It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Mario Ferraro smile this much post-game.

“I’m trying to keep it cool, right?” the long-time San Jose Sharks defenseman said, after a 3-1 victory over the Florida Panthers. “Obviously, I’m excited about what I see right now. I really want to push for playoffs.”

Playoffs?!

That’s not a word that’s been said in San Jose in November in a long time.

Of course, we’re just 16 games into the season.

“It’s a long season,” the alternate captain said. “Personally, from a team standpoint, we know we still got work to do.”

But who could blame the San Jose Sharks lifer, part of six straight seasons out of the playoffs, if he’s excited? 7-6-3, it’s the first time that the perennial cellar-dwellers have been over .500 since they were 28-27-8 on March 22, 2022.

But while the Sharks were able to topple the defending champs, in truth, the Panthers dominated. After the first period, Florida outshot San Jose 33-9. It took Yaroslav Askarov making 38 saves for the Sharks to pull off the upset.

If San Jose is serious about the post-season dance, they’ll need to get better in this department.

“Watching these guys quite a bit, playoffs and whatnot, the D [are on] the walls,” head coach Ryan Warsofsky said about the Panthers, before the game. “It’s extremely hard in the offensive zone [to advance the puck]. We can’t get surprised by pressure. They’re going to come. We got to make sure we win the walls, where we have good support in that area.”

That’s a heaviness to the Panthers’ game that the Sharks are still lacking.

Florida blueliner Jeff Petry alluded to it, saying of San Jose, “They have skill up front, and they play a fast game. There’s other teams, they have that skill and speed, but they play a heavier game.”

Here’s an example of 6-foot-6 defenseman Niko Mikkola imposing his physical will on the Sharks.

Will Smith (2), after a Dmitry Orlov (9) pass, can’t get the puck through Mikkola. Then, the big defenseman skates through him.

Ideally?

“We want to start our battles up higher in the defensive zone. We’re getting shrunk down quickly, instead of setting our battles up higher inside the blueline,” Warsofsky said. “That’s something that we’ll continue to work on, fighting that panic. We have probably a little bit more time to make a play at times.”

The Sharks may have won this game, but winning habits are still a work in progress.

Macklin Celebrini

Celebrini, on his goal:

It was a great play. Vinny, getting the puck out at the end of the PK there and Smitty on the forecheck.

Celebrini, on the Florida Panthers’ physicality:

They were pretty physical. They play hard, what you see from a team that knows how to win. I thought we handled it good.

Mario Ferraro

Ferraro, on the last time that the San Jose Sharks were over .500 in Mar. 2022:

It’s a long season. Personally, from a team standpoint, we know we still got work to do. I’m trying to keep it cool, right? Obviously, I’m excited about what I see right now. I really want to push for playoffs. We all do. It’s a long season and we got a lot more wins to get.

Yaroslav Askarov

Askarov said the 1st goal or the empty-netter was the loudest that he’s ever heard SAP Center.

Says that the team can feel more excitement around their home games: https://t.co/4Ph71ahVVS

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 9, 2025

“Sharks fans… I CAN HEAR YOU!” 😂

Askarov is a riot, what a game! #SJSharks #TheFutureIsTeal pic.twitter.com/ozCCIXTEXu

— SnipeCity420  (@SnipeCity420) November 9, 2025

Ryan Warsofsky

Warsofsky: “You can judge, you can measure a guy’s height, you can measure his weight, but you can’t measure heart. And I can tell you right now, we played with some heart tonight.”

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 9, 2025

Warsofsky, on how his young wingers can improve on the breakout against a heavy, quick defense like Florida’s:

We want to start our battles up higher in the defensive zone. We’re getting shrunk down quickly, instead of setting our battles up higher inside the blueline. That’s something that we’ll continue to work on, fighting that panic. We have probably a little bit more time to make a play at times. It’s not just on the wing. I need our center in that pocket. We need to be a little bit more connected to work that puck out.