Tag: Marcus Johansson

Sharks Beat Wild 6-5 with Celebrini OT goal in Minnesota

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San Jose Sharks right wing Ryan Reaves (75) scores a goal in the second period and is congratulated by teammates center Ty Dellandrea (10) and defenseman Vincent Desharnais (5) against the Minnesota Wild at the Target Center in St Paul on Sun Oct 26, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks defeated the Minnesota Wild 6-5 in overtime on Sunday. William Eklund, Michael Misa, Ryan Reaves, Tyler Toffoli and Macklin Celebrini scored for the Sharks. Yaroslav Askarov made 28 saves for the win. Marcus Johansson, Marco Rossi, Ryan Hartman and Zeev Buium scored for the Wild. Jesper Wallstedt made 19 saves in the loss.

The Sharks’ young stars shined in this win. William Eklund scored twice, Michael Misa scored his first NHL goal and Macklin Celebrini scored a stunning game-winner. Despite that, the Sharks once again had trouble holding a lead, starting the third period with a 4-2 lead and ending up tied 5-5.

After the game, Tyler Toffoli spoke to that, saying that the team “gave up too many opportunities, kind of backed off, let them forecheck and do what they wanted to do. So obviously that’s something we’ve got to figure out.”

Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said: “We did some good things. We’re growing, learning lessons as we go here. That’s probably the biggest thing we take from tonight.”

William Eklund gave the Sharks a lead with his third goal of the season on the power play at 5:28. Lurking next to the net, Eklund waited for a pass from Macklin Celebrini, then swept the puck around Wallstedt. Assists went to Celebrini and Dmitry Orlov.

Michael Misa scored his first NHL goal at 13:35. Timothy Liljegren took a shot at the left side of the net but it slid across to the other side. Misa was there to nudge it over the line.

The Wild scored at 17:02, a power play goal from Marcus Johansson. Johansson was next to the right hand post when M Rossi’s shot came through the blue paint in front of Askarov. The puck went off of Johansson’s leg into the net. Assists went to Rossi and Brock Faber.

Marco Rossi made it a tie game 32 seconds later. An interception in the neutral zone created a two-on-one for the Wild. Kirill Kaprizov carried the puck in, then passed to Rossi for the shot.

At the end of the period, the shots were 10-8 Sharks. The Sharks took two penalties and the Wild took one.

William Eklund gave the Sharks the lead again at 11:15 of the second period. Philipp Kurashev caught the puck as it came out of a board battle, the passed it back down to Eklund in front of the net for a tap in.

Ryan Reaves made it 4-2 with a goal 19 seconds later, redirecting Barclay Goodrow’s shot from the boards. Goodrow and Ty Dellandrea got the assists.

In the second period, the shots were 9-6 Sharks. Only one penalty was called in the second period, and it went against the Sharks.

The Wild got one back at 4:28 of the third period. Ryan Hartman scored with a wrist shot on the power play. Assists went to Kaprizov and Faber.

Tyler Toffoli restored the two goal lead with a power play goal at 7:52. Celebrini and Eklund tried the same play they scored with before but that did not work. When Celebrini got the puck back, he skated to the net and made a backhand pass to Toffoli. Toffoli’s quick shot went in. Assists went to Celebrini and Eklund.

Zeev Buium made it 5-4 at 8:28 with a wrist shot from the blue line. Assists went to Hartman and Yakov Trenin.

Dmitry Orlov collided with Ryan Hartman at 15:03 and, after a conference, the officials called it a major penalty. The NHL reviewed the call and deemed it no penalty at all.

The Wild tied the game again at 17:42. Joel Eriksson Ek tipped Kaprizov’s shot to make it 5-5. Assists went to Kaprizov and Faber.

Minnesota outshot the Sharks 17-5 in the third period. Each team took one penalty.

The overtime period looked bad for the Sharks. The Sharks were trapped and tired in their zone when William Eklund risked a change to get Celebrini on the ice. Celebrini chased down the puck and skated in all alone to score the game winner.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday back in San Jose against the Los Angeles Kings at 8:00 PM PT.

Sharks Fall 8-7 to Wild in Minnesota Barn Burner, Celebrini, Smith Shine

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Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (29) defends against a shot as San Jose Sharks center Cam Lund (46) pressures during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

By Mary Walsh

Marcus Johansson, Brock Faber, Joel Ericksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov scored for Minnesota. Ericksson Ek scored four of the Wild’s goals and Kaprizov scored two. Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves for the win. Tyler Toffoli, Macklin Celebrini, Carl Grundstrom, Nikolai Kovalenko and Will Smith scored for San Jose, with Celebrini earning his first NHL hat trick and Smith earning three assists. Alexandar Georgiev made 36 saves in the loss.

Celebrini became the youngest Sharks player to score three goals in a game. He is also now the Sharks’ all-time rookie points leader, with 62. Pat Falloon had 59. Not far down that same list is Will Smith with 44 points.

