SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks begin a crucial five-game road trip on Tuesday, and it looks like an absolute gauntlet.
The Sharks (30-25-6) open the trip Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres, who have won seven straight after coming back to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 8-7 on Sunday in a game that included five fights and a combined 102 penalty minutes.
Two days later, they play the Boston Bruins, who entered the week on a 12-game home winning streak. On Saturday, the Sharks play the Montreal Canadiens, the second-highest scoring team in the NHL.
The Sharks, the next day, face the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre, where San Jose has won just one of its last seven games. The Sharks are also 4-6-2 this season in the second half of back-to-backs.
The last stop is next Tuesday in Edmonton, where the Sharks have lost nine straight.
If the Sharks can get through the trip and still just be one or two points out of a playoff spot, it would set them up nicely for a stretch run that includes just four games, out of 16, against teams that entered this week in a postseason position.
Faltering badly only puts more pressure on each remaining game, with no guarantee that the Sharks can make up any lost ground.
The trip is not quite make-or-break, but it could set the tone for the season’s final weeks.
Five Sharks musings as their road trip begins.
MORE BALANCE NEEDED
Macklin Celebrini led the Sharks with eight points during their just-completed six-game homestand, having a hand in almost half of San Jose’s 18 goals, and is now fifth in the NHL with 89 points. It’s possible he reaches 100 points by the end of the trip.
That would be great for the Sharks, of course, but it won’t be easy. The games are getting tougher, and as Saturday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the New York Islanders indicated, opposing teams are going to be physical with Celebrini to slow him down.
If they do, the Sharks’ other lines and defense pairs need to fill the void. It’s encouraging for the Sharks to see Michael Misa and Kiefer Sherwood get going, but the Sharks are still 1-12-2 in games this season where Celebrini doesn’t have a point.
Against the tight-checking Islanders, Celebrini’s line with Will Smith and Collin Graf created seven high-danger scoring chances during 5-on-5 play. The other three lines combined for eight.
Only two players, Joe Thornton and Erik Karlsson, have scored at least 100 points in a season for the Sharks. Thornton had 114 in 2006-07; Karlsson had 101 in 2022-23.
EKLUND’S PRODUCTION
William Eklund has one goal in 21 games since the calendar turned to 2026. It’s not for a lack of trying, as Eklund, since Jan. 1, is actually third on the Sharks in shots on goal with 49, behind Celebrini (90) and Tyler Toffoli (52).
Per Natural Stat Trick, Eklund, since Jan. 1, is fifth on the Sharks with 15 individual high danger scoring chances for with 15 in 21 games. So he’s had chances. He just hasn’t buried them.
But there have also been recent moments when Eklund has deferred a bit too often, opting for an extra pass when a shot on net would have been the better option. Eklund is second on the Sharks in the new year with 11 assists, trailing only Celebrini (17).
Kiefer Sherwood #44 and Yaroslav Askarov #30 of the San Jose Sharks congratulate one another after they beat the Montreal Canadiens at SAP Center on March 03, 2026 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
GOALTENDING QUESTION
The Sharks are going to need both Yaroslav Askarov and Alex Nedeljkovic to play well if they want to stay in the playoff picture. Still, unless Askarov totally struggles, it would be a surprise not to see him start the majority of the games on this road trip and down the stretch.
Just like players like Misa, Will Smith, and Sam Dickinson, Askarov, a cornerstone of the Sharks’ future, is still developing. The more he plays in an environment where every game has extra significance, the better off he figures to be in the long run.
The big picture is being kept in mind on this Sharks run, with Dickinson and Misa, too, playing bigger minutes.
There was some surprise that Askarov got the start against the Canadiens on March 3, two days after Nedeljkovic stopped 27 of 28 shots in the Sharks’ 2-1 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets. Although Askarov let in a goal or two he probably shouldn’t have, he still made 31 saves in a 7-5 Sharks win, with a few of the dazzling variety.
Perhaps helping the Sharks earn that win over Montreal played a role in the way he played Saturday, when he stopped 32 shots in the overtime loss to the Islanders.
LINEUP QUESTIONS
Games, for the most part, are going to get heavier and harder for the Sharks over the final five-plus weeks. So that raises the question: who should Ryan Warsofsky dress on a nightly basis?
Warsofsky inserted Ryan Reaves into Saturday’s lineup and scratched Philipp Kurashev. Reaves was a -1 and was credited with one hit in 6:20 of ice time and had just one third-period shift in a tight game.
It’s fair to say Kurashev, a middle-six forward also on the second power play unit, would have played more than six minutes, and it would be a surprise to see him sit out Tuesday’s game, too.
But does Reaves provide some value as a deterrent should other teams on this trip take liberties with Smith and Celebrini? When, too, will Pavol Regenda play again?
Perhaps it’ll be a platoon situation going forward, where who the Sharks dress depends more on matchups and the opponent.
A FUTURE REUNION?
Happy birthday to defenseman Brent Burns, who turned 41 on Monday, a day after he played his 987th consecutive game in Colorado’s 3-2 shootout win over Minnesota. Remarkably, Burns has played each game since Nov. 21, 2013, when he was in his third of 11 seasons with the Sharks.
Burns needs to play three more consecutive games to pass retired defenseman Keith Yandle (989) for second place on the all-time consecutive games played list. He also needs to play 78 more consecutive games to pass retired forward Phil Kessel (1,064) and become the NHL’s all-time ironman streak leader.
Could a record-setting moment happen in a Sharks uniform?
The Sharks, as noted several times, have only left-shot defensemen Dickinson and Dmitry Orlov signed for next season, with their right-shot defensemen, John Klingberg and Vincent Desharnais, pending unrestricted free agents.
While the Sharks might be interested, given that Burns is still averaging over 19 minutes of ice time per game, we wonder if Burns would be. If he comes back for a 23rd NHL season, we’re guessing he’ll want to remain on a team that’s on the cusp of winning the Stanley Cup. The Sharks might not be there in 2026-27.