The Sharks hit the road for the first of 5 game away from SAP Center on Tuesday night with a stop in Vancouver. The wilting Canucks put up a fight for a minute then fell to a quicker Sharks roster that is fighting to stay in the Western Conference playoff race with San Jose taking the 5-2 decision.

The New York Rangers season hasn't gone as planned this season. After opening the season with a winless skid at home that extended through their first 8 games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers have struggled to turn their season around. Their 16-11-2 road record has been the only thing positive for them this season, but even that was tarnished on Friday night as the Sharks made three 1st period goals stand up in a 3-1 win at SAP Center.

After getting pasted by the Tampa Bay Lightning back on January 3rd, the Sharks were intent on cleaning up their defensive play as the two teams locked horns in St Petersberg on Monday night. San Jose played a more organized game, but in the end Tampa Bay had too much against the road weary Sharks. Brandon Hagel scored a pair of goals to lead the Lightning to a 4-1 win at Benchmark International Arena in St Petersberg.

The Sharks hit South Florida on the Martin Luther King Jr holiday with entertaining game against the Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena. San Jose threw a haymaker with a 3-goal 2nd period, then the game was filled with haymakers as San Jose swept the Panthers in the season series. The game was accentuated by a rare goaltender fight that offered fans a little of everything in the Sharks 4-1 win.

The Sharks had little time to celebrate their win over the Washington Capitals on Thursday as the schedule maker had them square off against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena 24 hours after the victory. Detroit last played on Tuesday and had the rested legs in the contest. If tired legs equate to turnovers, then the Shark's tired legs were on full display. Detroit broke a 2-2 tie in the 3rd period with a standard and empty net goal to take a 4-2 decision.

Back on December 3, the Washington Capitals stormed into SAP Center and bum rushed the Sharks in a 7-1 white washing. The Sharks had a chance to return the favor on Thursday night as they kicked a 4- game road trip that is the start of 9 of their next 10 games on the road before the Olympic break. The Sharks did a little bum rushing of their own in the 2nd period by scoring 3 goals in a 2:40 span. They would hold on during a wild final 3 minutes of the game to win 3-2.

Since entering the NHL in 2017 the Vegas Golden Knights have gone 30-6-5 against the Sharks in the regular season. Their entry coincided with the end of the Sharks long playoff run in the NHL so there is a reason Vegas has had such an advantage. This season, Vegas already held a 3-0 record entering play on Sunday. The Golden Knights can increment all those totals by another win after they handed San Jose another lop-sided beat defeat at SAP Center.

The Dallas Stars came calling on Saturday afternoon at SAP Center after already beating the sharks twice this season. With the season series wrapped up back in December, Dallas came to town looking for point to hang in the race for the best record in the Western Conference. The Sharks had other ideas. San Jose would battle back from another 3rd period deficit to get the game to overtime where Tyler Toffoli cranked a shot on the power play to take a 5-4 victory.

The Sharks squared off with the Los Angeles Kings for the third and final time of the regular season on Wednesday night in Southern California. The two teams played a back and forth game was tied the majority of the contest. A late Kings goal looked as if the Sharks would fall short, but a Macklin Celebrini goal with 67 seconds left in regulation helped get the Sharks to the extra period when William Eklund ended things in overtime.

San Jose shook off the thumping they took from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday with a rebound win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at SAP Center on Tuesday night. Alex Nedeljkovic made his first start since December 18th and responded with a 34 save performance to lead the Sharks to a 5-2 win. San Jose had to fend off a determined Blue Jackets team who pulled to within a goal with 4 minutes to play.

The Tampa Bay Lightning came to SAP Center on Saturday afternoon and figured out how to stop the Sharks. Taking runs at Macklin Celebrini all game, the Lightning shifted the Sharks focus from playing hockey and it resulted in a 7-3 Lightning victory. After opening the game with 3 straight 1st period goals, Tampa Bay continued to lay the body on Celebrini as much as possible and the Sharks took the bait. The Sharks would respond with a parade to the penalty box in the 2nd period that resulted in 3 Lightning power play goals to put the game out of reach.

