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Sunday, February 22, 2026

Sharks 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics Update + Team USA Wins Men's Hockey Gold!

The 2026 Winter Olympics have come to a close, and these last two weeks of international best-on-best hockey could not have ended any better. This post will cover how current Sharks players performed in this year's Olympics since the qualifying round and the epic thriller that is this morning's USA-Canada Gold Medal Game. Let's begin:

Macklin Celebrini's legendary first Olympics run continued throughout the remainder of the tournament. He recorded a goal and two assists in Canada's 4-3 overtime win over Czechia in the quarterfinals, along with an assist on the game-winning goal by Nathan MacKinnon in Canada's 3-2 win over Finland in the semifinals. Celebrini also led all Team Canada skaters in time on ice (25:53), shot attempts (9), and shots on goal (8) in the semifinals. He concluded his first Olympics with five goals, five assists, and ten points, good for second among all Olympic men's hockey scorers, and earning a silver medal and an Olympic All-Star designation. While he fell short of the end result he wanted and is kicking himself for not being able to bury any of the great scoring attempts he had in the gold medal game, Macklin Celebrini outperformed nearly all other skaters in his first Olympics. He demonstrated on the biggest stage that he is a generational talent and will be one of the faces of Team Canada in international best-on-best hockey for many years to come. I expect these Olympics to light a bigger fire inside Macklin Celebrini and for him to return to the Sharks with a vengeance.

As for the other current Sharks players in this year's Olympics, Pavol Regenda recorded two goals and an assist in Slovakia's 6-2 win over Germany in the quarterfinals, along with a goal in Slovakia's 6-2 loss to the United States in the semifinals. Regenda finished this year's Olympics with three goals, two assists, and five points, and was an integral player in Team Slovakia ending the tournament in fourth place. Philipp Kurashev scored a goal that would end up being the eventual game-winner in Switzerland's 3-0 shutout victory over Italy in the qualifying round, along with an assist in Switzerland's 3-2 overtime loss to Finland in the quarterfinals.

Onto the biggest matchup of them all: the USA-Canada Gold Medal Game. This was an early-morning game on the West Coast, and while I am not much of a morning person, I was fortunately able to wake up early enough to tune in at the start of the second period to watch one of the best games in Olympic history. Matt Boldy scored early in the opening period to put Team USA on the board first, while Cale Makar scored late in the second period to tie the game at one for Team Canada. The lone goal by Makar for Canada would ultimately force overtime, in which Jack Hughes would score the game-winning goal to earn Team USA's first gold medal in men's hockey since 1980. Connor Hellebuyck was a huge factor in winning the gold medal for the Americans, stopping 41 of 42 shots he faced, some of which were highlight-reel saves. If not for Hellebuyck's heroics, this latest chapter in the USA-Canada hockey rivalry would have likely tilted in Canada's favor.

Overall, I enjoyed every moment that I was able to catch of my country's gold medal victory in this year's Winter Olympics, and I am very proud of Macklin Celebrini and what he was able to accomplish for Team Canada in his first Olympics. In addition, I am ready for the NHL to return to action on Wednesday and the Sharks to begin their run towards potentially ending their Stanley Cup Playoff drought in their next game on Thursday against the Calgary Flames. This morning's USA-Canada Gold Medal Game is the latest of many reasons why hockey is the greatest sport in the world, and I firmly believe that there is no better time to be a hockey fan than right now.

Sources: NBC Sports, NHL App, San Jose Sharks via Instagram

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Monday, February 16, 2026

Sharks News & Notes (2/16/26)

The Sharks are fully in the Olympic break, and while they may not be playing any games at this time, there have been some recent significant headlines announced regarding the Sharks directly and involving Sharks players at the Olympics. Let's dive in:

