Yaroslav Askarov gave the San Jose Sharks a night for the record book on Monday.
In the Sharks’ 3-2 shootout win over the New York Islanders, Askarov turned aside all eight Islanders attempts in the tiebreaker, beating Ilya Sorokin and setting a franchise mark for most shootout saves in a game without allowing a goal. The previous best was 7-for-7 by Martin Jones against the Nashville Predators and Juuse Saros on Nov.
19, 2019. Timo Meier finished that one with the deciding shootout goal.
This time, the final answer came from Ivar Stenberg in the eighth round. Before Stenberg ended it, Macklin Celebrini, Collin Graf, Will Smith, Kiefer Sherwood, Mason Marchment, Sam Dickinson and Michael Misa all came up empty.
That shootout sequence raised the obvious question: how does Ryan Warsofsky decide who goes where?
The Sharks coach said the process is built well before the game starts, with help from the staff and the numbers.
“We worked on a project this summer with our analytic guys, put a pretty good package together, and then Thomas goes to the pre-scout [of the opposing goalie],” Warsofsky said. “He’s got a good feel for our shooters, as well.”
Warsofsky didn’t spell out every detail of that summer project, but he did make clear the Sharks lean on a deep bank of information when they map out their options.
“We got a lot of data. We practice it in practice.
We keep track of it,” Warsofsky said. “There’s a lot of data going back to these guys when they’re in junior, lefties, righties.
How the goalie goes against certain shooters. There’s a lot of different factors in it.”
Michael Misa’s explanation after his miss showed how that pre-scout can shape a shooter’s thinking. He said, “Watching the pre-scout on Sorokin, I was thinking low blocker.
Saw a couple shootout goals went in there. But then, I thought he was cheating low blocker a little bit, so I tried to go back glove, and he made a good save.”
The Sharks’ shootout usage also makes more sense when you look at the NHL records on the roster. Celebrini entered with the most success, and Smith’s inclusion near the top was notable despite his early struggles.
“Will doesn’t have the greatest numbers right now, but you still got a guy that can you know it can click for them at some point,” Warsofsky said.
Warsofsky said the club has a fairly clear idea of its top-six shootout order before puck drop, which suggests the choices of Graf, Sherwood, Marchment and Dickinson were part of the plan rather than a reaction to the moment.
That fits the profiles of those players, too. Graf, Sherwood and Marchment all have soft hands and 20-goal NHL seasons on their resumes.
The bigger question now is how younger players such as Stenberg and Misa can work their way into the top three or four alongside Celebrini and Smith. Stenberg may have taken a step in that direction Monday, staying composed and delivering the finish that won the game.
In Other News...
Sharks Finally Got A Win And Two Young Names Stand Out
The Sharks finally snapped a five-game skid with a 3-2 shootout win over the Islanders, and the night came with a couple of encouraging signs beyond the result. Tyler Toffoli scored in regulation, but it was Ivar Stenberg who kept San Jose in it with the tying goal, giving the building a jolt and helping push the game past regulation.
San Jose also got the kind of steadiness it has been searching for from Yaroslav Askarov, whose work gave the Sharks a chance to hang around through overtime and into the shootout. The Islanders had their own moments through Ben Hutton and Bo Horvat, but for a team trying to climb out of an early hole, this was the sort of win that can make a young roster feel a little more settled. [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 🡒]