According to the websites that crunch NHL numbers, the San Jose Sharks currently have a sub-20 percent chance of making the playoffs. Which is really good news for the Minnesota Wild, as they more than likely won’t have to see those teal helmets again this season.
The Sharks had Minnesota’s number in their three meetings this season, winning a pair of overtime games in St. Paul and closing out 2025 by matching that feat at home, beating the Wild 4-3 in a shootout on Wednesday afternoon at SAP Center.
Minnesota Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt (30) deflects a shot during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Minnesota finishes its season series with San Jose with a mark of 0-0-3.
Vladimir Tarasenko’s first-period goal gave Minnesota a lead, which slipped away only to have the visitors force a third-period tie. Jesper Wallstedt had 25 saves in the loss, allowing goals by Macklin Celebrini and William Eklund in the shootout.
“I felt that we could have won in overtime. We could have won in the shootout,” said Wallstedt, who fell to 11-2-3. “Maybe I wasn’t my best in the shootout. So I think I overthought a little bit what they were going to try to do instead of what’s made me successful in shootouts is just reading the play and then making my reads or making my moves out of my reads.”
Marcus Foligno finally got his first goal of the season in the third period for the Wild, who trailed 3-1, only to pull back to level with a Mats Zuccarello goal.
“That’s what we do, right? We’re down, we’re never out,” Wild defenseman Jake Middleton said. “We just, we got back to our game in the third and got a point out of it.”
Celebrini, still just a 19-year-old, continued to cause trouble for the Wild with a goal and an assist. That gives the former Hobey Baker Award winner 15 points in six career games versus Minnesota.
“They play loose, and they have an unbelievable kid on that team that is just having a great year,” Foligno said of Celebrini and the Sharks. “So a lot of offense comes through him, and a lot of momentum comes from him. He has had our number, like many teams in this league.”
In the first period, Minnesota’s power play continued its recent dry spell, managing just one shot on the game’s initial man advantage. But Ryan Hartman’s poke pass out of the defensive zone kicked off a 2-on-1 rush that Tarasenko finished off, slipping a shot past San Jose goalie Yaroslav Askarov.
It was the eighth goal of the season for Tarasenko.
Leading 1-0 after a period, the Wild could take some defensive pride in holding Celebrini without a shot in the first. But the former top overall draft pick made his presence felt just 74 seconds into the middle frame, setting up rookie Igor Chernyshov for the tying goal.
For Celebrini, it was his 40th assist of the season, which is currently second in the NHL.
The Sharks got their first power play of the game later in the second, scoring with four seconds left in the man advantage on a long-range shot that Wallstedt could not see due to strategic traffic in front of the Minnesota net.
“In the second, I felt that we forced some plays. We had some zone time, but it wasn’t threatening enough,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “And I thought we turned some pucks over and gave them a little bit of momentum. But I thought in the third, we did a better job. So I’d say one and three was more of what we want. I think in the second we were a little bit too cute.”
The Wild just missed a chance to tie things back up late in the second when Marcus Johansson came in alone on the San Jose net but elected to pass instead of shoot.
After Celebrini made it 3-1 for the home team, Foligno slipped a rising shot past Askarov, and Zuccarello forged a tie before the third period’s midway point.
Askarov finished with 20 saves for the Sharks, including thwarting Quinn Hughes on an overtime breakaway. He stopped Zucarello and Matt Boldy in the shootout.
The Wild will begin 2026 with a three-game Southern California stretch in the midst of their two-week road trip, facing the Anaheim Ducks on Friday, then playing two versus the Los Angeles Kings.
San Jose Sharks right wing Collin Graf (51) and Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin (25) collide during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)