By Brianna Huffmaster – Spear Editor | The San Jose Sharks celebrating a goal against the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 18 (Photo by Nick Orozco – Co-Executive Editor of The Spear)
A Friday matinee game after Thanksgiving gave fans at SAP Center something to be thankful for as the San Jose Sharks (8-13-5) exploded with a 8-5 win over the Seattle Kraken (11-12-1) to close out a four game home stand.
Fast-paced offense saw both teams get goals into the net for the first two periods.
San Jose struck first with a goal from Timothy Liljegren two minutes into the game. But the Kraken answering right back to score a goal of their own was a common theme through the first 40 minutes.
It wasn’t until the third period that the Sharks had more defensive momentum to prevent the Kraken from scoring.
The Sharks scored in all three periods and had an all-around team effort with multiple players collecting more than one point. The second period was the most pivotal as the Sharks took a 6-5 lead after being down 3-2 in the first.
Klim Kostin had a breakout game with a Gordie Howe hat trick stat sheet of a goal, assist and fight. The goal was his first of the season while the fight occurred midway in the third.
Kostin has been seeing more minutes on ice recently due to team injuries. With this, his point sheet has been empty most of the season but has recorded points in two-straight games.
“[The game] was just a little sip of fresh air,” Kostin said about his performance.
The rookies continue to shine for San Jose. Ethan Cardwell earned his first NHL goal in the third. Cardwell got called up yesterday from the San Jose Barracuda due to an injury to veteran Barclay Goodrow.
“I think I blacked out for a minute,” Cardwell said about his goal. “It was an awesome moment, everything I dreamed of.”
Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, the other two rookies, continued their point streak as both had a goal and assist. Smith has six points in the last three games while Celebrini has eight goals on the season.
Mikael Granlund returned to ice after missing two games from an upper body injury. His availability was a game-time decision and he came back strong with collecting a goal and assist.
Other key contributors to the Sharks offense were Jake Walman with two goals while William Eklund and Fabian Zetterlund had two assists each.
Though the high-scoring offense was the highlight, Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky knows there are still things to improve on.
“I don’t like coaching these [high-scoring] games,” Warsofsky said. “At the end of the game you win, which is a positive, but there’s lots of things we got to improve on.”
Warsofsky specifically wants the defensive performance to improve. The Sharks were able to simplify the defense in the third period but allowed the Kraken to stay on the same offensive momentum most of the game.
The Sharks and Kraken will see each other again tomorrow night for a rematch game in Seattle. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Climate Pledge Arena.
