The Shark Tank is back. The beloved venue once revered as one of the NHL’s greatest home-ice advantages appears to be finding its groove once more.<\/p>\n
San Jose’s thrilling 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks<\/a> on Friday at SAP Center marked the seventh victory on home ice in November, tying a franchise record for most home wins in a calendar month. It’s the sixth time the Sharks have accomplished this feat, with the last occurrence coming in November 2019.<\/p>\n Will Smith, William Eklund and Adam Gauddette each scored a goal while Yaroslav Askarov delivered yet another scintillating performance in net to put the Sharks at 27 points through 25 games of the 2025-26 NHL season.<\/p>\n The Sharks will finish the month with a 7-1-1 record at SAP Center, racking up wins against quality teams like the Colorado Avalanche<\/a>, Winnipeg Jets<\/a>, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers<\/a> and Los Angeles Kings. Their only two losses over that span came in close contests, a 3-2 defeat to the Ottawa Senators and a 3-2 shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings.<\/p>\n Askarov has been at the forefront of San Jose’s incredible form on home ice, posting a 6-0-0 record at the Tank while allowing just 1.83 goals per game this month. That continued Friday with another dominant showing as Askarov recorded 32 saves in the win, including a couple of key stops in the game’s final minute to secure the win for Team Teal.<\/p>\n Askarov’s November currently places him among the NHL’s best netminders this month, ranking second in games played (10) tied for first in wins (eight), eighth in goals against average (1.88) and fourth in save percentage (.947). Askarov’s eight wins in November tied Evgeni Nabokov’s franchise record for most wins by a rookie in a calendar month. <\/p>\n The 23-year-old’s trademarked jubilance was on full display at the end of Friday’s win over the Canucks, as Askarov made sure to show some love to the 17,435 fans who packed the house for the Sharks’ third consecutive sellout.<\/p>\n “Appreciate you guys, thank you again,” Askarov said during his postgame interview with NBC Sports California’s Tara Sloane. “You’re the best again. Let’s go Sharks!”<\/p>\n While Askarov and the home crowd are paramount to the outcome of Friday’s game, the story cannot be told without an emphasized focus on the heroic play of the Sharks’ special teams.<\/p>\n Two of the Sharks’ three goals came on power plays, with both serving as crucial equalizers that got San Jose back into the game after trailing.<\/p>\n Smith tied things at 1-1 with 10:35 left in the first period after Alex Wennberg put the puck on a silver platter as the 20-year-old lurked unmarked on the weak side of the net.<\/p>\n Eklund then followed that up with a screamer of a one-timer to bring the Sharks even at 2-2 with 5:58 remaining in the second period.<\/p>\n After the win, Eklund highlighted the Sharks’ improved effort at retrieving pucks during their spells of advantage, leading to more shots on net and a pair of key goal conversions against the Canucks.<\/p>\n “Good power plays, they shoot a lot of pucks and get a lot of chances out of that,” Eklund told reporters. “I think we’ve been better at retrieving pucks after we shoot and helping out with each other and that’s why we scored on the power play.”<\/p>\n While the power play served a crucial role, it was San Jose’s penalty kill that was flawless in the 3-2 victory. The Sharks killed all nine of the Canucks’ power plays, including a hectic final minute in the third period where Vancouver had six skaters to San Jose’s four after going with an empty net in pursuit of a game-tying goal.<\/p>\n The Sharks are 8-4-3 on home ice this season, a far cry from last season when San Jose didn’t log its eighth win at SAP Center until January. <\/p>\n After years of SAP Center serving as a playground for visiting teams, a trip to San Jose once again is one that opponents will have to respect, and dare I say even fear? <\/p>\n Exactly the way it ought to be.<\/p>\n