We begin with Sharks players at the Olympics, and there are very few hockey players performing better in Milan this year than Macklin Celebrini for Team Canada. Through the preliminary round, Celebrini has four goals, two assists, and six points, making him one of the top scorers in the tournament. He added the Olympics to the various stage debuts in which he has scored in, including the USHL, NCAA, World Juniors, World Championships, and the NHL. Count on Macklin to score in his eventual Stanley Cup Playoff debut as well if this trend continues, which I greatly believe that it will. On top of that, Celebrini made some history at this year's Olympics, scoring the most goals by a teenager in an Olympic tournament with NHL players in it and becoming the first NHL player to score a penalty-shot goal in the Olympics. In addition, Celebrini is tied with Evgeni Malkin for the most points by a teenager at an Olympic tournament with NHL players in it, and once the quarterfinals begin in two days, he will almost certainly stand alone with this record as well. His Team Canada squad has been dominating the Olympics so far and will not be slowing down anytime soon, and his Olympic teammates have had high praise for him throughout this tournament, most notably his linemates Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, and his idol Sidney Crosby. Macklin Celebrini has further proved that he is a generational talent in this year's Olympics at just 19 years old, and I love seeing and hearing him outperform nearly all other hockey players in the tournament.

As for the other players currently representing the Sharks in this year's Olympics, Philipp Kurashev and Pavol Regenda each have one assist for Team Switzerland and Team Slovakia respectively through the preliminary round.

Onto the latest Sharks transaction, Jeff Skinner has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination, and he officially becomes an unrestricted free agent. Skinner has six goals and seven assists for 13 points in 32 games for the Sharks this season. He has not played in a game for the Sharks since January 11 and has become expendable due to multiple factors. These include the Sharks roster being crowded, the emergence of players like Igor Chernyshov and Pavol Regenda, and the Kiefer Sherwood trade. Overall, the Jeff Skinner experiment did not work out in San Jose like the way he, the team, and many fans had hoped, but with the current state and direction of the Sharks, things will all be totally fine in the long run. Some contracts and experiments will be successful, some will not, and that’s the way things are in the sports world.

Stay tuned for an update post regarding Sharks players in the qualifying round, quarterfinals, and medal rounds of this year’s Winter Olympics coming later this week.

Sources: NBC Sports, NHL and Sjsharksnews via Instagram

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Sharks 2025-26 Game 55 Recap: Avalanche 4, Sharks 2 (2/4/26)

The Sharks put up a good fight in the third period, but they head into the Olympic break on a four-game losing streak with a 4-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

The Avalanche struck first early in the second period on a goal that went to Artturi Lehkonen that resulted from a large scramble in front of the Sharks net. Yaroslav Askarov made a few great saves before he and many others lost track of the puck and it found the back of the net. Later in the middle frame, Lehkonen scored his second goal of the game to extend the Avs’ lead to two, with this second one being much cleaner than the first. Also late in the second period, the Sharks appeared to have scored, but the official review determined that there was no goal on that particular play.

The Sharks got on the board early in the third period on a slapshot by Timothy Liljegren for his first goal of the year, assisted by Alex Wennberg and John Klingberg. A few minutes later, Philipp Kurashev scored his seventh goal of the season to tie the game at two. We had a new puck game at that point, but to not much surprise, the Avalanche would find a way to win, as they scored the next two goals via a Josh Manson slapshot and a Brock Nelson empty-netter to prevail on home ice.

Yaroslav Askarov bounced back from his previous few starts and performed well despite being unable to get the win, compiling 38 saves on 41 shots against. In addition, Kiefer Sherwood was activated from the injured reserve and made his Sharks debut tonight, while Ryan Reaves was placed on injured reserve.

Although the Sharks played much better tonight than in their past three contests, this last road trip was certainly disappointing, as they were only able to collect three out of a possible ten points. Having played in ten different arenas in their past ten games has certainly taken a toll on this Sharks team, and the Olympic break could not come soon enough for them. In the meantime, a few other teams have leapfrogged the Sharks in the standings, and the Sharks find themselves five points out of a Wild Card spot in the West heading into the Olympic break. Still, the Sharks being in the Wild Card discussion up to this point in this season is a major improvement compared to last season. Team Teal begins its post-Olympic break stretch with a six-game homestand starting on Thursday, February 26 against the Calgary Flames at 7 pm PT.

