The San Jose Sharks fell to a desperate Seattle Kraken squad, unfortunately unable to grab two points from ome of the teams it needed to claim points from.
First Period
The Sharks won the opening faceoff, and off the bat, Igor Chernyshov got a great chance. Within a minute and thirty seconds, the Sharks were already up 3 shots on goal.
William Eklund had a good chance five minutes in, but Joey Daccord stood tall. Early on, the issue for San Jose was the defense. They were making good looks, just weren’t in the Kraken zone more than they should have been.
Then Ryan Reaves took two minutes for holding the stick, giving the Kraken the power play, but they weren’t able to score.
Chernyshov was shining, making another key look, but just couldn’t get it past Daccord.
The Sharks were on their first power play after eight minutes, with a cross-check called on Eeli Tolvanen. The power play was looking just so-so. A recurring theme this period was just the inability to finish the play. The Sharks did not capitalize.
However, they got another power play opportunity thanks to Vince Dunn for holding. The power play was very tired. The players’ shifts went on too long, and they were stuck in the Kraken zone for more than half the duration. Nobody scored.
The last two minutes were a lot of great Askarov saves, but still too much time away from the Kraken goal.
Second Period
In the first five minutes, the Sharks were already looking better. Five great scoring chances from Collin Graf, Celebrini, and Dimitri Orlov. Chaos was ensuing. San Jose was fighting.
but not hard enough. Tolvanen sent a snip right over Askarov’s shoulder and the first point was on the board. 1-0 Kraken. His 5th of the season.
This lit a fire under the Sharks. Their play noticeably got way more aggressive. So aggressive that they were on their third power play when Ryan Lindgren was sent to the box for slashing.
San Jose was buzzing. This power play was structured and connected. The question was: when could they stick the landing? The answer came soon. Adam Gaudette was ready. With a quick pass from Chernyshov and Celebrini, the game was tied.
The Celebrini and Chernyshov duo was the staple of the game. They created pressure that resulted in the tie, and had been flying all night. Fast skating, getting there, and finishing. The period ended on that note.
Third Period
It didn’t take long, and yes, it was scored by Graf from Celebrini and Chernyshov. 2-1 Sharks.
But the Kraken answered back. Tolvanen was on hat-trick watch with his second of the night.
and again. Lindgren was able to get one to the back of the Sharks’ net, and now two Seattle players were hunting for a hat trick. The pressure was on, and the Sharks had thirteen more minutes to fix it.
Askarov was pulled in the last two minutes, and that quickly went wrong. Seattle’s Chandler Stephensson sealed the deal with an empty net goal.
Postgame
This was a game the Sharks felt they should have won, but mistakes were costly as Head coach Ryan Warsofsky explains
“That’s a game that we should win,” Warsofsky said. “And we shoot ourselves in the foot.” The chances were there all night, but the inability to close came back to bite them.
Despite the loss, Warsofsky emphasized the bigger picture. The Sharks have now strung together two strong performances, and the team is beginning to show signs of identity.
“We played two good games here in a row… We’re starting to find our identity as a hockey team.” That growth was evident in their pace, aggression, and willingness to fight back after falling a bit behind.
On the defensive side, Warsofsky acknowledged there’s still a learning curve. Slowing plays down at the wrong times continues to cause problems, especially for a young blue line adjusting to NHL speed. “When we slow pucks down is where we get in trouble,” he said, stressing that it’s a team-wide adjustment rather than a single-player issue.
Still, the optimism was clear. Warsofsky closed by pointing to the upside of the group. “I think he’s going to have a really high ceiling,” he said. “Which is a real positive that we’re seeing right now.”
