Here are some big San Jose Sharks questions heading into their final playoff push this season.<\/p>\n
The Sharks are three points out of the last wild card spot in the West, two teams to leapfrog, five games left. San Jose does have one game in hand on the eighth-place Nashville Predators.<\/p>\n
Can Macklin Celebrini close his case for the Hart Trophy with a statement?<\/p>\n
Celebrini has 42 goals and 108 points, and no doubt, he\u2019s the most valuable player on the Sharks, by a mile. But my guess, he\u2019s got to drag San Jose into the playoffs to win the media vote, especially in a strong MVP candidate year, where Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, and Nikita Kucherov all have very compelling cases.<\/p>\n
Celebrini also has a couple big individual milestones to chase: Can he break Joe Thornton\u2019s franchise record for points in a season, 114 in 2006-07? Or catch Sidney\u2019s Crosby\u2019s 120 points that same season, which is second-most for a teenager in NHL history?<\/p>\n
Can Yaroslav Askarov find another level?<\/p>\n
Askarov has been okay at best since his scintillating November, when he went 8-2-2 with a .940 Save %.<\/p>\n
Since then, he\u2019s 12-12-2 with an .870. Per Stathletes, his -9.85 Goals Saved Above Expected in that period of time is third-worst in the NHL (25-plus games played), just ahead of Kevin Lankinen and Sergei Bobrovsky. In comparison, Alex Nedeljkovic sports a -0.59, which is 23rd of 35 qualified goalies.<\/p>\n
The team defense-poor Sharks are in desperate need of a goalie to win them some games. Now would be a great time for the super-prospect to do that again.<\/p>\n
Will Sharks turn around their wayward penalty kill?<\/p>\n
From the end of the Olympic break to Mar. 28, San Jose\u2019s penalty seemed to find some footing, ranking ninth in the league in that time span.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve now given up nine power play goals on 17 attempts in their last six games.<\/p>\n
And finally, where will San Jose find more secondary scoring?<\/p>\n
The second line has been hot, and Alex Wennberg, William Eklund, and Kiefer Sherwood were probably the team\u2019s best line in a dismal 5-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The third line, however, has gone ice-cold, will the Sharks tinker there tonight? Tyler Toffoli has got his chances recently, but hasn\u2019t scored since Mar. 15, a 12-game goal-less spell. Not so coincidentally, center Michael Misa has just one assist in his last 12. And Igor Chernyshov hasn\u2019t been quite as dangerous without Celebrini and Will Smith at his side.<\/p>\n
San Jose Sharks (37-33-7)<\/p>\n
Askarov should start in the back-to-back.<\/p>\n
Head coach Ryan Warsofsky said that the Sharks will consider line changes after a 5-2 loss to the Oilers on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Askarov will start.<\/p>\n
There will be line-up changes, to both forwards and defense, I believe, but Warsofsky declined to share them. We\u2019ll see during warm-ups.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) April 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Anaheim Ducks (41-32-5)<\/p>\n This is how the Ducks, losers of four-straight, lined up in their last game:<\/p>\n Here’s who we fly with. #FlyToether<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/GdhCu3EKG6<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) April 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Where To Watch<\/p>\n Puck drop between the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks is at 7 PM PT at Honda Center. Watch it live on NBC Sports California. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t