Will Smith and Tyler Toffoli each scored two goals, and the San Jose Sharks dominated the first two periods offensively, scoring three times in both to defeat the Utah Mammoth 6-3.
The win gives the Sharks 29 points for the season and moves them into the play-off position, albeit with teams behind them with games in hand.
Summary of the game
After the first few shifts back and forth, the Sharks broke through about five minutes in when Smith forced a turnover behind the net, sliding the puck to Toffoli, who fired a top-shelf shot for his first goal in nearly a month. Soon after, Timothy Liljegren drew a penalty, and near the end of the ensuing power play, Pavol Regenda tapped in a shot, marking his first goal as a Shark.
Although the Sharks continued to attack, they were unable to convert it into a goal. Just a minute after Regenda scored, Shakir Mukhamadullin lost control of the puck near San Jose’s offensive blue line, allowing the Mammoth to head the other way in transition. In what was essentially a 2-on-1, Michael Carcone made a good pass to set up Lawson Crouse for an easy tap-in.
The Mammoth used that goal to gain momentum and create more chances, but Yaroslav Askarov made several good saves. The Sharks scored the next goal when Toffoli scored immediately after a face-off, catching Karel Vejmelka off guard. After allowing three goals in less than a spell, Vejmelka was withdrawn and replaced by Vitek Vanecek.
Utah scored the final goal of a wild period when JJ Peterka made a beautiful shot from a difficult angle, practically along the extended goal line. Askarov couldn’t make the save on the short side and after 20 minutes the score was 3-2 in favor of the Sharks. The Mammoth earned a power play almost immediately after the goal, but San Jose killed the penalty.
The Mammoth came out firing in the second period and controlled the first few minutes, but it was the Sharks who scored first. Will Smith received the puck from Macklin Celebrini near the blue line and made a series of spectacular moves to get into a good shooting position, scoring low thanks in part to a screen from Mukhamadullin.
The Sharks scored two additional goals in quick succession, both off turnovers. On the first, San Jose created a takeaway on the forecheck, leading to a well-placed backhand from Adam Gaudette. Less than two minutes later, a turnover in the Mammoth offensive zone allowed Toffoli to set up Smith, who used another good toe move to score his second of the period. Both teams had a number of chances, but Vanecek and Askarov made excellent saves. There were also some incidents during this period, although nothing escalated on a large scale.
In the third period, Crouse scored shorthand for his own multi-goal game, leading a rush after a faceoff in the Sharks zone before finishing a pass from Mikhail Sergachev. The Mammoth had another incredibly close call, in which a Peterka breakaway snuck through Askarov’s five-hole, but Dmitry Orlov made a great play to clear the puck off the goal line. The Sharks killed one additional penalty and otherwise held their ground defensively.
The Sharks improve to 13-11-3, while the Mammoth fall to 12-12-3. San Jose next plays the Washington Capitals on Wednesday (December 3), their final game before embarking on a five-game road trip. Meanwhile, the Mammoth continue their own six-game road trip, also playing the Ducks in Anaheim on Wednesday.
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