Tag: sharks alert

CHICAGO – The Sharks started slowly then allowed four goals is a wide open second period in what became a potentially costly 6-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday at the United Center.

The Sharks allowed a first period power play goal to Connor Bedard then gave up three goals in a span of 8:22 before coach Ryan Warsofsky pulled starting goalie Yaroslav Askarov in favor of Alex Nedeljkovic.

Macklin Celebrini had a goal and assist in the second period and defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin scored in the third, but the damage was done as the Sharks lost their third straight game and fell to 1-2-1 on their five-game road trip that ends Wednesday in Colorado.

Askarov’s four goals allowed came on 10 shots as he now has just one win in his last six starts. Still, the Blackhawks goals Monday were more the result of Sharks defensive breakdowns than clear goalie miscues.

The Sharks also took four minor penalties in the game’s first 24 minutes and also went 0-for-4 on the power play.

Forwards Ryan Donato and Ilya Mikheyev both had four points for the Blackhawks, who snapped a five-game losing streak.

Entering Monday, the Sharks were two points out of a playoff spot in the still tightly packed Western Conference standings.

“Every game is important this time of year,” Warsofsky said before Monday’s game. “We know where we are in the standings. Many people didn’t expect us to be where we are in this spot, and this is an opportunity for us. This is a great opportunity to to get back on it tonight against a good team, and get two points on the road and feel good about ourselves going to Colorado.”

Monday’s game marked the first meeting of the season between the Sharks and the Blackhawks, and the second time that Celebrini had faced Bedard in the NHL.

Celebrini, who entered Monday as the NHL’s fourth-leading scorer with 79 points in 53 games, assisted on a Will Smith first period goal in his one game against the Blackhawks last season, a 4-2 Sharks win at SAP Center on March 13, 2025.

Bedard, the No. 1 selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, a year before the Sharks took Celebrini first overall, was held without a point that night but had five points in five career games against San Jose before Monday. Despite missing 13 games with a shoulder injury, Bedard still led Chicago with 52 points before Monday.

More significant than the individual appeal of Monday’s game was its importance to the Sharks.

San Jose began the road trip with a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks, the NHL’s last place team, last Tuesday but two nights later, coughed up a three-goal lead and lost 4-3 in overtime to the Edmonton Oilers.

The Sharks then had to kill six penalties and allowed a third period shorthanded goal in 3-2 loss to the Calgary Flames, another team that will likely miss the playoffs.

The Sharks didn’t get the start they were looking for Monday – not even close — as they took three minor penalties in the first period, had just one shot on goal and allowed a power play goal to Bedard.

After the Sharks were called for too many men, the Blackhawks worked it around the San Jose net, as Teuvo Teravainen took a pass from Tyler Bertuzzi, slid it over to an open Bedard for a one-timer from near the bottom of the circle and a 1-0 lead at the 7:00 mark.

The Sharks’ only shot in the first period came from Celebrini with 11:33 left.

SAN JOSE — Collin Graf may have been born to play hockey. He certainly didn’t know it at the time. 

But these days, Graf is making headlines on the ice. Most recently, the second-year Sharks forward scored two goals Thursday night in a 5-3 loss to the Dallas Stars, notching the first multi-goal game of his career. 

Playing on San Jose’s top line with Macklin Celebrini and rookie Igor Chernyshov, Graf finished off a pass from Celebrini in the crease and potted another net-front pass from Chernyshov. 

This season has been Graf’s NHL breakout. He stuck on the Sharks’ roster out of training camp and has played in 34 of 35 games, accumulating 18 points. 

“He’s put in a lot of work,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “When he first came in, in the NHL, the pace is extremely high. So he went in after the summer, put a lot of work in last year to get the pace up. And now his details, his hockey sense is really what sticks out the most. He’s a smart individual. And now he’s added another layer to his game with the checking component.”

Graf, 23, grew up as the son of engineers Robert and Theresa in Lincoln, Massachusetts, and his initial foray onto the ice came for a different reason. 

“My mom just wanted me to learn how to skate,” Graf said. “And then when I was skating, there were hockey players on the other side of the ice, and I guess I told my mom that I wanted to do that. 

“So then it took me like two years to get good enough at skating to become a hockey player. And ever since, I’ve been a hockey player.”

A hockey player, but not one who was ticketed to be a professional from the beginning. Graf was undersized and undrafted coming out of juniors at 5-foot-8 and 145 pounds. He didn’t play for a Canadian major junior team or in the American junior leagues, instead staying within the Boston Bruins’ junior development program. 

He signed with Union College in 2021, scoring 11 goals and 22 points in his freshman season. Then he transferred to Quinnipiac, where he led the Bobcats with 58 points as they won the national championship. 

