San Jose Sharks
Askarov Gets Sharks to OT, Graf Wins It 2-1!
MINNEAPOLIS — The San Jose Sharks visit Grand Casino Arena to take on the Minnesota Wild.
Will Smith and Collin Graf scored, and the Sharks won 2-1.
Period 1
Klingberg NZ turnover to start, but Wennberg in good position, steals it back.
Klingberg penalty: Not a good start for Klingberg. Gets caught on wrong side of Hunt. Gives in to hook though Ferraro was there to back up. He’s gotta get his head in the game.
5 in: Hinostroza , Tarasenko have back-to-back chances, Askarov! San Jose Sharks looking sleepy.
Celebrini met in DZ right when he receives puck by I think Eriksson Ek, about 4:45 in. Can’t build up speed. This is how teams will want to play Macklin.
8 in: Patented Eklund against-the-grain pass below the goal line to Kurashev, Wild penalty. Sharks needed a lifeline, here it is.
Celebrini just turned dime on Boldy in NZ, chasing puck, left Boldy in another area. That’s a patented move of his, incredible. But Celebrini hasn’t been sharp with his puck movement on this PP, Sharks not able to mount much of an attack.
9 left: Forechecking Foligno trucks Mukhamadullin. Shakir seemed surprised by that.
8 left: Maybe best 5-on-5 shift of the game so far for Sharks? Skinner does good work keeping puck alive in OZ. Dellandrea gets a shot on. Not much of a shift, really lol.
6 left: But one good shift leads to another. Wennberg finds Klingberg walking down slot for a great chance. Suddenly, a heartbeat.
Good little play by Smith, puck bounces to him middle of DZ, doesn’t rush it though Wild close, holds, then advances the puck. Warsofsky talks about fighting the panic, which young players are often victim to, they don’t know how much time and space they have.
4 left: Graf and Skinner in 2-1-2 forecheck. Dickinson has a strong defensive shift, skating and reach on full display, disrupting multiple plays.
2 left: Mukhamadullin does good job handling Eriksson Ek, battling with him on this shift.
20 seconds left, DZ faceoff, San Jose Sharks make a smart coaching move, replace Kurashev with Celebrini on wing, try to free up their best player for some late offense. Wennberg centers and Eklund stays on line. Doesn’t amount to anything, but it’s a thoughtful tactic.
Period 2
Nifty move by Kurashev to evade Kaprizov check along wall.
1 in: That’s a shift that the San Jose Sharks won’t want to repeat. Orlov accidentally low bridges Mukhamadullin. Askarov puckhandling adventure. Also, a Celebrini turnover on entry…he lacks a little pep in his step so far, wonder if the Florida game taxed him a bit.
3 in: Dellandrea line has a rush, Skinner chance? Second and third lines have been Sharks’ best tonight so far.
Goodrow penalty: Foligno has been a menace for Mukhamadullin. Shakir had an exit path along wall, but puck doesn’t get out. Goodrow defending Spurgeon, takes a penalty down low. But actually, Goodrow was having a good shift, he gave Jiricek a master class in one-on-one battle before. Mukhamadullin has to get that out.
4 in: Graf takes it from Boldy and Kaprizov high on PK. Graf like an octopus out there on PK.
Boldy goal: Brilliant Zuccarello pass, flank to flank through multiple sticks, Askarov no chance.
6 in: Wild smother Celebrini along wall. Three Wild on him on wall about 6:40 in.
10 in: Celebrini on entry, four Wild basically stand up, but Eriksson Ek gets called for unnecessary interference. Like Panthers game, I think word is out on Celebrini, they’re playing him like a superstar, giving him that extra shot. Again, another lifeline for the Sharks.
Klingberg penalty: It was a tough D-to-D pass for Klingberg, but another penalty for him, not sure he had to take it that far away from Askarov. Tough game. I’ve been a supporter of his, but I think you can consider giving him a break. Slot in Leddy and Liljegren for he and Mukhamadullin. I’m OK with Orlov and Ferraro being your only everyday defensemen on the Sharks. Ferraro, just on pure effort and reliable energy, will probably never get scratched, and I think deservingly so.
8 left: Great kill by Dellandrea. Loose puck, he gets position on Kaprizov, takes it with ease, skates it out, then almost creates a chance out of nothing 1v3 in front of Gustavsson.
6 left: Celebrini thinks he has a second of daylight, but right when he hits his stride with puck coming out of DZ, Boldy on top of him.
