{"id":198775,"date":"2026-03-01T02:30:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T02:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/198775\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T02:30:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T02:30:08","slug":"san-jose-sharks-use-late-goal-to-beat-connor-mcdavid-edmonton-oilers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/198775\/","title":{"rendered":"San Jose Sharks use late goal to beat Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN JOSE \u2013 San Jose Sharks defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin<\/a> enjoyed one of the biggest moments of his life earlier this week as he and his wife welcomed their first baby into the world.<\/p>\n

Then Mukhamadullin enjoyed what was perhaps the biggest moment<\/a> of his season \u2014 professionally, at least.<\/p>\n

Mukhamadullin scored a go-ahead goal at the 9:27 mark of the third period to help lift the Sharks to a badly needed and entertaining 5-4 win<\/a> over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday before a sold-out crowd of 17,435 at SAP Center.<\/p>\n

Trailing a rush up the ice, Mukhamadullin took a pass from William Eklund inside the blue line and fired a wrist shot past Oilers goalie Connor Ingram for his fourth goal this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust go into the zone, and (Eklund) gave it to me,\u201d Mukhamadullin said. \u201cI\u2019m just shooting to hit the net, and I scored.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sharks held on from there, killing a late hooking penalty to defenseman Vincent Desharnais, to snap a five-game losing streak and breathe some new life <\/a>into their playoff hopes.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis goal is huge for us as a team and for him, also,\u201d Eklund said of Mukhamadullin\u2019s long-range shot. \u201cThat was for his kid. So, it\u2019s nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Misa, Macklin Celebrini, Alex Wennberg, and Barclay Goodrow also scored, and goalie Yaroslav Askarov finished with 20 saves as the Sharks improved to 1-1-0 on their crucial six-game homestand.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sharks (28-25-4) host the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday at 1 p.m., then finish what could be a make-or-break homestand with games against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, the St. Louis Blues on Friday, and the New York Islanders next Saturday.<\/p>\n

With Saturday\u2019s win, the Sharks, at least temporarily, moved to within three points<\/a> of the Seattle Kraken for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. The Kraken hosted the Vancouver Canucks late Saturday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat win won\u2019t get us into the playoffs,\u201d Celebrini said. \u201cBut hopefully, if we keep stacking it and keep playing well, I think we\u2019ve got a good shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sharks owner Hasso Plattner<\/a> attended Saturday\u2019s game and visited the team in the locker room after the victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was huge,\u201d Eklund said of winning in front of Plattner. \u201cMake him see that we\u2019re pushing for the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SanSan Jose Sharks defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin, second from left, is congratulated by defenseman Mario Ferraro (38), center Michael Misa (77) and left wing William Eklund (72) after scoring against the Edmonton Oilers during the third period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jeff Chiu)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mukhamadullin was a healthy scratch in the Sharks\u2019 4-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Thursday and, through a mix of injuries and scratches, had played in just 26 of 56 games<\/a> so far this season before Saturday.<\/p>\n

Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said he wanted Mukhamadullin to play with more \u201curgency\u201d on defense as they faced one of the NHL\u2019s most offensively prolific teams in the Oilers, who entered Saturday third in the NHL with an average of 3.52 goals per game.<\/p>\n

Mukhamadullin, playing alongside Mario Ferraro on the Sharks\u2019 second defense pair, finished with 18:27 in ice time and also came up with a big first-period save, getting a skate on Jack Roslovic\u2019s shot from close range with an empty net behind him.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Mukhamadullin) is learning how it\u2019s not going to go perfect every night, and you\u2019re going to make mistakes, and you\u2019ve got to kind of move on mentally,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201c(He) did a really good job of that all night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oilers captain Connor McDavid, the NHL\u2019s leading scorer, had three assists Saturday. But the Sharks didn\u2019t just sit back and go into a shell after Mukhamadullin\u2019s go-ahead goal.<\/p>\n

Askarov came up big with four saves on the late penalty kill, but for over nine minutes after Mukhamadullin\u2019s goal, the Sharks actually, despite some chaotic moments, outshot the Oilers 2-1.<\/p>\n

In San Jose\u2019s game in Alberta on Jan. 29, Askarov and the Sharks built a three-goal lead in the first period but sat back too much, allowing the Oilers to tie it and send it to overtime, where Zach Hyman scored to give Edmonton a 4-3 win.<\/p>\n

The Sharks didn\u2019t want to make that same mistake again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to shut it down and just sit back and let them attack us,\u201d Celebrini said. \u201cI think that\u2019s what we did when we lost in Edmonton, and I thought we did a good job just kind of playing on top of them. At the same time, we can\u2019t give those easy chances right in front of our net.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sharks led 3-2 after two periods, and are now 20-0-2 when they lead after 40 minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that we\u2019re learning is when we have leads, we\u2019ve got to stay on the attack and keep pushing forward,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cYou watch around the league, it\u2019s hard to win. It\u2019s hard to keep leads because teams push so heavily. We\u2019re learning that, and I thought it was a really good step in the right direction tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

NOTABLE<\/p>\n

With Mukhamadullin and winger Pavol Regenda entering Saturday\u2019s lineup, defenseman Timothy Liljegren and winger Ryan Reaves were scratched. Liljegren made a costly error in the third period of Thursday\u2019s loss to Calgary, turning over a puck that led to a third-period goal by Calgary in what became a 4-1 loss.<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s game marked the first meeting between McDavid and Celebrini since they were linemates for Canada at the Olympic Games. McDavid led the tournament with 13 points in six games, and Celebrini had 10 points, with his five goals leading all skaters.<\/p>\n

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