TLDR: The Sharks opened the year with an overtime win and a building that was loud from start to finish. The Kings visit SAP Center on Saturday, October 3, to see whether that was a real start or 1 good night.
The Sharks opened with a 4-3 overtime win over Florida behind 3 assists from new captain Macklin Celebrini, 2 goals from Will Smith and Luca Cagnoni's first NHL goal. The Kings visit San Jose for the second game of a season-opening road trip, with Panarin, Kempe and Doughty leading the way and Kevin Fiala on injured reserve. The game comes down to whether San Jose's young top end can outweigh a veteran Kings roster while the Sharks are missing much of their forward depth.
+Celebrini had 3 assists in his first game as captain
+Will Smith scored twice, including on the power play
+Opening-night crowd gave them a real home edge
−Lund, Musty, Giles, Gaudette all on injured reserve
−Keyser out takes away goalie depth
−Needed overtime to finish off Florida
San Jose's opener against Florida was a coming-out party for the kids. Macklin Celebrini played his first game as captain, after being named on Sept. 25 as the youngest active captain in the league, and he set up 3 goals. Will Smith scored twice in the second period, 1 short-handed and 1 on the power play, and both came off Celebrini assists. Luca Cagnoni then ended it at 3:14 of overtime with his first NHL goal. A 4-3 win over the Panthers is a statement, even in game 1.
Los Angeles comes in with a veteran roster. Artemi Panarin, Adrian Kempe, Quinton Byfield and Drew Doughty lead the group, and Corey Perry and Mats Zuccarello add more experience up front. Kevin Fiala is the notable absence, still on injured reserve, so the Kings will be leaning on Panarin and Kempe for skill. In goal, the opening-night roster carries Darcy Kuemper and Anton Forsberg. Neither club has posted a board for this game yet.
The Kings started the season on the road in Colorado, a rematch of last spring's playoff series. San Jose is their second stop before they head home for the opener at Crypto.com Arena against Florida on Oct. 6. That makes Saturday the second game of a road start, against a Sharks team that has already had a sold-out building behind it once this week.
For San Jose, the issue is how many young players can keep producing like that. Mason Marchment scored in his Sharks debut, so the depth chipped in on opening night. But the injury list behind that lineup is long, and almost all of it sits in the bottom half of the roster, which is where the Kings like to grind teams down.
Cam Lund, Quentin Musty, Patrick Giles and Adam Gaudette all start the year on injured reserve with upper-body injuries, along with Alex Barre-Boulet. Kyle Keyser's absence takes a body out of the goaltending depth. That puts extra weight on Celebrini and Smith to carry the scoring, against a Los Angeles group built to make every shift heavy. Puck drop is 7:00 PM PT.
Celebrini's Sharks host the Kings in an early California grudge match | Polymarket Odds · Barstool Bush
