Closing out games is something championship caliber teams do. The trouble is, the San Jose Sharks are still trying to find that gear. The Sharks led the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 after one period and took a 2-2 tie into the third, but could not manage to get that much needed final goal to seal the game. Despite the team’s best efforts, San Jose fell to Montreal by a final score of 4-3.
Looking at Natural Stat Trick’s game flow chart in at even strength, you can see that the Sharks never really dominated the game.
In fact, most of the damage for both teams was done on special teams. The Sharks scored two of the team’s three goals on the power play, while the Canadiens scored two goals on the man advantage and another short-handed.
Overall, it was exactly what the standings told you it would be, a showdown by two of the worst teams in the league still struggling to find their identities.
The goal that wasn’t
One turning point in the game was what looked like a goal by the Sharks. You can see the full-speed view at the 4:55 mark of this clip.
JD Young had another shot of it in slow motion.
Maybe a goal? pic.twitter.com/jmnGfEtPXY
— JD Young (@MyFryHole) February 5, 2025
It’s important to note that the refs waved off the goal immediately.
That said, Sharks fans clearly thought that the puck was in the net. From this angle on the Sharks on NBCS Twitter account, you can’t see white, but this is after Sam Montembeault pulled his leg back from inside the net.
Officials ruled this wasn’t a Sharks goal after review 🤔 pic.twitter.com/MaL4brk7S4
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) February 5, 2025
Toronto’s Situation Room got involved in a long, long replay.
NHL Situation Room's explanation of the Sharks' disallowed goal. pic.twitter.com/Jym5tADYAl
— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) February 5, 2025
Basically since there was no “conclusive” evidence that the puck completely crossed the goal line, the call on the ice stood. A hearty “Refs, you suck” chant followed and just a few minutes later Collin Graf scored to get the actual equalizing goal of the game.
Filling in the lineup
Speaking of Graf, he was one of the players called up from the AHL to fill the holes in the lineup left by the trade involving Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci. With Alex Wennberg and Klim Kostin injured, Graf found his way back into the lineup after spending a few weeks in the AHL with the Barracuda.
After the game, Graf told the media his mom and dad were at the game to witness his first NHL goal. Give credit to dad because Graf was playing with a little extra jump.
Graf says his dad Robert happened to fly in today for the game.
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) February 5, 2025
Graf joked: "My dad actually called me when he landed, and he was like, if I flew all the way out here, you better score. So I made sure that his trip out here was worth the money, so it's good."
The former college player is back with the Sharks because he put the work in on the Barracuda. When he was sent down a few weeks ago, the coaching staff was clear on what they wanted him to do.
“When I got sent down two weeks ago, management wanted me to be more offensive,” said Graf. “I made sure that I, obviously, played responsible defensively, but when there’s opportunities in the offensive zone to hold on to the puck, to try to make a creative offensive play, I made sure I did that.”
Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky was also happy with how Graf played in the game.
“Smart player. Was skating tonight. Smart guy. Teach him and coach him on things. Picks it up extremely quickly, which is impressive,” said Warsofsky postgame.
Warsofsky was also happy with some of the things Mukhamadullin did with the Barracuda and said the defenseman is playing more aggressive, which is what the coaching staff is looking for.
“He did some good things. Was trying to be more assertive with his body and his position. Gotta simplify his game at times; it’s going to take some time for him to figure that out,” said Warsofsky. “But I’d rather him being ultra aggressive and have to reel him back a little bit than to have to push him to get him higher. So, it was a step in the right direction.”
Celebrini vs. Hutson
Finally, the rookie-on-rookie aspect of the game cannot be overlooked. Lane Hutson and Macklin Celebrini are two of the top contenders for this year’s Calder Trophy and both played significant roles in last night’s game.
Hutson played 19:42 last night and was on the ice for two of Montreal’s four goals. He was not on the ice for any of San Jose’s goals.
Meantime, Celebrini played 21:58 and was on the ice for two of San Jose’s goals and three of Montreal’s.
The two rookies shared the ice for 7:40 last night.
Highlight Montreal Canadiens at San Jose Sharks
We’re giving the highlight of the game to Collin Graf. The undrafted college standout scored his first NHL goal in the second period to tie the game for the Sharks. Congrats Collin!
Collin Graf ties the game with his first NHL goal 🎉 pic.twitter.com/6mVw0Alf86
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) February 5, 2025
Scoring summary Canadiens at Sharks Feb. 4, 2025
First Period
5:52 SJS Macklin Celebrini from Tyler Toffoli and William Eklund on the power play
Second Period
0:52 MON Cole Caufield from Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson on the power play
4:53 MON Alex Newhook from Alexandre Carrier and Kirby Dach
14:51 SJS Collin Graf from Barclay Goodrow
Third Period
2:40 MON Brendan Gallagher from Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook on the power play
10:27 SJS Tyler Toffoli from Macklin Celebrini and Jake Walman on the power play
15:56 MON Joel Armia from Jake Evans shorthanded
