MONTREAL – It could have been just another loss for the San Jose Sharks on what had been a pretty frustrating road trip up to that point.

Instead, it could become an important early-season gut-check moment.

The Sharks boarded a train to Ottawa late Tuesday still feeling good about their improbable 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens earlier that night, as they rallied from a two-goal third-period deficit before Macklin Celebrini scored on the power play for his fourth career overtime goal.

Now, instead of riding a three-game losing streak into Thursday’s game against the Ottawa Senators, the Sharks, like last season, have a chance to build off an emotional win and get on a roll after an uneven start to the first month.

“I think this should be a good propeller for us, especially that last 20 minutes,” Celebrini said of the third period when the Sharks upped their work ethic, established a forecheck and became more physical. “Just knowing the way we need to play, that’s the recipe right there.

“I think we were a little bit disconnected in the first couple (of periods), and just to have everyone on the same page, working together, and get rewarded for it was nice.”

The Sharks were in a similar, albeit more desperate, spot at the start of last season.

The Sharks had a 0-4-2 record when they arrived at Madison Square Garden to face the New York Rangers. In a wild, back-and-forth game, the Sharks took a two-goal lead before the Rangers scored three straight goals.

The game went to overtime after a third-period goal by the Rangers. But in the extra session, Will Smith scored his second of the game on an assist from Celebrini, and the Sharks won 6-5.

Celebrini had a hat trick and two assists, and the win propelled the Sharks in a new direction.

After six straight losses, the Sharks, including the win in New York, would post a 10-4-1 record and get two games above .500 by the third week of November.

With a blueprint for how they need to play, the Sharks hope to repeat a similar run in 2026. After Thursday, they play the Boston Bruins on Saturday to end the six-game road trip, then begin a four-game homestand as Buffalo, Vancouver, Ottawa, and Calgary come to San Jose.

“I think the third period, the recipe is right there,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “But again, when we play back-to-back, you’re not going to feel your best every single night. You’ve got to find ways to grind and play the right way, and that’s going to be kind of the message going forward, that we have to have a simple brand of hockey.

“You look at the top teams in the league, that’s how they play, and we’ve just got to get more consistent.”

The Sharks could remain without Alexander Wennberg for a little while, as Warsofsky considers the veteran centerman day-to-day for now.

If so, Collin Graf will likely keep getting reps as a middle-six center.

Graf, who also played center as an NCAA standout, had three shots on net, blocked three shots, and won four of six faceoffs in 15:50 of ice time against Montreal as San Jose’s top penalty-killing forward.

Graf didn’t do anything spectacular, but he played simple, smart hockey and made no egregious errors.

“I thought he was good, smart,” Warsofsky said of Graf. “(Played) a little (center) in college, so we were pretty comfortable with it. He looked like he had played there a lot more than just in college.”

The Sharks also hope Tuesday’s game will be a springboard for Michael Misa.

Misa scored his first goal of the season at the 5:36 mark of the third period. He began the play by poking the puck off Lane Hutson’s stick inside the Sharks zone, then starting a 2-on-1 with Kiefer Sherwood as they skated into the Canadiens’ end.

Misa took a perfect pass from Sherwood and ripped a shot past Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes for his first NHL goal since April 16, the Sharks’ 2025-26 regular season finale.

“I’m hard on myself,” Misa said. “I hold myself to a high standard, try and play the best I can every night, and when the puck’s not going in, you’ve just got to keep it simple.”

The Sharks will also gladly take the kind of goaltending they’ve received from Yaroslav Askarov and Alex Nedeljkovic the last two games.

Askarov stopped 29 of 31 shots in the Sharks’ 3-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, and Nedeljkovic, under siege in the first period, finished with 31 saves in Montreal, as he’s now backstopped both of San Jose’s wins on this road trip.

Last season, when the Sharks got on that run from Oct. 23 to Nov. 20, Askarov and Nedeljkovic combined to stop 441 of 479 shots for a sparkling .921 save percentage.

The Sharks have a team day off on Wednesday, so it’s unclear who might start in net against the Senators on Thursday. But Warsofsky has to feel good about his goaltending right now.

“Nedeljkovic has been really good; (Askarov) is coming off a really good game (Monday) night,” Warsofsky said. “So we’ve got two good goalies, and if they’re playing at a high level, they’re going to give us a chance every night.”