After the game, Will Smith talked about the comeback and the loss. “I think it’s been our kind of model all year that we’re never out of it but it’s obviously tough in the end.” Celebrini also mentioned the team’s tenacity: “We kept going, we kept pushing, we never really gave up.”

Tyler Toffoli talked about the pressure on these rookies: “They are relied on already to be the cornerstones of the franchise. Really proud of them, the way they handled themselves tonight but they’re going to have to do that for the rest of my time here.”

Toffoli scored the first goal of the game at 12:11 of the first period. William Eklund, at the goal line, took a pass from Alexander Wennberg and then passed the puck to Toffoli for the shot.

Marcus Johansson tied the game at 14:16 with a shot from the point. Assists went to Frederick Gaudreau and Gustav Nyquist.

Brock Faber gave the Wild a lead at 18:48 with a shot from high in the slot and through traffic. An assist went to Matt Boldy.

The Wild outshot the Sharks 17-10 in the first period. The Sharks went through a prolonged spell without a shot in the later half of the period, though they mustered a flurry of offense in the final minute or two.

Macklin Celebrini tied the game at two with a wrist shot at 7:29 of the second period. Catching a pass from Jack Thompson, Celebrini rolled around the Wild defender and then slid the puck around Fleury on the stick side. Assists went to Thompson and Will Smith.

Less than 20 seconds later, Joel Ericksson Ek gave the Wild a 3-2 lead. Assists went to Marcus Foligno and Matt Boldy.

Carl Grundstrom tied it again less than a minute later. Grundstrom carried the puck through the neutral zone and over the line before dropping it to Cam Lund, who gave it back as Grundstrum arrived at the net.

Macklin Celebrini made it 4-3 Sharks at 12:28. He ad the puck near the boards and passed it behind the net to Smith, who sent it back out when Celebrini went to the slot. Assists went to Smith and Timothy Liljegren.

Kirill Kaprizov tied it at 4 with a power play goal at 17:02. Assists went to Mats Zuccarello and Joel Ericksson Ek. Ericksson Ek scored his second of the game on a power play at 19:48. Assists went to Marco Rossi and Matt Boldy.

In the second period, the Wild outshot the Sharks but only 15-14, reflecting a much closer period. The Sharks took two penalties and a third matching minor in the second period.

Joel Ericksson Ek completed his hat trick with a power play goal 1:02 into the third. Assists went to Kaprizov and Zuccarello. Ericksson Ek made it a haul just over a minute later. Assists went to Boldy and Foligno.

Nikolai Kovalenko scored for the Sharks at 4:44. The goal was the start of a surprising third period comeback by the Sharks. Assists went to Celebrini and Henry Thrun.

Celebrini completed his hat trick and brought the Sharks within a goal at 10:02 of the third. Assists went to Smith and Kovalenko.

Will Smith tied the game with the Sharks net empty and less than a minute left on the clock. He took the shot from the top of the face-off circle into traffic at the net. Assists went to Lijegren and Celebrini.

Kirill Kaprizov scored the game winner for Minnesota at 1:01 of overtime. Assists went to Zuccarello and Jared Spurgeon.

The Sharks next play on Friday in Edmonton against the Oilers at 6:30 PM PT.

Sharks Lose 4-3 to Red Hot Sabres

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photo from sfgate.com: Buffalo Sabres goaltender Linus Ullmark, right, reaches for the puck next to San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture during the third period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019.

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The Buffalo Sabres continued their hot start to the season with a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks Saturday. The win brings the Sabres record to 7-1-1. Buffalo goals came from Marcus Johansson, Casey Mittelstadt, Jeff Skinner and Zemgus Girgensons. Linus Ullmark made 29 saves in the win. Sharks goals came from Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl and Marcus Sorensen. Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 31 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks forward Timo Meier said:

I think it was a good team game. We took some penalties that we probably shouldn’t have taken. It kind of took the rhythm out of our game, to kill off some penalties, and you know at the end, some energy that might miss. But overall, I think we played a pretty solid game. Like I said, too bad we didn’t come up on top but overall some stuff we can take out of this game.

Sharks Head Coach Peter DeBoer also thought the team played pretty well:

I liked their resiliency, I thought we battled all night. I thought our game was pretty good tonight. When I look at the seven or eight games we’ve played, that’s probably one of the better sixty minute efforts we got. Penalty kill did a good job, we got a power play goal. I thought we passed up some opportunities to shoot, you know, got a little cute around the net a few times. That might have been the difference.

The Sabres scored first at 12:10 of the first period. Henri Jokiharju carried the puck into the zone and made a drop pass to Marcus Johansson in the slot. Johansson took a shot just as Jokiharju passed in front of him. The puck went off of Jones and trickled across the line Assists went to Jokiharju and Marco Scandella.

