Will Smith and Tyler Toffoli scored two goals each, 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 on the season and moves them into playoff position, albeit with teams behind them having games in hand.
Game Recap
After a back-and-forth first few shifts, the Sharks broke through about five minutes in when Smith forced a turnover behind the net, and the puck slid to Toffoli, who fired home a top-shelf shot for his first goal in almost a month. Shortly after, Timothy Liljegren drew a penalty, and near the end of the ensuing power play, Pavol Regenda tipped in a shot, marking his first goal as a Shark.
Although the Sharks stayed on the attack, they weren’t able to turn that into another goal. Barely a minute after Regenda scored, Shakir Mukhamadullin lost control of the puck near San Jose’s offensive blue line, allowing the Mammoth to head in transition the other way. In what was effectively 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 opportunities, but Yaroslav Askarov made multiple good saves. The Sharks got the next goal when Toffoli scored immediately after a faceoff, catching Karel Vejmelka off guard. Having allowed three goals in less than a period, Vejmelka was pulled and replaced by Vitek Vanecek.
Utah scored the final goal of a wild period when JJ Peterka took a great shot from a tough angle, practically along the extended goal line. Askarov couldn’t make the short-side save, and the score was 3-2 in favor of the Sharks after 20 minutes. 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, controlling the first several minutes, but it was the Sharks who scored first. Will Smith got the puck from Macklin Celebrini near the blue line and made a series of spectacular moves to get into good shooting position, scoring low thanks in part to a screen by Mukhamadullin.
The Sharks piled on 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 by Adam Gaudette. Less than two minutes later, a turnover in the Mammoth’s offensive zone allowed Toffoli to set up Smith, who used another good toe-drag move to score his second of the period. Both teams had a number of other opportunities, but Vanecek and Askarov made excellent saves. The period also featured a few scraps, although nothing escalated in a massive way.
In the third period, Crouse scored shorthanded for his own multi-goal game, leading a rush off a faceoff in the Sharks’ zone before finishing a pass from Mikhail Sergachev. The Mammoth had one more incredibly close call, in which a Peterka breakaway snuck through Askarov’s five-hole, but Dmitry Orlov made a great play to take the puck off the goal line. The Sharks killed one additional penalty and held on defensively otherwise.
The Sharks improve to 13-11-3 while the Mammoth fall to 12-12-3. San Jose next plays on Wednesday (Dec. 3) against the Washington Capitals, their final game before beginning a five-game road trip. Meanwhile, the Mammoth continue their own six-game road trip, also playing Wednesday in Anaheim against the Ducks.
