February 26, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Sharks center Maclean Celebrini (71) shoots during the second quarter of a game against the Calgary Flames at the SAP Center in San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Image The San Jose Sharks, who have lost five straight, will look to make it two in a row and keep pace in playoff contention when they host the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.
The Sharks won 5-4 at home against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. The two-goal lead after the first quarter was narrowed to one goal in the middle frame and then erased early in the third. They took the lead again a few minutes later and equalized again less than two minutes later.
Defender Shakir Mukhamadullin then broke San Jose’s skid by scoring the equalizer just over two minutes after scoring the equalizer (0-4-1). That brought the team within five points of a second wild card in the Western Conference, hosted by the Seattle Kraken, who beat the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.
“I thought we did a really good job,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsowski said. “Like our first period. We did a good job in the second period. Obviously (the Oilers) are a good team and they’re going to push and they did that in the third period of the game. Obviously it opened up a little bit for our liking, but we found a way to win the hockey game.”
The rebuilding Sharks have been a surprising team in the playoff mix, hovering around a postseason berth. The future is expected to be bright for the Northern California team led by young star Macklin Celebrini, but they are not yet expected to be in playoff contention.
“I learned a lot from being around our coaches, the best coaches in the league and the best players in the world (with Team Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics),” Celebrini said. “Their mindset, some of the things they preach. … The message of our locker room over there, I think I can bring some of that back and see what it is.”
Unlike San Jose, Winnipeg was expected to be among the postseason participants after last season’s Presidents Trophy-winning campaign.
Instead, the Jets are 10 points out of the playoffs, good for 12th place in the Western Conference and 27th place overall in the NHL.
Their most recent outing was another disappointment in a season full of them, falling 5-4 in overtime to the host Anaheim Ducks on Friday. The Jets took a 2-0 lead early in the second period and a 3-1 lead early in the third before Anaheim scored three unanswered goals to take the lead.
Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor scored late to tie the game at 4-4, but Anaheim’s Chris Kreider scored the winner with 13 seconds left in overtime.
“We had a two-goal lead twice and then gave it away,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “But in the end we got some clues that we had to find a way to get home. I mean, we stuck with it and obviously the 6-on-5 goal at the end was big. We got a point out of it.”
The Jets know they have to do better against the Sharks.
“This is a young team that will try to get up to speed,” Arniel said. “We have to be smart about how we approach them.”
–Field level media
