Orlov, Sharks recover, get past slumping Mammoth in shootout

SALT LAKE CITY -- Dmitry Orlov had a goal and three assists for the San Jose Sharks, who recovered after allowing the tying goal late in the third period and defeated the Utah Mammoth 6-5 in the shootout at Delta Center on Saturday.

“It's huge,” Orlov said. “We were down again. It's a tough time, but we found a way to win, and it's good for us, good for our locker room. I think 5-on-5, we did a good job today. Better job I would say.”

Orlov tied a career high with four points.

“He's starting to stack some games together, and that's what a veteran does,” San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “He understands. He's accountable to it. He knew it. I talked to him about it. We needed to play better, and his game's starting to come.”

Tyler Toffoli had a goal and an assist, and Adam Gaudette, Zack Ostapchuk and Eric Pohlkamp also scored for the Sharks (9-11-2), who had lost six of their previous seven games (1-5-1). Yaroslav Askarov made 27 saves, and Macklin Celebrini and Mason Marchment scored in the five-round shootout.

Zac Jones scored twice, Mikhail Sergachev had a goal and an assist, and Kailer Yamamoto had three assists for the Mammoth (10-8-3), who have lost five in a row (0-2-3). Clayton Keller added two assists, and Karel Vejmelka made 16 saves.

“I think our guys worked really hard. We achieved, we showed character, and we came back,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “It's frustrating. We have nothing to show for (it). It's not a league of moral victory.”

After Orlov gave the Sharks a 5-4 lead at 14:17 of the third period with a shot from above the left circle that sailed over the glove of Vejmelka, Barrett Hayton tied it 5-5 on the power play at 16:22 by redirecting a Yamamoto pass in front.

Jones had made it 1-0 for Utah at 2:15 of the first period, tapping in a feed from Yamamoto at the back door for the defenseman’s first goal with the Mammoth.

Sergachev scored a power-play goal at 8:53 when his wrist shot from the slot went in off of Askarov with the goalie screened to make it 2-0.

Toffoli cut it to 2-1 on the power play at 11:35, stuffing in his own rebound at the left post.

Jones scored again at 12:40 when his slap shot from the point trickled through Askarov to give the Mammoth a 3-1 lead. The original call on the ice was no goal, but The Situation Room initiated a video review and deemed that the puck entered the net as the culmination of a continuous play.

It was Jones’ first multigoal game in the NHL (117 career games).

“I feel good. Obviously, I mean, not just the offensive part of the game,” Jones said. “I felt like I controlled the puck well, defended well, and now I'm just going to take it and learn from it, and then hopefully take it in the next game.”

Will Smith had a goal overturned for the Sharks at 59 seconds of the second period after the Mammoth challenged for offside.

San Jose then tied the game with two goals in six seconds.

Gaudette made it 3-2 on the power play at 3:07 by tipping in a point shot from Orlov for his first goal of the season, and Ostapchuk tied it 3-3 at 3:13, beating Vejmelka on a rush up the middle following the ensuing face-off.

The two goals were the fastest in Sharks history and the fastest by any team since the Montreal Canadiens scored twice in six seconds in a 4-3 win at the Nashville Predators on March 5, 2024.

“It was a big win,” Gaudette said. “Battled some adversity out there and did a lot of things that we've been trying to improve on and looking to do in order to win games. It's starting to come together here, and we just have to keep our foot on the gas pedal and keep chugging away.”

Jack McBain gave the Mammoth a 4-3 lead at 8:59, scoring on a one-timer from the right circle.

Sergachev looked to have scored at 10:27, but the goal was disallowed due to goaltender interference. Utah challenged the call, but the ruling on the ice was confirmed after video review.

Pohlkamp tied it 4-4 at 5:23 of the third period with his first NHL goal. Following a Mammoth turnover near the offensive blue line, Celebrini fed him for a wrist shot from the top of the slot past the glove.

“I saw (Celebrini) delay in there a little bit, thought I could get in the rush,” Pohlkamp said of the goal in his sixth NHL game. “I think (Ivar Stenberg) was off to my right, so I just tried to fill lanes and had a good play to me.”

NOTES: San Jose earned its fourth third-period comeback win this season, tying the Boston Bruins for the most in the NHL. … The Sharks went to the shootout for a third straight game; they defeated the New York Islanders 3-2 on Monday and lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Wednesday, both at home.