The Saturday before Christmas marked my fifth Sharks game I attended this year and ninth Sharks game this calendar year, both of which set personal bests. This is also my second time ever seeing the Sharks host the Seattle Kraken. The promotional theme surrounding this game was a collaboration with Legoland Discovery Center Bay Area, and I and everyone else in attendance each received randomized Lego mini figurine sets. I initially thought that each set would be a guy in a shark costume and come already assembled, but that was not the case. In fact, I discovered that the one I received was of a pink-haired female rockstar after putting it together, which I certainly was not expecting. During this routine visit to the Sharks Pro Shop that I make at every game I attend, I purchased two t-shirts: one in teal with the retro Sharks logo on the front and Macklin Celebrini 71 on the back, and the other being a USA Hockey one in navy blue. Unlike the previous game I attended against the Bruins and like all other games I have attended at SAP Center thus far, I was able to catch warmups. Besides no Will Smith and Philipp Kurashev due to both of them being on IR, there was no Timothy Liljegren on the ice for the Sharks due to an upper-body injury. A few players wore Santa hats during warmups, most notably Ryan Reaves. The most notable absence for the Kraken was Mason Marchment, who was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets the night before.
As part of the promotional theme, the ceremonial puck drop featured a master builder from the Legoland Discovery Center. The first period was scoreless and fairly even between the Sharks and Kraken, featuring plenty of shot attempts and scoring opportunities. However, Seattle would come through relatively early in the second period, scoring the first goal of the game via Eeli Tolvanen. The Sharks responded about five minutes later on a power play goal at the doorstep by Adam Gaudette for his eighth goal of the season, assisted by Igor Chernyshov and Macklin Celebrini.
Just 36 seconds into the third period, the Sharks would take a brief 2-1 advantage on a goal misplayed by Joey Daccord and Adam Larsson that would be credited to Collin Graf for his ninth of the season. The Kraken followed that up with two goals from Ryker Evans and Ryan Lindgren early in the third period to retake the lead. Lastly, with about a minute and a half to go, Seattle put a bow on this one with an empty-netter from Chandler Stephenson to extend the Kraken’s lead to two. Yaroslav Askarov received the start in net for Team Teal, recording 28 saves on 31 shots against.
While this was a close game for the most part, the Sharks did not play their best hockey, and the Kraken played like the more desperate team trying to get back into the win column. On the flip side, it was great to see Macklin Celebrini, Collin Graf, and Igor Chernyshov keep their point streaks alive. Overall, heading into this game, I thought that this matchup would result in a no-doubt win for the Sharks, but it ended up being quite the opposite and rather disappointing. Despite it not going the way I wanted it to, this game was still fun and worth attending. Regular game reviews resume on Tuesday, when the Sharks hit the road to play their last game before the holiday break in Vegas against the Golden Knights at 7 pm PT.
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