Both the Seattle Kraken and the San Jose Sharks are out of the playoffs, which means this game was all about pride and it was one that the Sharks lost. It’s been a rough ride for both teams this year, but this is hockey and anything can happen. With a young Sharks team looking to develop and find some chemistry, the players didn’t find it in last night’s battle against the Kraken. It was fan appreciation at the Shark Tank, which got things to a more positive start.
From: Sharks <SanJoseSharks>
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) April 6, 2025
To: You <BestFansEver>
Subject: Thank you! pic.twitter.com/YE2jWRqGoo
The game started with the same lineup from the Sharks’ game against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
The first period was consistent for the Sharks up until the 10:34 mark, when Jared McCann found the back of the net with a snap shot.
Then, with five minutes left, Will Smith found a pocket and put the Sharks on the board with a wrist shot, with help from his sleepover buddies Tyler Toffoli and Macklin Celebrini.
That shortly went under the radar when Andre Burakovsky put up another goal for Seattle.
Looking at the heat map from Natural Stat Trick after the first period, the Sharks were able to acquire a good range for shots, but only the Kraken could land them.
In the second period, penalties were called on both teams within five minutes, making it a 4v4. The penalties were against Smith for slashing and Kaapo Kakko for hooking. Neither team was able to capitalize, but shortly after the penalties were served, the Kraken were able to add another point to the board, courtesy of Chandler Stephenson.
Within four minutes, Seattle did it again with an unassisted shot from Jaden Schwartz.
Following that, Alexander Georgiev was relieved from his duties for the night and Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky sent out Georgi Romanov.
And then, with two minutes left in the second period, Jared McCann made it 5-1.
The third was not forgiving either. The Sharks received a power play with a two-man advantage, thanks to an interference and roughing call on the Kraken, but were unable to score.
The period continued to be penalty-heavy, with Ty Dellandrea and Stephenson for roughing.
The Sharks continued to fight hard for a chance to score but were still unsuccessful. The last minute of the period, however, was a fan appreciation night special.
Barclay Goodrow starts to go at it with Jamie Olekisiak, and William Eklund threw off the gloves with Eeli Tolvanen, making it his first NHL fight!
That was all in the last minute of the game, and the Sharks lost this one to Seattle 5-1.
The quiet postgame
After another tough loss, Warsofsky didn’t hold back post-game, calling out his team’s performance.
“We were sloppy again,” Warsofsky said. “I thought I liked our start, but their first chance goes in the back of the net; their second chance goes in the back of that. So that’s not how you want to start.”
Despite a brief push back with Will Smith’s goal, the Sharks couldn’t find any rhythm.
On the team’s struggles, Warsofsky was blunt.
“Our puck play in all three zones [was] extremely sloppy. We don’t hit the net. Two of them, they come back and it’s in the back of the net,” said Warsofsky.
With the season winding down, the Sharks are still searching for consistency, especially from their younger players.
“Cam [Lund] is a young player that’s thrown a lot at him, and the pace picks up … that probably caught him by surprise,” Warsofsky noted.
Looking ahead, Warsofsky remains focused on improvement:
“We got to compete. We got to continue to compete and not have soft, bad habits creep into our game … I wish we gave them [the fans] a better performance,” said Warsofsky.
As the Sharks face more tough tests ahead, the focus will be on cleaning up mistakes and fighting through the final stretch of the season.
Scoring Summary Seattle Kraken at San Jose Sharks April 5, 2025
First Period
5:46 SEA Jared McCann from Andre Burakovsky and Joshua Mahura
9:26 SEA Andre Burakovsky from Adam Larsson and Jared McCann
14:18 SJS Will Smith from Tyler Toffoli and Macklin Celebrini
Second Period
7:39 SEA Chandler Stephenson unassisted
11:36 SEA Jaden Schwartz unassisted
18:07 SEA Jared McCann from Shane Wright and Kaapo Kakko
Third Period
No Scoring