4 left: That was almost two minutes of defending for Celebrini line. He missed another chance to get it out.
Celebrini was just out there for 2:26 defensively. He missed a couple chances to get it out. Uncharacteristic low-energy game for him tonight, and Wild have defended him tough too.
Wennberg penalty: San Jose Sharks lucky to be down one.
1 left: Eklund has been terrific in his return though, efficient and confident.
Askarov is winning games and periods for the San Jose Sharks. Wild 15-5 shots.
Period 3
2 in: Don’t like that Dickinson NZ read though. Chases the pinch, becomes a Wild 2-on-1.
4 in: Filthy entry by Eklund, then Kurashev has a Grade-A. Eklund has been San Jose Sharks’ best player besides Askarov.
9 in: Yup, looks like Toffoli and Graf have been flip-flopped lines.
Smith goal: But these guys just need one good (power play) shift. Eklund to Toffoli to Celebrini to Smith tic-tac-toe. What a Celebrini pass through Spurgeon.
6 left: Lovely give-and-go between Celebrini and Smith, Celebrini just misses.
2 left: Really good Klingberg pass helps spring 2-0n-1 for Wennberg.
OT
Wennberg-Eklund-Orlov to start. Agree with this one haha. Wennberg and Eklund have been among Sharks’ best players tonight.
This team is finding ways to win!
Heart!!!!
and we are in the playoffs spot 🤯
LET’S GOOOOOO!!!! Do you think the trope of ‘being in a playoff spot by Thanksgiving’ will be true this year? The standings are nuts.
Almost all of the teams are within a game or two of each other
next 2 they can win, knocked on the wood , would be nice to beat LA as well. if they are in good playoff spot by Thanksgiving, that would be something.
Askarov up to a .899 SV% now. Nearly back to .900 though the underlying expected numbers all think he’s been good overall on the year despite the lower save percentage
I’d love for Sheng to get a goalie coach/expert to explain how to look at the position. The traditional two stats of GAA and SV% are little outdated now.
I’d be interested in a breakdown of his high/medium/low danger chances, as well as a heatmap of where he’s getting scored on. I could probably find these but wouldn’t know what to do with them necessarily lol
I’m sure there’s a heat map, but honestly, the stuff getting thru in recent games is a small sample …
If I’m scouting the guy, I’d have him play the puck a lot, because that’s when he creates high danger stuff.
One stat I hear commonly discussed now (and I kinda like) is Goals Saved Above Expected. Asky’s number was well below zero (meaning he wasn’t making as many saves as he should’ve) but after tonight has climbed to 3.8 above expected. For comparison, Ned is currently at 0.4 above expected, and Knight (CHI) leads the league at 13.3 (there are currently four goalies >10).
His last 4 games have just been absolutely stellar
Holy Smokes!!!!! That was some superstar shit right there! Askarov played out of his mind, and had to basically start breakdancing in the crease to keep the Sharks within striking distance. What a great goalie performance!! And Mac, he was being defended hard, and specifically shut down every shift. That’s what superstars have to persevere through, and not let it take them off their game. He looked frustrated on the bench at points throughout the game, but I think he let it fuel his determination to score. He was shut down defensively almost all game, and still had multi point… Read more »
This is a clip of Askarov tonight
Celebrini will go down as one of the best to ever put on the Sharks sweater. A future HOFer. I know it’s WAY too early, but that’s what I see in my minds eye when I watch him play. I saw it in Jumbo. I see it in him. He’s the real fucking deal.
Provided he stays healthy, he’s going to be THE best. If he remotely keeps up what he’s doing, this season will be better than any season Jumbo had in his career. And that guy was a deserving first ballot HOFer so I’m not saying that lightly
He’s on pace for the same points Jumbo had in his Hart season. Please don’t diminish that.
Check your math again, sir. Again, 114 pts from Joe is amazing. Joe was an amazing player. But Mack is on pace for 114. In about 74 games.
Correction: I forgot the Hart was actually 05-06 and that season was split between Boston and San Jose. Joe had 125 pts that year. Macklin ‘s pace is slightly higher still. But Jumbo was 26 that year. Macklin is 19.
Yeah I catch myself thinking the same thing. We just need the next two decades of hockey to continue to go well for him. Let’s go!!!
