Rookie defenseman’s goal leads Sharks to first preseason win
Defenseman Luca Cagnoni scored at the 2:08 mark of overtime to give the San Jose Sharks a 3-2 preseason win over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday at the Honda Center.
Klim Kostin drove towards the Anaheim net and later gave the puck to the 19-year-old Cagnoni, the AHL hopeful who fired a shot past Ducks goalie Calle Clang for his first preseason goal.
Kostin had a goal and an assist, and both Danil Gushchin and Ethan Cardwell had two assists in the win, the Sharks’ first of the preseason.
Cagnoni, who turns 20 in December, led all Sharks skaters with 23:21 in ice time and has made it clear he wants to join the AHL’s Barracuda this season.
But the Sharks could also loan him back to the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, with general manager Mike Grier saying at the start of training camp that the teenage Burnaby native would have to show he’s ready for the pro ranks.
“He’s looked better every single time he’s on the ice; that’s step number one,” Sharks coach Warsofsky said of Cagnoni after Thursday’s game. “He doesn’t look out of place with his speed. Positionally wise, he needs to learn some things.
“If he’s best off playing with us and in our organization, that’s the decision we’ll make.”
Kostin scored a power-play goal with 2:41 left in regulation time to tie the game 2-2.
After taking a pass from Kasper Halttunen, Gushchin skated behind the Ducks’ net and fed it in front to Kostin, who beat Clang for his first goal.
Leo Carlsson broke a tie with a power play goal early in the third period to give the Ducks a 2-1 lead.
With Sharks forward Quentin Musty serving a hooking penalty, Carlsson took a pass from defenseman Jackson Lacombe and beat goalie Georgi Romanov with 14:39 left in the third period.
The Sharks’ first goal came from forward Tristen Robins at the 2:31 mark of the second period.
Cardwell, who has had a strong preseason, dug the puck out of the corner and got it out front to Gushchin. He slid it over to Robins, who beat Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal from in close for his first goal of the preseason.
Romanov, playing in his second exhibition game, made 22 saves in the first two periods and finished with 32 stops as the Sharks improved to 1-2-0 in the preseason. Nine of Romanov’s saves came on the penalty kill.
Warsofsky said he was impressed with many individual performances Thursday, including Romanov’s.
“He was awesome. He was tracking pucks. He just looks more of a completed goalie,” Warsofsky said of Romanov. “As far as structure, he’s not flopping. Very square to pucks, is tracking pucks. He’s trying to just be a little more calmer in the net.
“I think (Evgeni Nabokov) and Thomas Speer have done a really, really good job. If you took a video of (Romanov) from last year to this year, it’s one of the best transformations I’ve seen in goal in a long time.”
The Sharks’ next preseason game is Tuesday at home against the Utah Hockey Club.
By that time, the Sharks are expected to reduce the training camp roster to a more manageable size. The Sharks entered Thursday with 56 players in camp, including 32 forwards.