Weekly review

San Jose has every point available and no regulation win

The Sharks are 2-0 on two overtime wins after leading both games by two goals or more. Third periods have gone 4-1 against them, and the week brings last season's two best power plays.

DC
Dom CahillOct 4, 20264 min read
Every call on this site goes on a public ledger and gets graded. The misses stay up.
Macklin Celebrini, his name across the shoulders of San Jose's teal home sweater, raises his stick toward fans at the glass. The photograph predates this season.

San Jose has collected every available point without winning in regulation. The Sharks are 2-0-0 through Saturday, 4 of 4 points. Among the nine NHL clubs with at least two wins, San Jose alone has earned all of its wins after regulation. Both came at home, 4-3 against Florida and 5-4 against Los Angeles, after leads of two goals or more disappeared. Luca Cagnoni ended the first at 3:14 of overtime and Igor Chernyshov ended the second at 3:18.

Last season opened the same way and paid half as much. San Jose's first two games of 2025-26 were at home, both went to overtime and both were losses, 2 of 4 points; its first regulation win arrived in game 11. Across the 82-game season, the Sharks had 27 regulation wins and 35 regulation losses, while going 12-8 beyond regulation for 32 of 40 available points.

Third periods#

The third periods made both overtimes necessary. San Jose went from 3-0 to 3-3 against Florida and from 4-2 to 4-4 against Los Angeles.

The two games combined, by segment, San Jose first:

SegmentGoalsShots on goalFive-on-five attempts
First two periods6-334-3748-55
Third periods1-415-2328-44
Overtime2-08-1none

Goals and shots on goal cover all situations. Shot attempts are five-on-five only, from the NHL's play-by-play. Overtime lasted 6:32 across the two games and had no five-on-five play.

The third-period deficit extended beyond the goals. At five-on-five, San Jose had 28 attempts to its opponents' 44, a 38.9 percent share of 72 attempts. MoneyPuck's expected goals at five-on-five put those third periods at 1.02 for San Jose and 2.53 against across the two games.

The carryover#

The record is new and the five-on-five expected-goals share under it is not better. San Jose's five-on-five share was 47.6 percent over 82 games last season, 26th of 32 clubs. Through two games it is 32.9 percent, 31st of 32, with clubs having played one to three games. Actual five-on-five goals are level at 4-4 across San Jose's two games.

The goaltending line has barely moved either. San Jose's Yaroslav Askarov started both games and stopped 54 of 61 shots, an .885 save percentage, after .884 in 47 games last season. He has faced 30.5 shots on goal per game; San Jose allowed 29.6 per game over 82 games last season.

Away from five-on-five#

Away from five-on-five, the Sharks have outscored opponents 5-3. Macklin Celebrini has an assist on all five San Jose goals in those situations, covering the power play, the penalty kill and overtime. He has zero goals and five assists in two games, without a point on any of San Jose's four five-on-five goals.

The penalty burden also carries into this week's schedule. San Jose has been shorthanded 4.5 times per game, nine times in two games, against 3.0 per game last season, 246 in 82 games. This season's penalty kill has stopped opponents on 6 of 9 opportunities.

The record's defense#

  1. The points already count. This opening has banked 4 of 4, against 2 of 4 from last season's opening home overtime games.
  2. San Jose has evidence of strength beyond regulation, going 12-8 in those games last season for 32 of 40 points. This season's overtime shots favor the Sharks 8-1 across two games.
  3. Score effects apply, because San Jose led by two goals or more in both games. In the first two periods its five-on-five attempt share was 46.6 percent of 103.
  4. The five-on-five expected-goals ranking is an early measurement. San Jose's 31st-of-32 position rests on two games, in a league whose clubs have played one to three.

Three opponents#

Monday, Oct. 5, at Dallas starts at 5 p.m. Pacific and is San Jose's first road game of the season. Dallas is 0-2-0, with one goal on 55 shots on goal and an 0-for-5 power play; Monday is its third game in four days. Last season its power play ranked second of 32 clubs at 28.63 percent on 248 opportunities.

