San Jose Sharks, Michael Misa beat the Winnipeg Jets as the playoff push continues
SAN JOSE – Rookie center Michael Misa had one thought in 3-on-3 overtime after coming out of the San Jose Sharks zone and picking off a drop pass from teammate William Eklund.
“Definitely an attack,” said Misa.
Misa took a pass from Eklund, swung into the offensive zone, split two forwards, fought off Haydn Fleury’s check and beat reigning league MVP goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, leading the Sharks to a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.
Will Smith scored again, and goalkeeper Alex Nedeljovic finished with 27 saves as the Sharks swept the weekend games at the SAP Centre, before a sellout crowd of 17,435. The Sharks beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 on Saturday.
With the win, the Sharks (29-25-4) moved past the idle Seattle Kraken for second place in the Western Conference wildcards. The Sharks have 24 games left, with a game in hand at the Kraken.
“It’s huge,” Smith said of the weekend sweep. “We’re down (four games in a row) before the break. You want to make sure you get these points at the end of the year. We’ve only got 20 games left. It’s going to be a tough race.”
The Sharks are now 2-1-0 in a six-game homestand that will conclude with games against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, St. Louis Blues on Friday, and the New York Islanders on Saturday.
Takeaways from Sunday’s game:
MISA CONTINUES TO LIGHT
Macklin Celebrini and Smith entered the NHL at the ages of 18 and 19, respectively. Now another youngster is showing he’s ready for the pressure of the playoffs.
Although Smith and Celebrini, the Sharks’ two leading scorers, were the natural choice to start overtime for the Sharks, coach Ryan Warsofsky said something that coach Ryan Warsofsky quickly pulled out of the game.
As San Jose looks to continue its pursuit of its first playoff appearance since 2019, it’s still a development season.
With that in mind, the Sharks must like the way Misa, 18, has come, especially since every game has a purpose.
Since his two-assist game against the Florida Panthers on Jan. 19, Misa is third on the Sharks with nine points (three goals, six assists) in 11 games. Smith and Celebrini tied for 11 points apiece in that span.
Misa finished Sunday with a season-high 15:39 in ice time, including 44 seconds of 100-second overtime, which is a clear indication of how much of a fit he has begun to build with Warsofsky.
“He’s got it,” Warsofsky said of Mass, last year’s second-round draft pick, in overtime. “He’s earned it the way he’s played, and that’s something we’ve been talking about for a long time in training camp. “You earn your ice, you earn your spot on this team, and you’ve definitely earned the ice, and you’re going to earn more. But you got that OT shift. “
Misa and Eklund never spent time in the same row before Misa left the Sharks to compete with Canada at the World Junior Championships in December. But since Misa returned in January, he and Eklund have formed an effective duo, creating 17 dangerous chances in 5-on-5 play while allowing just 13, according to Natural Stat Trick.
“I think whenever (Warsofsky) puts me and (Eklund) together, we tend to get creative,” Misa said. “As he put us together, we had good chemistry. So seeing us working overtime together, I thought something was going to click.”
In his overtime goal, Misa, “he was the last guy, so I had to make sure we got to their place, and one thing led to another.”
The Sharks have a 12-4 record in overtime this season, which is a big reason why they are in the playoff picture in the first place.
BETTER AT DEFENSE
The Sharks need to do a better job of keeping the puck in the net, and their win over the Oilers on Saturday was not a defensive clinic.
So Sunday’s game was at least a step in the right direction, as they allowed just six dangerous chances during 5-on-5 play, according to Natural Stat Trick, down from the 10 per game average they had given up in their previous five games.
The Sharks were 3-3 in penalties as they allowed five shots and the Jets got another chance. Nedeljkovic allowed a first-period goal to Jets winger Morgan Barron, but had 20 saves in the final two periods and overtime.
Nedeljkovic’s biggest save may have come during the Sharks’ power play in the third period, as Barron went in alone and escaped a check by the San Jose goalkeeper. But Nedeljkovic made a save with his right pad from Barron’s ball from close range to keep the game tied at 1-1.
Beginning with his 34-save career against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Jan. 6, Nedeljkovic, a pending unrestricted free agent, is 6-1-0 with a .928 save percentage in eight games.
The Sharks have another running back Friday and Saturday, so Nedeljkovic, assuming he’s in San Jose, will get at least one start on the field.
LINE JUGGLE PAYS
Smith, Celebrini and Kiefer Sherwood had a great game together on Saturday, with a 79.41 percent expected goal percentage during 5-on-5 play, and a combined 15 shots on goal. Sunday was a different story: The trio did well but not well.
Some line shuffling by Warsofsky worked. Collin Graf joined Celebrini and Smith late in the second period, and in the third, when the line came together on the Sharks’ first goal.
Graf took a long pass from Celebrini, carried the ball towards the net from the Jets to the Sharks in a 2-on-1 with Smith, and shot a shot that was blocked by Hellebuyck. The rebound, however, went straight to Smith, who headed it into the Jets net to tie the game at 1-1 with 18:13 left in regulation.
