CPF Hockey

Sunday, March 8, 2026

My 17th NHL Game: Islanders 2, Sharks 1 (OT) (3/7/26)

I am back at the Shark Tank for the second consecutive week, and this time it is to see the Sharks take on the New York Islanders for the second time in person. The biggest addition on the Islanders this year compared to my first time seeing them play in person around this time last year that I was looking forward to viewing the most was their rookie defenseman phenom Matthew Schaefer. Like with this matchup last year, the promotional theme surrounding Sharks-Islanders at the Tank this year was Women of Teal night, and everyone in attendance and I received free insulated bucket hats. Since I arrived at the arena later than I would normally, I missed warmups as a result, bur it was not a huge deal since I did not miss any of the game itself. It is worth noting that Ryan Reaves was back in the Sharks lineup against the Islanders, Nolan Allan was called up from the Barracuda to be the Sharks’ seventh defenseman, and Philipp Kurashev was a healthy scratch for this game.

Prior to the official start of this contest, the Sharks brought out Canadian three-time Olympic gold medalist Rebecca Johnston for the ceremonial puck drop. The Sharks gave up the first goal of the game for the fourth consecutive contest, this time via Tony DeAngelo in the first period. The Sharks responded 33 seconds into the second period, when Macklin Celebrini picked the corner for his 32nd goal of the season, assisted by Will Smith and John Klingberg. Team Teal generated plenty more great scoring chances throughout the night, but were unable to get any others past Ilya Sorokin. There were a few scuffles and some inconsistent officiating mixed in as well. Things stayed even at one until overtime, where the Islanders would win it in the final minute of the bonus period on a goal from Bo Horvat. Yaroslav Askarov performed well despite not getting the win, compiling 32 saves on 34 shots against.

Lastly, I visited the team store after the game, where I bought a collectible mini helmet. Overall, it was a good and close game for the Sharks against the Islanders, but it could have been better. On a more positive note, Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith each bounced back from their performances against the Blues the night before, and the Sharks earned a very important point in the Western Conference Wild Card race. Their record now falls to 7-5-4 when I am at their games, and I am pretty sure I will receive at least one or two more opportunities to attend Sharks games before the end of this season and officially be halfway through seeing all 32 NHL teams play in person. Next up for the Sharks, they hit the road for their next five games starting on Tuesday in Buffalo against a resurgent Sabres team at 4 pm PT.

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Friday, March 6, 2026

Sharks 2025-26 Game 60 Recap: Blues 3, Sharks 2 (OT) (3/6/26)

The Sharks were able to tie this game late and force overtime, but a slow start and sloppy play hampered them in a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues.

This game began with some fireworks, as Mario Ferraro took exception to and fought Dylan Holloway after the latter laid a big hit on Shakir Mukhamadullin. Also early in the opening period, Jimmy Snuggerud scored to put the Blues on the board first. More fireworks occurred later in the first period, as a second fight went down between these two teams, this time involving Barclay Goodrow and Jake Neighbours.

Macklin Celebrini tied the game at one late in the second period, going top corner for his 31st goal of the season, assisted by Dmitry Orlov and Tyler Toffoli. Soon after, the Blues retook the lead on a goal from Robert Thomas. Late in the third period, Kiefer Sherwood scored an impressive goal for his 19th of the season and goals in consecutive games to tie the game at two for San Jose, assisted by Philipp Kurashev and Collin Graf. This huge equalizer would ultimately force overtime, where Robert Thomas scored his second goal of the game to keep a shorthanded Blues squad streaking. I thought there was a distinct kicking motion on the OT winner that would have the goal overturned and kept this game going, except the refs felt there was no conclusive evidence to overturn this game-winning goal.

Alex Nedeljkovic recorded 11 saves on 14 shots against in the first game of this weekend back-to-back set.

I did not enjoy how Team Teal performed throughout much of this contest, but at least they made it close and earned a critical point in the Western Conference Wild Card race. The Sharks return to action tomorrow night, hosting the New York Islanders at 7 pm PT to close out their current homestand. This next post will be another personal experience review, as tomorrow night’s matchup will be my eighth game at the Shark Tank this season.

Sources: NBC Sports California, NHL App

Sharks Re-Sign Alex Nedeljkovic + Trade Timothy Liljegren to Capitals

The 2026 NHL Trade Deadline has officially come and gone, and while it was much quieter for the Sharks than in previous years, they did make two significant transactions today. Let’s begin:

First, the Sharks re-signed goalie Alex Nedeljkovic to a two-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $3 million. Ned has been solid as the Sharks backup goalie this season, compiling an 11-9-2 record, 2.83 goals-against average, and a .902 save percentage in 21 starts in 26 games. He will also be getting the start in tonight's contest against the St. Louis Blues. This is great for the Sharks in keeping their current goalie tandem intact, and I am glad that Alex Nedeljkovic is sticking around in San Jose for at least the next two seasons.

