Sharks 2025-26 Game 40 Recap: Sharks 4, Wild 3 (SO) (12/31/25)

 The Sharks win an absolute thriller in a shootout by a score of 4-3 in a shootout over the Minnesota Wild to earn their 20th victory this season and close out the 2025 calendar year on a three-game win streak. 

The Wild struck first via Vladimir Tarasenko in the middle of the opening period. The Sharks responded early in the second period on Igor Chernyshov’s third NHL goal to tie the game at one, assisted by Macklin Celebrini and William Eklund. This primary assist extended Celebrini’s point streak to nine games, while Chernyshov has at least a point in every NHL game he has played in thus far. Late in the middle frame, the Sharks gained their first lead of the day on a power play goal by Jeff Skinner for his fifth goal of the season, assisted by Dmitry Orlov. 

Early in the third period, Igor Chernyshov skated behind and around the Wild net to find Macklin Celebrini, who scored his 22nd goal of the season to extend the Sharks’ lead to two. The assist on Celebrini’s 22nd goal of the season gives Chernyshov his second point of the day. Soon after, the Wild stepped on the accelerator and scored the next two goals via Marcus Foligno and Mats Zuccarello to tie the game at three. 

This incredibly entertaining contest had to be decided in a shootout, where the Sharks would come out on top on goals by Macklin Celebrini and William Eklund on Team Teal’s second and third attempts respectively. 

Yaroslav Askarov was outstanding once again, compiling 20 saves on 23 shots against. In addition, Adam Gaudette was out with a lower-body injury, and Pavol Regenda was recalled from the Barracuda prior to this game. In other news, it has been confirmed that Macklin Celebrini will be playing for Team Canada in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milan, which is a huge honor for him considering his age and current level of production. 

With this shootout victory, the Sharks have swept the season series over the Minnesota Wild three games to none. This final contest of the calendar year certainly had a playoff feel to it, and I was either standing or on the edge of my seat for much of it. I was definitely fired up after the conclusion of this game, and the Sharks could not have finished the 2025 calendar year any better. San Jose drops the puck on its 2026 calendar year on Saturday, when the Sharks host the Tampa Bay Lightning in a second consecutive afternoon matinee at 1 pm PT. 

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

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Sharks 2025-26 Game 39 Recap: Sharks 5, Ducks 4 (12/29/25)

 San Jose prevails in a close contest by a score of 5-4 over the Anaheim Ducks for their second consecutive victory. 

The Sharks get things going in the middle of the first period, scoring the first goal of the game via Mario Ferraro’s second goal of the season and 100th point of his NHL career, assisted by Alex Wennberg and Adam Gaudette. About five minutes later, the Ducks responded via Troy Terry to tie it at one, with the equalizer set up by a bad turnover by Yaroslav Askarov. With about a minute remaining in the opening period, the Sharks regained the lead on a great goal by Macklin Celebrini for his 21st of the season, assisted by Alex Wennberg and Tyler Toffoli. 

Team Teal scored twice in the second period to go up 4-1, starting with Igor Chernyshov’s second NHL goal early in the period, followed by William Eklund’s tenth goal of the season six minutes later. Macklin Celebrini assisted on both Sharks goals in the second period, while Sam Dickinson assisted on the first second-period goal by Chernyshov. These two goals chased Lukas Dostal out of the Ducks net, with Dostal being replaced by Petr Mrazek for the remainder of this game. This goalie change allowed Anaheim to regain some momentum, as the Ducks scored the next two goals by Cutter Gauthier late in the second period and Pavel Mintyukov early in the third period. 

It is worth noting that Macklin Celebrini was hit in the face by a puck and had to head into the Sharks dressing room for a bit for repairs, but fortunately returned to the bench later in the final frame. Adam Gaudette had to head into the Sharks dressing room with an injury around the same time as well. Also late in the third period, Zack Ostapchuk tipped in his first goal as a Shark to make it 5-3, assisted by Vincent Iorio and Barclay Goodrow. The Ducks responded soon after on Troy Terry’s second goal of the game to make it a one-goal contest once more, but luckily it wasn’t enough for them to fully mount a comeback and take this one over. Yaroslav Askarov completed his night with 38 saves on 42 shots against. 

