Macklin Celebrini was frustrated. The San Jose Sharks have been here before in overtime, where composure matters most. Celebrini jumped the gun, and then it was too late.
First period
The puck dropped at 7:08 pm at the SAP Center, and the Sharks were off to a slower start than usual, but things started to pick up.
Sam Dickinson’s first shift went pretty well, and let’s just say physical. He had Ross Johnston up against the boards and was creating pressure and it certainly rubbed off. Tyler Toffoli jumped onto the ice on the delayed penalty and was able to find the back of the net with the help of Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini. The sleepover line lives on.
The Sharks were playing fast, but a bit less composed than Anaheim.
Ryan Reaves made it 2-0 when he was fed the puck after Barclay Goodrow got it away from the boards in a battle, and with help from Adam Gaudette and Nick Leddy. Reaves ever so effortlessly (seriously) slid it in. This was Reaves’ first of the season as well as a Shark.
But in normal Sharks game fashion, just a few seconds off the faceoff, Cutter Gauthier got one in with a lucky pass from Mason McTavish and Radko Gudas, making it 2-1 Sharks.
At 13:28, Dimitri Orlov was sent to the box for tripping, and Anaheim was on its first power play of the night. Though the Sharks were doing good at keeping the puck away from Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov, Becket Sennecke was able to capitalize and tied the game 2-2.
Here’s the thing about Reaves. He brings the energy. The Sharks didn’t seem to be bringing it until Reaves dropped the gloves with the Ducks’ Johnston.
Both taking five-minute fighting penalties, Reaves and Johnston headed to the locker room for the rest of the period, seeing as there was less than five left.
John Klingberg then took 2 minutes for holding at 16:13, putting Anaheim on the team’s second power play. The Ducks were 1 for 1 on the power play so far. But it was not able to produce anything from this one.
Second period
In the first two minutes, the Sharks took another penalty, Adam Gaudette for cross-checking. Anaheim was on its third power play, and the Ducks were 1 for 2. And then it became 1 for 3 after another kill be the Sharks.
Then at 9:21, Celebrini passed it to Smith, who was heavily guarded, to Mario Ferraro, who scored his first of the season, and earned the fans some free tacos.
Then, as stated before, in true fashion, the Ducks came back with an equalizer from Alex Killorn, assisted by Mikael Granlund.
At 8:54, Olen Zellweger took two for hooking Jeff Skinner, putting the Sharks on San Jose’s second power play of the night. Smith was playing a good game. Getting good looks and even a wrist shot that was saved.
Luck was on the Sharks’ side when Frank Vatrano put the puck out of play and took a delay of game penalty. That was the Sharks’ second power play and a 5 on 3. And yes, the Sharks were able to make something of it. John Klingberg got a pass from Celebrini, and the rest was history. 4-3 Sharks.
At this point, Smith and Celebrini had three points each in this game. We are catching a glimpse into the future.
With seven minutes left, Anaheim took another minor penalty for a faceoff violation. Ryan Poehling played the puck with his hand. Though nothing was produced, four minutes later, McTavish took a high-sticking penalty on Dellandrea.
The Sharks started its second power play unit, and it worked out. Gaudette was able to capitalize, with the assists by Wennberg and Orlov giving the Sharks a two-goal lead. (5-3)
The game stayed interesting following that. Timothy Liljegren took two minutes for interference. The Ducks were able to find the back of the net quickly, with a shot by Chris Kreider, his first goal of the season.
Third period
Not much came from the first five minutes. But Skinner got a good look at 5:34, and increased the Sharks’ lead to 6-4.
The physicality picked up quite a bit with a scuffle by the Sharks’ goal, after Orlov and Killorn got into it.
Gautier found the top left of the goal at 9:31, assisted by McTavish and Sennecke, Gauthier’s second of the game.
The game continued to be a lot of back and forth, and the Sharks’ defense started to become unorganized again. When there was a minute left, Anaheim pulled Petr Mrazek, and it took not that long for Kreider to score his 2nd of the season, tying the game, and taking it to overtime.
Overtime
San Jose won the faceoff, but it was quickly taken to the Sharks’ goal by Leo Carlsson from Granlund, sealing the deal.
Postgame
After a tough outing, Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky didn’t mince his words when reflecting on his team’s performance. Warsofsky emphasized that the habits and execution weren’t where they needed to be.
“Winning habits were not good, not just Mac, it was really our whole game wasn’t great, let’s be honest. So keep working with these young guys and our team here to have an understanding of what that looks like,” he said.
From the start, the team struggled with decision-making and composure, particularly on their own end. Warsofsky pointed to a lack of poise under pressure that gave the opposition too many opportunities.
“We need some poise with chucking pucks around in the defensive zone, on breakouts out of D zone structure, just chucking it around. And that’s where they were all over us,” he said.
Those early turnovers fed directly into extended defensive zone time, something that became a key turning point in the game.
“Our execution starts with our breakouts and coming out of our D zone, and when you play your D zone a lot, because you turn over the puck a lot, you’re going to eventually break, and that’s what happened tonight,” said Warsofsky.
Despite some offensive flashes and a power play that offered a temporary lift, Warsofsky acknowledged that the team’s performance didn’t match the result. Warsofsky reiterates: it is time to go back to fundamentals.
Scoring summary Anaheim Ducks at San Jose Sharks Oct. 11, 2025
First period
3:40 SJS Tyler Toffoli from Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini
11:12 SJS Ryan Reaves from Adam Gaudette and Nick Leddy
11:53 ANA Cutter Gauthier from Mason McTavish and Radko Gudas
15:14 ANA Beckett Sennecke from Mason McTavish and Olen Zellweger on the power play
Second period
5:21 SJS Mario Ferraro from Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini
6:19 ANA Alex Killorn from Mikael Granlund
10:34 SJS John Klingberg from Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith on the power play
17:14 SJS Adam Gaudette from Alex Wennberg and Dmitry Orlov on the power play
19:29 ANA Chris Kreider from Leo Carlsson and Troy Terry
Third Period
5:34 SJS Jeff Skinner from Ty Dellandrea and Dmitry Orlov
10:29 ANA Cutter Gauthier from Mason McTavish and Beckette Sennecke
19:09 ANA Chris Kreider from Leo Carlsson and Troy Terry
Overtime
0:46 ANA Leo Carlsson from Mikael Granlund
