The San Jose Sharks now have 19 regular-season games left as they entered Friday holding a paper-thin lead for the Western Conference’s final playoff spot.
With the way Sharks goalie Alex Nedeljkovic has played the last several weeks, he’s earned the opportunity to start the majority of those meaningful games, even if Yaroslav Askarov’s lower-body injury isn’t serious.
Dating back to early January, Nedeljkovic, after a memorable 39-save performance against the Boston Bruins on Thursday in a 4-2 Sharks win, is now 7-1-1 with a .924 save percentage in his last nine starts, helping San Jose (31-26-6) stay afloat in a still-crowded Western playoff race.
“Their goalie was the best player on the ice today,” Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov said of Nedeljkovic. “He made a couple of good saves, and we didn’t capitalize on our chances, and they did on theirs, so that was the difference.”
Nedeljkovic had some standout saves against the Bruins, including 14 in the first period, although few better than the one he made on Pavel Zacha late in the second period with the Sharks up 2-0.
With all five Sharks skaters near the puck several feet ahead, Nedeljkovic stopped a shot from the point before he made a save on Zacha, who was wide open in front of the Sharks’ net.
Nedeljkovic’s performance helped the Sharks snap a three-game losing streak and carry some momentum into Saturday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. The Sharks, as of Friday, were in the West’s second wild card spot with 68 points, one point ahead of the Seattle Kraken, Los Angeles Kings, and Nashville Predators.
“He was really good,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Nedeljkovic. “You could see he was locked in early, made some big saves, and then just really all game, he was outstanding.”
Warsofsky didn’t have a postgame update on Askarov, who was unable to play Thursday after he sustained an injury while he warmed up prior to the team’s morning skate at TD Garden.
Whether Askarov, who has had an up-and-down first full NHL season, is available to play Saturday against the Canadiens or the next day against the Ottawa Senators is unclear.
Certainly, if Askarov is anything less than 100% healthy, or especially if he’s at risk of making his injury worse, the Sharks would keep him on the shelf and call up Laurent Brossoit from the Barracuda. That decision to fly in Brossoit from San Jose would almost certainly have to come on Friday, unless the Sharks feel like employing more emergency backup goalies this weekend.
But even if Askarov wasn’t injured, Warsofsky would have a decision to make as to who his lead horse should be for the stretch run.
Askarov had a phenomenal month of November, posting an 8-2-0 record and an eye-popping .944 save percentage in 10 starts, helping the Sharks climb back into the playoff picture after a dismal 3-6-2 October.
Since then, though, Askarov owns a less-than-spectacular 10-12-2 record with an .868 save percentage. He’s made remarkable saves at times and let in some questionable goals in others.
In his last 10 games, Askarov has allowed 24 goals during 5-on-5 play, which ranks 55th out of 71 goalies. Certainly, some of that can be attributed to the often shaky defense around him. Still, per MoneyPuck.com, Askarov’s goals saved above expected per 60 mark during 5-on-5 play (-.476) ranks 56th on that list of 71 NHL goalies who have played at least 10 games this season.
Nedeljkovic has been the steadier of the two Sharks goalies — which isn’t necessarily unexpected given his experience –– and that’s what Warsofsky needs as San Jose tries to lock down its first playoff appearance since 2019.
In his last 10 games, Nedeljkovic has let in 15 goals during 5-on-5 play, which ranks fifth in the league. His goals saved above expected per 60 mark of .793 ranks fourth, behind only the Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin (.976), Buffalo’s Alex Lyon (.968), and Washington’s Logan Thompson (.923).
Being in this playoff chase is invaluable for the Sharks’ younger players who have never been in this position before, Askarov included. And assuming he doesn’t miss much more time, Askarov should still get a decent amount of work down the stretch, especially considering that after this road trip ends Tuesday in Edmonton, the Sharks play 16 times in 29 days.
But Nedeljkovic has the hot hand, and with the way he’s playing right now, it would be interesting to see where he can take this team after he helped the Sharks snap a three-game losing streak.
‘I thought we were getting away from our game here the last few and just weren’t playing with a lot of speed,” Nedeljkovic said of Thursday’s win. “We weren’t playing with a lot of poise, turning a couple of pucks over in all three zones. I thought tonight we did a really good job of just playing our game, sticking to our game, and letting the play come to us.”