The San Jose Sharks started off the team’s East Coast swing with a tilt against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, the rematch coming about a month after a rough outing for the Sharks at SAP Center. In what could possibly have been San Jose’s last game against the Great 8, San Jose narrowly escaped with a 3-2 victory to start the trip off on the right foot.
This game started off as a bit of a snoozer; outside of some good chances at both ends, both teams were struggling to find line chemistry and a good flow off the rush. One of the aforementioned good chances came less than a minute in as two Capitals found themselves alone in front of San Jose’s goal with a stuff attempt, but Alex Nedeljkovic’s early heroics served as the first pillar of what would be a big win by the end.
The new first line of Igor Chernyshov – Macklin Celebrini – Collin Graf looked just ok in the first period, but could not sustain enough offensive zone time and was caught in danger more than a few times with some uncharacteristic turnovers. Thankfully, Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky wasn’t afraid to turn on the line blender mid-game and make the change to bring Pavol Regenda up to replace Chernyshov in the trio.
After falling behind on a bit of an unlucky bounce that gave Washington a 1-0 lead, the Sharks pushed back hard in the second period and outshot Washington by a wide margin. Logan Thompson looked like the goaltender Hockey Canada hopes to see at the Milan-Cortina Olympics next month, but the dam eventually broke, leading to a true offensive burst for the Sharks.
Good things come in threes
Three periods in a game, three forwards per line, and, of course, the ubiquitous three goals in a span of two minutes and forty-six seconds! San Jose pulled ahead late in the second period to turn a 1-0 Washington lead into a 3-1 advantage to close the middle frame. And unlike in years past, San Jose has shown the players can effectively close out a game with a lead in the third period, a marked sign of growth for the young core. After last night’s game, the Sharks are now 16-0-1 in games where the team leads entering the third period, with the sole loss being the flukey home opener to the Vegas Golden Knights (you’re welcome for the reminder).
Nedeljkovic shuts the door
Alex Nedeljkovic, playing in his 200th NHL game yesterday, and fittingly had the final say of the night. The Capitals stormed the Sharks’ net, but “Ned” stayed composed and made several difficult stops late in regulation. Washington had just beaten the Montreal Canadiens in its prior game with a late goal to tie it before stealing one in OT, and it looked like this was possible for them again tonight. The Capitals got some looks, including a prime shot from Ovechkin that looked like it could leave a bruise, but nothing was enough to beat Nedejlkovic by the end.
Nedeljkovic stopped 21 of 23, earning his third straight win in goal. Several times throughout the season now, he’s done an admirable job in steadying the Sharks net to help Yaroslav Askarov and the rest of the team reset. He’ll get another start soon in this next set of back-to-backs against either Tampa Bay or Florida.
Sharks clutch again
This season’s iteration of the Sharks feels different from what we’ve grown accustomed to seeing throughout these difficult rebuild years. Every team, every season, has great moments. Two years ago, San Jose had its remarkable stretch of comebacks on a similar East Coast road trip. Last year, the Sharks had those fun barn burners featuring Celebrini and Will Smith’s offensive prowess, a glimpse of what we had in store. But most of those highs remained just that – glimpses. It was expected, of course, but we also expected a lot more of the same this year, probably because we’re reasonable people.
Elite athletes can be unreasonable in the best ways, and that’s partially how they get to where they are. Before each season, even the worst team in the league will set the unreasonable goal of making the playoffs, otherwise there’s no point of competing in earnest. The Sharks are blowing past all expectations, even the most optimistic fans could’ve kept in check. The majority of success remains on Celebrini’s shoulders; he is just that special. But over the past few games, especially, we have seen a growing supporting cast make clutch contributions.
Last night, Regenda earned his first career game-winning goal, becoming the 13th different Shark to pot a winner this season. And in this condensed Olympic year schedule, it is even more crucial to have a balanced contribution. Back-to-backs are grueling enough, but this is now the third in a row for the Sharks, and it has not seemed to faze the team – and why should it? We can now start to reasonably expect what the Sharks locker room may have unreasonably expected of itself back in October. The Sharks have proven opponents wrong time and again this year, to the point that this is no longer just a week-long, or even month-long Cinderella story.
Highlight
This eventual game-winner was set up by an absurd no-look pass from Celebrini. Look at how it starts, though. Hard work along the boards, another relentless shift from Celebrini, determined to get the puck back. Graf supports well, and Regenda does what good goal scorers do.
The team is right back at it on Friday with a tough test against the red-hot Detroit Red Wings.
Scoring summary San Jose Sharks at Washington Capitals Jan. 15, 2026
First period
No scoring
Second period
10:58 WSH Dylan Strome from Alex Ovechkin and Jakob Chychrun on the power play
13:27 SJS Zack Ostapchuk from Dmitry Orlov and William Eklund
14:53 SJS Collin Graf from Pavol Regenda
16:13 SJS Pavol Regenda from Macklin Celebrini and Collin Graf
Third period
9:11 WSH Ryan Leonard from John Carlson and Martin Fehervary
