March 12, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; San Jose Sharks left winger William Eklund (72) hits the puck in the air to score past Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) during the third quarter of a game at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images The San Jose Sharks aim to strengthen their position in the Western Conference playoff race by staying in the win column when they visit the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.
The Sharks advanced to the West’s second wild-card spot on Thursday with a 4-2 win over the Boston Bruins, who had previously won 13 straight on home ice.
San Jose forward William Eklund scored the highlight goal of the evening in the third period. His initial shot was blocked by Jeremy Swayman, but Eklund scored an own goal as he came down the ice for his first goal since January 7.
“It will be like that during the season, you have to play through things,” Eklund said. “You’re not going to feel 100% every night. You just have to get through it.”
Macklin Celebrini recorded the leading assist on Tyler Toffoli’s second period goal, giving him 91 points (33 goals, 58 assists) in his second NHL season. Celebrini is poised to join Pittsburgh Penguins legend Sidney Crosby as the only active NHL players to score 100 points in a season before the age of 20.
Backup goalie Alex Nedeljkovic made 39 saves.
“I felt like the puck was in good shape,” Nedeljkovic said. “It was pretty clear out there. We were doing a good job of not getting people out of our way early on, and if we got a rebound, we did a good job of tying up the sticks or clearing the puck right away. We were pretty solid in our own shoes all night long.”
Meanwhile, the Canadians are trying to maintain good standing in the Eastern Conference. They earned an extra day of rest by beating the Ottawa Senators 3-2 on Wednesday night for their third straight win.
Ivan Demidov scored the go-ahead goal at 12:40 of the third quarter to secure the away win. Drake Batherson scored twice to give the Senators a 2-1 advantage in the first frame, but Jacob Fowler’s 32 saves put the Habs in position to win.
“It was pretty hectic,” said Fowler, a rookie making his 11th start (5-4-2). “There were a couple plays where our guys on the ice were pretty gassed, and there were a lot of huge blocks there in the last few minutes. A lot of guys are doing a lot of hard work out there to get the win, and that’s what it takes this time of the year.”
Captain Nick Suzuki scored a team-high 75 points (21 goals, 54 assists) for the Canadiens, who are third in the Atlantic Division. Sniper Cole Caufield (37 goals) missed the Ottawa game due to illness.
This is the second and final meeting between the two teams this season. On March 3, the defense collapsed as Celebrini recorded a goal and three assists in San Jose’s 7–5 home win.
Montreal is 18-11-2 at home this season, while San Jose is 14-16-1 on the road.
–Field level media
