The San Jose Sharks were on the road, for their first preseason game away from the SAP Center, as they visited the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center.

The Sharks took a mostly AHL-level team to Anaheim, as the Ducks played many of their NHL regulars, including former Sharks forward Mikael Granlund.

Vincent Desharnais was called for cross-checking around the halfway point in the first period, giving the Ducks their first power play of the night. The Sharks killed off most of it, but Shakir Mukhamadullin would draw a slashing penalty, causing Alex Killorn to head to the penalty box. As a result, the Sharks faced 34 seconds of 4-on-4 play before they’d get an abbreviated man advantage. The Ducks would kill off the penalty, and play would return to 5-on-5 hockey.

Luca Cagnoni had a nice play on the blue line that created an opportunity for a tip in front with just under four minutes remaining in the opening frame, however, the puck sailed wide of the net. Jakub Skarek made a great save, denying Frank Vatrano from point-blank range with just over two and a half minutes remaining in the period, keeping the game tied at zero. Skarek got tested quite a bit at the end of the period, but stood tall and maintained the deadlock into the first intermission.

Pavol Regenda threw a massive hit on Granlund to the left of the Ducks’ net early in the second period, causing a major scrum. David Desharnais got called for roughing in the aftermath, while Jacob Trouba was penalized for roughing and cross-checking. Chris Kreider almost immediately had a quality short-handed scoring chance but was denied by Skarek. A near identical situation occurred moments later, when Granlund was denied by Skarek. The Sharks were struggling to get the puck out of their zone, despite the man advantage. When the penalty expired, momentum seemed firmly in Anaheim’s favor.

Regenda got called for hooking after Timothy Liljegren misplayed Anaheim’s zone entry, and Regenda tried to make up for the out of position defender. As a result, the Ducks got another power play opportunity. This time the Ducks would capitalize, as Cutter Gauthier was able to beat Skarek about a minute into the penalty, giving Anaheim a 1-0 lead. Moments later, the Ducks’ captain Radko Gudas extended the lead with a shot from the point, making it 2-0 in favor of the team in orange. Another defensive breakdown by the Sharks allowed Vatrano to score one of his own past an outstretched Skarek, extending the lead to 3-0.

Gabriel Carriere entered the game at that point, during a planned goaltender swap. Moments later though, Regenda slashed Troy Terry, handing the Ducks another man advantage. Ten seconds into the penalty, Kreider was called for tripping off of the faceoff, nullifying the power play. Olen Zellweger tripped Philipp Kurashev with eight minutes remaining in the period, giving the Sharks a brief 5-on-3 advantage.

Pavol Regenda got the Sharks on the board, deflecting a Shakir Mukhamadullin one-timer in front of the net 13:29 into the period. Jackson LaCombe was called for a high-sticking penalty moments later, giving the Sharks another man advantage. After a couple of short-handed scoring chances, the Ducks would kill off the penalty. Killorn and Shane Bowers were given coincidental slashing penalties late in the period, causing the period to finish with 4-on-4 hockey.

Kasper Halttunen was given a high-sticking penalty on Beckett Sennecke just under three minutes into the third period. The Sharks would kill off the penalty with little issue, however they struggled mightily to clear their defensive zone after the penalty expired, eventually Shane Bowers would be able to do so though.

Desharnais would also get called for a high-sticking penalty with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation. The Sharks were struggling to create any offense in the third period, and going down a player with limited time remaining certainly didn’t help their case.

The Sharks killed off the penalty, and moments after it got back to even strength, Adam Gaudette was able to beat Ville Husso with a shot from inside the faceoff circle. Bowers was a big part of the reason the play was possible, as he helped push the puck up the ice after the Sharks had been pinned in their own zone for a while. Now, with under four minutes remaining, the Sharks just trailed by a single goal. Husso made a great pad save on Ty Dellandrea moments later, to maintain the Ducks’ lead. Husso covered up, and the Sharks pulled their goaltender for the ensuing faceoff. Cole Clayton and Mukhamadullin would both deny empty-net goals, but the Sharks ran out of time, and the Ducks walked away with a 3-2 victory at home.

The Sharks and Ducks will meet again on Wednesday at the SAP Center.

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