San Jose Sharks, Macklin Celebrini beat Montreal Canadiens at SAP Center

SAN JOSE – No one has accused the San Jose Sharks of playing boring hockey this season, especially on this homestand.

For now, it’s resulting in some critical points.

After the Sharks lost a three-goal lead in the third period, forward Kiefer Sherwood scored a go-ahead, power-play goal with 3:23 left in regulation time to help lift San Jose to a thrilling 7-5 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday before an announced sellout crowd of 17,435 at SAP Center.

Adam Gaudette added an empty-netter off an assist from Macklin Celebrini with less than four seconds left to seal the victory, as the Sharks, following a five-game skid, won their third straight game going into Friday’s NHL trade deadline.

“We don’t want to give up those goals in the third. Try to prevent those,” Celebrini said. “But we got it done in the end. That’s all that matters.”

On the winning goal, Sherwood put a shot on net that went off the skate of Canadiens defenseman Alexandre Carrier. Sharks winger Philipp Kurashev got the puck and sent a terrific pass back to Sherwood, who scored his first goal in a Sharks uniform, as he pumped his fist and exalted the fans.

“That was a pretty high IQ play,” Sherwood said of Kurashev’s pass. “Everyone sold out, thinking he was going to shoot it. I thought he was going to shoot, too, so then when it ended up on my stick, I was kind of just, ‘put it in.’”

Celebrini scored his 30th goal of the season in the second period and finished with four points. Sherwood, Collin Graf, and Will Smith each had a goal and an assist, Michael Misa scored for the third time in as many games, and goalie Yaroslav Askarov had 30 saves, including several of the spectacular variety.

The Sharks are now 21-11-4 in games decided by two goals or less, improving to 3-1-0 on their six-game homestand, which ends with games against the St. Louis Blues on Friday and the New York Islanders on Saturday.

After a 4-1 loss to the non-playoff-contending Calgary Flames last Thursday, the Sharks bounced back to beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 on Saturday and the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in overtime on Sunday.

The win streak may influence what general manager Mike Grier does at the deadline. With the Sharks still outside of a playoff spot, Grier might not be a massive buyer before Friday’s noon deadline, but there might also be a temptation to keep the team’s pending unrestricted free agents for a playoff push.

The Sharks have eight pending UFAs, including defenseman Mario Ferraro and goalie Alex Nedeljkovic.

“They’ve really blocked out and ignored the noise of what’s coming here,” Warsofsky said. “Credit to the group in there that just kind of shows up, works every day, whether that’s an optional skate, full skate, meetings, or individual meetings. Each guy is extremely coachable. They show up with good attitudes, and that’s really all you can ask as a coach.

“We forget these guys are human beings, and whether someone moves on, and they have a family, or wives, it’s a challenge. So for them to really put that aside and do what’s best for the team, give a lot of credit to the group. They did a really good job of that.”

Sherwood is one of those pending UFAs who could get moved, as he and the Sharks have been unable to reach an agreement on an extension since he was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 19.

For now, it’s clear Sherwood enjoys being in San Jose with the Sharks.

“We’re talking about guys putting their bodies on the line, and it’s a mindset that we’ve got to continue to rinse and repeat each and every game,” Sherwood said. “It’s a good challenge for us. We’ve got to continue to fight and claw and force our way (into the playoffs).

“We’re the hunters here, and it’s going to take efforts like that each and every night for us to get a chance.”

The Sharks will give themselves a better chance if they can protect leads.

Trailing 5-2 early in the third period, the Canadiens got to within one as Ivan Demidov and Alex Newhook scored goals 18 seconds apart, with Newhook’s goal coming at the 5:20 mark. Just over five minutes later, with Sam Dickinson serving a tripping penalty, Newhook took a pass from Brendan Gallagher and beat Askarov for his eighth goal of the season at the 10:56 mark to make the game 5-5.

“Like we’ve said all year, we’ve learned lessons along the way. You go up 5-2, and you probably come off the gas just for a little bit, and a skilled team like that will make you pay,” Warsofsky said. “I liked the resiliency of our group to just keep playing and get back to competing.”