ANAHEIM, Calif. - The San Jose Sharks opened preseason on the road Tuesday and found out fast what NHL speed and depth look like.
The Anaheim Ducks rolled to a 6-2 win at Honda Center, with Eric Pohlkamp and Jimmy Huntington providing the only San Jose goals in a game that kept tilting toward the Ducks as it went on.
Pohlkamp gave the Sharks an early spark. Cardwell helped carry the puck into the zone and found Pohlkamp open, and the defenseman jumped into the play to beat ex-Barracuda teammate Brossoit.
It was the kind of aggressive shift San Jose wanted to see from him, and he kept showing it throughout the night. He was active early, moving from the defensive zone to the offensive zone and making himself part of the action against stronger competition.
But Anaheim answered quickly. LaCombe got loose after Dickinson was caught on the wrong side of Gauthier on a stretch pass, turning the sequence into a 2-on-1 that ended with a goal. Not long after, Carlsson skated down the slot untouched and beat Comrie high, a clean finish that underscored the Ducks’ edge in pace and execution.
Dickinson had some encouraging moments, too. Early in the first period he came flying in to close off Wahlberg along the wall, and later he was noticeable in puck battles all over the ice. He also had a strong one-on-one win in the corner against Sennecke in the second period, along with another battle win that stood out as NHL-level work.
Still, the Sharks struggled to string together much offense after Pohlkamp’s goal. They had trouble getting the puck out cleanly, and there were back-to-back icings as Anaheim kept pressing.
Huntington’s goal in the second period was one of San Jose’s better moments. Leason jumped on a weak low-to-high pass, Lacombe couldn’t handle it, and the Sharks turned it the other way.
Leason found Huntington, who had beaten his man up ice for a breakaway and finished the play. For players expected to be top AHL forwards for the Barracuda this season, it was a nice flash of speed and finish.
Anaheim kept piling on from there. Sennecke scored once in the second period after San Jose failed to defend him properly down the middle, then completed the natural hat trick in the third when he got behind Sahlin-Wallenius and scored on a breakaway. The Ducks were separating from the Sharks well before the game reached the scoresheet in full.
There were a few more bright spots for San Jose in the third. Carlsson made a move high and walked down on Dellandrea before Davis came up with a save.
Giles and Ostapchuk briefly had a 2-on-0 after jumping on a loose puck, though they were too close together for it to become a real threat. Wetsch had a breakaway after a bad bounce, but Brossoit stopped him twice.
Dickinson also had a strong carry from behind the net, leaving Killorn behind before bobbling the puck, and Sahlin-Wallenius made a nice move to shake off an overreaching Sennecke and create space for a slot-pass attempt. Pohlkamp kept making plays, too, including a coast-to-coast carry that beat Anaheim’s forecheck and a pinch later to keep the puck in at the blue line.
The Ducks added another goal on Luneau’s finish late, and the night kept looking like a reminder of how quickly games can slip when a team can’t consistently win puck battles or exit its own zone.
Even with the final score, the Sharks did have moments of fight. Pohlkamp, especially, looked like the most impactful San Jose prospect on the ice. On the penalty kill late, he picked up the puck in the corner and made a smart little pass under pressure to Dellandrea to help clear the zone.
For San Jose, it was a preseason opener that showed both the distance to go and a few players worth watching closely.
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The Sharks preseason opener against Anaheim was a rough first look on the scoreboard, with the Ducks rolling to a 6-2 win behind Beckett Senneckes natural hat trick. But for San Jose, the more important story was up and down the blue line, where a handful of young defensemen got their first real chance to show how they fit into Ryan Warsofskys plans as roster battles begin to take shape.
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Barnett, a defenseman who has already left the NCAA, appears to be the most likely to miss out, while Muldowney and Laubach are in better position. Muldowneys recent season at UConn made him the strongest candidate to sign, and Laubach sits in the middle as a probable signing who would project more as organizational depth than a headline addition. [Read more 🡒]