Team Teal's last move before today's deadline is trading defenseman Timothy Liljegren to the Washington Capitals for a fourth-round pick in this year's draft that originally belonged to the Vegas Golden Knights. This season with the Sharks, Liljegren has one goal, ten assists, and 11 points in 43 games. I am thankful that Timothy Liljegren got traded before today's deadline because he has primarily been a liability on defense during his approximate two seasons with the Sharks. In addition, he is a pending unrestricted free agent this offseason and does not fit into the Sharks' long-term plans, and this will allow for Shakir Mukhamadullin to be more of a regular in the Sharks lineup for the remainder of this season and going forward. Lastly, while the Sharks did not make any larger moves to improve their defense at this year's trade deadline, moving on from Timothy Liljegren should at least be a slight improvement in this aspect of their roster.

Stay tuned for a recap of the Sharks' next game against the Blues coming later tonight.

Sources: Sharks + SAP Center App, Multiple Insiders via X

Thursday, March 5, 2026

Sharks Acquire Jett Woo from Canucks for Jack Thompson

On the day prior to the NHL Trade Deadline, the Sharks and Canucks made a one-for-one swap involving AHL defensemen. This relatively minor trade sent Jett Woo to the Sharks and Jack Thompson to the Canucks.

Jett Woo has one goal, seven assists, and eight points in 26 games for the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL this season, and provides plenty of AHL experience to the Barracuda. In total, Woo has compiled 22 goals, 69 assists, and 91 points in 293 AHL games with the Utica Comets and Abbotsford. He also has one goal, five assists, and six points in 22 playoff games, helping Abbotsford win the Calder Cup last season.

As for Jack Thompson, he has three goals, nine assists, and 12 points in 42 AHL games with the Barracuda this season. Thompson has been buried in the AHL, and his chances of getting called up to the Sharks this season and for the foreseeable future appear slim to none. With this trade, he will certainly receive more opportunities at the NHL level with the Canucks and play a bigger role on the blue line in Vancouver. Overall, I see this relatively minor one-for-one d-man swap as a win-win for all parties involved.

In other news, yesterday, as a result of the Oilers-Blackhawks trade that sent Jason Dickinson and Colton Dach to Edmonton in exchange for Andrew Mangiapane and a 2027 first-round pick, the 2026 first-round pick that the Oilers sent to the Sharks as part of the Jake Walman trade has now been left unprotected. Earlier today, on a side note, Mario Ferraro did not partake in Sharks team practice today, fueling speculation that it was for trade-related reasons. Fortunately, today was only a maintenance day for Mario Ferraro, and he is expected to play in the Sharks' next game tomorrow night against the Blues.

Sources: Sharks + SAP Center App, Curtis Pashelka and Sheng Peng via X

Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Sharks Re-Sign Kiefer Sherwood to Five-Year Contract Extension

The Sharks' most recent trade acquisition in Kiefer Sherwood is sticking around in San Jose for a while, as he has been signed to a new contract worth five years and an average annual value of $5.75 million. Other terms and conditions with Sherwood's new contract are as follows: full no-trade clause in 2026-27, 16-team no-trade clause in 2027-28, 13-team no-trade clause in 2028-29, 10-team no-trade clause in 2029-30, and 5-team no-trade clause in 2030-31.

It took him a bit to adjust after being acquired by the Sharks in a trade with the Canucks and returning from injury, but he cashed in big time as a result of scoring his first goal and assist in teal in last night's victory over the Canadiens. He also leads the Sharks in hits with 28 and recorded a team-best nine hits in a game this season in Sunday's victory over the Jets since his Team Teal debut on February 4. While this new contract may be a bit of an overpayment, due to his biggest performance as a Shark so far last night, Kiefer Sherwood has earned the biggest payday of his NHL career. If not for his significant performance last night, there would be a different discussion surrounding what the Sharks plan to do with Kiefer Sherwood before Friday's trade deadline. Overall, if Kiefer Sherwood continues to perform like he did last night for about three of the next five years, this new contract will age pretty well for the San Jose Sharks, and I am pretty hopeful that this can be the case here.