Sharks fans now are reaping a benefit that can only make the rest of the league nervous: our young players are getting better and better, especially forward Macklin Celebrini and players like forward Will Smith and goaltender Yaroslav Askarov. We watch this teenager, Celebrini, a first overall draft pick in 2024, get points on the board, game after game after game.

The Sharks returned from the Christmas break on Saturday night and got back into the win column by defeating the Vancouver Canucks 6-3 at Rogers Arena. The Sharks had a pesky Canucks team nipping at their heels all night, but a 3-goal 3rd period helped propel San Jose to their 8th road win of the season, which matches their total for all of the 2024-25 season.

The Sharks wrapped up their 3-game home stand with a flat 4-2 loss to the doormat Seattle Kraken at SAP Center on Saturday night. Fueled by a trade 24 hours earlier, the Kraken had won only once in their last 10 games and with the underachievement this season, Seattle needed something to get things back on track. The Sharks obliged by playing a disconnected game that turned upside down in a pivotal 3rd period.

After completing their successful 3-2-0 road trip and securing 6 of 10 points, the Sharks returned home to take on the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night. Skating for the first time since Will Smith and Philipp Kurashev were placed on the injured reserve, San Jose leveraged a pair of Barclay Goodrow goals and a 4-point night from Macklin Celebrini to beat the Flames 6-3.

There are comebacks in sports, then there was the Sharks comeback over the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday afternoon. Trailing 5-1 with 14:35 left to play in regulation, San Jose staged one of the greatest comebacks in team history. The Sharks would score 4 goals in the 3rd period to get the game to overtime before John Klingberg scored in overtime to propel the Sharks to an epic 6-5 win to end their 5-game road trip.

Losing leads in the 3rd period was the Sharks thing last season. They would turn the tables on the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night by tying the game with a late 3rd period goal, then winning it overtime on Alex Wennberg's goal and 3rd point of the night. It was a Swedish affair in the overtime when Wennberg and William Eklund steamed up ice on a 2-on-1 break. Wennberg pumped a shot on goaltender Dennis Hildeby, then Wennberg tipped home the rebound to give the Sharks an exciting 3-2 win.

Trudging through a 5-game road trip can be an arduous task, but when you're a professional athlete you have to figure out how to manage the stresses of long periods away from home. After one of their best performances in Carolina on Sunday, the Sharks looked like they were a tired team, skating through tar on Tuesday night as they dropped a 4-1 decision to the host Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

The Sharks made a stop in Raleigh, North Carolina on Sunday to take on the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center in an attempt to avenge their tough 5-1 loss on October 14th. Carolina has been a house of horrors for San Jose, but the newly invigorated Sharks lineup shocked the Eastern Conference's 2nd ranked team 4-1.

Making what was likely his last visit to SAP Center as an NHL player, Alexander Ovechkin said farewell to a crowd predominantly donning Washington Capitals jerseys by scoring a pair of goals as the visiting club from D.C. pummeled the Sharks in a 7-1 route on Wednesday night. Ovechkin scored the 1st and 5th goals for the Capitals, who converted 4 times in the opening period to put the game out of reach early. The loss was the worst of the season for San Jose, who lost 6-0 to Colorado two weeks ago.

And, welcome back. It's a new season in many ways. Although the Sharks' finish last season was twenty-five points below awful, 2025-26 is looking absolutely respectable. Most of the league is bumbling around the 0.500 mark, and the Sharks fit right into that mediocre mix. Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith are the players the Sharks hoped they would be, and the young cast they are building around them generally makes the games exciting. A Tuesday night at the Tank isn't the disappointment that it was the last few years, and the seats being half to three quarters full is a good sign.

The Sharks and Utah Mammoth completed their regular season series with a barn burner at SAP Center on Monday night. With each team having taken a win in the series, the rubber match was an exhibition in offense. Powered by 3 goals in each of the first two periods, San Jose bum rushed the Mammoth to take a 6-3 win to open the month of December.

Back on October 10th, the Sharks opened the season and had a chance to shock everyone with an opening night win over the Vegas Golden Knights. They didn't, losing in heart-breaking fashion after holding a 3rd period lead. They traveled to Sin City on Saturday night with a chance to get a win back. They were forced to battle back from a 4-1 deficit, but would fall 4-3 in regulation.

