Sharks blast Utah as Toffoli snaps drought, Smith scores highlight-reel goal

SAN JOSE It figured to be Tyler Toffoli s night on Monday as the San Jose Sharks winger scored twice to snap a -game goal drought and had his first four-point competition in almost two seasons But Toffoli had to share the spotlight with one of his linemates as Will Smith scored one of the prettiest goals of the season and also finished with four points to help the Sharks earn a - win over the Utah Mammoth at SAP Center Toffoli scored twice in the first period with his second at the mark right after a faceoff to snap a goal drought that dated back to the Sharks Nov competition against the Seattle Kraken Toffoli then assisted on a Smith goal at the mark of the second period that brought the sparse but lively home crowd of to its feet Smith took a pass from Macklin Celebrini in the Utah zone put the puck through the legs of Mammoth defenseman Nate Schmidt stickhandled around forward Brandon Tanev who fell down on the play then fired a shot past screened goalie Vitek Vanecek to give the Sharks a - lead Smith added another goal at the mark of the second again off an assist from Toffoli as the Sharks scored three times in a span of to take a - lead into the third period Celebrini had three assists to give him points on the season second-most in the NHL behind Colorado s Nathan MacKinnon and goalie Yaroslav Askarov had saves as the Sharks won for the fifth time in nine games Will Smith with particular sick mitts and he puts it past Vanecek All we can is EWWWW What a goal TheFutureIsTeal TusksUp pic twitter com ZZ IZzABZ TEAL TOWN USA A San Jose Sharks Podcast TEALTOWNUSA December Adam Gaudette and Pavol Regenda who made his Sharks debut on Monday also scored for San Jose which next hosts Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night to close out a two-game homestand Regenda s goal his first in the NHL since Nov when he was with the Anaheim Ducks came on the power play at the mark of the first period A shot by Philipp Kurashev from the half-wall went off Regenda s skate and past Utah starting goalie Karel Vejmelka for a - Sharks lead Vejmelka was pulled after Toffoli scored his second of the challenge at the mark of the first Regenda now in his second season in the Sharks organization after he was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in January was recalled from the Barracuda of the AHL on Monday after the gang placed defenseman Vincent Desharnais on injured reserve Regenda s competition on Monday was his first in the NHL since March Related Articles NHL to act after selected Sharks Senators players violate helmet rule With Sharks Desharnais now on IR why was Regenda the one promoted from AHL Sharks in playoff mix after impressive month but is there trouble ahead Smith Celebrini have milestone games but Sharks comeback in Vegas falls short Sharks special teams shine in penalty-filled win over Vancouver Canucks Mammoth defenseman Mikhail Sergachev was booed all tournament by the Sharks fans in attendance on Monday Before the contest the Sharks honored their longtime mascot S J Sharkie who was in the past few days named the NHL s Mascot of the Year for Sharkie dropped the ceremonial first puck at center ice between Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro and Sergachev Ferraro shook Sharkie s hand but Sergachev skated off as Sharkie extended his hand leaving him hanging Sergachev was then booed inside SAP Center every time he touched the puck The Sharks are embarking on another challenging part of their schedule Starting with Wednesday s home battle against the Capitals eight of the Sharks next games before the Christmas break are against teams that as of Monday were in a playoff position The Sharks do not play any games on back-to-back nights this month but eight of their next games are on the road including a five-game trip through Dallas Carolina Philadelphia Toronto and Pittsburgh