San Jose Sharks forward sends Frank Vatrano to the floor with a single blow following crosscheck
The San Jose Sharks forward Klim Kostin sent the Anaheim Ducks' top scorer Frank Vatrano to the floor in a wild incident near the benches.
Last night, the Sharks and the Ducks met on the ice for the first time of the season. Both teams made significant upgrades on their lineups, but let's start by looking at the Sharks team.
The Sharks had the opportunity to draft Macklin Celebrini as the first overall pick of the 2024 NHL draft. He played his first game in the League, but unfortunately, an injury forced him to miss last night's game against the Ducks. However, newcomers Will Smith, Tyler Toffoli, Cody Ceci, and Vitek Vanecek were all in action.
As for the Ducks, they didn't make as many additions as the Sharks did, but their young core is getting more experienced. Mason McTavish, Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, and Trevor Zegras are ready to impact their team. Unfortunately, the Ducks are having injury issues too. Their number-one goaltender, John Gibson, is away from the action after an appendectomy surgery. Lukas Dostal replaced him between the pipes for the game against the Sharks and it's safe to say that he held his own by stopping all 30 shots fired at him by San Jose.
In the Ducks' win, an incident caught our attention involving Frank Vatrano, the point leader in Anaheim during the 2023-24 NHL season. Following a career-high and team-leading 60-point tally last year, Vatrano is looking to start the new season on the right note. Last night, in the Ducks' first game of the season, he failed to score a point, but he did something else to help his team: he got into the head of his opponents.
During the game, he landed a crosscheck on Klim Kostin near the benches, and Kostin retaliated by giving him a solid punch. Vatrano ended up on the ice and both players were sent to the penalty box.
The Anaheim Ducks will be back in action tonight as they face the Golden Knights in Las Vegas.
