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 to help him earn his first four-point game in almost two seasons.
But Toffoli shared 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.
All that mattered to Toffoli, though, was winning, and the Sharks are now 8-5-0 since that game in Seattle.
“I knew I was going to score a goal at some point,” Toffoli said with a smile. “It’s a hard league to score in, and sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t, and all you can do is just keep going and coming to the rink every day. Fortunate that we were winning some games and I didn’t feel as much pressure as maybe I would have.”
Toffoli’s two goals gave him 297 for his career, and he’s had three straight seasons with 30 or more goals. Now in the second year of a four-year, $24 million contract that makes him the Sharks’ highest-paid forward on the active roster, he knows there is an expectation for him to produce.
“At the end of the day, that’s what I get paid to do, is score goals, and definitely feel a little bit of pressure,” Toffoli said. “But at the same time, if we’re winning games, it allows me to try and relax a little bit more. I don’t know how many games (the goal drought) was, but I don’t think one guy in the room said anything to me about it, or if they’re scared to.”
“Yeah, we weren’t too worried about him,” Smith said of Toffoli.
Toffoli assisted on Smith’s first 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 on the play, then fired a shot past screened goalie Vitek Vanecek to give the Sharks a 4-2 lead.
“It happened quick,” Smith said of the goal. “I just remember (Celebrini) dropping it to me, and then I just had to make up my mind quick, and tried to get it on net, and luckily it went five-hole.”
Will Smith with some sick mitts and he puts it past Vanecek. All we can is… EWWWW! What a goal!#TheFutureIsTeal 4, #TusksUp 2 pic.twitter.com/ZZ5IZzABZ6
— TEAL TOWN USA – A San Jose Sharks Podcast (@TEALTOWNUSA) December 2, 2025
Asked what he saw on Smith’s goal, Toffoli joked, “that I was wide open.”
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.
Smith now has five goals in three games and 12 in 27 games this season. He had 18 in 74 games last season.
“Trying to shoot a lot,” Smith said, ‘Just trying to get pucks on net and then see what happens.”
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. There were times since then when he wondered if he’d get another shot to play in the league.
“It’s hard to get in this league,” Regenda said. “Just kept working, and hopefully I can stay here. That’s my goal every day, just prove that I belong here and enjoy every moment I’m here.”
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.
Toffolin said Sergachev had the right idea, guessing that Sharkie was going to “give him the ‘too cool,’ so I think he made the right decision, to be honest.”
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.
San Jose Sharks forward Ty Dellandrea (10) tries to deflect the puck past Utah Mammoth goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) during the third period of their game on Monday, Dec.1, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks forward Ty Dellandrea (10) works the puck past Utah Mammoth defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (98) during the first period of their game on Monday, Dec.1, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks forward Adam Gaudette celebrates his second period goal against the Utah Mammoth during their game on Monday, Dec.1, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks forward Adam Gaudette (81) scores a second period goal against the Utah Mammoth during their game on Monday, Dec.1, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) makes a save on Utah Mammoth forward Kailer Yamamoto (56) during the second period of their game on Monday, Dec.1, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks forward Pavol Regenda (84) skates past Utah Mammoth forward Lawson Crouse (67) during their game on Monday, Dec.1, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks forward Pavol Regenda (84) shoots the puck as he is defended by Utah Mammoth forward Lawson Crouse (67) during their game on Monday, Dec.1, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini (71) battles Utah Mammoth defenseman Nate Schmidt (88) for the puck during the first period of their game on Monday, Dec.1, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks forward Collin Graf (51) shoots the puck while being defended by Utah Mammoth’s Mikhail Sergachev (98) during the first period of their game on Monday, Dec.1, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks forward William Eklund (72) battles for the puck against Utah Mammoth forward Logan Cooley (92) during the first period of their game on Monday, Dec.1, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks forward Tyler Toffoli (75) skates for the puck against Utah Mammoth forwards Nick Schmaltz (8) and Logan Cooley during the first period of their game on Monday, Dec.1, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks forward Tyler Toffoli (73) celebrates his goal with teammate Macklin Celebrini (71) during the first period of their game against the Utah Mammoth on Monday, Dec.1, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks players Alexander Wennberg (21), and Ryan Reaves (75) skate by teammate Collin Graf (51) without their helmets during warmups before their game against the Utah Mammoth on Monday, Dec.1, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
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San Jose Sharks forward Ty Dellandrea (10) tries to deflect the puck past Utah Mammoth goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) during the third period of their game on Monday, Dec.1, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)