March 3, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Sharks center Maclean Celebrini (71) shoots the puck and scores a goal during the second quarter of the game against the Montreal Canadiens at the SAP Center in San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Image The San Jose Sharks continue their push to make the playoffs when they take on the St. Louis Blues on Friday.
The Sharks sit three points behind the Seattle Kraken for the Western Conference’s second wild card spot with two games in hand. San Jose has 23 games left in the regular season.
The young team was reminded of the importance of focus in its latest game, a 7-5 home win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.
San Jose led 5-2 with 15 minutes left in the third quarter, but recovered by scoring two goals in the second half.
“We’ve said we’ve learned our lessons all year,” coach Ryan Warsowski said. “Going up 5-2 probably gives us a break to relax for a bit. An experienced team like that will give us a run for our money. I liked the resilience of our group to keep playing and get back in contention.”
San Jose has won three straight in an effort to snap a six-year playoff drought. Considering how many times the Sharks have blown leads and lost over the past few seasons, this is the kind of game that could be a building block.
“We’re confident. It’s our group,” said rising star Maclean Celebrini, who scored his 30th goal of the season and his fifth career four-plus-point game against the Habs. “We don’t panic when the game isn’t as good as we did, but we have confidence and calmness that we didn’t have last year.”
San Jose was quiet during the final days ahead of the Friday afternoon trade deadline. The biggest news is that forward Kiefer Sherwood, acquired from the Vancouver Canucks in January, signed a five-year contract extension on Wednesday.
The Blues are in a different position ahead of the clash.
St. Louis is 12 points out of a playoff position heading into Thursday night, but arrives in Northern California on the back of two straight wins, the latest being Wednesday’s 3-2 win over the Seattle Kraken.
“We’re playing better hockey,” said forward Brayden Schenn, whose team has won three of four games since the Olympic break. “A few more plays with the puck, better defense. … We’ve got to keep this going and keep building and playing for each other.”
With their playoff hopes all but gone, the Blues have had more news off the ice recently.
Fortunately for the team members, St. The trade deadline passed before puck drop as St. Louis was surrounded by trade rumors surrounding key veteran players such as Schenn, Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Colton Parayko and Jordan Binnington.
Parayko reportedly invoked his no-trade clause on Thursday in an attempt to stop a deal that could have sent him to the Buffalo Sabres, sparking more intrigue around the club.
On Thursday, the Blues offered Mathieu Joseph on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract. Joseph (29) has appeared in 39 games for St. Louis this season, scoring 11 points (2 goals, 9 assists).
–Field level media
