{"id":118661,"date":"2026-01-11T02:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T02:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/118661\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T02:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T02:40:11","slug":"macklin-celebrini-tyler-toffoli-lead-san-jose-sharks-past-dallas-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/118661\/","title":{"rendered":"Macklin Celebrini, Tyler Toffoli lead San Jose Sharks past Dallas Stars"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN JOSE \u2013 Between the extensive upcoming travel and the quality of the opposition, the next three-plus weeks could be the most challenging of the San Jose Sharks\u2019 season.<\/p>\n

The demanding schedule might also be a measure of whether the Sharks are truly a playoff team.<\/p>\n

The stretch of 12 games in 25 days got off to an impressive start Saturday as the Sharks erased a two-goal third-period deficit before Tyler Toffoli scored at the 1:58 mark of overtime to lift San Jose to a thrilling 5-4 comeback win over the Dallas Stars before a sellout crowd of 17,435 at SAP Center.<\/p>\n

Trailing 4-2 after Mikko Rantanen\u2019s 18th goal of the season at the 7:53 mark of the third period, Toffoli and Adam Gaudette scored 5:33 apart to tie the game, with Gaudette\u2019s goal, his 10th of the season, making it 4-4 with 4:59 left in regulation time.<\/p>\n

In overtime, with Rantanen serving a holding penalty, Toffoli, stationed near the top of the slot, one-timed a pass from William Eklund past Stars goalie Casey DeSmith for his 13th goal of the season and the Sharks\u2019 sixth win in seven games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought we earned everything that we got tonight,\u201d Toffoli said. \u201cIt was definitely a playoff-style game, and it was just a lot of fun. Obviously, being able to get a win goes a long way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe San Jose Sharks celebrate a goal scored by San Jose Sharks’ Sam Dickinson (6) against the Dallas Stars during the third period at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Sharks\u2019 first three goals also came on the power play, with Macklin Celebrini assisting on goals by Alexander Wennberg and Toffoli to extend his point streak to 13 games. Toffoli\u2019s goal came with 10:32 left in regulation time and cut the Stars\u2019 lead to one.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuys did a good job of just competing and playing through things,\u201d Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. \u201cThey scored to make it 4-2, and we could have easily gone away.\u00a0Credit to the group for digging in and finding a way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celebrini also assisted on Toffoli\u2019s overtime goal, giving him 70 points on the season. His point streak is tied for the second-longest in Sharks history, with the longest being Erik Karlsson\u2019s 14-game streak from Dec. 3, 2022, to Jan. 6, 2023.<\/p>\n

Celebrini\u2019s streak is also the second-longest by a teenager in NHL history, only trailing the 15-game streak Patrik Laine had with the Winnipeg Jets as a 19-year-old in 2018.<\/p>\n

Jeff Skinner also scored a power-play goal, and Alex Nedeljkovic finished with 16 saves for the Sharks (23-18-3), who are now five games above .500 for the first time since the end of the 2018-19 season, when they last made the playoffs with 46-27-9 record.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday in Los Angeles, the Sharks trailed by one late in the third period before Celebrini scored one of the prettiest goals of the season to tie the game with just over a minute remaining in regulation time. Celebrini then made another dazzling play in overtime as he assisted on Eklund\u2019s game-winner in a 4-3 Sharks victory.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe San Jose Sharks celebrate after San Jose Sharks’ Tyler Toffoli (73) scores the game winning goal against Dallas Stars during overtime at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Saturday, the Stars led 3-2 going into the third period. Before the game, the Stars had a 17-0-1 mark this season when they led after two periods.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a big belief in that dressing room right now that we can win hockey games, and we can play with the best of them,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cI\u2019d say that\u2019s the biggest thing that we\u2019re seeing right now, is that there\u2019s a belief \u2014 even going into the third period \u2014 you felt like we were going to win the hockey game.\u00a0That was the expectation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sharks now host the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday in the second half of the difficult back-to-back, then begin a tough four-game road trip with games against Washington, Detroit, Florida, and Tampa Bay \u2014 all teams in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt.<\/p>\n

After a Jan. 23 home game against the New York Rangers, the Sharks start a five-game road trip that includes stops in Edmonton to play Connor McDavid and the Oilers on Jan. 29, and in Colorado to play Nathan MacKinnon and the Avalanche on Feb. 4, the last game before the Olympic break.<\/p>\n

In other words, nine of the Sharks\u2019 next 11 games are on the road. Right now, they seem ready for the challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter who we\u2019re playing, we\u2019re going to come out the same way, keep that same mindset,\u201d Gaudette said. \u201cWe can\u2019t focus on who we\u2019re playing and whether they\u2019ve got a good record or a bad record. We like playing good teams, and we like beating the good teams, because we\u2019re a good team.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe San Jose Sharks dogpile over San Jose Sharks’ Alex Nedeljkovic (33) after San Jose Sharks’ Tyler Toffoli (73) scores the game winning goal against the Dallas Stars during overtime at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re gonna come up with that confidence and play the right way, just like we did tonight. Maybe clean some stuff up, and it\u2019ll be good battle (Sunday).\u201d<\/p>\n

ROSTER UPDATES<\/p>\n

Warsofsky reiterated before Saturday\u2019s game that defenseman John Klingberg and rookie forward Michael Misa are options to play in Sunday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

Klingberg (lower body) hasn\u2019t played since he was injured in the Sharks\u2019 Dec. 31 game against the Minnesota Wild. Misa rejoined the Sharks earlier this week after helping Canada win a Bronze Medal at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Minnesota.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a plan. We know we need to get (Misa) to play, and he needs to play games and get going here,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cSo I don\u2019t see him sitting too long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Misa practiced with the Sharks on Friday and was on the wing and at center during line rushes, raising the possibility that he could play the wing when he returns to the lineup. \u201cI think he looked good in his first practice,\u201d Warsofsky said.<\/p>\n

SMITH UPDATE<\/p>\n

Sharks forward Will Smith seemingly took another step in his recovery from an upper-body injury Saturday morning as he skated with a group of other players in a regular teal jersey. Smith was in a non-contact orange jersey for Friday\u2019s practice.<\/p>\n

Other players who skated Saturday morning were Klingberg, Misa, and defensemen Vincent Desharnais and Shakir Mukhamadullin.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe San Jose Sharks’ Tyler Toffoli (73) scores the game winning goal against Dallas Stars’ Casey DeSmith (1) during overtime at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN JOSE \u2013 Between the extensive upcoming travel and the quality of the opposition, the next three-plus weeks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":118662,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103,13597,3607,51934,2484,51936,51935,154],"class_list":{"0":"post-118661","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-dallas","9":"tag-dallas-headlines","10":"tag-dallas-news","11":"tag-inside-sports","12":"tag-latest-headlines","13":"tag-macklin-celebrini","14":"tag-nhl","15":"tag-san-jose-sharks","16":"tag-sharks-alert","17":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}