He thought then about turning pro then but opted to return for one more year.

“I met with teams, and I definitely considered it,” Graf said. “My linemates, we all ended up signing the next year. We talked about it, and we wanted to come back. We had a good group of guys. They’re my buddies. My best friends are still from college to this day. It was a great decision on my part, just in terms of getting bigger, stronger, becoming more mature as a human.”

Graf continued to develop his all-around game and signed with San Jose after Quinnipiac’s season ended in April 2024. He played immediately, recording a point in his second career game and finishing with two in seven games played as the Sharks wrapped up the last-place season that landed them Celebrini with the No. 1 overall pick. 

The next season wasn’t always glamorous for Graf. Though he joined Celebrini for 33 games with the Sharks and compiled 11 points, he spent most of the year in the AHL with the Barracuda, putting up 35 points in 40 games. 

It’s uncertain how long he’ll stay on the Sharks’ top line this year. Will Smith is due back before long from an upper-body injury, and Warsofsky said he may shuffle San Jose’s lines before Saturday’s game against Seattle. 

But after adjusting to the pace of the game, Graf has made enough headway that he is quickly becoming a part of the Sharks’ long-term plans.

“He’s transformed his game from what he was in college,” Warsofsky said. “He’s getting to the point where he’s accepting that more and more. There’s another level we continue to push and get to, but he’s done a really good job. He’s here late in the facility. You can tell he really wants it, and that’s an important piece of the whole thing.”

For Celebrini, who jumped into the NHL minted as a franchise star from the get-go, Graf’s intelligence is a separator that has emerged as he’s grinded his way to the highest level. 

“He’s one of the smarter players on the ice, and he’s always in the right spot with a great stick,” Celebrini said. “That’s why he’s been so great on our PK as well, his ability to disrupt plays and read plays before they happen. It helps when you’re playing with him and trying to create offense. He’s seeing the same things as I am.”

SAN JOSE – Perhaps the Sharks’ biggest strength in recent weeks – beyond getting outstanding individual performances from second-year center Macklin Celebrini and rookie goalie Yarsolav Askarov — has been their ability to get past a bad game.

The Sharks, regrettably, are in that position again going into Friday’s home matinee against the Vancouver Canucks, as they try to bounce back from their most lopsided loss of the season.

On their heels from the start, the Sharks were blasted 6-0 by the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche in Denver on Wednesday night as they allowed two goals in the first period and three more in the second.

Nothing went right for the Sharks as Askarov, through no fault of his own, was pulled early in the second period after the fourth goal. San Jose also managed only a handful of quality scoring chances as it was shut out for the third time this season.

Now it’s a matter of correcting those issues – the lack of compete and physicality, along with some mental errors and defensive breakdowns – in time for their game against the Canucks, who are coming off a 5-4 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday.

“To get better and to be a good team, you can’t dwell on the past,” Sharks forward Adam Gaudette said Thursday. “If you have an off night, the most important thing is the response the next game. You can’t let those losses stack up.”

The Sharks (11-10-3) haven’t, as after their last seven losses, they’ve responded with a win six times.

The most recent example came last weekend, when, after a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, the Sharks responded the next day with a 3-1 victory over the Boston Bruins.

The Senators outcompeted the Sharks for most of the final two periods. But after what coach Ryan Warsofsky called an “honest” talk the next morning, the Sharks responded with a much better overall effort – combined with a tremendous performance from Askarov – to finish what was a four-game homestand on a positive note.

“You hope at some point it clicks, and you don’t have to have a response after a letdown, and you grow your team, and you grow your game,” Warsofsky said Thursday. “But for where we are as an organization, with the (youth) on our team, we’re probably going to have some nights where we maybe take a step forward, and a few games later, we take a little bit of a step back.

“We’ve got to, as coaches, challenge that and try to teach through that, demand more, and have an understanding of what it looks like when we have success. I think our group has responded pretty well for the most part this year.”

Much better than the previous few years, anyway. As the Sharks went 20-50-12 last season, they had five losing streaks of at least six games and responded to a loss with a win only 13 times.

This season, after a 0-4-2 start, the Sharks’ longest losing skid is two games, as they lost on the road to Calgary and Seattle on Nov. 13 and 15. That’s allowed the Sharks to stay near the playoff cutline, as they entered Thursday two points back of the second and final wild card spot in the Western Conference.

The Sharks will fly to Las Vegas right after Friday’s game to play the Golden Knights on Saturday.

“There’s just a better product on ice, and a bigger belief that we’re a good team in here,” Sharks winger Ryan Reaves said. “When you start believing that, those losses don’t mean as much. A loss is a loss, but you’ve got to move on, and good teams learn how to move on.”

