San Jose Sharks
Sharks Locker Room: Fans Starting To Believe Again
This felt like a particularly important game for the San Jose Sharks to win.
You can say that about any game, of course. But coming off a comeback for the ages, the 6-5 OT win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, it was important for the Sharks to maintain momentum.
Also, if San Jose is indeed going to shock the hockey world, and make the playoffs, they have to step on the throat of teams behind them in the standings, like the Calgary Flames.
“I think, if anything, gave us confidence, that we’re pretty, pretty good hockey team,” head coach Ryan Warsofsky said of the four-goal third period comeback that shocked the Pens.
The now 17-14-3 Sharks played just like that, rolling the Flames 6-3, to go three games over .500 for the first time since they were 22-19-3 on Jan. 29 of the 2021-22 season.
Jan. 23 of 2021-22 is also the last time that San Jose held a playoff spot this late into the year. They were 21-19-2 and had the last wild card berth in the Western Conference.
Playoff teams do what the Sharks did against the Flames, they keep a winning streak going, and they outplay even-to-weaker competition.
“It’s huge, obviously, coming off the road trip, it’s easy to have a kind of a letdown game, the first home game back,” two-time Stanley Cup champion Barclay Goodrow, who obviously knows something about winning, said. “I think we did a good job of starting quick, using the crowd to our advantage.”
Speaking of…
The San Jose Sharks believe.
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
And slowly, but surely, it seems like the fans do, once again.
While tonight’s announced 14,261 was far from a sellout, it was loud, and a decent crowd, compared to recent years, for a non-giveaway Tuesday tilt in December against a Calgary team that’s not a draw.
Don’t believe me?
On Dec. 20, 2022, a Tuesday, the 10-18-6 Sharks lost 7-3 to the Flames, in front of an announced 10,431.
“It’s becoming a great building to play in again,” Goodrow, the last holdover from a San Jose playoff team, said. “The crowd’s really into it.”
You can hear it now in the murmur in crowd whenever Macklin Celebrini touches the puck in overtime. You can hear it now when the crowd chants, “Asky! Asky! Asky!” like they used to chant “Nabby! Nabby! Nabby!”
“It makes it a lot of fun for us players,” Goodrow said.
And the Sharks, in turn, are making it fun for the fans again.
Ryan Warsofsky
Warsofsky really liked Chernyshov's NHL debut: "I thought he was really good. He's gonna be another one. He's gonna be a good player. He can make plays. He's big. Did not look overwhelmed by the moment whatsoever."
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 17, 2025
Macklin Celebrini
Celebrini, on Goodrow:
He’s meant everything. I think he’s been our rock. He doesn’t get as much credit as he should. His leadership role, the way he carries himself and speaks up in the locker room and talks to guys and treats people, and then his play on the ice. He does all this stuff that doesn’t get recognized and so valuable to win games. There’s a reason he’s won a Stanley Cup and he’s just been awesome for us.
Celebrini, on his spin-o-rama goal: "It was kind of just reaction. Graf made a good play on the wall, intercepted [the puck] and then just found me in the middle. It was just all kind of reactionary, but it was a little lucky. It goes off my hip."
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 17, 2025
Celebrini, on Igor Chernyshov:
He was great. It’s fun playing with him. He’s obviously a big body and super-smart. We almost connected on a couple plays there.
Barclay Goodrow
Goodrow laughed, when asked if he taught Celebrini that spin-o-rama move for the goal: "That's definitely in my bag of tools."
But seriously?
"He proves each and every night why he's one of the best players in the league, and we're all pretty happy he's on our team."
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 17, 2025
Tyler Toffoli
Toffoli scored his 300th NHL goal on his dad Rob's birthday: "I'm assuming my dad's gonna be pumped about this one. We'll see what he has to say. On his birthday, actually, too."
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 17, 2025
Toffoli, on Celebrini’s game:
He was incredible, regardless of scoring or not, he was definitely feeling it. I think I said it literally to Reavo right before the first goal of the game that he was feeling [it], and he made that great play to Klinger. So he led the charge again, and did a great job.
Toffoli gave George Kittle credit for getting #SJSharks fired up tonight.
Looks like Kittle read the starting line-up & he opened the locker room doors along with Brock Purdy: "I'm assuming you guys saw who got us going, and he's known for it, so he did a great job and got us…
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 17, 2025
