SAN JOSE – It’s only the end of December, but already the San Jose Sharks can match last season’s win total of 20 by beating the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday afternoon at SAP Center.
The last time the Sharks had at least 20 wins by the start of a new calendar year was the 2018-19 season, when they finished second in the Pacific Division and later advanced to the Western Conference final.
No one’s predicting that for this year’s Sharks — at least not yet — as they’ll likely be in a battle with several other teams to make the postseason. Still, the fact that they’re in this position at not even the midway point shows how much they’ve grown after spending the last three years at or near the bottom of the NHL standings.
The Sharks lost three straight games before the Christmas break, including a 7-2 beatdown at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights on Dec. 23.
Such a streak in years past might have snowballed. But instead of sliding further, the Sharks responded with a 6-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday and a 5-4 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Monday.
While Macklin Celebrini gets most of the accolades and credit for the Sharks’ drastic improvement, several other factors are involved, including a closeness within the team.
“I’m a firm believer in family, brotherhood, stuff like that,” defenseman Vincent Iorio told the Sharks Audio Network after Monday’s game. “Guys blocking shots, guys working their tails off. That’s so important. Most people won’t notice that, but little stuff like that is so huge inside our locker room.
“I think we’re going to continue to ride that wave and play for each other.”
Takeaways from Monday’s game
CELEBRINI’S CLOSING ARGUMENT
If there was any question before, there shouldn’t be now: Celebrini deserves to be on Canada’s team for the Winter Olympics in Italy.
Celebrini had his league-leading 10th three-point game of the season on Monday, with his first-period goal and second-period assist on William Eklund’s goal coming after he created Ducks turnovers. Celebrini also had a key block on a Cutter Gauthier’s shot with three seconds left in the third period to preserve the win.
“It doesn’t even surprise me anymore,” Sharks center Zack Ostapchuk said of Celebrini. “Every game it’s something new with that guy.”
Led by Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Sam Reinhart, Team Canada is going to have plenty of offensive firepower as they try to capture their first Olympic gold medal since 2014. Celebrini, too, can provide offense as needed, as evidenced by his 60 points in 39 games this season. But Monday’s game showed he can be an asset to Canada in a variety of ways.
Canada’s 25-man roster will be announced on Wednesday morning.
CHERNYSHOV MAKING CASE TO STAY
While it seems every winger who gets put on Celebrini’s line produces points, it’s still impressive to see what Igor Chernyshov has done in his first two weeks in the NHL.
Including his second-period goal on Monday, where he took a pass from Celebrini, and went forehand-to-backhand to beat Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal, Chernyshov now has two goals and four assists in six NHL games. Since he was placed on the Sharks’ top line alongside Celebrini after Will Smith sustained an upper-body injury on Dec. 13, Chernyshov has points in five of the six games he’s played.
Smith and fellow forward Philipp Kurashev are both now considered week-to-week with their injuries. So as long as they’re both out, Chernyshov will likely continue to get an opportunity to play with Celebrini as long as he’s creating chances.
Chernyshov’s contract, per PuckPedia, can slide for another year as long as he does not play 10 games for the Sharks this season. Business is business, but his contract shouldn’t be a factor in whether Chernyshov remains in the NHL or is assigned back to the Barracuda. If he continues to play well at this level and helps the Sharks win games, he should stay with the big club.
ASKAROV IMPRESSES AGAIN
Yaroslav Askarov had another puck-handling adventure Monday night, as his giveaway in the first period led directly to a goal by Troy Terry at the 15:02 mark.
Askarov, though, more than made up for the miscue.
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“Most important is the next shot,” Askarov said when asked about recovering from the miscue. “This can happen sometimes, like bad bounces. So have to keep your head up and just move on. … You have to battle through that.”
Askarov has established himself as the Sharks’ No. 1 goalie, no questions asked. Since the start of November, Askarov’s 13 wins are tied with the New York Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin for the most in the NHL.
If Askarov can keep that up, a playoff appearance could become a reality, just like it was in 2019.
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