San Jose got back to work the day after Thanksgiving with a matinee affair with the Vancouver Canucks at SAP Center on Friday. The Sharks came back from a 2-1 deficit with a pair of 2nd period goals, then held off a flurry of crazy penalties late in the game to win 3-2. Yaroslav Askarov made 32 saves to earn his 9th win of the season.

When the Sharks beat the Colorado Avalanche on November 1st, it established the last time Colorado has lost this season. That was more than 3 weeks ago, and Colorado didn't forget what the Sharks were capable of. So they took that motivation and let San Jose know why they are the best team in the NHL. When the smoke cleared, Colorado handed the Sharks a good old fashioned spanking in a 6-0 win in Denver on Wednesday night.

The Sharks were not happy with their performance against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, but a quick turnaround seemed like a tall task against a Boston Bruins club that had an extra day of rest on the Sharks. San Jose did an about face in performance and attitude, beating the Bruins 3-1 at SAP Center on Sunday night. Shakir Mukhamadullin, Maclkin Celebrini and Collin Graf all scored to lead San Jose.

When the Sharks traded Fabian Zetterlund last March, there was obvious resentment by their former winger following the transaction. Zetterlund returned to San Jose on Saturday night nad got his revenge, scoring a goal to tie the game before Tim Stutzle scored a 3rd period goal to help the Ottawa Senators beat San Jose before their first sellout crowd of the season.

Building off their overtime win over Utah on Tuesday, the Sharks had to play extra hockey on Thursday night, but the outcome was the same. San Jose overcame a late tying goal by the Los Angeles Kings to win the game in the shootout. Philipp Kurashev scored a goal in regulation and the only goal in the shootout to help pace San Jose who have won 7 games in 10 tries in the month of November.

The Utah Mammoth came to town on Tuesday night fresh off a 2-1 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks. After giving up a late lead in Anaheim, the Mammoth had the recipe for a comeback win except Macklin Celebrini got in the way. The Sharks budding superstar recorded his 3rd career hat trick, capped by an overtime power play goal that helped San Jose fend off a fatigued but feisty Mammoth team.

The Sharks wrapped up their 3-game road trip on Saturday in Seattle with a better effort than what they exhibited in Calgary 48 hours earlier. The outcome was the same however, as San Jose tripped on their chances and let the host Kraken take a 4-1 decision at Climate Pledge Arena in Washington State.

With all the positives that the Sharks have been nailing the past three weeks, they were probably bound to have a letdown sooner or later. That happened on Thursday night, as San Jose dropped a 2-0 decision to the worst team in the league in the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Gilroy native Dustin Wolf stopped all 16 shots he faced to snap the Flames 2- game losing streak.

The Sharks took their 3-game winning streak on the road for the first of four games away from SAP Center on Tuesday night. San Jose made a stop in St Paul to play the Minnesota Wild at Grand Casino Arena. San Jose stunned the Wild at the end of October with a wild finish in overtime when Macklin Celebrini scored on the Sharks only possession in the extra session. Tuesday's affair ended with a similar feel except this time Celebrini setup the game winner in overtime as San Jose steals 2 points with a 2-1 win in the extra period.

I originally wrote this in 2009, but while scouring the internet in search of stories about Joe Thornton's Hall of Fame induction, I stumbled on a question that a citizen of the internet was asking about why so many people were "wearing those red things on their jackets?" I decided to review this piece, because it's as relavant today as it was in 2009, or 1918 for that matter.

Thanks to losing records, the Sharks have drafted fourth overall in 2023 (Will Smith), first overall in 2024 (Macklin Celebrini), and second overall in 2025 (Michael Misa). The Sharks actually did finish dead-last league-wide with 52 points in the 2024-2025 season, but didn't win the draft lottery.

It's been a busy weekend for the San Jose Sharks. In a 24 hour span they beat the President's Trophy winner, followed by a victory over the defending Stanley Cup Champion. After dispatching the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night, San Jose knocked off the 2024-25 Champion Florida Panthers with a gritty 3-1 performance. Yaroslav Askarov made 38 saves to notch his 4th win of the season to lead San Jose.

