For the first time this season, except when Macklin Celebrini has been injured, WillMack has been split.
Celebrini will center Ivar Stenberg and Collin Graf on Tuesday night against the Buffalo Sabres, while Will Smith and Mason Marchment will flank Michael Misa.
“Just to balance our lines, really, is where it starts,” San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We looked at it, and we haven’t generated a whole lot 5-on-5, so we’ve got to try to get something going.”
Sharks tools
Per Stathletes, the Sharks are 27th in the NHL in 5-on-5 Shot Attempts and 28th in Rush Shots. They’re 30th with 1.69 Goals Per 60
They’re also down two key forwards in center Alex Wennberg and winger Igor Chernyshov, both out with week-to-week injuries, so this maneuver makes sense, on paper.
Wennberg might be able to skate at the end of the week, though Warsofsky cautioned that he isn’t necessarily ahead of Chernyshov’s timeline
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 27, 2026
Celebrini and Smith, however, have not been productive at 5-on-5 this season, 1.13 and 0.69 Points Per 60, respectively. These figures pale in comparison to their robust 2.84 and 2.3 numbers last season. That was seventh and 46th in the league, out of 283 forwards (750+ 5v5 minutes).
But Stathletes suggests that they’re still among the Sharks better forwards at 5-on-5: Smith paces the team in Shot Attempts and Scoring Chances and Passes Leading to Shots Per 60. Celebrini, meanwhile, had gotten off to an uncharacteristically slow 5-on-5 start, but was surging before linemate Igor Chernyshov’s injury. He’s still third in Total Slot Involvement (Slot Shots/Passes/Carries), behind Smith and Chernyshov.
So even though Celebrini and Smith have been snake-bitten, to the eye, they still look like the team’s most dangerous 5-on-5 forwards. Hopefully, redistributing their skills gets them and the Sharks going.
“Michael’s one of our best skaters. He can fly out there,” Smith said. “Mush can put it the back of the net and can make a lot of plays. I think it will be a good blend.”
My personal thoughts on splitting Celebrini-Smith up, why not Stenberg-Celebrini-Smith, Dellandrea at 3C, not calling up Bystedt & more.
Read and follow here: https://t.co/5NOpYLnQ90
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 27, 2026
San Jose Sharks (6-5-1)
Yaroslav Askarov starts.
Here’s how the San Jose Sharks lined up at 5-on-5 and the power play at morning skate.
#SJSharks lines at morning skate, Celebrini & Smith split up:
Stenberg-Celebrini-Graf
Marchment-Misa-Smith
Sherwood-Dellandrea-Toffoli
Goodrow-Ostapchuk-Gaudette
Nurse-Trouba
Dickinson-Kesselring
Orlov-Cagnoni
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 27, 2026
#SJSharks power play groups…
PP1: Orlov-Stenberg-Celebrini-Smith-Marchment
PP2: Cagnoni-Gaudette-Sherwood-Toffoli-Misa
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 27, 2026
San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky, in addition to talking about the line changes, spoke on the team working on power play entries today.
Buffalo Sabres (4-4-3)
Colten Ellis will start.
#Sabres lines/defensive pairs early in the morning skate:
Benson-Thompson-Helenius
Doan-Ostlund-Quinn
Zucker-Norris-McLeod
Krebs-Kozak-Malenstyn
Samuelsson-Dahlin
Zellweger-Power
Metsa-Crevier
Gilbert
— Rachel Lenzi 💁🏻♀️😎💥 (@rachelmlenzi) October 27, 2026
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