SAN JOSE — San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro said he would do it again. In a heartbeat.

Shortly after Garnet Hathaway knocked down Sharks center and leading scorer Macklin Celebrini with a hard but clean check to the left of the Sharks’ net early in the third period, Ferraro went after the pesky Philadelphia Flyers winger, taking him to the ice in a brief altercation in a tie game.

Ferraro took a roughing penalty at the 1:14 mark of the third period for his efforts, and the Sharks allowed a go-ahead power-play goal to Christian Dvorak 33 seconds later in what became an emotional 4-1 loss to the Flyers on Saturday at SAP Center.

Dmitry Orlov scored the Sharks’ only goal at the 13:12 mark of the second period, as they lost their fourth straight game and fell to 2-5-2 since a 7-5 home win over the Montreal Canadiens on March 3.

The Sharks (32-30-6) have made a point of sticking up for each other all season and are especially sensitive when teams try to be physical with Celebrini, who is fifth in the NHL with 96 points. Ferraro, an alternate captain and the Sharks’ longest-tenured player, said he simply reacted to Hathaway’s hit right next to him.

“Zero hesitation,” Ferraro said. “Obviously, I’m not happy that I got a penalty on it, but I wasn’t even really thinking about that. It’s our best player, and he gets hit like that.”

Ferraro said the only regret was that he and Hathaway didn’t “stay up and scrap it out a little bit more and get a couple punches in.

“So obviously that sucks,” Ferraro said. “They score on that power play, which isn’t fun. But that’s (Celebrini), and I didn’t think in that moment. I’ll do that 10 times out of 10.”

Hathaway popped Celebrini and then Ferraro IMMEDIATELY went after him taking a penalty 😳💥 pic.twitter.com/KqQCx39Vps

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 21, 2026

The game was a feisty one, with Barclay Goodrow having to fight Noah Cates late in the second period. Cates went after Goodrow after the Sharks forward laid a heavy hit on Trevor Zegras. Ryan Reaves also fought Garrett Wilson in the first period, just 1:48 into the first period, squaring off in a brief but spirited tilt.

Reaves injured his left hand in the fight, and needed some help from the linesmen just to release his grip on Wilson after the two separated. Reaves then returned to the Sharks’ bench to have his finger treated by a trainer, and later had to go back to the team’s dressing room.

Reaves remained on the Sharks bench during the game, even as he was unable to play.

“Reavo, he’s been doing that his whole career. Unbelievable teammate,” an emotional Barclay Goodrow said of Reaves’ support. “He’s a guy that brings it all every night. Great, great friend.

“He’s the best guy. Even when he’s not playing, he’s there for everyone. He always works his butt off every day. I think everyone in the room can learn a lot from a guy like that.”

The Sharks and Flyers entered the third period tied 1-1 after Orlov scored a power play goal at the 13:12 mark of the second period.

Celebrini carried the puck into the Flyers’ zone and dropped it back to William Eklund, who carried it toward the goal line before sending a pass in front to Orlov, who one-timed it past Flyers goalie Dan Vladar for his third goal of the season.

Right before the goal, the Sharks’ fourth line with Goodrow, Zack Ostapchuk, and Adam Gaudette set the tone with a heavy shift, perhaps helping to change the momentum.

Celebrini had been held without a point in the Sharks’ last two games: a 5-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday and a 5-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. In the 17 games this season in which Celebrini has been held without a point, the Sharks are 1-14-2 while being outscored 70-24.

Compounding matters for the Sharks has been that their second-leading scorer, Will Smith, now has just two assists in his last nine games, and no points in his last six. Tyler Toffoli, San Jose’s third-leading scorer, is out for an undetermined amount of time with a lower-body issue after he was injured during the first period on Thursday.

Warsofsky said Saturday that it remained unclear whether Toffoli would be able to travel with the team on Monday when they leave for Nashville to begin a three-game road trip. Toffoli, with 44 points in 67 games, sustained a lower-body injury during the first period of Thursday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres.

The Sharks play the Predators on Tuesday, the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

“It’s not so much someone, we just need more guys going. We need more guys going throughout our games,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “With this time of year, you need your full bench going. You’ve got to fight for every inch.”

The Sharks on Saturday were also without defensemen Vincent Desharnais, who is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Warsofsky said Desharnais’ injury is more the result of accumulation over time than any one incident. Desharnais also missed 23 games from late November to mid-January due to what he said was an elbow injury that required surgery.

Desharnais, when healthy, has been one of the Sharks’ top penalty-killing defensemen. In 10 games this month, Desharnais has averaged just under 21 minutes of ice time per game, and was the Sharks’ second-leading penalty killer (32:15) behind defenseman Mario Ferraro (34:18).

The Sharks right now are also dealing with injuries to No. 1 goalie Yaroslav Askarov (lower body), winger Igor Chernyshov (upper body), and center Ty Dellandrea (lower body).

The Sharks entered Saturday in 11th place in the Western Conference with 70 points, two points behind the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild-card spot. The Sharks were also one point behind both the Seattle Kraken and the Nashville Predators.