San Jose Sharks, Mikael Granlund defeats Seattle Kraken, sweep series

A busy month of November for the San Jose Sharks ended on a positive note Saturday.

Four players scored goals and Mackenzie Blackwood made 36 saves in a solid comeback performance as the Sharks cruised to a 4-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken to clinch a home series with their Pacific Division rivals.

Mario Ferraro scored a goal in the first period, and Luke Kunin, Will Smith and Cody Ceci scored in the second period. Smith’s goal – his third in three games – gave the Sharks a 4-0 lead at 9:45.

The Kraken responded with goals from Jaden Schwartz and Jared McCann, with McCann’s goal at 6:27 of the third period cutting San Jose’s lead to two. But Blackwood and the Sharks persevered from there, finishing the month with a record of 6-6-3. San Jose was 3-7-2 in October.

The Sharks also defeated the Kraken 8-5 at the SAP Center on Friday, ending a four-game homestand with a record of 2-2-0.

Mikael Granlund and Jake Walman each had two assists in the Sharks’ first game of a six-game road trip that continues Tuesday against the Washington Capitals.

Blackwood allowed four goals on just 11 shots in the Sharks’ 4-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday. Not all of the goals were his fault, but it was a rare poor performance from Blackwood in what was a solid year for the veteran goalkeeper.

Blackwood entered Saturday with a 4-8-3 record and a .902 save percentage for the season.

Ferraro scored the first goal at 16:54 of the first period.

After accepting a pass from Mikael Granlund, Ferraro held onto the puck for a few moments and drifted toward the Seattle net before firing a shot that flew off Kraken defenseman Will Borgen and into the net past goaltender Joey Daccord , for his second goal in three games .

It was the fourth straight game in which a Sharks defenseman scored a goal. The Sharks defensemen combined for five points on Saturday.

In the Sharks’ win on Friday at the SAP Center. Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and Ethan Cardwell each scored a goal, marking the first time since 1993 that three Sharks rookies scored in the same game.

Originally published: November 30, 2024 at 9:41 pm PST