The San Jose Sharks are still looking for their first regulation-time win of the season.

That matters less if they keep winning in overtime or, in Thursday’s game against the Nashville Predators, in a shootout.

After neither team scored in the first two rounds of the shootout, Macklin Celebrini beat Juuse Saros, and Alex Nedeljkovic stopped Ross Colton at the other end in the third round to conclude a dazzling performance as the Sharks earned a heart-stopping 3-2 win at Bridgestone Arena.

The Sharks allowed a tying goal to Steven Stamkos with less than a second left in the third period, but regrouped and got five saves from Nedeljkovic in overtime to begin a six-game road trip on a positive note.

Forwards Mason Marchment and Will Smith both scored even-strength goals, and Nedeljkovic made 32 saves for the Sharks (4-3-0). Saros made 30 saves for the Predators (2-2-3).

Marchment scored at the 5:30 mark of the first period on an assist from winger Tyler Toffoli, and Smith scored at the 4:28 mark of the third on an assist from Michael Kesselring to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead.

Nashville’s Ryan O’Reilly cut the Sharks’ lead to one with a power-play goal at the 9:05 mark of the third, before Stamkos scored.

Nedeljkovic, making just his second start of the season, made 17 saves through two periods, including a spectacular stop on Predators winger Filip Forsberg during a Sharks penalty kill in the first period.

Nedeljkovic had started one other game this season, making 24 saves in the Sharks’ 3-2 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues last Thursday. He entered the game with a 5-4-0 record and a .908 save percentage in nine career games against the Predators.

The Sharks’ three other victories this season came in overtime.

Yaroslav Askarov, who started five of the Sharks’ first six games, was not sharp in the team’s 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday, stopping just 20 of 25 shots. He has a 2-3-0 record and an .848 save percentage in his five starts.

The Sharks face the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, and the Montreal Canadiens next Tuesday. San Jose’s road trip ends with stops in Ottawa on Sept. 22 and Boston on Sept. 24.

NURSE STILL INJURED

Two days after sustaining an upper body injury in a fight with Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov, Sharks defenseman Darnell Nurse was unavailable for Thursday’s game.

Nurse, third on the Sharks in average ice time (20:35), exited Tuesday’s game with 13:20 left in regulation time after fighting Zadorov. He took rushes with Michael Kesselring during the team’s morning skate in Nashville, but after being considered a game-time decision, he did not take pregame warmups.

Nurse’s absence had a domino effect on the Sharks’ defense corps, as Dmitry Orlov moved into that spot alongside Michael Kesselring. Luca Cagnoni, who might have been scratched if Nurse had been available, started instead alongside Nolan Allan, a scratch for four straight games before Thursday.

TRANSACTIONS

The Sharks reassigned forwards Alex Barre-Boulet and Cam Lund to the Barracuda on Thursday. Lund (upper body), who began the season on the non-roster list, was injured during the Sharks’ Rookie Faceoff event at Tech CU Arena in September. Barre-Boulet, who had been on injured reserve, did not play in a preseason game and went on waivers Wednesday before clearing Thursday.

The Barracuda (1-4-0-0) next play the Calgary Wranglers at home today.

EKLUND OUT LONG TERM

The Sharks will not face William Eklund in either of their two games against the Ottawa Senators this month.

Eklund, who had 163 points in 252 games with the Sharks before the Senators acquired him in June, will miss at least two more months after having surgery this week to repair a torn ankle tendon, Ottawa coach Travis Green said Thursday.

Eklund exited the Senators’ game against Philadelphia on Oct. 8 in the first period after Flyers defenseman Simon Benoit hit him against the boards, causing him to fall to the ice in pain. The Sharks play the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Oct. 22, and at SAP Center on Oct. 31.

Weeks after winning the No. 2 overall selection at the NHL draft lottery in May, the Sharks traded Eklund, winger Kasper Halttunen, and center Brandon Svoboda to the Senators for the No. 9 pick in this year’s draft. Halttunen is in the AHL with Belleville, and Svoboda is in his third season at Boston University.

The Sharks used the No. 2 selection on winger Ivar Stenberg and the No. 9 pick on North Dakota defenseman Keaton Verhoeff. Stenberg, 19, came into Thursday with one goal and three assists in six games.

Eklund, drafted seventh overall by the Sharks in 2021, played most of the 2021-22 season in his native Sweden and most of the 2022-23 season in the AHL with the Barracuda.