CELEBRINI SITS

Celebrini was given a maintenance day on Thursday but will play Friday, said Warsofsky, adding that the Sharks’ leading scorer and No. 1 center isn’t dealing with anything specific.

“Just a lot of hockey for him,” Warsofsky said. “Just going through the wear of it all, just kind of dealing with bumps and bruises, and (Celebrini’s) no different.”

Celebrini had 20:47 in ice time on Wednesday and played late into the third period. Celebrini centered the Sharks’ top line with William Eklund and Will Smith and had three shots on net, 11 shot attempts, and won seven of 17 faceoffs. The Sharks’ power play created some scoring opportunities but still went 0-for-4.

SKINNER, MISA TIMELINES

Forwards Jeff Skinner and Michael Misa, both out with lower-body injuries, skated again on Thursday and could, if they continue to progress, join the Sharks for their next scheduled practice on Tuesday.

SAN JOSE – Yaroslav Askarov did not know many people inside the San Jose Sharks organization in Aug. 2024 when general manager Mike Grier acquired him from the Nashville Predators.

Fellow goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, who also came to the Sharks via trade a little more than a year earlier, offered the Russian-born Askarov his support and helped him get adjusted to his new surroundings.

It’s something Askarov will never forget.

“I’m still not speaking (English) really well, but last year was worse,” Askarov said. “He was like, ‘Hey buddy, if you need to say something, just take your time. I’m going to be waiting. I’m going to be listening to you. I’m going to try to (help you) understand everything.’

“Not everybody’s like that.”

The Sharks traded Blackwood, forward Givani Smith, and a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Avalanche last December for goalie Alexandar Georgiev, winger Nikolai Kovalenko, a conditional 2025 fifth-round pick, and a second-rounder in 2026.

Still, Blackwood, with his big personality, not to mention his often-stellar play, left his mark in San Jose, particularly on Askarov, who has all but replaced Blackwood as the Sharks’ No. 1 goalie with his own recent string of success.

Askarov and Blackwood were again set to be on opposite sides of the ice on Wednesday night when the Sharks faced the league-leading Avalanche at Ball Arena. In the Sharks’ 3-2 overtime win over Colorado on Nov. 1, Askarov stopped 36 of 38 shots while Blackwood made 20 saves in what was his first game of the season.

“He doesn’t have bad days,” Askarov said of Blackwood. “He always has fun. He’s smiling, jokes around. It helps during the long hockey season, because you’re keeping your focus most of the time, but he’s that type of guy who makes your life easier and makes your life more fun.”

The Sharks haven’t reaped much reward for trading Blackwood, at least not yet, as the underperforming Georgiev and Kovalenko are now back in Russia. The 2025 fifth-round pick was used on center Max Heise, who had 15 points in 19 games for the Prince Albert Raiders before Wednesday, and the 2026 pick looks like it will come late in the second round.

Blackwood, a pending unrestricted free agent, signed a five-year, $26.25 million contract extension with the Avalanche, a term and dollar amount the Sharks were unwilling to commit to, partly because they felt they had their goalie of the future in Askarov, who spent the majority of last season in the AHL with the Barracuda.

Before Wednesday’s game, Askarov was now 7-1-0 this month with a .959 save percentage – second-best in the NHL among all goalies with at least five starts – as he helped the Sharks rejoin the playoff race after a 0-4-2 start.

There’s no doubt that Askarov credits Blackwood for helping him become comfortable in San Jose.

SAN JOSE – Shakir Mukhamadullin and Macklin Celebrini both had goals in the first two periods, and goalie Yaroslav Askarov made 33 saves as the San Jose Sharks earned a 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Sunday to close out a four-game homestand.

Mukhamadullin scored his first goal of the season at the 15:53 mark of the first period, and Celebrini added his 14th at the 11:45 mark of the second on a power play as the Sharks took a 2-0 lead.

The Bruins got one goal back at the 10:02 mark of the third as Morgan Geekie scored his 17th of the season in front of the Sharks’ net off a pass from David Pastrnak.

Collin Graf iced the win for the Sharks with an empty-net goal with 1:07 to play.

Askarov didn’t have a chance on that play and had eight saves in the third period, as the Sharks finished their homestand with a 3-1-0 record.

Askarov made 25 saves through two periods, including one on a one-timer by Pastrnak midway through the second period.

San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) keeps an eye on the puck against Boston Bruins’ Marat Khusnutdinov (92) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) blocks a shot ins ront of Boston Bruins’ Elias Lindholm (28) in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) blocks the puck in front of Boston Bruins’ Mark Kastelic (47) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) and San Jose Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (33) skate off the ice following their 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) skates onto the ice after being announced as the “star of the game” after their 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)