I simply burst out laughing when they won. That was a mostly terrible game, good flashes but a LOT of guys did not look like themselves, Mack most of all. It’s a testament to the dawg that he can look off and still be in on 100% of his team’s points in a win, but that was the kind of game I look at and cannot bet on the sustainability of. I’m thrilled they won but they’ve now notched enough Ws that Warso can and should probably start dishing out some constructive criticism on what they need to clean up.… Read more »
Besides Celebrini, hot goaltending is fueling this team. Outshot 29-18 is not good. Sharks have been outshot every game during this point streak going back the Oct. 30 win over the Devils. But the goaltending has been top notch.
A lot of people here were dogpiling on both goalies but especially Askarov early in the season, but this is why you have to give these guys some runway.
yup
I actually think both goalies like the volume. But also don’t know jack.
It’s true a higher number of shots from low danger areas may be better than fewer high danger shots. But being outshot as an overall trend is not good.
How nice was it having Eklund back? He was a huge reason why that 2nd line dominated tonight. I think he’s the clear second best player on the team after Celebrini at this point in time.
Agreed without hesitation.
I’ll admit I wasn’t sure what Eklund’s real ceiling is when he signed that contract. But it’s starting to feel like maybe the contract is a bit too short.
It’s short because Eklund bet on himself. Looking like he made the right call
The Sharks are fun again!
Safe to assume that Askarov and Ned dressed as Butch and Sundance for Halloween — and they’ve stayed in costume ever since. Stealing everything they can. Was glad to see Graf get a bump to the top line. I think he’ll be a top-6 guy which allows the Sharks to spread talent out into a top 9. Esepcially as the current ‘Cuda forwards start making into the NHL. I’ll admit to being a bit bothered by the fact all 7 of Smith’s goal have come off Macklin assists. I’m broken record on this point, but it’d be better for Smith’s… Read more »
Hard to believe now Graf went undrafted. Well done to Grier and his college scouts.
Although I also want to see if Smith can drive his own line, Warso has to roll with a winning combo right now. I suspect he’ll mix it up later.
My understanding with Graf is everyone wanted him and he’s a Shark because he had a great opportunity to play right away and also because they let him burn the first year of his ELC and he will get to RFA a year sooner.
It was a coup to get him, though, he could have gone anywhere. Might be Grier’s Massachusetts connection that sold him, too
Scouting’s a skill you need to build a deep bench on, which is why I roll my eyes at the folks who want to push the drafting age back a year. Projection and risk management are part of the game/job, get gud or get out.
Tonight’s goal by Smith was the result of a string of 5 of the most beautiful passes you’ll see. Celebrini to Eklund to Toffoli back to Celebrini to Smith. It was more just finishing a beautiful team play than being dependent on Macklin, I think
Do you think there is any credence to the notion of buildings Smitty’s confidence and competence as a top line NHL wing and then having him branch out? No doubt having arguably the NHL’s best center and your closest homie as your line mate certainly doesn’t hurt. Then again Im assuming the expectation would be for Smitty to drive play as a center? The chemistry on the ice with Will and Mack seems rather special and best of all is getting winning results at the end of the day. I love Smitty and I want to see him get as… Read more »
47 pts in his last 51 g going back to last year. Feels like it might be sustainable. Who knows, maybe there is even another gear he can find post Olympics or something?
I would like to know if there was something the Wild were doing in to counter the forecheck. It seemed like our whole newfound style of play was rather ineffective today.
Muk had a tough game, but also tough minutes. If that’s his worst – it’s not bad.
Ive been a Klingberg critic, but honestly don’t even know how to feel about out him anymore. Real nice at times, sketchy at others. I think overall PP1 could be better, but like Sheng said, just need 1 good shift.
The wild should be pissed
Also. Orlov has been for defense what Toffoli was our offense. Just an absolute Dad.
They have played a shit ton of games in the last 2 weeks, credit to them for grinding out a W when they didn’t have their fastball.
Yes but counterpoint so has everyone else, and they had two days off. It was a sluggish game.
This game is potentially a big turning point in the development/growth of our Sharks. GOOD TEAMS find a way to win even when they don’t play their “A game.” That’s exactly what we did tonight!
I subscribe to ESPN+, how could I not watch this game. They need to fuckn fix this shit. And their app is so ass on so many levels, it’s a God damn headache to watch a game IF you can even watch it… you’d think with all the money they get they’d have figured this shit out years down the line, but no
If only there was some entity to protect the consumer.
The blackout nonsense sucks so much. I feel your pain. “Pirating” sports has come along way in 2025, and you can cast your phone onto your TV. So I go on StreamEast or Sportsurge (free pirating sites). They get shutdown sometimes, and immediately reincarnate with slightly differently endings like .to, .ga, etc…