San Jose Sharks
Sharks Locker Room: “Something Special”…This Year?
PITTSBURGH — This was the greatest comeback win in San Jose Sharks’ regular season history.
The Sharks, down 5-1 with 12:28 left in the third period, tied the game with four goals in 11:49, and John Klingberg won it 6-5 in OT.
Per Darin Stephens on Bluesky, this was the “21st time in NHL history a team overcame a [4+ goal] deficit in the 3rd period and won, 11th time on the road, first time overall in SJ history (home or road, regular season or playoffs).”
“Not everyday you can see a game like that,” Yaroslav Askarov, who gutted out 38 saves on 43 shots, said. “So that’s something special.”
“Something special” might also be said about the San Jose Sharks this season, outmanned at times, but apparently, never out of it. A special team is made up of remarkable stories, and this team has got that.
“We’re a resilient group,” Klingberg said.
Klingberg could’ve been talking about himself, of course. The 34-year-old’s career was left for dead by much of the fanbase after a 7-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Dec. 3, Klingberg responded with four goals on this five-game road trip, after three in 19 contests to start the season.
This individual comeback might be more stunning than the team’s this evening.
Then of course, there’s Macklin Celebrini, the 19-year-old superstar, who led not just with his stick but with his fists tonight.
Down 4-1 early in the third period, Celebrini jumped Parker Wotherspoon after the blueliner crunched Will Smith against the boards. Smith left the game favoring his shoulder.
Celebrini got the extra penalty, but Klingberg said seeing their best player fight for a teammate galvanized the group.
“We show that we can win games in a different fashion,” power play quarterback Klingberg added. “We’ve been coming back in a lot of games. We’ve been able to close out games. We’ve been able to win games on our PK. We want our power play to be better and be building momentum for the team every game, it’s tough to create all the time, but we’re going to get there.”
Add teen phenom Celebrini throwing hands to that checklist. And he showed off his hands, notching a goal and two assists on the Sharks’ last three goals of the game, including the OT game-winner.
This is a 19-year-old fighting a 28-year-old. And oh, by the way, his 47 points is third in the NHL, and he’s had a direct hand in 49.5 percent of his team’s 95 goals.
“He’s one of the best in the league,” no less than Sidney Crosby told San Jose Hockey Now last week.
These are just two stories.
Let’s not forget Askarov’s performance, coming off the flu. Tyler Toffoli scoring two goals and four points, including the game-tying strike, in a season where his effectiveness has been questioned. Alex Wennberg dropping two goals and eight points on this road trip.
The Sharks just keep finding a way to hang in the Western Conference playoff race: 16-14-3 San Jose holds the final wild card berth.
This is the earliest that the team has reached 16 wins in a season since 2018-19, the last time that the Sharks qualified for the post-season.
“It just shows you’re never out of a game,” Celebrini said.
And with Celebrini and Askarov and company, it’s feeling more and more like you shouldn’t count them out this season.
There is a vibe on this airplane right now that’s been missing for years. Unbelievable! See you Tuesday @SanJoseSharks @NBCSSharks
— Randy Hahn (@sharkvoice) December 14, 2025
John Klingberg
Klingberg, on turning point in #SJSharks 6-5 comeback win: "Maybe it starts when Smitty is going down? You see our best player going in, sticking up for him. And obviously, getting that 5-on-3 goal sparks it a little bit."
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 13, 2025
Macklin Celebrini
Celebrini, on standing up for Smith: "Anyone would have done that if it happened to any guy on our team. I think that's the kind of group we have and how close we are."
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 13, 2025
Celebrini, on criticism of Klingberg: "We all love Klingy…hasn't played a lot of hockey last couple years w/ all the injuries…nature of it, you're going to get ripped on…just done a great job of finding [his game]…production & stuff that he doesn't even get credit for."
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 14, 2025
Celebrini, on his reaction to Smith getting injured: "I don't think any of us like to see one of our teammates go down and take a hit like that. Eky did a good job, kind of jumping in there, and I just felt like I had to have his back."
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 13, 2025
Ryan Warsofsky
Warsofsky had no update on Smith or Kurashev. Also saw Gaudette limping around hallway, hope they’re all OK
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 13, 2025
Yaroslav Askarov