Sources: NBC Sports California, NHL App, Curtis Pashelka via X

Monday, February 2, 2026

Sharks 2025-26 Game 54 Recap: Blackhawks 6, Sharks 3 (2/2/26)

The Sharks’ losing skid has reached three as they fall 6-3 to the Chicago Blackhawks.

It was all Blackhawks to begin this game, as Chicago scored four unanswered via Connor Bedard on the power play in the first period and Connor Murphy, Ryan Donato, and Sam Rinzel in the first half of the second period. After this fourth goal was given up, Alex Nedeljkovic entered the game for Yaroslav Askarov, who finished his night with six saves on ten shots against. Later in the second period, Will Smith got the Sharks on the board with his 17th goal of the season, assisted by Macklin Celebrini and Collin Graf. The Blackhawks followed that up moments later with a goal from Ilya Mikheyev to restore their four-goal lead.

San Jose scored the next two goals to climb back into this game via Macklin Celebrini’s 28th goal of the season from Tyler Toffoli and William Eklund late in the second period, and Shakir Mukhamadullin’s third goal of the season from Philipp Kurashev and Vincent Desharnais early in the third period. The Blackhawks further maintained their stranglehold on this game, with Ryan Donato scoring his second goal of the game to make it a three-goal game once more.

Alex Nedeljkovic recorded five saves on seven shots in relief for Askarov. In addition, Pavol Regenda and Timothy Liljegren were inserted back into the lineup in place of Zack Ostapchuk and John Klingberg, and the lines have been shuffled around compared to their past few games.

The Sharks’ comeback efforts fell significantly short in this contest, and besides a two-point performance from Macklin Celebrini, not much went their way against a lesser opponent that they should have overcame. Team Teal travels to Denver to face the Colorado Avalanche in their final game before the Olympic break on Wednesday at 6 pm PT.

Sources: Sharks Audio Network, NHL App, Curtis Pashelka via X

Saturday, January 31, 2026

Sharks 2025-26 Game 53 Recap: Flames 3, Sharks 2 (1/31/26)

Team Teal was unable to finish after a great start for a second straight game, as they fall 3-2 to the Calgary Flames.

The Sharks got off to another solid start, scoring the first goal of the game on the power play via Will Smith for his 16th goal of the season, assisted by Alex Wennberg. Later in the opening period, Morgan Frost scored a 5-on-3 goal to tie it at one for the Flames. Team Teal went back ahead early in the second period on Adam Gaudette’s 13th goal of the season, assisted William Eklund and Michael Misa. Gaudette now has goals in three consecutive games. Soon after, the Flames tied the game once again, this time via Matvei Gridin to make it two a piece.

Calgary grabbed its first lead of the day early in the third period on a shorthanded goal from Joel Farabee, which would ultimately be the game-winner for the Flames. In the final seconds of this contest, Macklin Celebrini had a prime scoring opportunity to tie and force overtime, but he got robbed by Dustin Wolf with a huge save.

Alex Nedeljkovic was back in the crease for the Sharks in Calgary, compiling 39 saves on 42 shots against. Late in the third period, Nedeljkovic was slow to get up after laying himself out to make a save and appeared to be injured, but fortunately returned to the crease after being helped off the ice and walking it off. In addition, Shakir Mukhamadullin and Philipp Kurashev made their returns to the Sharks lineup from the injured reserve, while Vincent Iorio was placed on waivers and has been claimed by the New York Rangers in order to create a roster spot opening.

Overall, it was another frustrating loss for the Sharks after they started this one off well. The Flames played more aggressively, and the Sharks were unable to fully respond down the stretch. On top of that, inconsistent officiating throughout much of this contest did not help the Sharks’ case to win here either. More positively, the Sharks’ third line of Adam Gaudette, William Eklund, and Michael Misa has been clicking as of late. The Sharks have two games remaining on their current road trip and before the Olympic break, and their next game is in Chicago against the Blackhawks in a must-win matchup on Monday at 5:30 pm PT.

