The San Jose Sharks beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 in an aggressive game to close out their 2024 NHL Rookie Faceoff.
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San Jose scratched top prospects Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith as training camp nears. Other top players like Collin Graf and Ethan Cardwell did not play in the contest.
The Sharks went with an unconventional lineup, dressing ten forwards and eight defensemen. That didn’t stop San Jose from dominating for the third straight game. After some penalty trouble in the first period, the Sharks prospects turned the tide and scored a bunch.
“I was happy with almost everybody tonight. I thought Hache had a pretty good night, breaking out pucks well. He was a little bit of a physical presence for us,” head coach John McCarthy said postgame. I thought Vanroboys did a nice job as well. I can’t really pick a guy out that I wasn’t thrilled with. That’s a good feeling.”
Luke Grainger led the way with two goals, bringing his total to three for the tournament.
Valtteri Pulli showed some offensive instincts to score the Sharks’ first goal as he crashed the net.
Nolan Burke, acquired from the Nashville Predators in the Yaroslav Askarov trade, scored his second tournament goal. His goal was shorthanded as he hustled to beat the Avalanche goalie to the puck before going around and diving to get the puck in the net.
The Sharks’ powerplay was deadly all tournament. After going three for three against the Anaheim Ducks yesterday, San Jose scored another two powerplay goals today.
Filip Bystedt, who played all three Rookie Faceoff games, scored his first of the tournament on the man advantage after the puck took a weird bounce off a stanchion.
The game was physical and aggressive throughout. There were a combined 34 minutes of penalties. One takeback for the Sharks was Kasper Halttunen’s lack of discipline, as he had three minor penalties. He scored his second goal in the tournament in the third period.
“They were stupid penalties. [I’ve] just got to learn not to take those penalties. I got a little too heated there,” Halttunen said postgame. “You just got to come to the locker room during intermission and settle down, breathe, and then just go forward. You can’t chase the past, but you can do something about the future.”
Luca Cagnoni stood out again with another assist, giving him points in all three games of the Rookie Faceoff.
“I think [offense] wasn’t really a focus for me, but it’s part of my game. That’s obviously why they want me here. It is to produce and be a powerplay guy. I think that’s my job and the [defense] just has to come along with it,” Cagnoni said postgame.
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