Sources: Sharks + SAP Center App, Sheng Peng via X

Sharks 2025-26 Game 59 Recap: Sharks 7, Canadiens 5 (3/3/26)

The Sharks stave off a late scare by the Montreal Canadiens and prevail in a true barn burner, as they win 7-5 to extend their win streak to three.

The Canadiens struck first via Oliver Kapanen early in the opening period. Later in the first period, the Sharks tied the game at one on Collin Graf’s 16th goal of the season, assisted by Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini.

Early in the second period, Philip Danault tipped in a shot by Josh Anderson to regain the lead for Montreal. Later in the middle frame, the Sharks followed that up with three unanswered goals to make it 4-2 good guys through two periods of play. Michael Misa scored his fifth goal of the season at around the ten-and-a-half-minute mark of the second period and now has goals in three straight games to tie it at two. At close to the 18-minute mark of the middle frame, Macklin Celebrini scored his 30th goal of the season to give the Sharks their first lead of the night, assisted by Collin Graf and Will Smith. 25 seconds later, the Sharks extended their lead to two on Alexander Wennberg’s 12th goal of the season, assisted by Kiefer Sherwood for the latter’s first point as a Shark.

Early in the third period, the Sharks made it a three-goal contest on a power play goal by Will Smith for his 19th goal of the season, assisted by Macklin Celebrini and Dmitry Orlov. Soon after, the Habs rattled off three consecutive goals via Ivan Demidov and two from Alex Newhook to even things up at five and storm back into this one. Fortunately for the Sharks, they got the last laugh in this contest, as they scored the last two goals to put up a seven spot and keep their win streak alive. These last two goals came via Kiefer Sherwood on the man advantage for his 18th goal of the season and first goal as a Shark, assisted by Philipp Kurashev and William Eklund, followed by an empty-netter from Adam Gaudette for his 14th goal of the season, assisted by Macklin Celebrini.

Yaroslav Askarov was back in the crease for the Sharks tonight against the Canadiens, recording 32 saves on 37 shots against. In addition, Adam Gaudette was inserted into the Sharks lineup on the fourth line tonight in place of Pavol Regenda.

The Sharks continue to roll right now, as they pulled off a major miraculous victory over the Canadiens. Team Teal’s first line of Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, and Collin Graf was on fire tonight, and this first line combo should remain intact until further notice. More specifically, Celebrini led the way with four points, and Smith and Graf each scored two points. On top of that, Kiefer Sherwood had his best performance in a Sharks uniform so far. Lastly, this was the Sharks’ last game before Friday’s trade deadline, and it remains anyone’s guess what trades they will make in the next few days and how different the team will look by their next game. Speaking of the Sharks’ next matchup, it is set for Friday night against the St. Louis Blues at 7 pm PT.

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

Sunday, March 1, 2026

Sharks 2025-26 Game 58 Recap: Sharks 2, Jets 1 (OT) (3/1/26)

Team Teal comes from behind in a low-scoring affair and defeats the Winnipeg Jets in overtime by a score of 2-1 to sweep their weekend back-to-back set.

Prior to the start of this game, the Sharks brought out franchise greats Owen Nolan, Jonathan Cheechoo, and Scott Thornton for the ceremonial puck drop for their last alumni heritage game of the season. The Jets scored the first goal of the game via Morgan Barron early in the opening period. During the second period, Mario Ferraro caught an elbow to the face by Tanner Pearson and had to head to the dressing room for a bit, but luckily he was able to return to the Sharks bench.

Early in the third period, the Sharks breathed more life into this game and tied things up at one on some great hand-eye coordination from Will Smith for his 18th goal of the season, assisted by Collin Graf and Macklin Celebrini. This would ultimately force overtime, where the Sharks would earn the victory on Michael Misa’s fourth NHL goal and first NHL overtime game-winning goal, assisted by William Eklund and Sam Dickinson. With today’s OT winner by Misa, the Sharks set a franchise record for most overtime wins in a single season with their tenth this season.

The only lineup change for the Sharks today compared to yesterday’s victory over the Oilers was Alex Nedeljkovic in net, who was absolutely fantastic and made 27 saves on 28 shots against.

This afternoon matinee did not start how the Sharks wanted it to, and it was much quieter than yesterday’s barn burner against the Oilers. More importantly, the Sharks found another way to win in front of their home crowd, and it came via the biggest goal of Michael Misa’s life so far. This weekend has been a great turnaround for this Sharks team to snap their second-longest skid of the season, and I could not have asked for anything better. The Sharks’ current homestand continues on Tuesday, when they host the Montreal Canadiens at 7 pm PT.