Askarov makes 29 saves in highly-anticipated Sharks debut, but SJ falls in shootout to Blues

Goalie Yaroslav Askarov made 29 saves, but the St. Louis Blues spoiled his highly-anticipated Sharks debut by handing San Jose a 3-2 shootout loss on Thursday night.

Askarov steadied himself after allowing a goal 11 seconds into the game and turned away the first two shots in the shootout, but Jake Neighbours scored on the Blues’ third attempt. San Jose failed to convert any of its three shootout attempts at Enterprise Center.

Askarov, the Sharks’ top goalie prospect, was recalled from the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL on Monday and backed up No. 1 goalie Mackenzie Blackwood in games this week against the Detroit Red Wings and Dallas Stars.

The Blues scored on the first shot they took against Askarov, with Nathan Walker slipping a wrist shot into the back of the net 11 seconds into the game.

San Jose (6-11-5) never led, but Alexander Wennberg tied the game twice: with 8.8 seconds remaining in the third period to send the game into overtime, and about eight minutes after the Blues’ first goal. Askarov shook off the quick goal, stopping  the next 16 shots before Jordan Kyrou scored on a tip-in midway through the second period.

St. Louis (9-11-1) entered the game averaging the third-fewest shot attempts per game in the NHL (26), but came out firing against the rookie. Their 31 shots were tied for the second-most this season. The Blues’ season-high is the 40 they took against Blackwood in a 5-4 overtime win over the Sharks in San Jose last in early October.

In perhaps the Sharks’ biggest trade this summer, Askarov, 22, was acquired from the Nashville Predators in August in a deal involving three other players and two draft picks.

Thursday’s game was Askarov’s first in the NHL since Dec. 30, 2023, when he made 27 saves to help the Predators earn a 3-2 shootout win over the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena. In three career NHL games, Askarov has a 1-1-0 record with a .914 save percentage.

“Talented kid,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Askarov earlier this week. “Excited to see him.”

Askarov is getting a chance right now with goalie Vitek Vanecek day-to-day with an upper-body injury he sustained last Saturday against the Penguins.
Vanecek practiced Wednesday in Dallas, but it’s unclear if he’ll be available on Saturday when the Sharks host Buffalo.

The Sharks were looking to bounce back from their 5-2 loss to the Stars on Wednesday, in which they fell behind by two goals in the second period and never fully recovered. Although they created a handful of quality scoring chances, turnovers and poor breakouts doomed the Sharks as they lost in regulation for the second time in six games.

Jordan Binnington denied all three San Jose Sharks in the shootout, bouncing back from Wennberg’s last-second heroics to notch his 151st career victory and tie Mike Liut’s franchise record.

Mikael Granlund and Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL draft, assisted both of Wennberg’s goals.

Jordan Kyrou and Nathan Walker scored in regulation for the Blues, who won for just the second time in their last nine games. Walker scored 11 seconds into the game after Radek Faksa intercepted a pass from Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov.

Kyrou, sandwiched between Granlund and Timothy Liljegren at the top of the crease, jammed home a pass from Pierre-Olivier Joseph for his sixth goal of the season with 8:13 left in the second.

Binnington had 22 saves in the win.

Check back for more on this developing story.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.