Fans of 1980's NHL play got a glimpse of what
that form of hockey was like at SAP Center on Friday afternoon. The Sharks and
visiting Seattle Kraken combined for 13 goals in a game devoid of much defense.
The Sharks cashed in with 8 goals in the game beat the Kraken by 3 in a wild
matinee affair. 7 Sharks recorded 2 points in the game including defenseman
Jake Walman who added 2 goals.
In addition to San Jose's 8 goals, they
added 12 assists in the contest. Goaltender Vitek Vanecek allowed 5 goals on 31
shots to earn his 3rd win of the season.
Scoring and an absence of
defense were the themes of the afternoon. The goal scoring fest started from
the get go. Timothy Liljegren opened the scoring with a shot form just inside
the right circle after Tyler Toffoli set him up with a pass from behind the
Kraken net.
One glaring issue for the Sharks this season has been
their ability to contain the opposition immediately after scoring themselves.
Seattle responded to Liljegren's goal with a countering tally less than a
minute later when Oliver Bjorkstrand converted a gimme from the doorstep. Will
Smith coughed up the puck along the left wing boards allowing Eeli Tolvanen to
slide the puck to Bjorkstrand in the slot.
Klim Kostin made it a 2-1
Sharks lead at 16:25 with a put back chance after Fabian Zetterlund fired a
shot off Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer. Kostin was lurking around the
right post when the puck landed right on his stick. It was his 1st goal of the
season.
True to form on the response issue, Seattle answered right
back, scoring 32 seconds later when Chandler Stephenson fished out a faceoff
draw in the Sharks zone then walked to the net before sliding a puck between
Vitek Vanecek's pads.
Cody Ceci was called for slashing with 1:12
remaining in the opening period and the Kraken pounced on the opportunity.
Shane Wright slammed home a rebound after Bjorkstrand fired a shot from the
high slot that bounced off the end boards. The puck landed directly on Wright's
stick for the slam dunk goal.
Smith atoned for his gaff earlier in the
game by firing a puck between Grubauer's pad from the top of the right circle
2:45 into the 2nd period.
Wright knotted the game back up at the 7:20
mark after Jake Walman was assessed a double minor for high sticking Tye
Kartye. The Kraken forward slammed home Chandler Stephenson feed through the
slot.
The Shark then went on a tear, scoring the next three goals.
Jake Walman scored the first of two goals at 8:24 with a bomb of a
shot that was measured at 99 miles per hour. Macklin Celebrini picked a
Kraken's pocket anlong the side boards then tried feeding Mikael Granlund for a
scoring chance. Granlund lost the handle on the puck, but it kicked back to
Walman who had just crossed the blueline.
Granlund got on the score sheet after making his
return from the infirmary after nursing an upper body injury. The Sharks pushed
the puck up ice to Kostin, who had to circle back to the right edge of the
Kraken zone after fumbling the puck. Kostin then dopped the puck to Granlund
who was cutting toward the net on the right side. Granlund, a left handed shot,
pulled the puck back to his forehand and lifted a shot that beat Grubauer
inside the left post.
Celebrini continues to showcase his wicked
release by snapping a shot home less than a minute after Granlund's goal.
Zetterlund setup the goal with a cross ice pass to Celebrini on the left wing.
The Kraken soured the Sharks big offensive output by getting a goal
back with just 17 seconds left in the period. Defending their zone on the long
end of the rink prevented the Sharks from getting a line change, keeping them
on the ice for more than 2 minutes. Playing with gassed legs, they couldn't
keep Yanni Gourde from punching home a rebound from the doorstep.
Any
thought of a Kraken comeback were dashed in the 3rd period. First rookie Ethan
Cardwell scored his 1st NHL goal at 7:37 on a shot from the left wing.
Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma elected to pull Grubauer for an extra attacker
with 5 minutes to play, but that quickly benefited San Jose. Walman gathered a
loose puck from behind his own endline then fired a puck down the length of the
ice for his 4th goal of the season.
Fans who missed the scoring
outburst by both teams may get an encore with both teams playing each other on
Saturday night.
Game Notes: * William Eklund
(6 assists), Fabian Zetterlund (2 goals, 3 assists) and Jake Walman (2 goals, 3
assists) extended their point scoring streaks to 4 games. Macklin Celebrini (4
goals, 2 assists), Will Smith (2 goals, 4 assists), Timothy Liljegren (2 goals,
1 assist) extended their point scoring streak to 3 games.
* Vitek
Vanecek's statistics line: 60 min, 31 shots, 26 saves, .893 save %.
*
By virtue of his goal, assist and fighting major, Klim Kostin recorded the 21st
Gordie Howe Hat Trick in Sharks history.
* From NHL PR: William Eklund
now has 22 points through his first 25 games of the season. 4th Sharks player,
age 22 or younger, with 22+ points through his first 25 contests of a campaign.
Others: Devin Setoguchi (29 in 2008-09), Milan Michalek (24 in 2006-07) and
Timo Meier (23 in 2018-19).
* The 8-goal output was the first time the
Sharks have scored that many goals since 2018.
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