Sharks takeaways: No Celebrini, but improvement. Now, ‘we’ve just got to learn how to win’

SAN JOSE – No one will argue that the San Jose Sharks, even without Macklin Celebrini, are a much better all-around team right now than they were last season.

Now, the 2024-25 Sharks, set to embark on their first road trip of the season, need to learn how to execute offensively in critical moments.

Facing the Anaheim Ducks in their second game of the year Saturday, the Sharks looked poised in their defensive zone, (mostly) took good care of the puck, and showed they could be an effective forechecking team.

But a big third-period goal proved elusive for the second straight game as Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal made 30 saves to help hand the Sharks a 2-0 loss before an announced crowd of 17,016 at SAP Center.

Anaheim’s Isac Lundestrom broke a 0-0 tie with a goal at the 11:00 mark of the third period, and Trevor Zegras added an empty-netter with 1:35 left in regulation. The Sharks were also outscored by three goals in the third period of Thursday’s 5-4 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues.

The Sharks had 10 shots on Dostal in the third period but also went 0-for-3 on the power play, extending their October winless streak to 12 games. Since a 4-3 overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 27, 2022, the Sharks are 0-10-2 in October games.

The Sharks begin a three-game road trip with games Tuesday against the Dallas Stars and Thursday against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks.

The soonest Celebrini (lower-body injury) can return is Friday’s game in Winnipeg. However, it appears the 2024 No. 1 overall pick will have to miss more time than that, as Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky described his status as being week-to-week.

“We’ve just got to learn how to win,” Sharks center Nico Sturm said. “That’s the biggest thing, the takeaway from not only these last couple of games, but also the last two years, is when we were in these situations in the last two years, we haven’t learned how to win hockey games, and we will.

“I can think of a lot of good things in these first two games, and we’re going to stay on the gas pedal.”

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game.

VANECEK SHINES: Sharks goalie Vitek Vanecek, making his first start in over eight months after he had groin surgery in the spring, stopped the first 27 shots he faced Saturday before Lundestrom scored on a Ducks’ odd man rush.

On the play, Will Smith skated to check Brock McGinn, leaving three Sharks players on one side of the ice and Lundestrom open in the slot. He then beat Vanecek with a shot to the glove side.

The Sharks didn’t do a good enough job on their dump into the Ducks’ zone, leading to a rush up the ice. That was the difference in a fairly evenly matched game.

Still, the Sharks had to be encouraged by Vanecek’s performance, which was more reminiscent of his first year in New Jersey than his second, when his save percentage dropped from .911 to .890 and his goals saved above expected mark also plummeted.

“Honestly, I felt really good,” Vanecek said. ‘The team played really good, too. We played good offensively and defensively, so they helped me a lot to feel confident.”

SPECIAL TEAMS MIXED BAG: The Sharks were expected to have a better penalty kill this season considering the personnel they added in the summer, including forwards Barclay Goodrow and Alexander Wennberg and Barclay Goodrow and defensemen Cody Ceci and Jake Walman.

So far the Sharks’ penalty killing units have come as advertised, killing all seven penalties they have taken, including five on Saturday. The Sharks were 28th in the NHL on the penalty kill last season at 75.4%.

But the power play needed to come up with a goal Saturday and it didn’t. Their third and last power play against the Ducks, shortly after Lundström’s goal, was the worst of the bunch, as they had one shot on goal, had two shot attempts blocked and totally missed the net on three others.

After the penalty expired with just under seven minutes remaining, the Sharks managed just one more shot on Dostal, and that came after Zegras’ empty-netter.

A goal by Sharks forward Fabian Zetterlund was called back due to an offside, setting the tone somewhat for a frustrating offensive night.

Warsofsky said the power play “was good early. Obviously, the offside kind of took the wind out of our sails. Probably our worst one was in the third, when we probably needed it to step up the most. So we’re going to continue to work on it. It needs to be a more of a lethal part of our team.”

MAKING STRIDES: The Sharks remain winless but the desired identity of the team – quick zone exits, pressuring the puck, forcing turnovers — was more evident Saturday than Thursday, even though it came against a still rebuilding Ducks team.

The Sharks went through a challenging training camp and are seeing some benefits, especially from a skating perspective. San Jose, with the addition of some solid two-way players, is much better positioned to hound pucks, be aggressive in certain situations, and stay competitive for 60 minutes.

It’s an extremely small sample size, but the Sharks have given up just four 5-on-5 goals in two games. Last season, the Sharks allowed nearly three per game. Bigger tests await, though.

“I think we’re a team that can skate up front and can get on teams,” Warsofsky said. “I think (general manager) Mike (Grier) did a good job of bringing in some competitive players and can do those things.”

It’s just a matter of finding a little more offense now, especially with the dangerous Celebrini out for an undetermined amount of time.

“We found ourselves last year and in the past, just a lot of forechecks that turn into rushes against, just not coming up with the puck,” Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro said. “I think it just speaks to our identity today, how we play, just getting behind their (defense) and pressing on them.

“We played hard, and we earned a lot of pucks back. Now we’ve just got to find a way to finish our chances, sustain that zone time, and score some goals.”