Sources: NBC Sports California, NHL App, Curtis Pashelka via X

Thursday, January 29, 2026

Sharks 2025-26 Game 52 Recap: Oilers 4, Sharks 3 (OT) (1/29/26)

Team Teal got the start it wanted, but the Oilers stormed back late in the third period to win 4-3 in overtime.

The Sharks got off to one of their quickest starts to a game I have seen recently, scoring twice in the first minute and 35 seconds. It began with Collin Graf scoring on a mostly wide-open net for his 15th goal of the season, assisted by Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini, followed by Adam Gaudette scoring on a breakaway for his 12th goal of the season, assisted by William Eklund. Later in the first period, the Sharks went up by three on Michael Misa’s second NHL goal, which was initially saved by Connor Ingram and deflected off of Evan Bouchard before finding the back of the net. Timothy Liljegren and Sam Dickinson assisted on the Sharks’ third goal of this contest from Michael Misa.

Team Teal nearly got a goal in the second period from Barclay Goodrow, but it was disallowed due to Zack Ostapchuk running into Connor Ingram prior to Goodrow putting the puck in the net. Early in the third period, Leon Draisaitl scored to get the Oilers on the board, while Edmonton scored twice via Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard later in the third to tie the game at three to force overtime. The Oilers completed their comeback on the game-winning goal by Zach Hyman to win it in overtime.

Yaroslav Askarov compiled 28 saves on 32 shots against in his second consecutive start.

It was such an incredible start for the Sharks to this game, and it seemed like they were going to win until the final minutes of regulation. A combination of defensive miscues, the Sharks often shooting themselves in the foot late in this game, and the Oilers’ offensive firepower allowed Edmonton to climb back into this one and win in overtime. It was also a pretty costly mistake for the Sharks to not put Macklin Celebrini out onto the ice at any point during the bonus period. The teenage superstar would have definitely given the Sharks a better chance of earning the victory in this contest had he been able to play in OT. This loss was tough and disappointing, but at least the Sharks were able to salvage a point out of this loss, and they did not allow themselves to fall behind from the get-go. Team Teal closes out the month of January on Saturday in Calgary against the Flames on Saturday at 1 pm PT.

Sources: NBC Sports California, NHL App

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Sharks 2025-26 Game 51 Recap: Sharks 5, Canucks 2 (1/27/26)

Team Teal began their final road trip before the Olympic break by taking care of business handily against the league-worst Vancouver Canucks by a score of 5-2.

The Canucks struck first via Tom Willander early in the opening period, while it was all Sharks moments after. Team Teal’s great response began with Macklin Celebrini’s 27th goal of the season, assisted by Will Smith and Sam Dickinson. This was followed up by Adam Gaudette’s 11th goal of the season from William Eklund and Macklin Celebrini, and Tyler Toffoli’s 15th goal of the season from Alex Wennberg and Sam Dickinson to go up 3-1 just under six minutes into this contest and chase Kevin Lankinen out of the Canucks net.

The Sharks extended their lead to three in the second period on a power play goal by Will Smith for his 15th goal of the season, assisted by John Klingberg and Macklin Celebrini. Later in the middle frame, Timothy Liljegren and Evander Kane dropped the gloves and fought, with Evander getting an extra two minutes for roughing as well.

San Jose made it a four-goal game 28 seconds into the third period on a power play goal by John Klingberg for his tenth goal of the season, assisted by Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini. Later in the final frame, Vancouver lessened their deficit to three on a power play marker by Filip Hronek, but that would not have made much of a difference as the Sharks would win this contest pretty easily.

Yaroslav Askarov was back in the crease tonight for the Sharks in Vancouver and bounced back significantly from his previous few starts, recording 23 saves on 25 shots against.

Overall, this is another great and necessary win for the Sharks over a team fully embracing the struggle bus this season. Macklin Celebrini led the way with four points in his hometown of Vancouver, followed by Will Smith with three points and the first two-point performance for Sam Dickinson in the NHL. Next up, the Sharks travel to Edmonton to face the Oilers for the first time this season on Thursday at 6 pm PT.

Sources: Sharks Audio Network, NHL App, Curtis Pashelka via X