Written by Marcus Sledge
11/29/2024
SAN JOSE – Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith each tallied a goal and an assist in the second period as the San Jose Sharks overpowered the Seattle Kraken 8-5 on Friday night at SAP Center.
Celebrini continued his scoring surge with four goals in his last three games, while Smith extended his streak of multipoint performances to three (two goals, five assists). Jake Walman netted a pair of goals, including an empty-netter, Ethan Cardwell scored his first NHL goal, and goaltender Vitek Vanecek made 26 saves to secure the win for San Jose (8-13-5), who improved to 2-2-1 in their last five games.
For Seattle (11-12-1), Chandler Stephenson led the way with a goal and two assists, while Shane Wright scored twice. Oliver Bjorkstrand added a goal and an assist, but Philipp Grubauer struggled in net, stopping 19 of 26 shots. The Kraken have now dropped two consecutive games.
The two teams will face off again Saturday in the second half of a home-and-home series.
First Period: Trading Blows
The Sharks struck first just 2:07 into the game when Timothy Liljegren fired a one-timer over Grubauer’s blocker off a Tyler Toffoli pass from behind the net.
Seattle responded less than a minute later, as Bjorkstrand capitalized on a backhanded feed from Eeli Tolvanen to knot the score at 1-1.
Klim Kostin restored the Sharks’ lead at 16:25, cleaning up a rebound near the right circle after Fabian Zetterlund’s initial shot. But the Kraken tied it again just 33 seconds later when Stephenson broke free from a faceoff scrum and slipped a backhand past Vanecek.
Seattle took their first lead late in the period. Wright buried a rebound on the power play at 19:16 after Bjorkstrand’s one-timer missed the net and caromed off the end boards, giving the Kraken a 3-2 advantage heading into the intermission.
Second Period: Sharks Surge Ahead
San Jose evened the score at 3-3 early in the second period when Smith converted a lead pass from Mikael Granlund and beat Grubauer with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle at 2:45.
Wright restored Seattle’s lead on the power play at 7:20, finishing a cross-ice pass from Stephenson with a one-timer. But the Sharks wasted no time responding, as Walman’s slap shot from the point beat Grubauer to tie the game at 4-4 just over a minute later.
Granlund gave San Jose the edge again at 13:10 with a sharp wrist shot over Grubauer’s glove. Moments later, Celebrini extended the Sharks’ lead to 6-4 with a wrist shot from the slot, set up by a Zetterlund feed from the boards.
Seattle cut the deficit to one in the dying seconds of the period when Yanni Gourde beat Vanecek with 17 seconds remaining, making it 6-5 heading into the final frame.
Third Period: Sharks Seal the Deal
Cardwell widened the Sharks’ lead to 7-5 at 7:37 of the third, sneaking a wrist shot past Grubauer on the rush for his first NHL goal.
Walman then iced the game with an empty-net goal from his own goal line at 15:13, capping off an 8-5 victory for San Jose.
The Sharks’ offensive explosion and resilience proved too much for the Kraken, setting the stage for an intense rematch on Saturday.
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