Despite being outshot significantly, a bit of an injury scare in the third period, and the Ducks not making this one easy, it was another fantastic win for the San Jose Sharks. Like in many games this season so far, Macklin Celebrini led the charge for this Sharks team, recording three points (one goal, two assists) and extending his point streak to eight games. In addition, Igor Chernyshov has fully proved that he belongs and needs to stay in the NHL, as he has been producing at a high level and formed instant chemistry with Celebrini and other Sharks forwards in the absence of Will Smith and Philipp Kurashev. Team Teal returns home to host the Minnesota Wild in its final game of the 2025 calendar year on Wednesday at 1 pm PT. 

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

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Sharks 2025-26 Game 38 Recap: Sharks 6, Canucks 3 (12/27/25)

 Team Teal returns from the holiday break and snaps its three-game skid in a 6-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks. 

The Sharks struck first early in the opening period, when Ryan Reaves poked one in for his third goal of the season, assisted by Barclay Goodrow and Vincent Iorio. Soon after, John Klingberg scored his ninth goal of the season, assisted by Macklin Celebrini, to extend the Sharks’ lead to two. The Canucks then responded on a power play goal by Linus Karlsson to get themselves on the board. Later in the second period, the Sharks regained their two-goal advantage on William Eklund’s ninth goal of the season. 

Within the first minute of the third period, the Canucks got back within one via Marco Rossi. This goal deflected off of Yaroslav Askarov and into the back of the net, and Yaroslav Askarov first appeared to have injured himself on that play but was able to get back up just fine and stay in this contest. Later in the third period, the Sharks made it a two-goal game once more on Igor Chernyshov’s first NHL goal, assisted by Adam Gaudette and Dmitry Orlov. The Canucks responded with a shorthanded goal by Drew O’Connor to further keep themselves in this game. The Sharks added two more goals late in the final frame to cap this one off, both of which were scored in a span of 35 seconds. The first of these last two goals was Macklin Celebrini’s 20th of the season, assisted by Igor Chernyshov and William Eklund, followed by an empty-netter from Collin Graf for his 11th goal of the season, assisted by Alexander Wennberg and Mario Ferraro. 

Yaroslav Askarov bounced back from his previous start on Tuesday in Vegas, recording 24 saves on 27 shots against. In addition, Ethan Cardwell has been sent back to the Barracuda, while Vincent Iorio was back on the Sharks blue line in place of Nick Leddy in his hometown of Vancouver. 

The Sharks started off their post-holiday break sprint on the right footing and getting contributions from nearly everyone, most notably Macklin Celebrini, Igor Chernyshov, and William Eklund. Chernyshov scored his first goal in the NHL and Celebrini now has 20 goals on the campaign. All three of Chernyshov, Celebrini, and Eklund each recorded a goal and an assist in this complete win for San Jose, and Eklund was certainly overdue for a performance like this. Overall, this was a great, much-needed win for the Sharks in a building and city that they have struggled in for the past several seasons until tonight. Next up, the Sharks travel back to California and visit the Anaheim Ducks on Monday at 7 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports California, NHL App 

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Sharks 2025-26 Game 37 Recap: Golden Knights 7, Sharks 2 (12/23/25)

 A five-goal first period by the Golden Knights set the tone for the rest of this contest, as the Sharks get dominated by Vegas by a score of 7-2 to head into the holiday break on a three-game losing streak. 

The Golden Knights got off to a quick start in this one, jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the first period on goals from Brett Howden, Mitch Marner, Colton Sissons, Tomas Hertl, and Mark Stone. After giving up the fourth goal to Tomas Hertl, Yaroslav Askarov was pulled from the Sharks net and replaced by Alex Nedeljkovic. This was not entirely Askarov’s fault for not having a great outing and his night ending before the conclusion of the opening period, compiling 12 saves. 

The Sharks got on the board early in the second period on Macklin Celebrini’s 19th goal of the season, assisted by Tyler Toffoli, to at least help San Jose avoid getting shut out. With about a minute left in the middle frame, Reilly Smith scored to restore the Golden Knights’ five-goal lead.  

