San Jose Sharks' Alex Nedeljkovic (33) guards the goal against St. Louis Blues' Robert Thomas (18) during the second period at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, March 6, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier felt his team had played well enough this season – especially in its last three games – to warrant keeping them together for the stretch run.
Now it’s up to the Sharks’ players to try to repay that faith.
It didn’t totally happen Friday, as the Sharks allowed two goals to Robert Thomas, including one 54 seconds into overtime, in a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues before an announced sellout crowd of 17,435 at SAP Center.
Kiefer Sherwood tied the game 2-2 for the Sharks at the 13:26 mark of the third period, taking a pass from Philipp Kurashev and one-timing a shot from near the faceoff dot past Blues goalie Jordan Binnington for his 19th goal of the season and second as a Shark.
But in overtime, Philip Broberg possessed the puck inside the Sharks’ zone and put a shot on net that hit the crossbar behind goalie Alex Nedeljkovic. Thomas got in position ahead of Sharks defenseman Sam Dickinson and knocked it into the net, handing the Sharks their first loss in four games.
“We didn’t have our best tonight,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Couldn’t make a play. Too many odd-man rushes. We just weren’t good enough tonight.”
Macklin Celebrini scored his 31st goal of the season for the Sharks, who were haunted by several puck management gaffes and a longtime nemesis in goalie Binnington, who had 23 saves. Nedeljkovic, fresh off signing a two-year, $6 million contract extension, made 11 saves in the loss, although, per Natural Stat Trick, he faced seven high-danger scoring chances in the first 40 minutes.
The Sharks had 17 shots on goal and were listed as having 19 giveaways in the first two periods. In that time, Dickinson had six giveaways, and Will Smith, who was benched for the final seven minutes of the first period, had five.
“Not trying to turn the puck over; just trying to make the best play I can,” Smith said. “Some passes there that didn’t connect. Just can’t happen.”
After two tough periods, Warsofsky, looking for a spark, juggled a couple of his forward lines, moving Alex Wennberg to the top line, where he centered Celebrini and Smith, and had Kurashev center a line with Collin Graf and Sherwood.
Still, the Sharks had their three-game win streak snapped and are now 3-1-1 on this six-game homestand that ends Saturday night against the New York Islanders. Oddly enough, while the Sharks have wins over the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens on this homestand, two teams that are in a playoff spot, they’ve also lost to non-playoff contenders St. Louis and Calgary.
“I think we’ve got to continue to have our foot on the gas, and we’re still striving for a full 60,” Sherwood said. “We’ve got to value each and every little detail.”
The Sharks are now two points back of the Seattle Kraken for the second and final wild card spot in the Western Conference, and three points back of the Oilers for third place in the Pacific Division. The Sharks have one game in hand on the Kraken, which was idle Friday, and three on the Oilers, who lost 6-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Binnington, who was a candidate to be traded before Friday’s NHL trade deadline at noon (PST), had 16 saves through the first two periods. He came into Friday with an 8-2-1 record and a .910 save percentage in 13 career games against the Sharks.
The Sharks entered Friday on a three-game win streak and three points out of a playoff spot, major reasons why Grier didn’t sell off many of his pending unrestricted free agents prior to Friday’s trade deadline.
“They’ve kind of earned it,” Grier said Friday afternoon. “Not only these last three games, but really throughout the season. It’s a group that deserves to have a chance to see what they can do.”
Grier said some opposing teams called him this week about two of his pending UFAs in defensemen Mario Ferraro and John Klingberg. Grier, though, felt he owed it to the players to keep the group together for a playoff push. The Sharks haven’t made the playoffs since 2019.
“It’s a great message that management believes in us to move forward,” said Sherwood, who was signed to a five-year, $28.75 million extension on Wednesday.
“Obviously, they could have made a lot of moves and whatnot, but to keep the group together and let us battle and give us a chance says a lot, so we’ve got to do right by that and find a way to get in. These games are coming quick, so we have to take advantage of our home stretch here and find a way to get two points tomorrow.”
The Blues dressed 13 forwards and five defensemen as before Friday’s deadline, they traded captain and forward Brayden Schenn to the New York Islanders and defenseman Justin Faulk to the Detroit Red Wings.
Originally published at Curtis Pashelka