Thursday, Oct. 8, at St. Louis starts at 5 p.m. Pacific and is the Blues' home opener. St. Louis finished last season level with San Jose on 86 points, and all three meetings between the clubs were decided by one goal.

Saturday, Oct. 10, brings Edmonton to SAP Center at 1 p.m. Pacific. Edmonton has scored 17 goals in three games. Edmonton and Dallas had last season's two best power plays by percentage, and Edmonton led the 32 clubs at 30.63 percent on 222 opportunities.

The table#

Points percentage is the useful comparison while clubs have played one, two or three games. Through Saturday, San Jose's points percentage is 1.000 through two games against Edmonton's .833 through three; by points, Edmonton leads the Pacific, 5 to 4.

San Jose has 82 of 84 games left in the regular season. October still holds 13 games, with all eight of the month's road games among those 13.

Sources: NHL standings, club schedules, gamecenter landing, boxscore and play-by-play; NHL stats API team, skater and goalie reports for 2025-26 and 2026-27; MoneyPuck team season files and game data.

Filed under Sharks

Latest on the Sharks

The whole beat →
San Jose's kill was allowing the chances before it allowed the goals
Penalty kill

San Jose's kill was allowing the chances before it allowed the goals

San Jose's penalty kill fell from 84.9 to 76.4 percent in four games. MoneyPuck's four-on-five numbers show the chances were already among the league's worst before the goals came, and the last four games made them worse.

Dom CahillNov 11, 20264 min read
Celebrini's line won the chances, but Toffoli was on for both regulation goals
Post-game

Celebrini's line won the chances, but Toffoli was on for both regulation goals

San Jose beat the New York Islanders 3-2 in an eight-round shootout at SAP Center on Monday and ended a five-game losing streak. Tyler Toffoli was on the ice for both regulation goals in 10:57. The Misa, Celebrini and Smith line won its five-on-five chances and scored nothing, and Ilya Sorokin stopped all three shots on a two-minute four-on-three.

Dom CahillNov 10, 20264 min read
Pohlkamp reaches San Jose, and the board does not move
Prospects

Pohlkamp reaches San Jose, and the board does not move

Pohlkamp's first NHL games are the week's real change on the Sharks prospect board; Stenberg's three goals are the louder one, and nobody moves.

Dom CahillNov 10, 20261 min read

Earlier on the Sharks

Six Of Igor Chernyshov's Twenty Eight Games Ended With No Shot On Goal
Season preview

Six Of Igor Chernyshov's Twenty Eight Games Ended With No Shot On Goal

Igor Chernyshov took 81 shot attempts in 28 NHL games last season. Forty six reached the goalie, twenty five missed the net and ten were blocked. Among the 426 forwards who played at least 400 minutes, he ranked 19th in expected goals per unblocked attempt and 189th in shots on goal per sixty, which is a player taking excellent shots and taking very few of them. Six of his twenty eight games ended with no shot on goal at all.

Dom CahillSep 9, 20265 min read
San Jose Drew Its Rookie Line At One Hundred Games And Then Crossed It Once
Sharks prospect desk

San Jose Drew Its Rookie Line At One Hundred Games And Then Crossed It Once

San Jose released its 2026 Rookie Faceoff roster on September 1: 14 forwards, nine defensemen, three goaltenders. Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News reports the club's participation guideline is 100 or fewer combined NHL and AHL regular-season games, and that Luca Cagnoni is over it at 140. Sorted by that number, 14 of the 26 named have never played a professional regular-season game, and only Filip Bystedt at 123 is above the line. Sam Dickinson is under it at 72 and is not going either. Five of the nine defensemen invited shoot right, on a club whose established blue line carries two right shots.

Dom CahillSep 2, 20266 min read
SHARKS FRONT OFFICEDickinson up, not downgrabsomepine.comsharks
Sharks front office

The 2026-27 blue line, built: draft the right shot, rent the right shots, free the kids

The 2026-27 blue line, built: the top 7, the pairings, and the moves

Grab Some PineJun 6, 20265 min read