SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks cannot afford many missteps against non-contending teams down the stretch if they want to snap a six-year playoff drought this season.
They had another slip-up Thursday at SAP Center to continue their second-longest losing streak of the season.
The Sharks started strong, but a bad line change and turnover in their own zone in the third period led to two goals against and a 4-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Thursday, disappointing a sellout crowd of 17,435 eager to see their team start the stretch run on a positive note.
Instead, the Sharks (27-25-4) have now lost five straight games, their longest skid since they opened the season with a 0-4-2 record.
Connor Zary and Nazem Kadri both scored in the third period off Sharks miscues, one off a questionable line change and another off a Timothy Liljegren turnover. Zary’s goal came 5:22 into the third period on the line change ,and Kadri scored with 8:04 left in regulation time after the Liljegren turnover.
“Just overall a bad play. I was trying to make a quick play up the weak side, but I had time to skate the puck, and could have made a way better play,” Liljegren said.
Gilroy native Dustin Wolf made 34 saves, including 16 in the third period, for the Flames, who beat the Sharks in three of four meetings this season, including a 3-2 win in Calgary on Jan. 31.
The Sharks’ homestand continues this weekend with games against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday and the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.
Tyler Toffoli scored the only goal for the Sharks. Goalie Yaroslav Askarov finished with 25 saves. Toffoli’s goal came as he redirected a shot by Mario Ferraro from the point past Wolf 67 seconds into the second period for a 1-0 Sharks lead.
Of the Sharks’ last five losses, three have come to teams below them in the Western Conference, with two coming to Calgary (24-27-6) and one to Chicago (22-27-9) on Feb. 2. They’ve been outscored 21-11 during the skid.
“Just play more on the inside,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “The way we scored the goal is the way we need to play,”
With 26 games left, the Sharks remain five points behind the Seattle Kraken for the second and final wild card spot in the Western Conference, and seven points back of the Anaheim Ducks for third place in the Pacific Division.
The Sharks took time during the first period of Thursday’s game to recognize their four Olympians, as Sweden’s Alex Wennberg, Slovakia’s Pavol Regenda, and Switzerland’s Philipp Kurashev all recently returned from Milan. Switzerland and Sweden were eliminated in the quarterfinals, and while Slovakia advanced to the semifinals, they lost to the United States and Finland to finish fourth.
The loudest cheer, of course, was for Macklin Celebrini, the youngest NHL player at the Olympics and the breakout star of the Games as he helped lead Canada to a spot in the gold medal game.
Celebrini had five goals and five assists in his first five games, but was held off the scoresheet in the final as Jack Hughes scored early in the 3-on-3 overtime to lift the Americans to a 2-1 win on Sunday at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.
“We didn’t win, so it’s bitter,” Celebrini said. “It’s sour that we didn’t win and we came that close, especially everything that we fought through. But (we) can’t change it now.”
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) takes a shot against the Calgary Flames in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Collin Graf (51) fights for the puck against Calgary Flames’ Yan Kuznetsov (37) in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) is recognized on the Jumbotron for his time at the Olympics for Team Canada during the Sharks game against the Calgary Flames in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) blocks a shot by Calgary Flames’ Connor Zary (47) in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Michael Misa (77) fights for the puck against Calgary Flames’ Yan Kuznetsov (37) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) blocks a shot in front of Calgary Flames’ Joel Farabee (86) in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Michael Misa (77) fights for the puck against Calgary Flames’ Yan Kuznetsov (37) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ William Eklund (72) fights for the puck in front of Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf (32) in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Alexander Wennberg (21) jumps out of the way of a shot against Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf (32) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Collin Graf (51) fights for the puck against Calgary Flames’ Yan Kuznetsov (37) in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) reacts to an empty net goal against the Sharks by the Calgary Flames in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ William Eklund (72) takes a shot against the Calgary Flames in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf (32) is congratulated by Calgary Flames’ Morgan Frost (16) after their 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) skates past a sign before their game against the Calgary Flames at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
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San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) takes a shot against the Calgary Flames in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)