on-2 there, Eklund leading rush, got to get a shot. Doesn’t always have to be the perfect play. Just got to. At least set up some forecheck at least, instead of getting eliminated in the corner, Hawks counterattack. Forget, of course, Eklund just 21. No offense, goes the other way, Zetterlund in box.

Hawks have outshot Sharks 11-5 in third. Still learning to put foot on opponents’ throats.