CPF Hockey

Thursday, April 16, 2026

Sharks 2025-26 Game 82 Recap: Sharks 6, Jets 1 (4/16/26)

The Sharks could not have ended their 2025-26 season any better, as Macklin Celebrini made franchise history and nine total Sharks players found the scoresheet in a 6-1 complete blowout victory over the Winnipeg Jets.

The Jets struck first just three and a half minutes into this one on a breakaway goal by Cole Koepke. A bit later, the Sharks evened the game at one on a power play goal by Igor Chernyshov for his ninth goal of the season, assisted by William Eklund and Macklin Celebrini. Later in the opening period, the Sharks went ahead on Will Smith's 24th goal of the season, assisted by Macklin Celebrini and John Klingberg. This second assist of the contest gives Celebrini 70 assists and 114 points on the season, tying Joe Thornton for the Sharks franchise record for most points scored by a player in a season.

Early in the second period, Collin Graf went coast to coast and scored a sweet goal for his 21st of the season to extend the Sharks' lead to two. The Sharks added two more goals in the final two minutes of the second period to make it a 5-1 contest. These last two goals of the second period began with Michael Misa scoring his ninth goal of the season off of his own rebound, assisted by William Eklund and John Klingberg, followed by William Eklund's 15th goal of the season, assisted by Mario Ferraro and Kiefer Sherwood. Just over a minute into the third period, Macklin Celebrini officially made Sharks franchise history, as he scored his 45th goal of the season to make it a five-goal game, assisted by John Klingberg and Will Smith. Celebrini is now the Sharks franchise leader for points scored in a season with 115, and also holds sole possession of the second-most goals scored by a Sharks player in a season in franchise history. In terms of goals scored in a season in Sharks history, Macklin Celebrini only trails Jonathan Cheechoo, who scored 56 goals and won the Rocket Richard Trophy during the 2005-06 season.

Alex Nedeljkovic started in the crease in the Sharks’ season finale and was absolutely phenomenal, compiling 25 saves on 26 shots against. After giving up the first goal early in this one, Nedeljkovic completely shut the door on the Jets in the last game of the campaign. In addition, John Klingberg was back in the Sharks lineup to play his 700th NHL game and likely his final game in teal, amazingly recording three assists tonight. Ty Dellandrea, Philipp Kurashev, and Pavol Regenda also drew back into the Sharks lineup for their season finale, while Vincent Desharnais, Tyler Toffoli, and Alex Wennberg were healthy scratches. Earlier today, Eric Pohlkamp signed his two-year entry-level contract, which will officially start for the 2026-27 season now that his collegiate season is complete.

And with that, the Sharks finished their 2025-26 season with a 39-35-8 record and 86 points, heading into the offseason with the ninth-best odds to win the draft lottery and likely to land a top-ten pick in the draft this year. Despite falling short of the playoffs, this season has been a major success for this Sharks team, having taken the biggest jump up the standings of any team in the NHL from the very bottom to being in the playoff hunt until their last few games of the season.

The primary reason for the Sharks' significant improvement this season compared to the past six has been the play of their teenage superstar and face of the franchise, Macklin Celebrini. Celebrini has set countless Sharks franchise and NHL records in his sophomore season, placing himself up there with some hockey royalty. With the kind of season he just had, Celebrini will certainly be named a finalist for the Hart Trophy for league MVP. He has also earned every bit of the Sharks' next captaincy as soon as next season and is only getting better from here. It was also great to see Will Smith elevate his game in his sophomore campaign and Michael Misa, Sam Dickinson, and Igor Chernyshov display flashes of greatness in their rookie seasons as well. While it has been up and down at times, the Sharks’ goaltending has been solid, and the mid-season acquisition of Kiefer Sherwood has worked out in the Sharks’ favor so far. This Sharks team has laid the foundation for what’s to come, and if they can bolster their defense and make some tweaks to their depth scoring this offseason, they should safely be a playoff team next season.

While the Sharks aren’t in them this year, I am looking forward to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and would be happy to see any of the current playoff teams except for the Kings, Golden Knights, and Oilers go on deep runs. In addition, I would be okay with any current playoff team except for any of the Sharks’ Pacific Division rivals or the Mammoth hoisting the Stanley Cup this year.

Overall, this season has been the most fun I have had watching the San Jose Sharks since their last playoff run in 2019. While I am a bit sad that this season is over, I am definitely excited and optimistic for what’s in store for Team Teal going forward.

