The Sharks are in action against the Ducks tonight for their 3rd preseason game. I will be providing my analysis throughout each period, detailing the key moments.
The Sharks are not playing an experienced lineup today, with the majority of their key veterans and young stars getting the night off, while the Ducks are going with a more experienced lineup. Making it hard to expect much from the Sharks tonight, but still, it's a good opportunity to see how some of their younger AHL guys look before the season against an NHL-caliber roster.
The full Sharks Lineup can be seen here.
Period 1
Cagnoni turns it over, but makes a nice block on the same shift to negate a scoring chance, good way to make up for the earlier gaffe.
Dellandrea and Ostapchuck combined for a couple of chances in the offensive zone. The Sharks are skating fast early on.
Dellandrea has been moving well in the first. He is a player who was on the team last year and is on the roster bubble going into the season, making a strong case during this period to secure a spot on the team.
Desharnais takes a cross-checking penalty, Ducks to the power play for the first time tonight.
Skarek robs Leo Carlsson on the power play, his first big save of the day.
Killorn takes a slashing penalty off the draw, we have 4 on 4 for 30 seconds before a Sharks power play.
Cagnoni makes a nice move from the blueline, just misses wide through traffic, but beautiful edge work from Cagnoni.
Skarek shut down Vatrano point-blank in the slot. Looks solid in his first game in teal, expected to compete for the Barracuda starting job this season.
Ducks outshot the Sharks 9 to 6 in the first, but it was a good period for the Sharks, who played with energy and got some good chances.
Period 2
The Sharks are going to the power play to start the period after a Trouba cross-check.
The Ducks had more chances than the Sharks, despite being a man short; the power play has struggled in two chances so far.
Ducks are starting to pick up the pace, but Skarek has been up to the task; he is the biggest reason this game is tied right now.
Beckett Sennecke draws a penalty after he makes a nice move to the net; the Sharks are going to the box.
Gauthier fires it past Skarek after the puck works its way from the net front back to the point, no chance for Skarek on the play. 1-0 Ducks.
Gudas fires one past Skarek top shelf from the point, two quick goals for the Ducks. 2-0 Ducks
Frank Vatrano is left alone going to the net, taps in an easy pass by Skarek. 3-0 Ducks.
Sharks need to settle down; they are getting outworked this period.
Gabriel Carrier is in the net for the Sharks; this is a scheduled swap.
Regenda takes a slashing penalty, Sharks going back to the box.
Ducks take a tripping penalty of the draw, we will have 4 on 4 for almost a full 2 minutes. Big break for the Sharks.
Ducks take another tripping penalty, Sharks going to the power play.
Muhkhamadullin just misses a tip pass to Cardwell; nice idea that just misses.
Muhkhamadulin fires one home past Husso from the point, Sharks are on the board, looks like it caught Regenda’s skate, so it should be his goal. 3-1 Ducks.
Muhkhamadulin has been one of the Sharks' best players tonight, so it's good seeing him make an impact on the power play.
Ducks take a high-sticking penalty. Ducks are going right back to the box. It's a big opportunity for the Sharks.
A Kurashev turnover leads to a Ducks breakaway, Carrier makes the save, keeps the score at 3-1.
Cagnoni breaks up a 2 on 1, turns it the other way for a scoring chance. The Sharks fail to capitalize on the power play.
The Sharks are picking up the pace near the end of the period, an encouraging sign after a horrendous start this period.
Ducks lead 3-1 after two. Overall, it was a bad period for the Sharks, but they are fortunate only to be down two. They looked better in the last 5 minutes of the period, let's see if they can carry it into the 3rd.
Period 3
The Sharks are skating well to start the period. Let's see if they can battle back into this game.
Halttunen takes a high-sticking penalty of the draw, Sharks going to the box. They need a big kill here.
Ex-Shark Mikael Granlund just misses the net, big break for the Sharks; they kill the penalty.
Shane Bowers makes an excellent defensive play and finishes his shift with a big hit. He was acquired in the summer for Thomas Bordeleau.
The action has slowed down a lot this period. The Sharks have been more physical this period, but they need to turn that into more offense if they are going to get back in this game.
Ostapchuck just misses a strong scoring chance after a weird bounce off Husso in the net. He has looked strong today, even if he is not creating much on offense.
Deshairnais takes a high-sticking penalty, likely killing any chance of a Sharks comeback in this one with 6 minutes to go.
As the penalty expires, Gaudette fires a wrister off the rush past Husso, cutting the lead to 1 with 4 minutes to go—credit to Bowers, who made the play possible with a strong defensive play. 3-2 Ducks.
Dellandrea makes a nice move to the front of the net for a golden opportunity, but Husso just gets his pad stretched out for the stop.
The Sharks have pulled the goalie.
Muhkhamadulin blocks a shot heading for the empty net, love to see him laying it out in the pre-season.
The Sharks fail to score the tying goal and will fall 3-2 to the Anaheim Ducks.
Post Game
It wasn’t a full 60-minute effort by the Sharks; the 2nd period was really rough, with a slew of defensive miscues we have become accustomed to from the Sharks over the last couple of seasons. But they did get their feet under them and battled back into the game, so credit where credit is due. Also, considering the Sharks were largely icing their Barracuda lineup versus a mainly NHL lineup for the Ducks, it was a better-than-expected result.
Standouts for me were Muhkhamdulin, Dellandrea, and Ostapchuck. Muhkhamadulin looks primed to take on a top 4 role this season, and has looked the part so far in pre-season. He looks much more consistent and physical in the defensive zone than last season.
As for Dellandrea and Ostapchuk, they put together a solid effort throughout the game and played with both energy and physicality. Something that could set them apart in what is a logjam in the Sharks' bottom six right now.
The Sharks will be back in action on October 1st when they once again take on the Anaheim Ducks.