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Sharks pull off ‘best game of the year' in thrilling shootout win vs. Predators
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- Sharks pull off ‘best game of the year' in thrilling shootout win vs. Predators
Sharks pull off 'best game of the year' in thrilling shootout win vs. Predators originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The Sharks have been successful in overtime so far during the 2026-27 NHL season — but no one thought it would even come to that against the Nashville Predators on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena.
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But despite a deflating third period where San Jose easily could have given up, a heroic performance in net by Alexander Nedeljkovic and a determined score by Macklin Celebrini gave the Sharks a 3-2 shootout win .
"We just stuck with it. You know, I thought even when [the Predators] had some momentum throughout the game, not just in the third, throughout the game, we responded well with our own good shift in their end," Nedeljkovic said on "Sharks Postgame Live" after the win. "And after [Nashville's first goal], they were feeling it then. They had the momentum, the energy. The crowd was back into it, and we just stuck with it. Unfortunately, a little too much time left and they tied up there. But then in overtime, you know, we stick with it again.
"They're going to get chances. We got some. We got our own chances. Got a few bounces, some blows tonight. You know, you got to be lucky to win in this league, and we just we stuck with it, found a way. … I thought that was probably our best game of the year."
After San Jose led for 2 1/2 periods, things crumbled in the third as Nashville scored two goals, ending with an improbable game-tying, empty-netter with 0.8 seconds left in the third period to make it a 2-2 game and force OT.
Following a wild back-and-forth bout in extra time where neither side scored despite eight total shots, things went to a shootout that ended in a 3-2 win for San Jose — including a shootout score by Celebrini, who had two missed shots in OT, and a perfect three saves by Nedeljkovic. Nedeljkovic also had five saves in the OT period.
Before things got wild, the Sharks took an early 1-0 lead in the first period on Mason Marchment's second goal of the season, with Tyler Toffoli and Alex Wennberg assisting.
San Jose scored again in the third period, making it 2-0 after Will Smith's wrister found the back of the net with assists from Michael Kesselring and Igor Chernyshov.
Things quickly fell apart for the Sharks in the game's final 10 minutes. Ryan O'Reilly put the Predators within one with 9:06 left on the clock before Steven Stamkos' last-second goal played spoiler — but it was the Sharks who walked away with two points in the end and snapped a two-game skid.
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After starring in the Sharks' OT win against the St. Louis Blues with 24 saves during his first start of the season last week, Nedeljkovic excelled yet again Thursday with a stellar 32 saves, including the final, most important stop of the game.
"We could have easily just kind of folded and put our heads down and let them walk away with the extra points," said Nedeljkovic, who described himself as "locked in" during his two starts this season. "So you never know this time of the year what's going to come back to bite you in the butt in April. Obviously last year we left some points on the board in the first month of the season, so we're finding ways to get those extra ones and get some wins now."