Sources: NBC Sports California, NHL App

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Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Sharks 2025-26 Game 81 Recap: Blackhawks 5, Sharks 2 (4/15/26)

After they got off to a great start and held a lead through two periods of play, the Sharks allowed the Chicago Blackhawks to score four unanswered goals and completely take over in a 5-2 Blackhawks victory.

The Sharks scored first early in the opening period on Mario Ferraro's seventh goal of the season, assisted by Kiefer Sherwood. He also got a few lucky deflections off of Spencer Knight and a Blackhawks defender on that opening goal. Late in the opening period, Ilya Mikheyev was awarded a penalty shot after he was hooked from behind by Dmitry Orlov, preventing Mikheyev from scoring. Fortunately, Yaroslav Askarov made the stop on Mikheyev's penalty shot.

Early in the second period, Tyler Toffoli nearly had his 20th goal of the season, only for the Blackhawks to challenge it for offsides and get it overturned. The Sharks officially made it a two-goal lead on the power play via Michael Misa’s eighth goal of the season, assisted by Dmitry Orlov and Kiefer Sherwood. Like the Sharks’ first goal of this contest, they got another lucky deflection off of a Blackhawks defender to go their way. With 29 seconds remaining in the second period, the Blackhawks got on the board via Sam Rinzel to cut the Sharks’ advantage to one.

Chicago scored twice more early in the third period via Louis Crevier and Ryan Greene to gain their first lead of the night. Towards the midway point of the third period, the Blackhawks made it a two-goal lead on Louis Crevier’s second goal of the night. Chicago wasn’t done yet in the third period, extending their lead to three and fully taking this one over on a goal from Nick Lardis.

Yaroslav Askarov made his final start of the season tonight for Team Teal, recording 19 saves on 24 shots against.

It seemed like the Sharks were going to cruise to victory in their next-to-last game of the season heading into the third period, but it was frustrating that they allowed the Blackhawks to climb back into this one and fully take over. On the bright side, this loss should improve the Sharks’ chances of landing a top-ten pick in this year’s draft to the point where it’s almost a guarantee. Next up, the Sharks travel to Winnipeg to face the Jets in their final game of the 2025-26 season tomorrow at 5 pm PT.

Sources: NBC Sports California, NHL App

Monday, April 13, 2026

Sharks 2025-26 Game 80 Recap: Sharks 3, Predators 2 (4/13/26)

Team Teal began its final road trip of the season with a huge 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators.

The Sharks got off to a fantastic start to the road trip, scoring first in the middle of the second period via Igor Chernyshov on the power play for his eighth goal of the season, assisted by William Eklund and Michael Misa. San Jose extended its lead to two early in the third period on Macklin Celebrini’s 43rd goal of the season, assisted by Igor Chernyshov and Will Smith. Later in the third period, the Predators got on the board on a goal from Luke Evangelista to cut the Sharks’ lead to one. A few minutes after, Macklin Celebrini buried one into the empty net for his second goal of the contest and 44th goal of the season, assisted by Collin Graf and Alex Wennberg. The Predators followed that up with another goal from Luke Evangelista to put themselves within one again. Fortunately for the Sharks, they were able to hold on for a massive victory over the Predators to keep their slim playoff hopes alive temporarily.

Alex Nedeljkovic started in the crease for the Sharks to begin their final road trip of the season and came up clutch, compiling 25 saves on 27 shots against. In addition, yesterday the Sharks recalled Luca Cagnoni from the Barracuda, and he made his season debut tonight in Nashville, taking the place of Nick Leddy on the blue line.

Not only was this a massive victory for the Sharks, but this snapped a 15-game win streak for the Predators against the Sharks, the longest active win streak held by a team over a specific opponent in the NHL until tonight. Macklin Celebrini and Igor Chernyshov were the best skaters on the ice tonight, leading the way with two goals and a goal and assist respectively. Alex Nedeljkovic was outstanding in net and a major factor in leading the Sharks to victory in Nashville. San Jose’s slim playoff hopes all rest on the shoulders of the Kings-Kraken game occurring after the conclusion of the Sharks’ win over the Predators tonight. Unfortunately, with the Kings 5-3 win over the Kraken tonight, LA clinches the last playoff spot in the Western Conference and eliminate the Sharks from playoff contention. Regardless of any outcome tonight, their win over the Predators has to feel great for this Sharks team, and it has been a fun ride until the very end for them this season. Next up, the Sharks travel to Chicago to face the Blackhawks in their next-to-last game of the season on Wednesday at 5 pm PT.

