The Sharks got the win; their lost lead deserves another look

The Sharks had a 2-0 lead early in Thursday’s third period and still needed Macklin Celebrini to settle a shootout. Their 3-2 win over Nashville came with a complication that has followed every San Jose victory this season: none has ended in regulation.

San Jose ended a two-game losing streak and now has four victories this season, all beyond regulation. The less comfortable part is just as clear. The Sharks held a two-goal advantage early in the third period, watched it disappear, and needed Alex Nedeljkovic to make a late overtime stop before Celebrini supplied the only successful shootout attempt.

That is a good way to earn two points. It is not a complete way to close a hockey game.

San Jose’s opening goal came from Mason Marchment 5:30 into the first period, with Tyler Toffoli and Alexander Wennberg assisting. The Sharks then waited until the third to double the margin. Will Smith scored at 4:28, beating Juuse Saros to the far side with a right-circle wrist shot.

The sequence gave San Jose exactly what a road team wants: an early lead, a second goal and plenty of time to make Nashville chase.

Instead, the Predators found a route back.

Ryan O’Reilly cut the deficit to one on a third-period power play with 9:05 elapsed, with Jonathan Marchessault and Roman Josi involved in the play. That left Nashville more than enough time to attack without immediately gambling on an extra attacker. The tying goal arrived in the final breath of regulation.

Steven Stamkos scored with 0.8 seconds left, after Nashville had pulled Saros for the extra skater.

Stamkos finished the extra-attacker chance. Assigning individual blame would require more than that scoring sequence, but the cost was clear: San Jose’s two-goal advantage had disappeared before regulation ended.

The Sharks also had a chance to end the game in overtime. Smith got a breakaway chance, but Saros made the save with 3:30 remaining, then denied Kiefer Sherwood with 1:14 left. Those were meaningful saves, not harmless touches in a quiet extra period.

Nashville’s goaltender kept the Predators alive long enough to make the shootout relevant, and his work is part of why San Jose’s failure to create separation cannot be explained simply as a collapse.

Nedeljkovic supplied the counterweight. He made 32 saves on 34 shots, including a stop on Josi’s one-timer with nine seconds remaining in overtime. That intervention prevented Nashville from winning before the skills competition began. It also showed why the Sharks still had a chance to leave with the full two points after their regulation advantage had vanished.

Celebrini finished the job with a wrist shot to Saros’ glove side. No other shootout attempt found the net. Celebrini’s conversion gave San Jose its fourth win in a game decided beyond regulation, a perfect-looking result in a category that is inherently narrow: one shooter, one goaltender and very little resemblance to the five-on-five work that preceded it.

That distinction matters. A shootout rewards a successful attempt in a specialized contest. It cannot confirm that a team managed the puck well enough late in regulation, defended the final six-on-five sequence cleanly or generated enough pressure to keep the opponent from building momentum. Thursday offered evidence for the first claim and left the other questions open.

The Sharks deserve credit for surviving the sequence. Marchment and Smith built the cushion, Nedeljkovic protected the game after Nashville’s comeback, and Celebrini delivered the deciding finish. But the route still matters.

Four wins beyond regulation are valuable in the standings; they need not all carry the same warning. A comeback can make overtime an achievement. Thursday’s concern is more specific: San Jose was the team ahead, with two goals to protect.

Thursday was a win, and the Sharks earned it. Their 2-0 lead, however, remains an unfinished regulation task that a shootout winner cannot erase.

Sources

NHL: official game records

NHL: official game records

ESPN: box score and play-by-play