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Can Sharks make the playoffs? Eyes are on San Jose as NHL season resumes
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- Can Sharks make the playoffs? Eyes are on San Jose as NHL season resumes
SAN JOSE, CA — With the conclusion of the 2026 Winter Olympics , the NHL regular season is back in play and the San Jose Sharks look to close the season strong in their final 27 games.
San Jose saw four of its players compete at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan over the last couple of weeks, including forward Pavol Regenda for Slovakia, forward Alexander Wennberg for Sweden, forward Philipp Kurashev for Switzerland and forward Macklin Celebrini for Canada, who won silver.
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Now, the full team is back and ready to trek along for the remainder of the season, starting with a six-game homestand beginning Thursday, Feb. 26 against the Calgary Flames .
"It's just the same approach every day, no matter what situation you're in," Celebrini told USA TODAY Sports. "That's what I found at the Olympics. It was the biggest stage I've ever played on, and the biggest games I've ever been a part of. So, I think it was just, come back to my same routine, doing all the same things to get prepared, and then whatever happens on the ice, happens."
The Sharks remain hopeful they'll continue playing into late April.
There has been a lot of buzz generating around the Bay Area over the resurgence of a Sharks team that has been in the draft lottery year in and year out and hasn't sniffed the postseason since 2019.
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Still, heading back into the regular season with a 27-24-4 record (58 points), San Jose finds itself on the outskirts of a wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky told USA TODAY Sports that they aren't overlooking games, or looking too far down the road. The team is focusing its attention not on the last months of the season, but on how to improve every single day.
"When you walk in the building it says on the left side of the wall 'Focus on Today.' That's what we ask of our players and that's what we'll continue to do," Warsofsky told USA TODAY Sports.
"We gotta focus on today and that was our practice," he said. "(Thursday), we'll get ready for the Calgary Flames . We can't get wrapped in 'we have a six-game homestand, we gotta go 6-0'. Can't do that. Mentally, as (a) human being you get overwhelmed."
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Warsofsky, 38, is in his second season as head coach of the Sharks.
He was an assistant coach before being promoted, becoming the youngest NHL head coach in June 2024. Although young, Warsofsky is ensuring that the team remains level-headed and focused on little tasks that make a huge impact.
"So, we're going to focus, we're gonna have a morning skate tomorrow, it's gonna feel good. There's meetings and (we'll) prepare our players and making sure we execute it and get excited to play in front of our fans," Warsofsky said. "But we can't get wrapped up in the homestand. Today we had practice, we were focused on that and had a good practice."
Celebrini has been one of the bright spots for the Sharks. He is in his second year after being selected with the first overall pick in the 2024 NHL entry draft. Beyond being an Olympic selection for Team Canada, he finds himself in the top five of the NHL scoring leaderboard.
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His production has been a big part of the Sharks' turnaround. In his rookie season, the Sharks went just 20-50-12 (52 points).
The 19-year-old phenom echoed some of the same sentiments as Warsofsky regarding the team's focus on the present, rather than looking too far into the future.
"It's a mentality for every game you want to win," Celebrini said. "Especially how important it is for us. Like I said, we're not going to try to look too far ahead, but, I mean, we know. We know how important all these games are."
That mentality is contagious amongst the entire team, setting up for an interesting finish to the season.
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After seven years outside the field, the Sharks feel like now's the time to end their playoff drought. Regenda doubled-down, and said that is the goal.
"Everybody wants to win," Regenda told USA TODAY Sports. "Everybody wants to win. Everybody wants to make the playoff. And that's our goal."
Having an opportunity to play for his home country, Slovakia, provided Regenda with a newfound confidence that he needed as the Sharks lean on him and other players down the stretch.
"(I've gained) a little confident in (myself)," Regenda said. "I can play with the big guys. That's my goal, you know, come to the games, be confident and play my game, and, you know, help the team as much as I can."
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Regenda said the team is happy to be back on the ice together after the break and is excited about the next couple of games, adding that "nobody wants to lose."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Can the San Jose Sharks make the playoffs? NHL back after Olympics