The Sharks extended their string of solid performance by dispatching the Seattle Kraken 6-1 at Climate Change Arena on Wednesday night. The Sharks were firing on all cylinders against a team that has been historically a nuisance for San Jose since joining the league 4 years ago. Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith had multi-point nights to lead San Jose, who has now recorded points in their last 4 games.

Playing 24 hours after their thrilling overtime win over Colorado, the Sharks turned in an about face in the energy department, but they scratched out a point in a 3-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings in the shootout. Rookie defenseman Sam Dickinson scored his 1st career NHL goal late in the game to get the Sharks to the overtime and shootout.

If you looked at the Sharks schedule this week, it seemed unlikely that they would wake up from their early season funk. After a would be win slipped through their goaltending against Los Angeles on Tuesday, the Sharks pinned back their ears and beat the two best teams in the NHL including in improbable 3-2 overtime victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday afternoon at SAP Center. Philipp Kurashev scored a pair of goals, including the game winner in the extra period and goaltender Yaroslav Askarov made 36 saves against the best 5-on-5 team in the league.

Looking for their first win on home ice, accomplishing that against the best team in the NHL didn't exactly have the stars aligning in the Sharks favor. The response was something to behold as the Sharks dominated the Devils in 5-2 win at SAP Center on Thursday night. The Sharks 2nd line came alive with Alexander Wennberg, Philipp Kurashev and William Eklund combinging for 3 goals and 2 assists to lead San Jose.

The Sharks out-classed the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night at SAP Center. They out-shot the Kings 41-14. They controlled the puck the majority of the night and had the Kings on the ropes. All of that meant nothing to a Sharks team that allowed a road weary Kings squad grab a 3-0 lead, then hold on for an unfair 4-3 win. It was one of a thousand rough lessons that the young Sharks had to live through as they try to work back to competitiveness.

The Sharks wrapped up their first road trip of the year with a crazy 6- overtime against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday afternoon at Grand Casino Arena in St Paul. The Sharks squandered multiple 2-goal leads in the 3rd period, but Macklin Celebrini bailed them out with improbably overtime goal after Minnesota held the puck for all but 6 seconds in the extra period.

The Sharks youngsters put on a display at the world's most famous arena on Thursday night and in doing so, snapped their 6-game losing streak and potted their first victory of the season. San Jose knocked off the host New York Rangers 6-5 in a wild overtime tilt that saw four lead changes. Macklin Celebrini recorded his 2nd career hat trick to go along with a 5 point night, and Will Smith bagged the second of his 2 goals with the game winner in overtime.

San Jose hits the road for the first of 4 games on Tuesday night with a stop in Elmont, New York to face the New York Islanders at UBS Arena. The Isles have struggled at home, winning 1 of 3 games there this season, but they withstood a flurry of shots from the Sharks in the opening period, then held off San Jose in the last 90 seconds to drop the Sharks to a 6th consecutive loss to start the with a 4-3 win.

The futile season debuts continued for the Sharks on Saturday. San Jose was shutout 3-0 by a Pittsburgh Penguins lineup that, on paper, is not expected to do much this season. The Penguins leaned on Tristan Jarry, who made 31 saves for the shutout. San Jose has now gone a 4th straight season losing their first 5 games to start the year.

The Sharks hit the road for the first of 41 road games on Friday night. Let's hope the other 40 go better than the 6-3 thrashing they took from the host Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center. Utah rolled on a Nick Schmaltz hat-trick en route to a 6-3 throttling of the Sharks.

The euphoria of the start of the season has clearly worn out its welcome in San Jose. After turning into decent outings to start the season, the Sharks let the 12,786 in attendance know that they're still a team in transition, knee deep in a rebuild. The Carolina Hurricanes are on the opposite end of the win-lose spectrum and they let the Sharks know it on Tuesday as they out-classed the Sharks in a 5-1 decision at SAP Center.

48 hours after their gut-punch opening night loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Sharks turned another 3rd period 2-goal lead into an overtime loss. Saturday's disaster came at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks who came looking for their first win of the season. They would put 7 pucks past Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov, including a Leo Carlsson shot that found the back of the net 45 seconds into the overtime period after Macklin Celebrini coughed up the puck on the opposite end of the rink.

