Macklin Celebrini, Michael Misa, and Yaroslav Askarov were understandably terse after a hard-fought 2-1 OT loss to the New York Islanders.

While the San Jose Sharks got a point in a meaningful game, and against a playoff team in the Islanders, they were also clearly frustrated by the officiating.

There were questionable calls and non-calls, like Mathew Barzal running into Celebrini’s head and Kiefer Sherwood getting the only penalty for going after Barzal, for example.

But after the game, head coach Ryan Warsofsky took an honestly refreshing big picture view of the game and the rest of the San Jose Sharks’ season.

It’s not about the officials, it’s not about the Islanders, it’s about the Sharks.

San Jose, one point behind the Seattle Kraken for the last wild card berth in the West, are playing meaningful games in March for the first time since 2019.

Youngsters like Celebrini, Misa, Askarov, and company are getting their first taste of NHL playoff-like hockey.

That includes extra physicality and cheapshots.

“If we’re going to play in the playoffs, that’s what it’s gonna be like. We’ve got to get comfortable. We got to get comfortable being a little uncomfortable at times,” Warsofsky said. “That’s what the game is.”

It doesn’t mean just taking it — Sherwood gave Barzal a piece of his mind — but it means overcoming it.

Askarov is a good example of this. After surrendering a first period Tony DeAngelo goal that he’d probably want back, the 23-year-old netminder hunkered down, stopping 32-of-34 shots, to get his team into overtime.

Make it to the playoffs or not, this home stretch is going to be invaluable experience for the young Sharks, even a frustrating loss like tonight.

“We’re going to learn from it,” Warsofsky said. “These are great experiences, and sometimes, you get a lot of experiences through failure, and you get to learn through those experiences.”

It’s also understandable for players to be mad in the moment, and they should be. But hopefully, the players are also, paradoxically, having the time of their lives, which will probably help them perform better under pressure, too.

“Enjoy it and have fun. I know this is a business, and I get it, but we’re playing a game that we all love, we’re in a position that probably no one in the world thought we would be in,” Warsofsky said of the San Jose Sharks’ upcoming final 21 regular season games. “That is a fact. And we’re going to enjoy it.”

And hopefully, along the way, they find a team, a playoff team.

“We’ve got a point, got a big game [at] Buffalo on Tuesday,” Warsofsky said. “Let’s go on the road as a group. It’s us really against the world.”

Macklin Celebrini

An unhappy Celebrini didn’t want to talk about the officiating or the Barzal hit post-game

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) March 8, 2026

Warsofsky, on this Will Smith pass: “That’s what he does…That’s why he’s so elite & so skilled. Sees the ice extremely well & he can make those plays.”

Celebrini: “It’s really hard [to make]. He’s the 4th-overall pick for a reason, special player.” https://t.co/LTy0qyjDBR

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) March 8, 2026

Ryan Warsofsky

This is a great Warsofsky quote, about how #SJSharks should approach the stretch run & their first meaningful games in March since 2019:

“Enjoy it and have fun. I know this is a business, and I get it, but we’re playing a game that we all love, we’re in a position that probably…

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) March 8, 2026

Yaroslav Askarov

Askarov, on facing Ilya Sorokin:

He’s one of my favorite goalies and always fun to play against him.

Michael Misa

Misa, on how often he keeps in touch with good friend Matthew Schaefer:

Yeah, every couple weeks maybe. Try to keep in touch with the guy. We both went through the process together and
became a good friend of mine over the years. He’s obviously killing it over there.

Patrick Roy

#SJSharks fans in the Tank tonight, Patrick Roy just paid you guys the ultimate compliment:

“The last two times we came here, the crowd was not as much into it, but I thought tonight was the old Sharks’ atmosphere when I was playing. The fans were in it. They were letting the…

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) March 8, 2026