Sources: Sharks Audio Network, NHL App, Multiple Sources via X

Sunday, April 12, 2026

My 19th NHL Game: Canucks 4, Sharks 3 (SO) (4/11/26)

The Sharks played their final home game of the 2025-26 season on Saturday, and I was in attendance to witness my tenth and last game at the Shark Tank this season. They hosted the Vancouver Canucks, who are now the most recent team I have seen play in person for the first time and already clinched last place in the entire NHL heading into this game. The all-arena giveaway at this final home game of the season was of a Sharks + SAP Center insulated cooler bag. It was offered in either teal or orange, and I chose the one in teal because it looked better. Moments later, I met S.J. Sharkie again, and unlike the previous interactions I have had with him, this was the first time Sharkie ever tried to eat me, and he was giving out Sharkie’s #1 Fan pins out as well. Sharkie also appeared at and near the section I was seated in at times throughout the game.

Before diving into the game itself, I want to mention that I caught Elias Pettersson the star forward at the right place and time outside of the Hotel Valencia at Santana Row as he was about board the Canucks team bus to head over to SAP Center that afternoon. I was at Santana Row that afternoon prior to the game for other reasons, and this encounter just happened to be a coincidence. San Jose brought out Internet sensation Will Stephens of Trailer Park Sports Network, who I saw on the concourse near Sharkie and was featured on the Jumbotron a few times during the game.

The Sharks struck first late in the opening period, when Macklin Celebrini won and controlled the faceoff, then found Igor Chernyshov to score a great goal for his sixth of the season. Early in the second period, Marco Rossi scored on a mostly empty net to tie the game for the Canucks. Yaroslav Askarov ran into his own net from behind while scrambling to get back into his crease, causing Rossi to score and Askarov to push the top of his net over onto the ice. This was not a good goal and a sign of things to come. A few minutes later, the Sharks went back ahead on Tyler Toffoli’s 19th goal of the season, assisted by Sam Dickinson and Michael Misa. Late in the middle frame, the Canucks evened the game at two on a power play goal by Jake DeBrusk.

Late in the third period, Igor Chernyshov scored his second goal of the game and seventh goal of the season to give the Sharks a 3-2 lead, assisted by Macklin Celebrini and Dmitry Orlov. The primary assist on this go-ahead goal was Celebrini’s second assist of the night and puts him at 110 points in his sophomore campaign. While I was hoping this would be the game-winner, the Canucks had other plans, as Teddy Blueger scored on the Vancouver power play to tie it at three and force overtime. This final home game of the Sharks had to be decided in a shootout. Macklin Celebrini scored on his attempt in round two, while Jake DeBrusk scored on the Canucks’ following attempt in the same round. The shootout was officially won by the Canucks on successful attempt by Linus Karlsson in round six, giving Vancouver the victory.

Yaroslav Askarov recorded 38 saves on 41 shots against for the Sharks in his final home start of the season. It certainly wasn’t his best performance, as there was also one moment during the game in which one of his pads loosened after Tom Villander collided with him. On the brighter side, Sharks legends Mike Ricci, Evgeny Nabokov, Joe Thornton, and Patrick Marleau were all in attendance and located in one of the club sections right above where I was seated. I noticed the former three at times throughout this game, but I wasn’t able to get a good view of Patrick Marleau in that particular club section. Announced throughout this game were the Sharks’ team awards for this season. They are as follows: Macklin Celebrini as the unanimous Player of the Year, Yaroslav Askarov as Rookie of the Year, Mario Ferraro as Media Good Guy, and University of Denver defenseman and Collegiate National Champion Eric Pohlkamp as Prospect of the Year.

Since it was Fan Appreciation Night, the players and Sharkie tossed t-shirts towards the remaining fans in the building, and some lucky fans received game-worn jerseys directly from the players soon after the game concluded. My visit to the team store came after the game ended as well, in which I purchased a Macklin Celebrini 100 points t-shirt. Overall, I was disappointed that the Sharks were unable to overcome the Canucks in their last home game of the season, but it was certainly a close, interesting, and entertaining contest that was absolutely worth being in the building for. The Sharks are now 7-6-5 when I am at their games, and I am just over the halfway point in my quest to see all 32 NHL teams play in person. In fact, this leaves the Calgary Flames as the only Pacific Division team I have yet to see play in person. Win or lose, it has been a great season for the Sharks, and I cannot wait to make it back to the Tank next season with an improved Team Teal on the ice. Next up, the Sharks play their last three games of the season on the road against Central Division opponents, starting on Monday in Nashville against the Predators at 5 pm PT.