The San Jose Sharks put forth a better effort last night, but, unfortunately, fell to the Seattle Kraken 4-1 in what can only be described as a frustrating affair for both fans and players. There was an allowed goal for the Kraken and a similar disallowed goal for the Sharks, leading to a two-goal swing. In a tight game against a team that is so good at shutting things down defensively, that can be brutal, and it turned out to be. There, of course, were self-inflicted wounds as well, but overall, Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky was happier with the effort he received from his team last night.
“We did a lot of good things tonight, had some good chances, good looks,” he said. “We make a couple mistakes here in the second period, they end up in the back of our net. It was a better effort, we had some good looks that didn’t go in. Something we can build off.”
He’d like to see something more from the players in terms of the team’s “identity to play shift in and shift out” and then how they clean up the chances in front of their own net.
Consistently inconsistent goal calls
To the big controversy of the night, the two-goal swing. The only thing that fans really want from refs is consistency. If you call one thing for one team, then you gotta call it the same for the other. Perhaps the frustration doesn’t get so strong if there is that consistency throughout the game. However, last night that was not the case.
Last night, the Kraken struck first on what the team’s socials called a “perfect pass” and “even better deflection.” The key point of the deflection was Jaden Schwartz’s skate, which was perfectly angled as he was driving toward the net. Good goal.
I won’t even get into the debate of whether I think that puck was kicked. I will say, I think that “deflection” sets a bar for what is and is not a “kicking motion” for this officiating crew. The standard must be stuck to for the rest of the game.
Fast forward to later in the game, when Will Smith drove to the net and the goal was waved off.
And from this is the view from above.
Note that two different Seattle Kraken fan blogs both thought it was not a kicking motion. Both blogs would lean toward the Kraken if anything. They, sadly, were not allowed a say in this matter. Only the refs were.
After a huddle and a video review, Toronto and the refs confirmed that there was a kicking motion. Postgame, San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng went directly to the source to ask him whether he kicked the puck.
”No. I was just trying to stop,” Smith said.
Warsofsky had an opinion as well, though he was diplomatic in his response.
“I think if you asked 100 people, 50 would say it was a kick, 50 would say it was a goal. I thought it was a goal but that’s what the league said,” Warsofsky said.
A few minutes later …
The Sharks did manage to get a power play directly after the no-goal call. But the team was unable to convert on that power play.
Then there was a series of quick events that would sink the Sharks. Nick Leddy got stuck in his own end for a long, long time. He was tired and unable to change. He had lead feet. He couldn’t move. And so, when Adam Larsson got the puck at the point and fired a shot at Alex Nedeljkovic, Leddy couldn’t move fast enough so that Nedeljkovic could see the puck and he couldn’t move fast enough to block the puck either.
the cat's meow 😻 pic.twitter.com/GzLgOQfGvq
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) November 16, 2025
Suddenly, that goal Smith almost got was in the Kraken’s column instead. 2-1 Kraken.
Seconds later, the Kraken struck again.
ya done good, e-e-li 🙂↕️ pic.twitter.com/ZMQDT8LpOi
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) November 16, 2025
The Sharks couldn’t claw back after that. Seattle shut them down. In the span of 38 seconds, the game was effectively over.
Leddy’s return to the lineup
When I initially started this section, I was prepared to really go after Leddy. I was not happy with how he played. I hated how he screened Nedeljkovic and caused that second goal of the game. The GameScore Impact Card from HockeyStatCards clearly shows that Leddy was one of the worst defensemen on the ice last night, topped only by his defensive partner, John Klingberg.
NHL GameScore Impact Card for San Jose Sharks on 2025-11-15: pic.twitter.com/osWrd9NB6m
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) November 16, 2025
But then Warsofsky spoke up for Leddy postgame.
“Leddy was good. Leds was solid. Gave us a presence back there to move pucks and play the position like a pro like he’s done for 16 years, so I thought he was good tonight,” said Warsofsky.
And I thought, what the heck are you smoking, Ryan?
And then I went to YouTube and watched Steve Dangle rant about the Leafs for a bit. The Leafs are in a bad place, and Dangle is always good for a laugh. I needed one.
While watching, I thought to myself, what if we traded Leddy? Could the Leafs use a guy like Leddy? If they did, he’d be the sixth, seventh defenseman at best. And that’s when I felt a sudden forgiveness in my heart for Leddy. Because it’s not his fault that the Sharks keep playing him in top-pairing minutes. This is not a top-pairing minutes player. Everyone knows it. I’m pretty sure Warsofsky knows it, but he’s gotta say good things to pump the player up because you can’t kick him for doing something he’s clearly no longer capable of doing in this league.
The Sharks don’t have a top-pairing defenseman, and we’re sacrificing the ego and morale of veterans to take the hits and eat the media pressure and fan vitriol when things go wrong. Leddy didn’t ask for this. He’s shoved into this situation so players like Sam Dickinson can learn, and so Mario Ferraro can get a reprieve from the last two years of criticism.
So, yes, Leddy was bad last night, but I can only be so angry and only in the heat of the moment because this team is not constructed with a 1 or 2 defenseman at this point. I’m not even sure we have a three defenseman. Maybe Dmitry Orlov?
Highlight
The Sharks had one goal, so there’s one highlight tonight. The power play goal.
Alex Wennberg gets the equalizer from who else but Macklin Celebrini.
Scoring summary San Jose Sharks at Seattle Kraken Nov. 15, 2025
First period
8:14 SEA Jaden Schwartz from Chandler Stephenson and Jamie Oleksiak
19:42 SJS Alexander Wennberg from Macklin Celebrini and William Eklund on the power play
Second period
16:05 SEA Adam Larsson from Mason Marchment and Matty Beniers
16:43 SEA Eeli Tolvanen from Chandler Stephenson and Jamie Oleksiak
Third period
16:31 SEA Jaden Schwartz from Ryan Lindgren and Chandler Stephenson into the empty net
