Macklin Celebrini made his debut on Saturday
night as the Sharks concluded their preseason schedule in Salt Lake City. The
2nd year forward assisted on a Will Smith power play goal in his first action
of the season, but it came in a losing effort. San Jose overcame a 4-1 deficit
with 3 goals in the 2nd period, but they would surrender a pair of unanswered
3rd period goals to drop a 6-4 decision.
The Sharks closed out the
preseason with a 2-4-0 record and now have to make several roster decisions as
they break camp. The regular season starts on Thursday and San Jose must define
their 23-man roster by then.
Wins and losses don't matter in the
preseason, but the Sharks still exposed several holes that could manifest into
bigger issues if they don't address them. Being outscored by an opponent in the
3rd period is a carryover issue that they will need to focus on as they
continue with their rebuild.
A early Sharks lead was quickly
dispatched by Utah in Saturday night's tilt. Goaltender Yaroslav Askarov was
not sharp and the Sharks dug a big hole early.
John Marino was sent
off just 28 seconds into the game for tripping, but the Sharks would not
capitalize on the man advantage. Marino almost turned the tables on San Jose
when he found himself exiting the box before receiving the puck for a 2-on-0
break.
Yarolslav Askarov denied Brandon Tanev on the break, then the
Sharks grabbed the loose puck and moved it up ice quickly. Adam Gaudette
finished the sequence by beating Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka by
collecting a Shakir Mukhamadullin feed and crashing the net from the right
side.
Mikhail Sergachev threw a puck on net with a long shot from the
left side. Askarov got a stick on it, but the puck flipped past him and over
the goal line to knot up the game 1-1 at the 7:03 mark.
A Vincent
Desharnais tripping penalty at 8:27 setup the Mammoth with their first power
play chance of the night. Dylan Guenther converted 32 seconds into the penalty
on a one-time chance from the top of the left circle. Askarov was positioned to
stop the puck but he missed it to surrender the lead.
Andrew Agozzino
made it a 3-1 game less than 3 minutes later when he put back a rebound chance
from the low side of the left circle after JJ Peterka bounced a shot off
Askarov.
Things got really ugly when Kailer Yamamoto tipped a Nate
Schmidt shot from the top of the crease. Yamamoto out-muscled rookie defenseman
Sam Dickinson in the danger area out in front of the net for his 1st goal of
the preseason.
Askarov and Vejmelka combined to make 4 saves on 9
shots in the opening period.
Tyler Toffoli cut the Mammoth lead in
half 1:53 into the 2nd period with a shot from the bottom of the left circle,
beating Vejmelka top shelf.
Barclay Goodrow potted his 1st goal of the
preseason less than 3 minutes later off a give and go chance with Gaudette. The
Sharks forwards steamed up ice with Gaudette holding th epuck in the right wing
before sliding it to the top of the crease where Goodrow tapped it home.
Peterka was sent off for slashing at 12:55 of the middle frame and the
Sharks struck. Smith converted a nifty Celebrini feed for his 1st goal of the
preseason to help San Jose draw even at 4-4. Celebrini carried the puck out of
the right corner and steamed toward the net, drawing two defenders toward him
before snapping a pass through the crease to Smith on the off wing.
Utah reclaimed the lead at 4:55 of the 3rd period
when Clayton Keller sent a long shot that evaded Askarov for his 1st of the
preseason. The puck appeared to clip Guenther up high before deflecting past
the Sharks netminder, but Keller was credited with the goal.
Brandon
Tanev pushed the Mammoth's lead back to 2 goals at 11:11 after he chipped a
puck off the left wing boards past Mario Ferraro, then raced up ice to beat
Askarov. Ferraro took a bad line on the puck then watched Tanev breeze past
him.
San Jose pulled Askarov with 3 minutes left in regulation for the
extra attacker, but could not score.
Game Notes: *
Macklin Celebrini made his preseason debut, centering Phillip Kurashev on this
left and Will Smith on his right. He had a power play assist, but he was a net
-2 on the night.
* San Jose was held to a paltry 13 shots on goal in
the game. Opposing goaltender KKarel Vejmelka only stopped 9 of those shots to
allow San Jose to stay close. Askarov wasn't much better, stopping 17 of 23
shots.
* The two teams agreed to a 5-round shootout at the conclusion
of the game. Those results: Utah: Stenlund (miss), Keller (miss), Schmaltz
(miss), Paterka (goal), Guenther (miss). San Jose: Smith (miss), Skinner
(miss), Celebrini (goal), Kurashev (miss), Eklund (goal).
* Teams
around the league were forced to trim rosters, including the New Jersey Devils
who waived former Shark prospect Thomas Bordeleau.
* The prospect
evaluations:
*** Looked Good: Shakir Mukhamadullin BR>
***
Didn't Hurt Themselves: Sam Dickinson, Ethan Cardwell
*** Rough Night:
Yaroslav Askarov