So the Sharks season began Thursday night, and resulted in one of the most heartbreaking, devastating losses I've ever seen in 34 years of Sharks hockey. With William Eklund about to close out the game with an empty-net goal to seal a victory, I thought a Sharks win was about to happen. But the puck never finds its way into the Vegas net, and instead was chucked down to the Sharks' end by Jack Eichel.

The Sharks unveiled their overhauled roster to start their 35th NHL campaign on Thursday night and things looked peachy for 57 minutes, then the ghosts of cursed 3rd periods smacked them square in the jaw. Leading 3-2 late in the contest. San Jose had a chance to ice things with an empty net goal. That didn't happen and the visiting Vegas Golden Knights were gifted a win on a fluke play and poor decision making in overtime.

Macklin Celebrini made his debut on Saturday night as the Sharks concluded their preseason schedule in Salt Lake City. The 2nd year forward assisted on a Will Smith power play goal in his first action of the season, but it came in a losing effort. San Jose overcame a 4-1 deficit with 3 goals in the 2nd period, but they would surrender a pair of unanswered 3rd period goals to drop a 6-4 decision.

The Sharks hit the road for the first of back-to-back games to end the preseason on Friday night with a stop in Vegas to take on the Golden Knights. San Jose rolled out a roster heavy in prospects that showed real progress, taking it to a veteran heavy Knights lineup. Ethan Cardwell led the youngsters recording a hat trick, while Pavol Regenda added 4 assists in a bog 4-1 win at T-Mobile Arena.

The Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights squared off for the second consecutive game on Friday night at SAP Center. Vegas snapped a 1-1 tie in the 3rd period on a Lukas Cormier goal. The Sharks were out-shot 29-14 in the contest, although the game was not as lopsided as the shot count might suggest. Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky and his staff will have lots to evaluate following the 2-1 loss.

While the point production doesn't reflect it, the 2024-25 season was a step forward for the San Jose Sharks. The cellar dwelling Sharks wrapped up the season with a 3-0 loss, finishing with the worst record in the league for the second consecutive year. The Sharks will have the best odds to land the 1st overall pick once again this season, something that landed them budding superstar Macklin Celebrini.

The Sharks concluded their 2024-25 road schedule with a stop in Vancouver on Monday night. Playing less than 24 hours after losing 5-2 to the Calgary Flames, the Sharks turned in a carbon-copy loss. They held a lead entering the 3rd period, lost that lead, then lost the game in overtime. The 2-1 decision extended their losing streak to a season high 10-games.

As the clock ticks down on this 2024-25 NHL season for the Sharks, each game is a continued development and evaluation period for every rostered player. Their 75th of 82 contests was a chance for the younger Sharks to cut their teeth against a bona fide Stanley Cup contender in the Edmonton Oilers. The Sharks put up a decent fight, but fell 3-2 in a spirited contest.

The Sharks wrapped up their season series with in-state rival Anaheim on Tuesday night, dropping a 4-3 decision in the shootout. San Jose failed to answer the opening bell, and spent the rest of the night chasing Anaheim. They scratched out a point by getting to the overtime if not for a gritty 2nd and 3rd period, but the start really cost them.

Following their 6-1 pasting by the New York Rangers on Saturday night, the Sharks limped into Los Angeles on Sunday and took an even worse beating. With 10 games to go in this season of lessons, the Sharks played a disheveled, unmotivated game that resulted in an 8-1 loss that begs the question, why bother?

Hockey is a strange game. Eliminated from the playoffs two weeks ago and a sure thing to land a lottery pick in the NHL Draft, the Sharks played one of their better games of the season on Thursday night. Holding a 5-3 lead with a minute to play, San Jose got a glimpse of what young superstars can evolve to, as the Toronto Maple Leafs scored a pair of goals in the final minute of regulation to get the game to overtime. San Jose prevailed in the shootout when their own youngsters bagged a pair of goals to take a 6-5 win.

The Battle of the Basement, or what the NHL is calling the Teen Titans Match-up, finally happened at SAP Center on Thursday night. The last two 1st overall draft picks in Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini finally squared off against each other. As it turned out, the game turned into a rookie showcase beyond the two super stars. Celebrini finished with the win as San Jose knocked off the Blackhawks 4-2.

