The Sharks are back in the win column, earning a close and crucial victory in a 3-2 rout of the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks struck first via Ryan Donato near the midway point of the opening period. Early in the second period, Michael Misa nearly tied the game, but this equalizer was overturned after the officials determined that the puck was kicked in. Still early in the middle frame, the the Sharks officially tied the game on William Eklund’s 14th goal of the season, followed by Kiefer Sherwood’s 22nd goal of the season later in the second period to take the lead, assisted by William Eklund and Alex Wennberg. San Jose extended its lead to two early in the third period on Will Smith’s 23rd goal of the season, assisted by Collin Graf and Macklin Celebrini, only for the Blackhawks to cut their deficit to one a few minutes later on a power play goal by Frank Nazar.
Alex Nedeljkovic was back in the crease for the Sharks tonight and had a great performance, compiling 27 saves on 29 shots against. The only other significant lineup change for San Jose in this game was Ty Dellandrea inserted onto the fourth line in place of Adam Gaudette.
The Sharks absolutely needed this victory over a Blackhawks team that is completely out of the playoff picture, and they were able to get the job done tonight to stay within two points of the final wild card spot in the West. William Eklund had a big game tonight with a goal and assist, while Will Smith now has 100 career points after scoring what was ultimately the game-winning goal at home against Chicago. In addition, with an assist on the game-winner by Will Smith, Macklin Celebrini notched his 107th point of the season, tying Jimmy Carson for the third-most points in a season by a teenager in NHL history. Next up, Team Teal hosts the Edmonton Oilers in its next-to-last home game of the 2025-26 campaign on Wednesday at 7 pm PT, which will be nationally televised on TNT.
Sources: Sharks Audio Network, NHL App, Curtis Pashelka via X
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