SAN JOSE – An impressive second-period comeback by the San Jose Sharks went for naught Friday as a costly turnover by goalie Yaroslav Askarov resulted in a go-ahead goal by Liam O’Brien and gave the momentum back to the Utah Mammoth, who went on to a 6-3 win at Delta Center.
The Sharks were badly outplayed in the first period, but erased a 2-0 deficit on second-period goals by Tyler Toffoli and Jeff Skinner. But late in the second, Askarov went behind his net to play the puck after it had been sent into the Sharks’ zone, couldn’t control it, and a forechecking O’Brien was there to take control and score his first goal since April 17, 2014, the Arizona Coyotes’ final game.
Nick Schmaltz scored early in the third period to complete the hat trick, and Michael Carcone and Clayton Keller later tacked on more insurance goals to hand the Sharks their fourth straight loss to start the season.
Macklin Celebrini scored his first goal of the season at the 16:51 mark of the third period to cut into Utah’s lead, but, naturally, didn’t celebrate as San Jose remained the last winless team in the NHL. The Sharks(0-3-1) host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday at SAP Center, then begin a four-game road trip next week.
Askarov finished with 28 saves for the Sharks. Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic will likely get the start against the Penguins (3-2-0), one of his former teams.
Askarov’s mistake on Friday was reminiscent of Nedeljkovic’s puck-handling adventures in the Sharks’ season-opening game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Nedeljkovic could not stop a lob shot by Jack Eichel into the Sharks’ zone that tied the game late in the third period, and he turned the puck over in overtime, which led to a 4-3 Vegas win.
Skinner and Toffoli scored 1:50 apart in the second period.
Toffoli’s goal came on the Sharks’ first power play, as Dmitry Orlov took a pass from Will Smith and fired a shot that Karel Vejmelka saved, but Toffoli was there to gather the rebound and score his second of the season from short range.
Skinner’s goal, his third of the season, came at the 7:13 mark. He sent a backhand pass to the front of the net intended for Macklin Celebrini, but it instead went off Mammoth defenseman Ian Cole and past goalie Vejmelka to the game.
Askarov was making his second start of the season and was looking to bounce back from a 7-6 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 11, in which he made 37 saves.
It didn’t start well; the Sharks were down 2-0 to the Mammoth after the first period and were probably a bit fortunate that the score wasn’t more lopsided.
Related Articles
How to watch the San Jose Sharks-Utah Mammoth game
Sharks update: Another defenseman injured, first schedule quirk arrives, Gushchin trade tree grows
Sharks place one defenseman on IR, claim another off waivers from Capitals
Sharks defensemen questionable to play vs. Utah; Warsofsky’s message to Smith
After two close losses, San Jose Sharks take big step back in key areas
Defensemen Nick Leddy and Dmitry Orlov took tripping penalties one minute apart in the first period. Schmaltz, with time from the bumper position, scored on the 5-on-3 as he took a pass from Logan Cooley and beat Askarov with a perfect shot inside the far post for his first of the season at the 9:39 mark.
Less than four minutes later, the Sharks turned the puck over from behind their net. Orlov tried to send a short pass ahead to Collin Graf, but the puck wound up on Clayton Keller’s stick, and he quickly sent a nifty pass to the front of the net to Schmaltz, who had enough time to settle the puck down, turn around, and fire a shot past Askarov at the 13:31 mark.