As the Sharks try to allow their young core to gain experience, the sting of losing still bites. Lose after a miscue in the 3rd period, and the stinging is magnified. After the Sharks had scored a pair of goals 14 seconds apart to tie the game, a simple puck-handling error would end up in their own net. That goal turned out to be a painful game winner in a 3-2 loss to the Nashville Predators at SAP Center on Tuesday night.

The new look Sharks returned to SAP Center on Saturday night, but by the end of their homecoming game, the scoreboard looked all too familiar. After out-playing the New York Islanders through the first 10 minutes of the game, their flurry of shots were nothing more than a statistic after the Islanders deposited 4 pucks in the Sharks net to take a 4-1 win at SAP Center.

Wrapping up a season-long 7-game road trip, the Sharks staggered into Colorado on the heels of two big wins, but also faced with the reality that several key pieces of their lineup were either shipped out or are on the verge of departing with the NHL trade deadline looming. Add those distractions to a game against a team that is clicking on all cylinders and the recipe was not in San Jose's favor. Colorado used 4 special teams goals to pummel the mentally wounded Sharks 7-3 on Thursday night.

Riding the wave of their 3-2 shootout win in Toronto on Monday night, the Sharks kept the momentum going 24 hours later by knocking off the host Buffalo Sabres 6-2 at KeyBank Center. San Jose had won consecutive games only three times this season entering play, and only once on back-to-back days. What was most impressive was the team's 3rd period output, where they outscored the Sabres 4-1. Closing out games is the primary focus for the young Sharks as they finish out the last quarter of the season, so the past 24 hours has been a step in the right direction.

The Sharks are all too familiar with blowing 3rd period leads. It's almost become a part of their 2024-25 DNA. An expected disappointment. On Monday night, they turned the tables on an opponent, coming back from a 2-0 deficit in the 3rd period, then winning the game in the shootout. Tyler Toffoli and Fabian Zetterlund bags goals in the skills competition to help San Jose also snap an 8-game losing streak. The win was the first for San Jose since January 27th.

Remind yourself that the last days of the 2024-25 season are about allowing the youngsters to cut their teeth on the NHL. It's not about wins. Case in point, the Sharks dropped their 8 game in a row in the all to familiar "blown 3rd period lead" scenario that played itself out yet again on Saturday night in Ottawa. The Senators overcame a 2-1 deficit, beating San Jose 5-3 at Canadian Tire Center.

The season long 7-game road trip made top number three in Montreal on Thursday night. The Sharks played out their 2024-25 script to a tee. Take a lead into the 3rd period, lose that lead, then lose the game. This one ended in overtime when Cole Caufield lifted a puck over goaltender Alexandar Georgiev for the game winner in a 4-3 decision at Bell Centre.

Not much has gone right for the Sharks this season in terms of wins and losses. It is a rebuilding year after all. So rolling into Winnipeg to take on the league's best team, expectations were expectedly low. Playing on back-to-back nights also firmly lined San Jose up behind the 8-Ball. Yet, San Jose carried a lead into the last minute of play before the Jets tied the game. Winnipeg would go on to score in overtime to take the 2-1 decision, ending a promising performance as the Sharks made their 2nd of 7 stops on their current road trip.

The Sharks dropped a game on Tuesday by giving up a short-handed game winning goal late. On Thursday, they found yet another way to lose. This time, they would allow the Vancouver Canucks to win on a penalty shot in overtime. Penalty shots are a rarity in the first place, but when was the last time you saw one called in overtime. It was and San Jose dropped their 41st game of the season in 56 tries by a 2-1 score.

In their first chance to face NHL competition after trading Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci, the Sharks faced the Montreal Canadiens at SAP Center on Tuesday night. San Jose would tie the game twice, but a short-handed game winning goal by Joel Armia with 4 minutes left cost them in 4-3 loss. The Canadiens entered play having lost their last 5 games, but the Sharks stumbled late once again to help the vistors cure their ills.

The Sharks finally pulled the plug on two impending unrestricted free agents on Saturday by trading centerman Mikael Granlund and defenseman Cody Ceci to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a 2025 1st round draft pick and a conditional 2025 3rd round pick. Both players were scheduled to be free agents this summer and the Sharks did not feel inclined to overpay to keep them around.

