Sharks 2026-27 Game 20 Recap: Sharks 3, Islanders 2 (SO) (11/9/26)

 The Sharks returned home and ended their five-game winless skid in a lengthy battle with the New York Islanders, resulting in a 3-2 Sharks shootout victory. 

The Islanders struck first via Ben Hutton early in the first period. Later in the opening period, Ivar Stenberg redirected a shot from Tyler Toffoli for his sixth goal of the season to even things up at one. Ty Dellandrea assisted on this equalizer as well. Early in the second period, the Islanders went back ahead on a power play goal by Victor Eklund, while the Sharks tied the game at two later in the middle frame on Tyler Toffoli’s fifth goal of the season, assisted by Dmitry Orlov and Eric Pohlkamp. Some fireworks occurred near the end of the second period, specifically two fights between Barclay Goodrow and Mitchell Chaffee, along with Ty Dellandrea and Kyle MacLean. These were in response to MacLean laying a hit on Ivar Stenberg after Stenberg dumped a pass into the zone. 

This contest had to be decided in a shootout, where Ivar Stenberg scored the only goal of the skills competition in the eighth round to finally get Team Teal back in the win column. 

Yaroslav Askarov performed well tonight and gained the upper hand over Ilya Sorokin in the shootout, recording 30 saves on 32 shots against. In addition, Alexander Wennberg is back on the Sharks roster from injured reserve, while Filip Bystedt was re-assigned to the Barracuda as a result. 

Overall, this is a massive and relieving victory for the Sharks to snap their rough stretch once and for all. Ivar Stenberg had arguably his best game in the NHL so far, and getting Alexander Wennberg back from injury was a huge boost to this Sharks team. I have also gained more confidence in this being the start of the Sharks turning their season around and getting back into playoff contention. Next up, the Sharks host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday at 7 pm PT. 

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

You can further support my blog by checking out my merch here: CPF Store  

Sharks 2026-27 Game 19 Recap: Stars 4, Sharks 3 (11/7/26)

 Team Teal put up a greater effort in Dallas compared to their past several games, but special teams issues hampered them in a 4-3 loss to the Stars, extending the Sharks' losing skid to five games.

The Sharks got off to a better start to this one compared to their past several contests, scoring first in the opening period via Michael Misa’s fourth goal of the season, assisted by Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. The Stars followed that up with three unanswered goals later in the opening period from Roope Hintz, Jamie Benn, and Jason Robertson, two of which came on the Dallas power play.

Early in the second period, Ivar Stenberg scored his fifth goal of the season to get the Sharks within a goal. Macklin Celebrini and Eric Pohlkamp assisted on the Stenberg goal, with the secondary assist being Pohlkamp’s first NHL point. Later in the middle frame, the Stars and Sharks traded power play goals, starting with Thomas Harley for the Stars and followed by Will Smith's seventh goal of the season, assisted by Mason Marchment and Macklin Celebrini. 

Alex Nedeljkovic made his first start in a week for Team Teal, recording 26 saves on 30 shots against. In addition, Filip Bystedt is back in the Sharks lineup tonight after being a healthy scratch in last night's loss in Minnesota, while Zack Ostapchuk comes out of the lineup as a result. 

While the Sharks' lackluster penalty kill cost them in their second matchup against the Stars this season, they put together a much greater effort, and more players stepped up compared to their past several games. It is also worth noting that Celebrini set a career high in time on ice in this game with just over 28 minutes logged. With their improved performance tonight Alex Wennberg expected to return to the Sharks active roster within the next few games, these are big signs that San Jose may be able to snap out of their funk sooner than later. Team Teal returns home for their next two contests, starting on Monday against the New York Islanders at 7 pm PT. 

Sources: NHL App, Curtis Pashelka and Sheng Peng via X 

You can further support my blog by checking out my merch here: CPF Store  

My 3rd FPHL Game: Falcons 4, Kingfish 2 (11/6/26)

 I made it to my local pro hockey team’s first game of November on Friday night, and it did not disappoint. I normally wouldn’t do this when my Sharks are playing at the same time or their games are overlapping. However, I made an exception here because the Sharks are seriously underperforming at this time and playing in a game that I fully expected them to lose. Enough about the Sharks for now, as for the Falcons, the theme for my third game of theirs this year was Native American Heritage night, in which the team wore specialty jerseys on the ice to pay respects to local Native American tribes. Per usual, these player-worn specialty jerseys were auctioned off for charity after the conclusion of this game. 

I arrived a few minutes after the official first puck drop since I was wrapped up in watching, listening to, and following the Sharks-Wild game that was going on beforehand and simultaneously. I was a bit surprised to see the Kingfish score the first goal of the contest about a minute into the opening period. The Falcons erupted for three unanswered goals in the second period: one from Aaron Huffnagle on a beautiful sequence early in the period and two from Justin Daly later in the period. Late in the middle frame also featured the only major fight of this game. The Kingfish scored once more early in the third period, while the Falcons finished this one off with a goal from Houston Wilson with just under two minutes remaining to win 4-2. 

Other notable highlights of my personal experience at my latest Falcons game were one of the performers of the mini Native American ritual that occurred during the first intermission wearing a Sharks teal jersey with Logan Couture on the back of it, spotting one guy from across the ice repping the new Sharks Hometown Remix jersey, the jumbotron video quality improving compared to the start of the season, and the kiss cam featuring two Kingfish players sitting next to each other on their bench. Overall, this Falcons game went well, was a great time, and helped soften the blow of the Sharks losing to the Wild that same night. It was great to run into and spend some time with an old friend there as well. Stay tuned for a recap of the Sharks-Stars game on CPF Hockey later tonight. 

You can further support my blog by checking out my merch here: CPF Store