The San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks: two teams in similar positions as rebuilders, but that at times have shown stark contrasts in their spirits as the losses for both teams pile up. As the two met last night for the third and final time this season, all eyes were on the 2023 and 2024 first-overall picks, Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini, as they faced off against each other for the first time in NHL action.
The two promising phenoms, only one year apart, both grew up in the North Vancouver area and frequented the same rinks. Intriguingly, they are now again similarly situated as the present and future of their respective NHL clubs. Yet there’s been a difference in narrative between the two almost the entire season. On one end, Bedard, an electrifying offensive threat at the NHL since day one, has at times struggled due in large part to the lack of high-end talent around him in Chicago. Online commentaries have portrayed the 19-year-old as a stoic, perhaps already jaded professional who is used to leading the team on his own.
At the other end has been San Jose’s youthful exuberance, which has delivered a fun environment for both fans and players alike, even amid the 40 regulation losses and counting. That mandate for joy from the “good vibes Sharks” has already amounted to several viral NHL moments, but always starts and ends with Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini. While the online image of teams and their dynamics is often far from accurate, it has still served as the dominant narrative for the difference in the rebuild status of these teams – at least for now.
There was perhaps no better example of this contrast last night than in the image of Connor Bedard, seated alone in the penalty box during the third period for a ten-minute misconduct after expressing his justifiable frustration to an official. Across the ice, the Sharks bench was all smiles, enjoying their 3-2 lead built off a combination of goals from Smith and Collin Graf. Ultimately, the Sharks capped off the game with a Tyler Toffoli empty net goal, sealing it at 4-2.
While Bedard has been getting better help as of late from young talents like Spencer Knight and Frank Nazar, he still has the mountain of expectation on his shoulders to bring this historic franchise back to the playoffs and beyond. Hopefully, Chicago can continue building around the superstar because it will only stand to benefit the sport of hockey when exceptional players like Bedard and Celebrini can get the chance to showcase their talents in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A future rivalry in the making
These teams do seem poised to have many fierce battles into the back half of the 2020s and beyond. Chicago seems to now have their goalie of the future in Knight, as the Sharks do in Yaroslav Askarov. San Jose, still developing its defense, has top prospects like Sam Dickinson and Luca Cagnoni poised to debut in the near future. Chicago had the pick after Celebrini, Artyom Levshunov played in just his second NHL game last night and looked dangerous. Of course, the offensive talent on both ends speaks for itself.
The game itself offered many scoring chances but evolved into a chippy battle as well. Tensions flared when Chicago’s Jason Dickinson landed a dangerous hit with his stick raised against Celebrini’s head, which ultimately led to a big scrum and a penalty to Dickinson. Following that penalty, where Graf scored the eventual game-winning goal, Barclay Goodrow dropped the gloves with Dickinson for further retribution against the hit. It was good to see the Sharks eagerly and readily stand up for their star rookie, but it was also telling of how much the young star has galvanized his group at just 18 years old.
As both sides’ talents continue to develop, it will be fun to watch the future on-ice battles between the Hawks and Sharks. Hopefully, we can see a playoff series between the two sometime soon.
Good night for Graf
The former Quinnipiac University star has been getting rewarded offensively as of late. The 22-year-old Massachusetts native has five points in his last five games, including three goals in his last two games. He has already had the coaching staff’s trust for his defensive play alone, so to see this offensive burst only further solidifies the odds that his NHL career will be long and steady.
Warsofsky seemed to really notice Graf’s game last night, as the forward played 20:13 in ice time, a career high. Look for Graf to continue this good trend following the trade of defensively reliableable forward, Nico Sturm.
Georgiev bounces back
Following the third period blunder against Nashville on Tuesday night, Alexander Georgiev looked composed as ever in the Sharks’ crease. The goaltender stopped 24 of 26 Chicago shots, including several timely saves to preserve the one-goal lead in the third. He showed excellent focus when San Jose left him exposed in the slot, controlled his rebounds well, and even attempted to score a goal during Chicago’s push with the empty net.
Overall, this was Georgiev’s fifth win as a Shark and third in the month of March. After two straight games in which he was out-dueled by the New York Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin and the Nashville Predators’ Juuse Saros, it was good to see Georgiev put together a quietly solid effort to earn the win that was within reach.
Highlight
Collin Graf makes it a two-goal advantage 🙌 pic.twitter.com/R6Rll03rGJ
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) March 14, 2025
Graf’s first goal of the night was a beautiful example of his hockey sense at play. Watch as he makes the quick decision to switch from low to high when Wennberg pivots towards the net. This opens him up uncovered for a second and leaves him to strike on a well-executed shot past Knight. It was a good read.
Scoring summary Chicago Blackhawks at San Jose Sharks March 13, 2025
First Period
3:48 SJS Will Smith from Macklin Celebrini and William Eklund
10:16 SJS Collin Graf from Alex Wennberg and Mario Ferraro
Second Period
0:10 CHI Frank Nazar from Wyatt Kaiser and Nick Foligno
10:17 SJS Collin Graf from Will Smith and Shakir Mukhamadullin on the power play
13:18 CHI Ilya Mikheyev from Ryan Donato and Teuvo Teravainen
Third Period
19:27 SJS Tyler Toffoli into an empty net
