Sharks Almost Beat Best Team in NHL, Lose 2-1 in OT to Jets

The San Jose Sharks visit Canada Life Centre to take on the Winnipeg Jets.

William Eklund scored, but the Sharks lost in OT 2-1.

Period 1

3 in: Lowry buries Thrun behind the net, good hit, looks like Thrun is OK.

7 in: Wennberg tucks an NZ pass under a Jets stick to Zetterlund, easy entry, shot on goal. Small stuff, but skill that matters.

Thompson skates with Scheifele down the wing to the net. Good defensive effort.

8 in: Walman pinches without forward support, they’re too low in zone, leads to Winnipeg 2-on-1, big Vanecek save on Perfetti. San Jose Sharks will need Vitek to be top of his game.

8 left: Another big save by Vanecek, Namestnikov gets into slot after long Jets perimeter possession.

7 left: Thompson, the other D, was slow to get on top of the two Jets hammering away at puck to the side of Vanecek. More to learn. Eklund in the middle of it too, in front of the net, he was a little slow on it too.

Really good 4-on-4 shift by Wennberg, controlling tempo.

6 left: Mukhamadullin looks slow rotating on Lowry, Sharks come out with a power play because of goalie interference, but you can’t let Lowry get a clear path at the net like that, you want Mukhamadullin to get in the way before.

Eklund goal: No-look pass by Celebrini at top of key draws Hellebuyck’s attention, so when Celebrini slides puck over to the Eklund for one-timer, the goalie is a split-second behind. Great work by everybody of that power play, Smith assist, Wennberg net front. That’s the second Celebrini-Smith-Eklund goal connection, first time was Nov. 25 against the Los Angeles Kings.

When does Hellebuyck realize that the puck is going to the other side to Eklund?

Celebrini no-look + Wennberg screen buys Eklund that split-second to catch Hellebuyck moving with perfectly-placed one-timer https://t.co/dpA9SsAmWm

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) February 25, 2025

3 left: Eklund potential 2-on-1 with Toffoli, I wonder if you want Eklund to attack into the interior so he’s a shooting threat too. Eklund takes the open outside, which is fine, Stanley is huge, but basically leaves only a pass option for him. Granted, there’s a little bit of take what they give you. Part of what I don’t like there is the pass that Eklund opts for, telegraphed, easy to intercept for Jets d-man who’s caught up to Toffoli. Eklund could’ve held the puck and tried for a better play than that, I think that’s fair.

1 left: Great Eklund stretch pass to area of Celebrini with seconds left, almost leads to a return pass Grade-A for Eklund.

Vanecek sneaky-solid for San Jose Sharks this period, Jets just getting started with their offensive pressure, I bet.

Period 2

1 in: Kunin takes it to the net off Sturm pass. Good effort there.

3 in: I don’t mind Celebrini’s OZ turnovers, generally, he’s trying to put offensive pressure into the slot. It will pay off one day. But that backhanded diagonal NZ pass, easily picked off, that can’t happen. Feeds Jets’ counterattack, Connor has a Grade-A, Vanecek steps up. I think, like Celebrini says, his puck management is anecdotally better (though the stats don’t support it in raw turnovers). But that’s a no-no.

9 in: What a determined shift by Ferraro. Clearly hurting after taking a shot by Scheifele in arm, he’s out there for 30-plus more seconds. But he also makes the play to get it out.

Celebrini does a dynamite job one-on-one versus Lowry, and then, as Remenda says, Lowry gets away with interference.

10 in: Oh man, that’s an awful Goodrow pass to Dellandrea on entry. Soft backhand, was never going to make it, just catnip for Jets counterattack. I don’t subscribe to the over-the-top Goodrow hate out there, I think he’s still a decent fourth-liner that was miscast on a higher line earlier this season, he also leads and kills penalties at a high level, but that’s a play, he should know better.

8 left: Impressed, on that Celebrini-Smith PP rush, Smith’s cool with the puck in traffic. That seemed like an issue to start the season, not so much anymore.

That’s why you need the deception on Hellebuyck…Smith sets up Celebrini for the PP one-timer, but Hellebuyck was waiting. There was no traffic in front of maybe, looked like Smith was looking at the goalie, but Smith was too wide to deceive much, long pass for the goalie to get ready for.

2 left: Big block by Sturm after the Jets have minute-plus in zone on the power play. Graf looked tired at the end there after some good kill there by him. He had an interesting one-on-one with Scheifele, Scheifele facing out on PP, Graf attacked him defensively, stalling him. Couldn’t get it out, but killed some time.

Period 3

Celebrini penalty: Oh man, feels like a learning lesson penalty. Just can’t do that in the OZ. Love the spirit of it, Celebrini fighting for every inch of the ice, and it’s also crazy, an 18-year-old throwing down a big grizzled veteran like Dylan DeMelo isn’t surprising anymore. But huge kill.

4 in: Like that from Celebrini, end of shift, doesn’t try to force his way through Jets check, rims it hard, Eklund gets it on other side, Celebrini changes, Eklund hits Thrun coming late for a chance. That’s a mature play.

5 in: Nice small area game by Goodrow, finds Dellandrea in slot for wide-open chance. Not sure why Dellandrea couldn’t pull trigger there, maybe just trying to outwait Hellebuyck there. That was a great set-up.

7 in: Nice work by Graf, takes it from Connor high, then with puck in NZ, easy play is to dump, but if you can make it work? Graf attacks, gains zone, whips a hard shot on Hellebuyck. Sharks haven’t got a shot for a while, feels like.

8 left: Good effort between Eklund and Celebrini to get it out, love to see it.

7 left: Dellandrea does nice job burying his check, bails out Grundstrom who didn’t get it out. This line has done a decent job overall tonight.

6 left: What a Vanecek save! Kunin loses it behind the net, unforced, Lowry gets a tip.

Morrissey goal: San Jose Sharks outshot 14-3 in the third, simply not a winning formula.

OT

Wennberg-Graf-Ferraro to start. More defensive posture.