Sharks snap win-less streak beating Lightning
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Emil Lilleberg (#78) left and San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (#71) right fight for control of the puck during the second period at SAP Center. Jan 2, 2025, San Jose, California, USA. (Stan Szeto-Imagn Images)
2025.01.02 – Sharks Tyler Toffoli and Mario Ferraro scored and San Jose snapped an eight-game losing streak by beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Thursday night.
Toffoli used a nifty toe drag to score his 15th goal of the season midway through the first and Ferraro added a goal in the second to give the Sharks their first home win since Nov. 29.
Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov finished with 24 saves to help the Sharks beat the Lightning before an announced crowd of 11,103 at SAP Center.
Askarov was sharp in the late going, as he made 11 saves in the final period to preserve the home victory. Before Thursday, the Sharks had lost a third period five times in their last seven games.
“You knew they were going to push,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “They got a goal there at the end of the second, but I thought we did a really good job in all three zones. We were on it from the start.”
Warsofsky didn’t have to remind his players about what happened the last time they played the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“Our guys aren’t stupid,” Warsofsky said Wednesday of the 8-1 drubbing the Lightning handed the Sharks last month at Amalie Arena. “They remember that game pretty vividly.”
Toffoli opened the scoring at the 13:52 mark of the first period.
After Jan Rutta sent a shot from the point wide of the net, Marc-Edouard Vlasic pinched down, won a battle and collected the loose puck along the wall. He then sent a pass to Toffoli, who stick-handled around Anthony Cirelli, dragged the puck around Ryan McDonagh, and fired a shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy for his team-leading 15th goal of the season.
2025.01.02 – TB Lightning vs. SJ Sharks (NHL Highlights)
San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) defends against Tampa Bay Lightning center Conor Geekie (14) during the first period at SAP Center. Jan 2, 2025, San Jose, California, USA. (Stan Szeto-Imagn Images)
2025.01.02 – TB Lightning vs. SJ Sharks (NHL Highlights)
2025.01.02 – TB Lightning vs. SJ Sharks (NHL Highlights)
Vlasic was making his season debut after he missed training camp with an upper-body injury and spent the last several weeks building up his conditioning. In his 1,297th career NHL game, Vlasic was paired with Rutta and was part of the team’s penalty kill.
“It’s a lot of fun to play, it’s even more fun winning,” Vlasic said. “Guys are smiling. Guys played well tonight.”
Ferraro’s goal, his third of the season, came at the 12:55 mark of the second period as he took a pass from Mikael Granlund and beat Lightning goalie Vasilevskiy high to the glove side.
“I got the puck back, and I even fanned on the pass, and I got the puck back,” Ferraro said. “I should be grateful for the bounces that go my way, not just the ones that sometimes don’t.”
The Sharks wanted to be more physical on Thursday, especially given the injuries to forwards William Eklund and Carl Grundstrom.
They did just that. Ferraro fought his teammate from UMass-Amherst, Mitchell Chaffee after Chaffee hit Nikolai Kovalenko along the boards in front of the Lightning bench.
Eklund missed his fourth straight game Thursday after he was leveled by a hit from Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers on Dec. 23. Carl Grundstrom, placed on injured reserve on Thursday, was five days removed from a big hit he absorbed from Calgary Flames defenseman Brayden Pachal.
“It’s something we addressed and talked about: we need to be more physical,” Warsofsky said. “We’ve got to be the team to initiate the contact, and we just haven’t done that lately. I thought earlier in the year, we were more physical, we were competitive, we were in on battles. For whatever reason, we’re a step behind everything.”
2025.01.02 – TB Lightning vs. SJ Sharks (SJHN-Post-game)
San Jose Sharks’ Mario Ferraro (#38) right celebrates scoring a goal against Tampa Bay in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
2025.01.02 – TB Lightning vs. SJ Sharks (SJHN-Post-game)
2025.01.02 – TB Lightning vs. SJ Sharks (SJHN-Post-game)
San Jose was 0-7-1 in its last eight games and had just one win in 12 games in a stretch that started with an 8-1 loss at Tampa on Dec. 5.
After being completely outclassed in the loss at Tampa last month, the young Sharks looked much better on home ice against one of the NHL’s top teams
The Lightning had a chance to tie it in the third period when Macklin Celebrini was sent off for roughing. During the power play, Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman got hit in the ear by a clearing attempt that went right to Barclay Goodrow for a breakaway. Vasilevskiy made the save but Hedman had to go straight to the locker room as he was bleeding from the ear.
Lightning’s Anthony Cirelli scored for Tampa Bay. Vasilevskiy made 23 saves.
The Lightning had won six of eight headed into this three-game California swing but wasn’t able to generate much against San Jose.
2025.01.02 – TB Lightning vs. SJ Sharks (SPORTSNET)
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman and San Jose Sharks center fight for control of the puck during the second period at SAP Center at San Jose. Jan 2, 2025; San Jose, California, USA. (Stan Szeto-Imagn Images)
2025.01.02 – TB Lightning vs. SJ Sharks (SPORTSNET)
2025.01.02 – TB Lightning vs. SJ Sharks (SPORTSNET)
Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic played in his 1,297th career game and first of the season after being sidelined by an upper-body injury. Vlasic had the primary assist on Toffoli’s goal and needs three more games to join Nicklas Lidstrom (1,564 for Detroit) and Ray Bourque (1,518 for Boston) as the only defenseman to play 1,300 games for one franchise.
UP NEXT
Lightning: Visit Los Angeles on Saturday night.
Sharks: Host New Jersey on Saturday afternoon.
Related – SJ Sharks sink the LA Kings in shootout
Related – See below: Best San Jose Sharks’ Game 7 Comeback
Read more at: San Jose Sharks Media Services / More AP NHL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the San Jose Sharks, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
EMI Sports Central – EMI Sports Bay Area: Join the conversation on sports news for SF Bay Area teams: Follow @EMIsports on Twitter, “Like” us on Facebook and sign up for our FREE email newsletters.
