Vanecek shines but San Jose Sharks' October woes continue

Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News on Oct 13, 2024

Published in Hockey

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SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose Sharks goalie Vitek Vanecek was solid in his first NHL start in over eight months.

His new teammates weren’t nearly as crisp in the offensive zone.

Vanecek made 28 saves, but Isac Lundestrom’s goal at the 11:00 minute mark of the third period turned out to be the winner as the Anaheim Ducks handed the Sharks a 2-0 loss before an announced crowd of 17,016 at SAP Center.

Trevor Zegras added an empty net goal with 1:35 left in the third period.

Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal made 30 saves for the shutout as the Sharks were stymied at even strength and also went 0-for-3 on the power play. San Jose had 65 shot attempts, but 15 of the team’s shots missed the net.

With the loss, the Sharks’ losing streak in October stretched to 12 games. San Jose lost its last game in October 2022, was 0-8-1 in the month last year, and is 0-1-1 so far this season.

The Sharks, who were on the penalty kill five times Saturday, now begin a three-game road trip, which starts Tuesday against the Dallas Stars.

Vanecek’s last NHL start came on Feb. 10 when he made 31 saves for the New Jersey Devils in a 1-0 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Vanecek was later put on injured reserve and traded to the Sharks for goalie Kaapo Kahkonen and underwent groin surgery in the spring.

Vanecek spent a good portion of the summer rehabbing in San Jose and made his first preseason start since the surgery on Sept. 24, stopping 11 of 12 shots in roughly 30 minutes of action.

The Sharks were playing their first game without Macklin Celebrini, the 2024 No. 1 overall draft pick who had two points in his NHL debut and was placed on injured reserve Saturday morning with a lower body ailment.

Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky described Celebrini as being week-to-week. He will have to remain off the active roster for at least seven days, which will cause him to miss at least the next two games – Tuesday in Dallas and Thursday in Chicago.

The earliest Celebrini can return is next Friday when the Sharks finish their three-game road trip against the Winnipeg Jets.

It was not immediately clear when Celebrini might have been injured, as he had two points and played over 17 minutes in his memorable NHL debut against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. Warsofsky said he first learned that Celebrini had a lower-body injury after the game, and the next day, the centerman was evaluated and held out of practice.

Celebrini, who became the youngest-ever winner of the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player in 2023-24, also dealt with a nagging lower-body injury during the preseason. However, Warsofsky wouldn’t confirm whether the teenager’s latest malady was related to the one that sometimes bothered him during training camp.

In an Oct. 1 game against the Utah Hockey Club, Celebrini left midway through the second period with a lower body injury and didn’t play in the Sharks’ final two exhibition games. Celebrini was tripped on a partial breakaway, landed awkwardly and crashed hard into the end boards.