San Jose Sharks, with rookies in tow, no match for Carolina Hurricanes

Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News on Oct 15, 2025

Published in Hockey

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SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks could legitimately say that they deserved to win their first two games, as they held leads late in the third period against both the Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks last week before they found a way to lose both games in overtime.

The Sharks could not make that claim against the Carolina Hurricanes. Not even close.

After a scoreless first period, the Sharks were outclassed the rest of the way, as Carolina scored three times in the second period and two more in the third in a 5-1 win at SAP Center.

After defenseman Sean Walker scored at the 1:24 mark of the second period, William Eklund responded 3:14 later, beating goalie Brandon Bussi five-hole for his first goal of the season.

The 27-year-old Bussi, though, won his first career NHL start after three-plus years in the minor leagues.

But that was it for the Sharks, who were outshot 43-17 by the Hurricanes, three nights after they allowed 44 shots in their 7-6 overtime loss to the Ducks.

Michael Misa, 18, made his NHL debut Tuesday. With Misa, Macklin Celebrini, and Sam Dickinson, Tuesday’s game marked the first time San Jose has had three teenagers in the lineup since Jan. 15, 1998, when 18-year-old Patrick Marleau, Marco Sturm, and Andrei Zyuzin, both 19, played against the Colorado Avalanche.

Misa and Dickinson had a few challenging moments.

The Sharks’ next game is Friday in Salt Lake City against the Utah Mammoth.

Other observations from Tuesday:

Special teams

The Sharks were going to have a hard time beating the Hurricanes if their power play didn’t contribute, and they went 0-for-5.

San Jose had three power plays in the first period, and both Will Smith and Tyler Toffoli had terrific chances but were unable to beat Bussi. The Sharks also failed to capitalize on a second-period man advantage and managed just four shots in 7:23 of power-play time through two periods.

The Hurricanes had the NHL’s best penalty kill last season at 83.6% and were 4-for-5 in their first two games this season in wins over the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers.

The Sharks were 3-for-8 on the power play in their first two games this season.

Nedeljkovic’s night

Perhaps no one on the Sharks roster needed to have a good night more than goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, whose puck mishaps last Thursday led directly to the Sharks’ overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Nedeljkovic was good in the first period, stopping all 15 shots he faced. But the Hurricanes turned it up a notch and scored three times in the second, with the first at the 1:24 mark, as Nedeljkovic appeared to be screened on a shot by Sean Walker from inside the blue line.

The Hurricanes’ second goal came after a 2-on-1, as defenseman Alexander Nikishin took a pass from Jordan Martinook and put a shot off the post. Sam Dickinson, who was caught a bit deep in the Hurricanes’ zone, helping to set up the odd-man rush, got back and tried to shovel the loose puck under Nedeljkovic, but William Carrier crashed the crease and poked the puck over the goal line at the 14:14 mark of the second period.

Nedeljkovic probably needed to have Carolina’s third goal. Eric Robinson got in alone after taking a pass from defenseman Mike Reilly and beat Nedeljkovic five-hole with a backhand shot with 1:21 left in the second period.

Carolina made it 4-1 on another odd-man rush, with Shayne Gostisbehere, who had beaten Michael Misa down the ice, finishing a nice passing sequence involving Logan Stankhoven and Taylor Hall.