There is much to be hopeful for in San Jose, but games like Thursday's 6-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken may make that harder to believe in. After a fairly competitive opening period at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, the Sharks let their collective guards down and let the Kraken score 4 goals on their first 5 shots of the middle period. It was more evidence that the young undermanned Sharks roster has a ways to go before they'll be truly competitive in the NHL.

The Sharks snapped a 6-game losing streak with a gutsy 201 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at SAP Center in a rare Monday night game. Macklin Celebrini scored the game winning goal in the 3rd period after Pittsburgh erased a 1-0 Sharks lead earlier in the frame. Yaroslav Askarov made 32 saves to earn his 4th win of the season.

After gagging up a 5-1 lead against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night, the Sharks needed to put together a bounce back. They responded by falling behind 3-0, before battling back to tie the game 5-5 by the end of the 2nd period. Then they showed their immaturity by taking undisciplined penalties in a pivotal 3rd period that would lead to a 6-5 demise at SAP Center on Thursday night.

As Sharks fans, we should all be used to it by now, as in the Sharks blowing leads. The Sharks had a 5-1 lead against Nashville on Tuesday, so they should coast to an easy win, right? Well, no, the Sharks lost, 7-5. Great entertainment for the Predators fans, but not the Sharks fans.

There have been tough losses this season, and then there were losses like the one in Nashville on Tuesday night. Holding a 5-1 lead at the midway mark of the game, San Jose turned in one of the more impressive implosions of the season, allowing Nashville to score 6 unanswered goals to take a 7-5 victory at Bridgestone Arena.

The Sharks played arguably their best game of the current 5-game road trip in Boston in a matinee game at TD Garden, but like so many other games this season, their inability to hold 3rd period leads was on full display. San Jose blew a 3-2 lead in the final frame, allowing the Bruins to score a pair of goals to erase that lead and add a pair of empty net goals to accent a 6-3 loss. It was the 14th consecutive loss to Boston, the longest active streak in the NHL.

After the dismal performance in Columbus on Thursday night, the Sharks had a chance to right the ship against a New York Islanders team that has struggled on home ice. They didn't. A combination of turnovers and a lack of execution led to a 2nd straight loss for San Jose as they hit the midway mark of their current 5-game road trip. A 3-goal 2nd period would help pace the Islanders to a 4-1 victory at UBS Arena in Elmont.

All the positive energy from the Sharks 6-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings to start their 5-game road trip did little to help San Jose in Columbus on Thursday. In what can only be described as a flat and lifeless performance, the Sharks dropped a 4-1 decision to the suddenly resurgent Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. Columbus won for the 6th consecutive game, while the Sharks continue to set up shop in the NHL basement.

The Sharks kicked of a 5-game road trip with a stop in the Motor City on Tuesday night. San Jose received goal scoring for 6 different skaters to snap the Detroit Red Wings 7-game winning streak. The Red Wings were vying to set a league high for consecutive wins this season, but the Sharks had other plans. San Jose scored a pair of 1st period goals and then fended off several comeback attempts by the Red Wings to start the trip in the win column.

Marc-Andre Fleury has made it clear that he will retire at the end of this season. Barring an unlikely trade, Fleury played his last game at SAP Center on Saturday night and he stuck it to the Sharks one last time. The Minnesota Wild netminder made 36 saves to beat the Sharks 3-1, sending the Sharks to their 32nd loss in 45 games this season. San Jose made a game of it, trailing by a lone goal for most of the 3rd period until Minnesota scored what was unofficially an empty-net goal.

The last time the Sharks played the Utah Hockey Club, San Jose blew a 3rd period lead, had their star rookie cross checked within inches of spending more time on the injured reserve and had their head coach cough up $25,000 after expressing himself to the officials with ultra-colorful language. The Sharks did little to avenge any of that on Friday night, as they would surrender a go-ahead goal with 1:32 left in regulation, then allowed their hosts to bully Celebrini in the waning seconds of the game.

The Sharks continue to enjoy 2025. Two games into the year, the Sharks are playing their best hockey of the season. After beating Tampa Bay on Thursday to snap an 8-game losing streak, they knocked off the New Jersey Devils 3-2 on a late Cody Ceci goal on Saturday afternoon at SAP Center. The Sharks still have some work to do to crawl out of the Western Conference basement, but the last two games are hopefully a preview of more to come from the young Sharks.

