Going into the game against the New Jersey Devils Friday night, it was clear the San Jose Sharks would need to play almost perfectly to secure a second win in as many nights. The Devils have won 6 games in a row going in, and the Sharks had only just won their first game less than 24 hours earlier against the New York Rangers in what was a fireworks show of a hockey game. In what has been the Sharks’ strategy with rookies on back-to-back nights to ease them into the NHL, the team sat Michael Misa after playing the night before and put in Sam Dickinson, who was previously scratched, taking the place of the injured Nick Leddy.
First Period
The Sharks were hoping to continue their structurally sound and offensively explosive play from the previous game, and less than 2.5 minutes in, the team did just that. Jeff Skinner drew a tripping penalty that resulted in the first PP unit getting a clean goal from William Eklund.
The Sharks were buzzing, keeping the good vibes going early. Not long later, the Sharks had a Philipp Kurashev tip-in goal waved off due to a high touch. After the PP goal, another one was waved off, and a penalty kill containing a highlight reel blocker save from Yaroslav Askarov, the Sharks were controlling the game.
It seemed like everything they did was going right. The third line of Collin Graf, Kurashev and Adam Gaudette had some good zone time throughout the first and third period,s but did not look quite as good as it did with Misa at center Thursday night. The period ended with half a penalty kill, leaving about one minute left on the PK to start the second. That’s about where the Sharks’ control over the game ended for the night.Â
Second period
The second period was a slog. The Sharks looked like the players hit a brick wall after the emotional game the night before and the good first period they played. Combine that with the Devils’ perfect defense in the period, and you get a whopping zero shots on goal for the Sharks in the middle frame. This is the second time the team has failed to record a shot on goal in a period this season, the other time being against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hockey Stat Card shows how the team’s offense wasn’t going, despite the higher quality defensive performance by most of the team.
There was one glimmer of hope for the Sharks in this period: Alex Wennberg got a breakaway that Jeff Skinner was able to bang home for a goal, despite being hooked on the play – at least, that’s how it played out initially. Wennberg ended up being offside after the Devils challenged the play because he technically didn’t have control of the puck when crossing the blueline skates first, so the goal was waved off.
The confusing part is that the penalty on the Devils for hooking Skinner occurred after the offside moment, but the Sharks still got a power play out of it. Hey, I’m not complaining about the power play, only that the Sharks still failed to record a shot on goal during the two minutes. The Devils miraculously didn’t score on a 5-on-3 later in the period, but still came out of the second period up 2-1 after scoring two power-play goals.Â
Third period
After a dismal second period, the Sharks were able to put some pressure on in the third. Two power plays that could not get much done, combined with the Devils’ strong defense, meant the Sharks were left trying to find another goal that did not exist. Graf was sprung for a breakaway by Timothy Liljegren, who was clearing the puck behind his own goal line, but Jake Allen stopped him with a flashy glove save with less than 4 minutes left.
When the Sharks pulled Askarov for the extra attacker down 2-1, the Devils did an excellent job of not letting the Sharks get to the middle of the ice for any dangerous chances. An empty net goal by the Devils with less than a minute left, and this one was over. The strong first period was enough for the Sharks to stay in the game, but the lackluster second period penalty kill was too much to overcome.Â
Other thoughts
I have a gripe with the penalty kill. The defensemen always seem to fall to the ice to stop the cross-pass, leaving them stationary and predictable. Other teams tend to find success being much more aggressive instead of defensive, often causing short-handed goals or breakaways. While the penalty kill in the first didn’t result in a goal, Mario Ferraro went down to the ice, forcing Askarov to make the beauty of a save after the cross-pass went over Ferraro’s stick.
I can see what the team is trying to do on the penalty kill, have a solid net front presence, but it gives the other team’s power play enough time and space to do almost anything they want.
Shoutouts
Yaroslav Askarov:
With 26 saves and a save percentage of 0.929, Askarov was the biggest reason why this game did not get out of hand. After a couple of poor games to start the season, he seems to have found his mojo again. If he can have even half the performance he did last night, the Sharks will always have a path to victory when he is in net.
Collin Graf:
Graf has played his way into being a staple on this team. Not only does he play the PK very well, but he is generating offense despite a line that the coach keeps changing on him.
Devils defense:
Credit where credit is due, the Devils played a very strong and structured defensive game that stopped the Sharks from getting any shots in the 2nd period as well as prevented a 6 on 5 goal at the end of the game.Â
Scoring summary San Jose Sharks at New Jersey Devils Oct. 24, 2025
First period
2:25 SJS William Eklund from Macklin Celebrini on the power play
Second period
0:40 NJD Dougie Hamilton from Dawson Mercer and Nico Hischier on the power play
9:08 NJD Dougie Hamilton from Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier on the power play
Third Period
19:13 NJD Connor Brown from Dougie Hamilton and Nico Hischier into an empty net
