The Ducks snuff out the Sharks

Carlsson answers in 41 seconds, Ducks burn on

Two candles, one shelf

Last season the San Jose Sharks finished 32nd of 32 and the Anaheim Ducks 30th. Both of them went dark on qualification night of the 2023-24 Gauntlet, San Jose against the Dallas Stars and Anaheim against the Vegas Golden Knights. On qualification night in 2024-25 they met at Honda Center, and one of them was going home cold on the first night again.

Anaheim struck first. With Will Smith off for tripping, Troy Terry fired a power-play wrister at 6:56 of the second period, set up by Jackson LaCombe and Cutter Gauthier.

Forty-one seconds

Mackenzie Blackwood kept the Sharks breathing, and he finished with 37 saves on 39 shots. With Brian Dumoulin off for hooking, Mikael Granlund wristed a power-play goal at 4:55 of the third, from William Eklund and Jack Thompson. That was 17:59 after Terry's goal, and it was 1-1.

It stayed tied for 0:41. Smith went to the box for tripping again at 5:05, and at 5:36 Leo Carlsson tipped in the winner off a Gauthier and Mason McTavish setup. Lukas Dostal stopped 27 of 28 shots. Alex Killorn's empty-net wrister at 18:09 doused the Sharks for good, and the Ducks burned on as one of 17 flames still lit.