It wasn't the cavalry riding to save the day, but the Sharks received some help in the form of Marc-Edouard Vlasic's return to the lineup after missing the first 40 games of the season. After a rough start to his 2023-24 season, Vlasic returned to the lineup on a more regular basis in January of last year only to sustain an injury that made him miss the first-half the current campaign. Vlasic provided an upgraded on the defensive side of the puck, which helped San Jose fend off the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 2-1 win at SAP Center on Thursday night.

The clock struck midnight on 2024 for the Sharks a few hours earlier on Tuesday night. Hosting a rare New Year's Eve game at SAP Center, the Sharks ended the calendar year with another loss, extending their streak to 8 games by losing to the Philadelphia Flyers by a resounding 4-0 score. The Flyers scored in each period and clamped down on San Jose's offense to help them win their second straight game.

The Sharks finally figured out how not to blow a 3rd period lead. Unfortunately their solution included never holding a 3rd period lead to blow. Skating just 24 hours after losing 6-3 to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Sharks dropped a 3-1 decision to the Calgary Flames. While San Jose had to play on tired legs, the Flames hit the ice for the first time in 7 days and were able to use those fresh legs to their advantage.

Tomas Hertl and his fun must be always flair made his return to SAP Center for the first time since being traded by the Sharks to the Vegas Golden Knights. Hertl spent parts of 11 seasons in San Jose, arriving a bright-eyed kid from the Czech Republic in 2013. Hertl played in 37 games his first season, scoring 15 goals in his inaugural season. On Friday night, he returned as a veteran and father, but still carrying his infectious positivity. The Sharks found a way to rain on the vibe.

The Sharks rolled the dice on Tuesday night and lost. In what was a tightly contest game between them and the host Vancouver Canucks, the Sharks challenged a Canucks goal with 3 minutes remaining in the 2nd period that should have been overturned. The hard luck Sharks didn't get the benefit of the doubt on the call and what was a 2-1 game ballooned into a 4-1 contest after the Canucks then scored on a power play they were awarded for the Sharks unsuccessful challenge.

The Sharks got a glimpse of their future in net with Yaroslav Askarov making his 3rd start of the season in place of Vitek Vanecek who is nursing a head injury. Starting a quick 2-game road trip with a stop in Edmonton, Askarov made 41 saves, including 23 in the 2nd period, but San Jose would fall 3-2 in overtime. The hockey gods were unjust to Askarov who all world in the Saturday matinee.

The prodigal goaltending son, Mackenzie Blackwood, made his return to SAP Center on Thursday night as he and the Colorado Avalanche came calling. The Sharks played on rewind, blowing a 3rd period lead for all three games of their home stand, including another letdown against the Avalanche. Colorado scored 3 goals in the final 20 minutes of the contest to take a 4-2 decision over the host Sharks.

Good teams find ways to win and bad teams find ways to lose. Holding a 3rd period lead against arguably the best team in the NHL in the Winnipeg Jets, the Sharks couldn't hold the fort, as their guests scored a pair of 3rd period to fall 4-3 on Tuesday night. The Sharks played one of their more complete games of the season, but the Jets and their record that tops the NHL found a way to win.

It may be safe to say that Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky is not a big fan of referees Chris Rooney and Riley Brace. Returning home for the first time in more than 2 weeks the Sharks were looking to leverage a little home cooking. Rooney and Brace extended more hospitality to the visiting Utah Hockey Club in a game that could be best described as lopsided in the officiating department. Utah took full advantage, scoring a pair of power play goals, including the game winner with 44 seconds left after defenseman Cody Ceci was called for high sticking. The Sharks would fall 4-3 after grabbing a 3rd period lead.

Playing the last game of a 6-game road trip, it would have been easy for the Sharks to pack it in. Entering play on Thursday night, the Sharks opponent, the St Louis Blues, have gone 5-1-1 since inserting former Shark Jim Montgomery as head coach. All the cards were stacked against them but the Sharks found a way to grind out a tough 4-3 win over the Blues at Enterprise Center. Macklin Celebrini had 2 goals and an assist in the victory to help San Jose secure 6 of 12 standings points on the trip.