Celebrini, Smith each gets goal, assist for Sharks in win against Kraken

SAN JOSE -- Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith each had a goal and an assist in the second period to help the San Jose Sharks defeat the Seattle Kraken 8-5 at SAP Center on Friday.

Celebrini has four goals in his past three games, and Smith has three straight multipoint games (two goals, five assists) for the Sharks (8-13-5), who are 2-2-1 in their past five. Ethan Cardwell scored his first NHL goal in his fourth game, and Vitek Vanecek made 26 saves.

"I think I blacked out there for a minute," Cardwell said of the goal. "It was an awesome moment, everything I dreamed of. To have a crowd go crazy like that and see all the boys’ excitement to come to the bench made it all that much worth it."

Chandler Stephenson had a goal and two assists, and Shane Wright scored twice for the Kraken (11-12-1), who have lost two in a row. Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and an assist, and Philipp Grubauer made 19 saves.

"I mean, [Stephenson is] a great playmaker. He's a really good passer. He's going to put me in a good spot every time," Wright said. "[I am] just trying to find a lane for him to make a play. He made a great pass to me on the goal."

The teams will play Saturday in the second of a home-and-home.

"It was whoever wanted to play defense would probably win the hockey game," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "[There are] some things we got to look at and be better for tomorrow. I'm sure there are some goals that Grubauer wants back, so we go on that side of it. There's just some things we got to really clean up for tomorrow."

Timothy Liljegren took a Tyler Toffoli pass from behind the net and one-timed the puck over Grubauer’s blocker from the top of the right circle to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 2:07 of the first period.

Bjorkstrand tied the game 1-1 at 3:03 with a snap shot in front off a backhanded touch pass from Eeli Tolvanen.

Klim Kostin gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead at 16:25, finishing off a rebound below the right circle after Fabian Zetterlund's shot.

"I didn't expect [to play with Granlund and Smith] when I go to the rink," Kostin said. "When I saw the lineup, I was like, ‘Hey man, you gotta take that opportunity to prove yourself that you can play hockey.’"

Stephenson tied it 2-2 at 16:58. He won a face-off and emerged from a scrum, drove to the net, and slipped a backhand between Vanecek’s pads.

Wright gave the Kraken the 3-2 lead at 19:16 on the power play. He tapped in a rebound in front after Bjorkstrand's one-timer missed the net and came back off the end boards.

"The finishing statement will be that we gave them a lot of opportunities to demonstrate their skill," Kraken coach Dan Bylsma said. "[The] first period was a microcosm of the game. They played well."

Smith tied it 3-3 at 2:45 of the second period. He took a lead pass from Mikael Granlund as he entered the offensive zone and beat Grubauer with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle.

Wright one-timed a cross-ice pass from Stephenson past Vanecek on the power play to give the Kraken a 4-3 lead at 7:20.

Walman’s slap shot from the point tied the game 4-4 at 8:24.

Granlund lifted a wrist shot over Grubauer’s glove to give the Sharks a 5-4 lead at 13:10.

Celebrini scored to give the Sharks a 6-4 lead at 14:03 with a wrist shot from the slot after Zetterlund found him with a pass from the right boards.

Yanni Gourde made it 6-5 with 17 seconds left in the second period.

Cardwell scored with a wrist shot on the rush that hit Grubauer's glove and went in to push it to 7-5 at 7:37 of the third period.

"[The puck is] going back home. Get it in my parents' hands," Cardwell said. "They've been such a big part of my career. We'll be able to put it up in the basement."

Walman scored an empty-net goal from his own goal line for the 8-5 final at 15:13.

NOTES: Celebrini became the second 18-year-old in Sharks history to post a goal streak of three-plus games alongside Jeff Friesen (5 games in 1994-95). … The Sharks scored eight goals in a game for the second time in the past decade and the first since an 8-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 9, 2018.