San Jose Sharks center MacKlin Celebrini, bottom, ends up in the net after drawing a penalty on a rush under Colorado Avalanche goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood in the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
DENVER – The San Jose Sharks, the NHL’s last-place team the two previous years, opened a lot of eyes in the first four months of the regular season by joining and then staying in the race for a playoff spot.
But at this point, the Sharks are in agreement that it’s time for a break from the NHL’s daily grind.
As the Olympic Break begins, some Sharks will soon board flights to Italy to represent their countries, and several others are heading back to their hometowns. Two or three might find their way to a warm location and stay at a nice hotel with a swim-up bar.
“The break,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said Wednesday, “couldn’t come at a better time.”
When the Sharks return to playing in three weeks, some lessons need to be learned.
One is that when they have the chance to get two points against a team that’s below them in the standings, they’ve got to take advantage of that opportunity, so that they have a bit more cushion when they play the NHL’s best teams.
That’s the crib notes version of the Sharks’ disappointing 1-3-1 road trip, which ended Wednesday with a 4-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena despite a brilliant 38-save effort from goalie Yaroslav Askarov.
After a win over the last-place Vancouver Canucks last Tuesday, the Sharks squandered an opportunity to gain two points in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers, in which they blew a three-goal lead.
Still reeling from that collapse, they lost to the Calgary Flames and the Chicago Blackhawks, two teams below .500, in regulation time.
That gave them almost no margin for error to try and salvage a .500 road trip, and despite Askarov’s heroics, boarded a flight back to San Jose late Wednesday night with just three of a possible 10 points.
The Sharks’ playoff chances, per moneypuck.com, were at 48.5% on Jan. 30 after the overtime loss to Edmonton. They were at 25.9% as of Wednesday morning, and falling.
Wednesday night, the Sharks were mostly silenced in the first two periods before they got going in the third in a game that became pretty chippy. For a stretch, it was some of the most entertaining hockey the Sharks have played on this trip, and a reminder why this team is in a playoff hunt to begin with.
“A little bit of it is, we grip it, and we play in fear in a sense,” Warsofsky said. “I thought we loosened up in the third period, and we got going, we started skating, and we played freer.
“When you’re in a rut like we’re in, you tend to really lean on not making a mistake to cost your team, and I think individuals didn’t want to make a mistake, so the next thing you know, you’re not making the right play.”
The Sharks (27-24-4) began the trip in a playoff spot, but as the break begins, they now sit in 11th place in the Western Conference with 58 points, now five points out of a postseason position.
“Not our best trip. We’re definitely not happy with how it went,” said Sharks winger Philipp Kurashev, whose goal early in the third period tied the game 2-2 before the Avalanche scored the final two.
“We’ve got to make sure we come out of the break on a high and go on a run, and that’s all we can think about now. Of course, we would love to get some games back, but you can’t think like that. You can’t go back in time.”
Veteran forward Kiefer Sherwood made his Sharks debut on Wednesday and, like most of his teammates, made his presence felt after a slow start. He finished with five hits and got into a couple of after-the-whistle scrums with Avalanche defensemen Josh Manson and Brent Burns.
Sherwood said he wouldn’t have minded playing again soon after missing the last four weeks with an upper body injury, but added, “Our team needs a break. It comes at a good time. I know that was my first game, so I wish we had more.
“So we’ll light the fire during break, and then we’ll come ready to rage in the second half.”
The Sharks’ first game after the break comes against the Flames on Feb. 26 as they begin a six-game homestand that lasts until March 7. That could be a make-or-break stretch for the Sharks, with three games against non-playoff-contending teams that could be especially important for keeping the roster together.
The trade deadline is on March 6, and general manager Mike Grier will have to decide whether to sell off one or more of his pending unrestricted free agents or keep them for the stretch run and risk losing them for nothing this summer.
Grier said last month that the decision to sell or stand pat will likely be his toughest as the deadline approaches.
But the Sharks can worry about that after the break. For now, some are off to Italy in search of a medal, others will be visiting their families, and maybe two or three will come back with a better tan.
“We’ve got to get back to just competing and playing and stop worrying about the standings,” Warsofsky said. “We’ve just got to play, and that’s really going to be the message, and let’s just see where the chips lie at the end of it. We’re going to get back to that.
“We’ve taken a step in the right direction as an organization. We’ve got a long way to go. But again, this break is coming at a good time.”
Originally published at Curtis Pashelka