In the second and final NHL Rookie Faceoff game on Sunday night, the San Jose Sharks took on the Anaheim Ducks. Macklin Celebrini was held out for the Sharks, who made a few lineup changes. Julius Sumpf, Nathan Pilling, Jeremie Bucheler, and Colton Roberts drew into the lineup for San Jose. Meanwhile, the Ducks only made a couple of changes, one at forward and another on defense. Jaxsin Vaughan and Loic Usereau made their first appearances of the tournament for Anaheim. Between the pipes, Gabriel Carriere got the start for John McCarthy’s Sharks, while Vyacheslav Buteyets started for the Ducks.
After some physical end-to-end action, Anaheim got the first power play of the night when Bucheler was called for interference in front of Carriere. Sam Colangelo nearly made them pay immediately with a hard one-timer shortly after the faceoff, but his shot went just wide of the net. When the penalty expired, the Ducks had the team in teal pinned in their own end and eventually, Luca Cagnoni was able to clear it out, deflecting the puck off of a Duck to prevent an icing call and allowing them a line change. A couple of minutes later, Cagnoni contributed at the other end of the ice, as assisting on Bucheler’s goal that gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead. The man involved in all of the action in the first period, Cagnoni, took a penalty for cross-checking with just over 30 seconds remaining in the frame. With seven seconds remaining, Cutter Gauthier evened the score with a slap-shot goal. They’d head into the first intermission tied with a goal a piece.
The game started out chippy and only got more so as it progressed. Scrums became more frequent and often lasted longer. Gauthier took the Ducks’ first penalty of the night with 15:45 remaining in the second following a violent collision with Lucas Vanroboys which was called interference. A bad line change by the Ducks allowed the Sharks to get a 2-on-0 rush, but they were unable to put it away. Moments later, Nolan Burke scored his first of the tournament, an unassisted goal that restored the Sharks’ lead. Vanroboys got a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct following an altercation with Vojtech Port.
The Sharks killed it off, then get another power play of their own a few minutes later when Yegor Sidorov was penalized for tripping. The Sharks had quite a few scoring chances, and at one point the puck was all alone inside the blue paint, but the Ducks cleared it out. Eventually though, Quentin Musty cashed in on the man advantage off of a perfect pass by Collin Graf, making it 3-1. The Sharks were creating a lot of scrambles in front of Buteyets, which often left him out of position, but the Ducks often beat them to the loose pucks. San Jose carried their lead into the second intermission.
The Sharks got a power play early in the third period when Port was called for slashing at the same time Konnor Smith and Braden Hache each got five minutes for fighting. Less than 30 seconds later, Musty picked up his second of the night which extended his team’s lead to 4-1. The Sharks took a penalty of their own a few moments later, as Vanroboys went back to the box this time for tripping. The Sharks killed it off, and with around eight minutes remaining in the game, they scored their fifth of the night. Kasper Halttunen found the back of the net, and was assisted by none other than Musty. Musty completed the hat trick with 7:13 left in the game, making it 6-1 in favor of the team in teal. Sidorov got one back for the Ducks about two minutes later, but it was too little, too late. The Sharks added one final goal, this one scored by Colton Roberts, and the game ended with a final score of 7-2.
Musty Takes Charge
With Celebrini out of the lineup, there were question marks about who in their lineup would take over the role the 2024 first-overall pick filled in the last game. It took until late in the second period, but we got our answer. Musty scored two power play goals and a four-on-four goal to complete his hat trick. His chemistry with Will Smith is certainly undeniable, and there’s a reason they play together whenever the Sharks can put them together. Whether it was development camp, or now at the Rookie Faceoff, those two are inseparable in McCarthy’s eyes and it’s easy to see why. Musty is a player many people think has an outside shot of sneaking into the Sharks’ opening-night roster. If he’s able to carry his momentum from this tournament into the main camp, there’s no reason that can’t be the case.
Power Play on a Roll
The Sharks went three-for-three on the power play which was instrumental to their success. If a team’s power play is unstoppable, their opposition is going to have to play differently to avoid taking any penalties which creates more opportunities in five-on-five play. Every time the Ducks gave them a chance, they took advantage. With players like Smith, Musty, Cardwell, and Halttunen out there, it’s very easy to see why.
Gauthier is As Advertised
When Gauthier arrived in Anaheim, the trade between the Ducks and Philadelphia that brought him to California got major attention from around the league. He’s a very high-end talent who has the potential to be the face of the Ducks for many years to come. With players like Mason MacTavish and Trevor Zegras already mainstays of the future core, Gauthier won’t be left all alone either. He’s a game changer, whether by scoring scoring goals or getting involved in every other imaginable way, and he’s ready to become an impact player at the NHL level.
Related: Takeaways From Sharks’ 3-2 Victory Over Utah Hockey Club at Rookie Faceoff
It’ll be interesting to see how the Sharks approach their final game of the tournament on Monday morning. Celebrini may draw back into the lineup, but they also have a few players who haven’t gotten an opportunity at all just yet. Either way, the final day of the Rookie Faceoff will be an interesting one to watch.