The Sharks tied it on a power play at 16:00. With Marleau screening the goaltender, Timo Meier took a pass from Joe Thornton below the goal line. Meier’s quick shot went into the top corner for his second of the season. Assists went to Thornton and Erik Karlsson.

The Sabres took the lead back near the end of the second period when Casey Mittelstadt scored on a shot that was initially called a goal, then disallowed by the on-ice officials as being scored with a high stick. An official review reversed that reversal and called it a good goal. Assists went to Jokiharju and Jimmy Vesey.

The Sharks tied the game again 44 seconds into the third period on another power play. Erik Karlsson took a shot that went off of Buffalo’s Rasmus Ristolainen. Tomas Hertl had taken a shot that rebounded out to Karlsson. Hertl and Evander Kane we both nearby when the puck went in but it did appear that Karlsson was the last Shark to touch it. Nevertheless, the goal went to Hertl with assists to Karlsson and Logan Couture.

Buffalo took their third lead of the game at 2:28 of the third with a goal from Jeff Skinner. Marcus Johansson tried to take a shot as he skated to the net but he didn’t get all of it and instead the puck slid slowly toward Martin Jones. Jones kicked it away but had come out too far to properly recover when puck went to his right. Skinner skated in behind him and was able to backhand the puck into the net for his fifth of the season. Assists went to Jake McCabe and Johansson.

The Sharks tied it again just 22 seconds later when Brent Burns’ blue line shot went off of Marcus Sorensen’s skate. The puck bounced over Ullmark’s leg and under his blocker.

Zemgus Girgensons scored the game winner at 12:15 of the period. Johan Larsson took a shot from above the face off circle. Martin Jones was set to stop it but it hit Kyle Okposo in the back instead of getting through to Jones. That created a rebound that Girgensons was able to pick up and shoot back in before Jones could find the puck. Assists went to Okposo and Larsson.

The Sharks will play the Sabres again in Buffalo on Tuesday at 3:30 PM PT.

NHL Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Finals podcast with Matt Harrington: Bruins with 1-0 series lead, host Hurricanes for Game 2 Sunday night

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Photo credit: @BDCBruins

On the NHL Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Finals:

#1 Six games in the second round of the playoffs, the Boston Bruins won four of out those six games to defeat the  Columbus Blue Jackets. Was this a series that the Bruins from the start an indicator that they would win?

#2 The third round began on Thursday night with the Bruins taking Game 1 of the series against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes 5-3. The Bruins scored early and held the lead. Does scoring early for the B’s often means big problems to their opponents?

#3 The Bruins got two power plays within 28 seconds. Marcus Johansson and Patrice Bergeron scored power play goals.

#4 Bruins forward Charlie Wagner, who contributed with a goal himself, said that the power plays no doubt have made the difference in the B’s Game 1 win by two goals.

#5 Boston’s famous sports bar and grill near TD Waterhouse Garden named Hurricanes had to think of a way to fix their name as the Bruins were facing off against the Hurricanes. The bar cleverly came up with a banner that read “Beat the” over the Hurricanes sign above the restaurant awning.

Matt Harrington does the NHL Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Playoffs podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL Stanley Cup Conference Finals podcast with Joe Lami: Sharks’ DeBoer didn’t underestimate Avs; Bruins getting it done on the power play

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nbcsports.com file photo: San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski (8) and the St. Louis Blues’ Vince Dunn (29) battle for the puck as the two teams meet Saturday night for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals at SAP Center in San Jose.

On the NHL Stanley Cup Conference Finals with Joe Lami:

San Jose Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer, after things settled down after the Sharks’ Game 7 victory on Wednesday night against the Colorado Avalanche, said the Avalanche were a team that handled a tough Calgary Flames team and got through them in the first round and it gave him some concern having to face Colorado.

While it gave DeBoer pause, he said he was proud of the job that the Sharks did in taking the second round against the Avalanche. Winning the second series without team captain Joe Pavelski, how both Brent Burns and Erki Karlsson both contributed with strong offensive performances. Burns and teammate Tomas Hertl combined with nine goals and 14 points.

The Boston Bruins held it together on Thursday night in Game 1 of the third round with a three goal win 5-3 over the Carolina Hurricanes, mostly because of the power play. The Bruins’ Marcus Johansson and Patrice Bergeron scored power play goals in 28 seconds. The Boston Bruins forward Charlie Wagner commented on the NHL Network that the Bruins took advantage of the power play, getting that huge 5-4 advantage gets them in their other end and they found their way to the back end of the net.

The Bruins, with their 5-3 win and having a 1-0 series lead, go to Game 2 on Sunday and the Bruins feel good to be on their home ice for this second game. Joe says the Bruins the huge favorite to take this series in five or six games.

Joe Lami does the NHL Stanley Cup Conference Finals podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com