Askarov stands tall (again) as Sharks finish homestand with impressive win

SAN JOSE Shakir Mukhamadullin and Macklin Celebrini both had goals in the first two periods and goalie Yaroslav Askarov made saves as the San Jose Sharks earned a - win over the Boston Bruins on Sunday to close out a four-game homestand Mukhamadullin scored his first goal of the season at the mark of the first period and Celebrini added his th at the mark of the second on a power play as the Sharks took a - lead The Bruins got one goal back at the mark of the third as Morgan Geekie scored his th of the season in front of the Sharks net off a pass from David Pastrnak Collin Graf iced the win for the Sharks with an empty-net goal with to play Askarov didn t have a chance on that play and had eight saves in the third period as the Sharks finished their homestand with a - - record Askarov made saves through two periods including one on a one-timer by Pastrnak midway through the second period Askarov entered Sunday as one of the hottest goalies in the NHL In seven starts this month Askarov was - - and his save percentage was second-best among all NHL goalies who have started at least seven games Askarov was coming off a -save performance in the Sharks - shootout win over the Los Angeles Kings Askarov also made saves in San Jose s - overtime win over the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday to open the homestand The Sharks were looking to bounce back after a - loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday when coach Ryan Warsofsky lamented his organization s lack of complete battle-level and attention to detail San Jose held a - lead late in the second period but a poor line change helped lead to a goal by Senators winger Fabian Zetterlund and a defensive breakdown late in the third allowed Tim Stutzle to amount the go-ahead goal handing the Sharks their third loss in five games The Sharks tweaked their forward lines for Sunday s meeting William Eklund was moved to the top line alongside Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith and Philipp Kurashev slid to the second line with Alexander Wennberg who played his th contest with the Sharks on Sunday and Tyler Toffoli Playing on back-to-back days Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky also sought to get fresh legs into the lineup as rookie Sam Dickinson entered the lineup for Sam Klingberg But it was clear too that Warsofsky thought Klingberg s miscue led to Stutzle s goal on Saturday We don t scan well enough as a defense we don t read it Warsofsky commented Sunday It s a quick championship So we ve got to be able to read it hastily Again the change isn t ideal but it s a - - neutral-zone forecheck We should be able to defend that pretty easily