Vegas picked up where they left off early in the third period, putting up a seven spot on Mitch Marner’s second goal of the game. The Sharks got one more back soon after on Collin Graf’s tenth goal of the season, assisted by Tyler Toffoli and Alex Wennberg. Speaking of Graf, he was in a full face shield in this game due to taking a puck to the face during practice recently. 

Alex Nedeljkovic made seven saves on ten shots against in relief for Askarov. In addition, Ethan Cardwell and Nick Leddy entered the Sharks lineup tonight in place of Adam Gaudette and Vincent Iorio respectively. 

Overall, the Sharks were chasing this one from the very beginning, and it was a terrible last game before the holidays for Team Teal. However, there are a few positive aspects worth discussing here: Collin Graf has stepped up big time as of late when most other Sharks players have not, and Macklin Celebrini has tied Sidney Crosby for the most points before Christmas in a season by a teenager in NHL history with 55. The Sharks and the rest of the NHL have the next three days off for the holidays, and then the Sharks will travel to Vancouver to face the Canucks in their next game on Saturday at 7 pm PT. 

Sources: San Jose Hockey Now, NBC Sports California, NHL App 

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My 14th NHL Game: Kraken 4, Sharks 2 (12/20/25)

 The Saturday before Christmas marked my fifth Sharks game I attended this year and ninth Sharks game this calendar year, both of which set personal bests. This is also my second time ever seeing the Sharks host the Seattle Kraken. The promotional theme surrounding this game was a collaboration with Legoland Discovery Center Bay Area, and I and everyone else in attendance each received randomized Lego mini figurine sets. I initially thought that each set would be a guy in a shark costume and come already assembled, but that was not the case. In fact, I discovered that the one I received was of a pink-haired female rockstar after putting it together, which I certainly was not expecting. During this routine visit to the Sharks Pro Shop that I make at every game I attend, I purchased two t-shirts: one in teal with the retro Sharks logo on the front and Macklin Celebrini 71 on the back, and the other being a USA Hockey one in navy blue. Unlike the previous game I attended against the Bruins and like all other games I have attended at SAP Center thus far, I was able to catch warmups. Besides no Will Smith and Philipp Kurashev due to both of them being on IR, there was no Timothy Liljegren on the ice for the Sharks due to an upper-body injury. A few players wore Santa hats during warmups, most notably Ryan Reaves. The most notable absence for the Kraken was Mason Marchment, who was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets the night before. 

As part of the promotional theme, the ceremonial puck drop featured a master builder from the Legoland Discovery Center. The first period was scoreless and fairly even between the Sharks and Kraken, featuring plenty of shot attempts and scoring opportunities. However, Seattle would come through relatively early in the second period, scoring the first goal of the game via Eeli Tolvanen. The Sharks responded about five minutes later on a power play goal at the doorstep by Adam Gaudette for his eighth goal of the season, assisted by Igor Chernyshov and Macklin Celebrini. 

Just 36 seconds into the third period, the Sharks would take a brief 2-1 advantage on a goal misplayed by Joey Daccord and Adam Larsson that would be credited to Collin Graf for his ninth of the season. The Kraken followed that up with two goals from Ryker Evans and Ryan Lindgren early in the third period to retake the lead. Lastly, with about a minute and a half to go, Seattle put a bow on this one with an empty-netter from Chandler Stephenson to extend the Kraken’s lead to two. Yaroslav Askarov received the start in net for Team Teal, recording 28 saves on 31 shots against. 

While this was a close game for the most part, the Sharks did not play their best hockey, and the Kraken played like the more desperate team trying to get back into the win column. On the flip side, it was great to see Macklin Celebrini, Collin Graf, and Igor Chernyshov keep their point streaks alive. Overall, heading into this game, I thought that this matchup would result in a no-doubt win for the Sharks, but it ended up being quite the opposite and rather disappointing. Despite it not going the way I wanted it to, this game was still fun and worth attending. Regular game reviews resume on Tuesday, when the Sharks hit the road to play their last game before the holiday break in Vegas against the Golden Knights at 7 pm PT. 

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