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

Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News on Dec 2, 2025

Published in Hockey

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SAN JOSE – It figured to be Tyler Toffoli’s night on Monday, as the San Jose Sharks winger scored twice to snap a 12-game goal drought and had his first four-point game 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 6-3 win over the Utah Mammoth at SAP Center.

Toffoli scored twice in the first period, with his second at the 12:59 mark right after a faceoff, to snap a goal drought that dated back to the Sharks’ Nov 5 game against the Seattle Kraken.

Toffoli then assisted on a Smith goal at the 6:16 mark of the second period that brought the sparse but lively home crowd of 11,241 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 4-2 lead.

Smith added another goal at the 9:09 mark of the second, again off an assist from Toffoli, as the Sharks scored three times in a span of 2:53 to take a 6-2 lead into the third period.

Celebrini had three assists to give him 40 points on the season, second-most in the NHL behind Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon, and goalie Yaroslav Askarov had 31 saves as the Sharks won for the fifth time in nine games.

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. 11, 2022, when he was with the Anaheim Ducks, came on the power play at the 7:58 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 2-0 Sharks lead.

Vejmelka was pulled after Toffoli scored his second of the game at the 12:59 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 team placed defenseman Vincent Desharnais on injured reserve.

Regenda’s game on Monday was his first in the NHL since March 17, 2024.

Mammoth defenseman Mikhail Sergachev was booed all game by the Sharks fans in attendance on Monday.

Before the game, the Sharks honored their longtime mascot, S.J. Sharkie, who was recently named the NHL’s Mascot of the Year for 2025. 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 game against the Capitals, eight of the Sharks’ next 10 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 13 games are on the road, including a five-game trip through Dallas, Carolina, Philadelphia, Toronto and Pittsburgh.

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