San Jose Sharks
Sharks Locker Room: Team of Destiny?
Randy Hahn said it.
And maybe, just maybe, after a five-game losing streak around the Olympics and a recent six-game skid that really shook the faith…maybe the San Jose Sharks are a team of destiny?
With 28 seconds to go, the Sharks edged the Anaheim Ducks 4-3, for their third-straight GWG with less than 90 seconds left.
That’s an NHL record:
Per @Sportradar, the #SJSharks are the first team in @NHL history to win three consecutive games on GWGs within the last 90 seconds of regulation.#TheFutureIsTeal
— San Jose Sharks PR (@SanJoseSharksPR) April 2, 2026
Speaking of destiny, the San Jose Sharks are once again in control of theirs: They’re one point back of the Los Angeles Kings for the last wild card spot in the West, and tied with the Nashville Predators with 77 points, but they also have a game in hand on both teams.
The Western Conference wild card chase isn’t a pillow fight, it’s a roller derby, with six squads, Los Angeles, San Jose, Nashville, Winnipeg Jets, Seattle Kraken, and St. Louis Blues careening into each other for a single playoff berth.
Per MoneyPuck, the Kings have the softest remaining schedule of this very dirty half-dozen (.476 Points %), but the Sharks are right there with the second-softest (.497)
And the Sharks are armed with the best player in this pack, Macklin Celebrini, who continues to burnish his case for the Hart Trophy with four points, including the game-tying goal and primary assist on Alex Wennberg’s GWG.
“He’s our leader. We’re gonna go as far as he takes us,” Alex Nedeljkovic said after the 3-2 triumph at the Columbus Blue Jackets that kicked off this win streak. “That’s not to put any pressure on him. It’s just who he is, and that’s what he wants.”
Case in point, during the six-game losing streak that preceded this run, Celebrini went cold, with just two assists. The 19-year-old superstar has responded with five goals and nine points in the last three wins.
So what if destiny is a first-round sweep at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche?
This season has been a ride like no other. The San Jose Sharks are learning invaluable lessons.
On Mar. 7, after a tense 2-1 loss to the New York Islanders, head coach Ryan Warsofsky implored his team to “enjoy [the stretch run] and have fun.”
This is a great Warsofsky quote, about how #SJSharks should approach the stretch run & their first meaningful games in March since 2019:
"Enjoy it and have fun. I know this is a business, and I get it, but we're playing a game that we all love, we're in a position that probably…
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) March 8, 2026
The young Sharks, admittedly gripping their sticks tight, responded by going 2-6-1.
It looks like San Jose is, once again, having fun, but this time, they’re also learning how to win in some of the most pressure-packed games that they’ve ever played. That will matter, in the years to come.
Ryan Warsofsky
Warsofsky on Ostapchuk: "He got an opportunity early in the year, he ran with it, and he's earned it. He's gonna be a special player for us for a long time."
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) April 2, 2026
Warsofsky, on game-time decision Chernyshov (illness), scheduled to warm up but didn't: "Just didn't make sense for us, playing back-to-back, for him to take warm-ups, sent him home, and we'll reassess in the morning."
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) April 2, 2026
Macklin Celebrini
Ryan Reaves crashes Macklin Celebrini’s @NHL_On_TNT post-game interview 😂#SJSharks | #TheFutureIsTeal pic.twitter.com/8jpvPF1N9c
— SnipeCity420 (@SnipeCity420) April 2, 2026
Zack Ostapchuk
Ostapchuk on Celebrini: "He's not a typical 19 year old, right?"
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) April 2, 2026
Alex Wennberg
Wennberg, on what makes Celebrini’s shot so dangerous:
I wish I could tell [you], to be honest. We talked about this yesterday, how he’s working on it, but it’s his quick release, it’s hard, it’s fast, it’s a little disguised. It’s something that’s really impressive. You can see how he’s using it, just to move it a little bit and get the goalie to freeze on it. Just an unbelievable play, for sure.
Is Graf OK? Asky should have gone to the box for 4 minutes at the end there.
Graf took a head shot during the celebration and he was definitely hurting.
What a comeback. 2 goals in the final 100 seconds. That’s 3 wins in a row against teams with better records and/or hotter than the Sharks.
Amazing how many were ready to call it a season after the losses in StL and Nashville. Its just not that kind of season …
Whether you’re rooting for the playoffs or the higher draft pick, lotta meaningful games happening tonight beyond the Sharks v Leafs, including NSH v LAK.
So we need Nashville to win? Then the Sharks to beat Nashville ?
Sharks control their own destiny. We need Sharks wins
We need to be ready to be workmanlike tonight it’s easy to have a let down after an emotional game like that.
beat LA, but in all seriousness, LA plays some weak teams
The definitely have some individual bad moments but Dickinson-Leddy has been a pretty great pairing. They should continue to see their minutes rise down the stretch.
Leddy is a good guy for Dicky to learn from. Hope he’s soaking up all the knowledge he can from him.
Leddy has been so good since he was brought back up. Was it 2 weeks ago that there was so much hate on him?
Great win. Now please, going forward, No Dellandrea. Use Regenda or Kurashev. Even with Delly’s horrible outing, I have a bad feeling that Warso is going to continue to use him.
He’s only directly to blame for one goal. One is the smallest number. No big deal. Need his energy!
Can’t tell if serious…? I think he was a good agent of chaos at the offensive net and on the forecheck but yeah he’s not scoring much. Best used in the 4th line. His speed would be better used with Goody and UpChuck. Or move UpChuck up to the 3rd with Misa?
Or don’t touch the 4th line that is playing really good hockey and just scratch Dellandrea.
We gota start calling the Eklund Wennberg line the Three Amigos line because they just circle around shooting their guns in the air and never attack.
😂
except Wenny has 3 goals in 2 games… 😉
I’m taking about their line not Wenny in particular, wenny is have a career year.
none of the 3 goals he scored were with his line. 2 came on the PP, the other off Macklin’s assist
Oh yeah totally agree. Mentioned it in the previous about their zone time. At least Cele line shoots. Really though what do you expect. If I shot like Eklund at the NHL level I’d always pass too.
I’m beginning to come to terms that Ek may not be with the team when they begin to be real Cup contenders. Maybe he can have a better season next year from a scoring standpoint.
Chuck needs to be in the top 6 now.
The lack of scoring outside the Celebrini line is pretty concerning at this point. I realize that Wennberg has pitched in some, but last night it was when he was on the ice with Celebrini. I think the Wennberg-Eklund style of controlling/cycling the puck can be effective in the right environment, but it requires defensemen that can activate to create mini 2-on-1 situations in the offensive zone or can get shots through from the middle of the ice. Currently, the sharks defense just sits at the blue line and fails to get shots through when the puck is sent back… Read more »
They don’t cycle the puck in the traditional way with 3 guys in on it in closer quarters where the defenders have to play closer together and its way harder to sort out, and it gives the D men tons of lanes to go to the net. They literally stay as spread out as possible and pass the puck around as far as possible from the net on the perimeter and it lets the defenders stay in a nice spread out box to circle the wagons. They are the three amigos 😂
Imagine that with Raddysh on the blue line.
Raddysh really might be quite a good fit with this group. I think it should be a pretty attractive opportunity for him, too. In the rising cap era, though, Tampa might be able to afford to bring him back. Kinda surprised it isn’t done already, but there’s a lot of time before July 1. I imagine Mike Grier would be aggressive if the opportunity came up though. He is even a right handed stick.
Oh great! REAL BULLETS!!!