The San Jose Sharks got exactly what they needed at home: a way out of a five-game skid, and they had to work all the way through a shootout to get it.
Ivar Stenberg delivered the winner in the extra session, capping a 3-2 Sharks victory over the New York Islanders after Yaroslav Askarov turned in a phenomenal performance in goal. Tyler Toffoli also played a major role, scoring once and helping create another as San Jose kept clawing back each time the Islanders moved in front.
The opening goal came early, when 33-year-old defenseman Ben Hutton pinched at the right time and found room alongside Askarov before slipping the puck past him for a 1-0 Islanders lead just 6:14 into the game. Bo Horvat was involved as well, picking up a secondary assist for his 34th point against the Sharks in teal.
San Jose answered with a goal that started with pressure. Ty Dellandrea helped force the play, and Stenberg finished it by deflecting a Toffoli shot from the faceoff circle to tie the game. The Islanders nearly reclaimed the lead before the period ended, but Horvat came through with a goal-line save, chipping the puck away just milliseconds before it crossed.
The Sharks kept pushing in the second period, and Toffoli tied it again at 12:11 when a power play had just expired. His fifth goal of the season bounced off Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech and found its way through.
The temperature rose late in the period. Seconds before the second intermission, Barclay Goodrow dropped the gloves with Mitchell Chaffee after a major scrum following the previous play. On the other side of the ice, Ty Dellandrea and Kyle MacLean got into a scrap of their own.
San Jose also had a full two-minute 4-on-3 power play after Ondrej Palat and Anthony Duclair each took a minor penalty right before Marchment’s first penalty expired, but the Sharks couldn’t cash in.
Neither team could settle it in overtime, despite plenty of chances at both ends, so the game moved to a shootout. The goaltenders stayed perfect through seven rounds before Stenberg finally broke through and sealed the win, sending the Sharks home with the result they’d been chasing.
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Sharks Young Forwards Still Have To Earn This Key Late-Game Trust
The Sharks got a lift from Yaroslav Askarov in a 3-2 shootout win over the New York Islanders, and the rookie goalies night added another line to the franchise record book. By turning away every Islanders attempt in the tiebreaker, he surpassed the previous mark of seven shootout saves without allowing a goal, a reminder of how much San Jose has leaned on his calm in pressure moments.
Ryan Warsofsky also made clear the decision-making behind the shootout was anything but casual. The order was shaped by analytics and the coaching staffs pre-scouting work, part of the same careful approach San Jose is using as it sorts out which young forwards can be trusted when games tighten late and every possession starts to matter a little more. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Victor Eklund Was At The Center Of A Heated NHL Debate
A chippy sequence in San Jose drew the kind of attention that tends to linger after the final horn, as the NHL Department of Player Safety handed Sharks forward Mason Marchment a fine for roughing Islanders forward Victor Eklund. The incident grew out of a hard hit on a Sharks player, then escalated quickly when Marchment stepped in with a shove and punch that left officials sorting out the aftermath with two minor penalties.
For the Sharks, it is another reminder of how fast a routine shift can turn into a league review when emotions spill over. The money from the fine goes to the NHL Players Emergency Assistance Fund, but the broader issue is the one San Jose has been dealing with all season in these heated moments: protecting teammates without giving the league a reason to keep looking back at the play. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks May Finally Be Showing Signs Of A Different Team
After a rough stretch that had started to wear on the room, the Sharks found a way to leave New York with something they could build on. Ivar Stenberg and Tyler Toffoli scored in a game that stayed tight throughout, and Yaroslav Askarov was steady enough to keep San Jose in it with 30 saves before the night moved to the skills competition.
Askarov then shut the door in the shootout, stopping all eight attempts and giving the Sharks a result that felt different from the losses piling up around them. The comments afterward from players and coaches pointed to recent performance and individual contributions as signs the group is trying to settle into a better version of itself, even if one win alone does not answer every question. [Read more 🡒]