I have officially attended my sixth NHL game on Saturday afternoon. Not only was it a thriller, but this game between the Sharks and New Jersey Devils has to be one of the absolute best hockey games I have ever witnessed in person. Let’s begin:
The promotion the Sharks were running for this game was Summer in January, and my buddies and I each received free Sharks beach totes as we entered the arena, which were cool and worthy souvenirs. Soon after entering SAP Center, I headed for the team shop and purchased two collectible pucks to add to my puck collection. One of them was Joe Thornton-themed from his Jersey retirement ceremony earlier this season, and the other one had Macklin Celebrini’s name and no. 71 on it.
Once I was done in the team store, I headed down to the lower bowl to watch warmups, which is one of my favorite aspects of hockey games besides the game itself. This is where the excitement began to build for me leading up to the game. I was the most thrilled to see Macklin Celebrini in person for the first time and very grateful to have seen William Eklund on the ice during warmups after he was activated from IR earlier that day. On the other hand, I wasn’t able to see Jake Walman play in person for the first time after he was placed on IR. This minor feat will have to wait another day but was honestly no big deal. On top of that, I was able to take some unbelievable shots of some players from above as they were heading into the dressing room after warmups.
My buddies and I were seated in section 203 in the second deck above one end of the ice. Between warmups and puck drop at center ice, I loved seeing the players skate through the shark head, also known as the greatest entrance in sports. The starting lineups were announced, the national anthem was sung per usual, and the game was underway. It was a close battle for the entire game and seemed like an emotional roller coaster for much of it. The Sharks got on the board first late in the opening period on Nikolai Kovalenko’s first goal as a Shark and fifth goal of the season, assisted by William Eklund and Luke Kunin.
Early in the second period, the Devils got on the board and tied it at one on a power play goal redirected in by Nico Hischier. This contest stayed deadlocked at one until early in the third period, when Macklin Celebrini scored an absolute beauty of a goal for his 13th in the NHL, which was fed by his NCAA linemates Will Smith and Collin Graf. I was led to believe that this would stand as the game-winner, but the Devils said “Not so fast,” as Paul Cotter scored to even the game at two roughly three minutes later. Things became a bit concerning for most of the rest of the third period from there, but luckily Cody Ceci was there to save the day, as he scored his third goal of the season to put the Sharks ahead with 24.2 seconds left to essentially win it for San Jose.
I’m extremely grateful that Yaroslav Askarov was the starting goalie for the Sharks, as he was excellent during my first time seeing him play in person. He recorded 28 saves on 30 shots against, many of which were spectacular. In addition, at least a few posts and crossbars were hit and prevented a few goals from being scored throughout this match. Another aspect worth noting is that the threshold for everyone in attendance to receive free tacos from Taco Bell has been lowered from four goals scored to three goals scored, in which the Sharks accomplished and had to make happen in order to win on Saturday.
Overall, the Sharks-Devils game was a complete and utter blast, and I could not have chosen a better NHL game to attend this season. I am glad that the Sharks performed their best when I was at the Tank most recently, and it was worth me losing some of my voice for the rest of the afternoon and evening for. Their record is now 3-0-2 when I am at their games, and this further proves that I am more of a good luck charm than anything when it comes to my favorite hockey team. In addition, I am grateful to have seen Jack Hughes and one of the top teams in the Metro Division and Eastern Conference in the Devils play in person for the first time. Furthermore, as for New Jersey, it was cool to see Timo Meier’s return to the Shark Tank as a member of the Devils this season. Without a doubt, this Sharks game was the best part of my weekend, and I am definitely looking forward to attending another Sharks game in the near future.
My normally scheduled Sharks game recaps will return Tuesday evening, when the Sharks host the Vegas Golden Knights in their next game at 7:30 pm PT.
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