Poor defensive decisions and sloppy puck management wasted an analytically and territorially sound effort for the Ducks, who fell to the San Jose Sharks, 5-4, on Monday night at Honda Center.
The Ducks had won 16 of their past 19 bouts with the Sharks, including the first one this season. But they slipped for the seventh time in nine games overall and fell out of first place in the Pacific Division.
Troy Terry tallied twice for the Ducks and assisted on a goal for Cutter Gauthier, who set one up for Pavel Mintyukov. Lukáš Dostál made just five of nine saves, largely a victim of circumstance, before being replaced by Petr Mrázek. The Ducks were without captain Radko Gudas (illness), enforcer Ross Johnston (illness) and winger Frank Vatrano (shoulder).
Macklin Celebrini had a goal in addition to setting up scores by Igor Chernyshov and William Eklund for the Sharks, who took their second straight decision following a three-game slide. Alex Wennberg picked up two primary assists, on Celebrini’s goal and another by Mario Ferraro. Zack Ostapchuk tacked on a late tally that became the game-winner. Yaroslav Askarov had 38 stops in a game in which his squad was out-shot by a 42-13 margin.
“No. 71 [Celebrini] over there, and some of their forwards, if you turn over a puck and give them a chance, they capitalize,” said Terry, lamenting Monday’s weak game management. “That’s when it’s a little crushing, as a team, because you feel like you’re in control of the game.”
The two clubs that produced a baker’s dozen of goals between them in the first meeting this season, a 7-6 overtime win for the Ducks, burst forth with nine more, including three in the first period. The Ducks wedged a score between a pair of similar ones from San Jose in the opening salvo.
Nikita Nesterenko checked in for his first game since Nov. 30 and earned his first point since Nov. 19. He pressured a reluctant Askarov behind the net, creating a turnover and a gimme goal for Terry, his 11th and first in seven games.
That knotted the count at the 15:02 mark but San Jose led at the intermission off goals at 10:43 and 19:12.
First, a defensive-zone pinch by Jackson LaCombe didn’t prevent a stretch pass to Wennberg. The only defender back, Drew Helleson, overpursued Wennberg – who later drew a penalty on Helleson – allowing him to slide a centering pass across to a wide-open Ferraro. It was the blue-liner’s 100th career point and his first goal since these sides clashed on Oct. 11.
Sneaking in an extra shift, Celebrini reclaimed the lead for San Jose. Though they lost the offensive-zone faceoff, the Sharks regrouped in the neutral zone. Celebrini blew past Jacob Trouba and launched a cross-body one-timer off a saucer pass from Wennberg.
The Sharks scored four times before reaching double-digit shots for the game. They converted on their only two strikes on net in the second period, at 6:30 and 12:17, until a buzzer-beating bid by Barclay Goodrow was denied by Mrázek.
First, Beckett Sennecke’s defensive-zone turnover allowed Celebrini to find a wide open Chernyshov in front, where he waited out Dostál and lifted a backhand shot.
Celebrini later stripped Helleson near the goal line and sent the puck to Eklund for a short-side snipe, prompting a goalie change and the benching of Helleson for the third period.
Celebrini’s 60 points signified that he contributed to more than half of San Jose’s 119 total goals. Monday, he reached the 60-point plateau faster than any teenager not named Wayne Gretzky or Sidney Crosby.
The Ducks clawed back a goal in a game where the shot count favored them 26-10 through 40 minutes. Terry spun off Celebrini and let fly with a shot attempt from the top of the left circle that Gauthier redirected past Askarov for his team-leading 19th goal of the campaign, with 3:34 left in the period.
“It’s not every night you put 40-plus shots on net,” Gauthier said “But that wasn’t enough for tonight.”
Mintyukov would bring the Ducks within a goal, 3:07 into the final frame. Gauthier led the rush and centered the puck for the trailing Mintyukov, who struck from between the hashmarks.
Last season, he scored five goals in 68 games. This year, he already has five in half as many total appearances, with all of them coming in his past 14 games.
A puck that deflected off the skate of San Jose’s Sam Dickinson nailed Celebrini in the face, removing him from nearly nine minutes of the stretch run before he returned to the ice.
The Sharks didn’t register a shot for more than 12 minutes of the third period, but they sealed the Ducks’ fate with Ostapchuk’s first goal of the season off his tip of Vincent Iorio’s point shot with 6:13 to play.
With over four minutes left, the Ducks pulled their goalie and halved their deficit. LaCombe’s point shot hit Mason McTavish, who swept a backhand pass to Terry for a no-doubt goal, his 12th of 2025-26.
Even with a late power play that was spent overwhelmingly at six-on-four, the Ducks could not come up with an equalizer, losing a game where they controlled nearly every barometer except the score and save percentage.
“I don’t think it was a lack of urgency, it was just a few mistakes that cost us in a game that it felt like we were in control of,” Terry said.
*This report was compiled remotely.