SAN JOSE - The Sharks left SAP Center on Saturday night with another win, another sellout crowd in the building, and another reminder that not every victory has to be tidy.
San Jose edged the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 in overtime, with Igor Chernyshov finishing it off at 3:18 of the extra period. Macklin Celebrini set up the winner, sliding the puck to Chernyshov, who snapped it past Kings goalie Anton Forsberg.
Chernyshov was all over the scoring sheet. He had already put the Sharks ahead 4-2 with a breakaway goal 4:08 into the third period, and that cushion looked valuable until Los Angeles answered twice in 4:38 through Erik Haula and Artemi Panarin. The Kings kept pushing, and Yaroslav Askarov spent long stretches under fire.
That workload is what made the result possible for San Jose. Askarov stopped 31 shots and was the biggest reason the Sharks escaped with two points and moved to 2-0-0 heading into Monday’s road game against the Dallas Stars.
He had 17 saves through two periods and finished with 28 saves during 5-on-5 play. He also backed up Thursday’s 4-3 overtime win over the Florida Panthers, when he made 23 saves.
The Sharks won, but they also gave away plenty of chances. They took three penalties, allowed two power-play goals, turned the puck over repeatedly - with Celebrini charged with four giveaways - and spent long stretches getting outworked and outskated by Los Angeles. San Jose also managed just 17 shots in regulation time during 5-on-5 play.
Still, the night had a bright spot beyond the final score: Ivar Stenberg collected his first NHL point. The No. 2 overall pick in June’s NHL draft helped set up Tyler Toffoli’s tap-in at 1:48 of the second period, finding him from the left flank on a Sharks power play.
Stenberg has slotted into the second line with Alexander Wennberg and Collin Graf since the start of training camp more than three weeks ago, and he logged 10:27 of ice time with one blocked shot through two periods. He had 13:35 in his NHL debut.
He’s walking into a very different kind of rookie situation than most top picks. Celebrini and Will Smith are already carrying the offense, so Stenberg doesn’t have to be the savior. And unlike a team stuck at the bottom of the standings, this Sharks group is expected to be in the playoff mix.
The second period also brought goals from Kiefer Sherwood and defenseman Nolan Allan, adding to a fast-moving game that fit the Kings’ new approach. Los Angeles is playing at a quicker tempo under first-year coach Peter Laviolette, and after longtime center Anze Kopitar retired, the Kings are thinner down the middle than they used to be.
That pace caused trouble for San Jose early. When the Kings moved the puck quickly through the neutral zone, Nolan Allan had to haul down Quentin Byfield, who crashed into the Sharks net. On the resulting power play, Panarin held the puck below the faceoff dot to the right of Askarov before sending a seam pass through Jacob Trouba to Adrian Kempe, who beat Askarov with a one-timer for a 1-0 Kings lead.
In Other News...
Sharks Face An Early Test With One Key Lineup Question Looming
The Sharks are back at SAP Center for the second game of their opening homestand, and there is already a little bit of early-season uncertainty to sort through. After opening with an overtime win against the Florida Panthers, San Jose has some positive momentum, but the first night also exposed a few things that need tightening up, including discipline, faceoffs and overall consistency against a tougher standard.
Now comes the Los Angeles Kings, along with the kind of lineup watch that can shape a game plan right up to puck drop. Projected lineups for both clubs include several players listed as game-time decisions, and one of the more notable questions is on the Kings side, where Jacob Trouba is dealing with an illness. If he is unable to go, it would keep the lineup picture in flux as the Sharks try to handle another division test at home. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks Just Sent A Clear Signal About Patrick Giles Roster Spot
The Sharks have made a clear roster move with Patrick Giles, waiving the winger as they continue sorting out the edges of the lineup. Giles, 26, arrived with some NHL experience after starting his pro career in the Florida Panthers organization and spending time with the Charlotte Checkers before landing in San Jose and earning a two-year extension.
His latest stint with the Sharks had been complicated by an upper-body injury, and now his future path runs through waivers before he can head back to the AHL. For a player who has had to carve out every step of his career as an undrafted signing, it is another reminder that roster security in San Jose can change quickly once the numbers start to tighten. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks Face A Steep Price To Land This Young Blue-Line Target
The Sharks have already made some defensive commitments, but the search for more help on the blue line could still lead them into tougher territory. One name that has come up is Detroit defenseman Simon Edvinsson, a young pending restricted free agent whose situation has drawn attention around the league because he reportedly prefers a trade. For San Jose, the appeal is obvious: he fits the age curve and the kind of talent base the organization has been trying to build.
The cost, though, looks steep enough to make any pursuit tricky. A framework to get Edvinsson out of Detroit would likely involve Sam Dickinson, another former first-round pick, and draft capital on top of the usual salary-cap gymnastics. It is the kind of price that forces a team to weigh immediate need against long-term depth, and for the Sharks it remains more a conversation about feasibility than a deal that is anywhere close to done. [Read more 🡒]