SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks have created some excitement in recent weeks, enough to believe that they can make a run at their first playoff appearance since 2019.
That’s the good news. The other part of that equation is that if the Sharks make the postseason, they’ll likely have to face an elite team like the Dallas Stars in the first round.
The Sharks showed Thursday that they can compete with the Stars, but an egregious puck-handling error by goalie Alex Nedeljkovic that led to a Dallas goal proved to be the winner in a 5-3 loss before an announced crowd of 15,808 at SAP Center.
The Sharks trailed 4-2 when Macklin Celebrini won a faceoff in the Stars’ zone and, on a set play, later sent a shot to the front of the net, where Collin Graf scored his seventh of the season on a second effort at the 16:44 mark.
But in a moment eerily similar to the Sharks’ season-opening loss, Nedeljkovic, playing the puck behind his net, tried to pass to in front to Alexander Wennberg, who couldn’t react in time. The pass, instead, went right to Stars winger Justin Hryckowian, who scored his fourth of the season at the 19:17 mark for a 4-2 Dallas lead.
“I just saw they took the wall away. They were coming hard,” said Nedeljkovic, who finished with 25 saves. “I made the play earlier in the game. I thought we had an opportunity there to maybe hit the middle. I just didn’t execute on the play.”
Ned misplays the puck. Wennberg doesn’t catch the pass intended for him. Justin Hryckowian doesn’t get an easier goal than that. As @Steve_Dangle would say, “If you’re a goaltender…”#TexasHockey 4, #TheFutureIsTeal 2 pic.twitter.com/4yEyvfAr8q
— TEAL TOWN USA – A San Jose Sharks Podcast (@TEALTOWNUSA) December 19, 2025
Before Thursday, Nedeljkovic had gone 2-1-0 with a 2.00 goals against average and .932 save percentage.
“It happens in a game,” Wennberg said. “Obviously, (Nedeljkovic) is a really good puck-playing goalie, but I don’t really have a comment. He’s a really good goalie. I should read it a little bit better, but unfortunately, that happened. It’s just in that part of the game, unfortunately, they get a little bit more momentum there.”
Nedeljkovic also had two notable puck-handling gaffes in San Jose’s first game of the season on Oct. 9 against the Vegas Golden Knights. Nedeljkovic was unable to handle a seemingly innocent dump-in by Jack Eichel that went into the Sharks’ net, tying the game 3-3 with 1:34 to play.
In overtime, Nedeljkovic came far out of his net to play a loose puck, but his pass deflected right to Golden Knights forward Reilly Smith, who scored the game-winner on an empty-net.
The Sharks at least had a chance to bounce back on Thursday, and Graf scored the second of his two goals at the 4:32 mark of the third period, finishing a pretty sequence after Igor Chernyshov fed him with a pass to the front of the net. It was Chernyshov’s second assist in two career NHL games.
The Sharks are now 3-13-1 this season when they trail after two periods. Still, recent comeback wins over the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins have given the Sharks some confidence that they can erase deficits.
The Sharks last Saturday trailed the Penguins by four goals early in the third period before storming back to win 6-5.
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) reacts after their 5-3 loss to the Dallas Stars at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (33) reacts after a goal by Dallas Stars’ Justin Hryckowian (49) in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Ty Dellandrea (10) fights for the puck against Dallas Stars’ Justin Hryckowian (49) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Alexander Wennberg (21) controls the puck against Dallas Stars’ Radek Faksa (12) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
The San Jose Sharks fight for the puck against the Dallas Stars in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Collin Graf (51) celebrates his goal against the Dallas Stars in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (33) blocks a shot in front of Dallas Stars’ Oskar Back (10) and San Jose Sharks’ Shakir Mukhamadullin (85) in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ William Eklund (72) fights for the puck in front of Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Alexander Wennberg (21) controls the puck against the Dallas Stars in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) controls the puck against Dallas Stars’ Colin Blackwell (15) in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Alexander Wennberg (21) fights for the puck against Dallas Stars’ Nils Lundkvist (5) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Ethan Cardwell (56) passes the puck against Dallas Stars’ Oskar Back (10) in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Barclay Goodrow (23) fights for the puck against Dallas Stars’ Sam Steel (18) in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Alexander Wennberg (21) can’t get a shot past Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Shakir Mukhamadullin (85) is congratulated by San Jose Sharks’ Vincent Iorio (22) on his goal against the Dallas Stars in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) yells at a referee during their game against the Dallas Stars in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Alexander Wennberg (21) can’t get a shot past Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ William Eklund (72) reacts to an empty net goal by the Dallas Stars in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) reacts after their 5-3 loss to the Dallas Stars at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Show Caption
1 of 19
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) reacts after their 5-3 loss to the Dallas Stars at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said his message at the second intermission was that “it was 5-1 against Pittsburgh. It’s only 4-2 against Dallas. So we’ve done it. This is a smaller hill to climb. We know we got it in here to do it. Nothing needs to be said other than that.”
Defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin also scored for the Sharks, who lost 4-1 to the Stars in Dallas on Dec. 5. San Jose had won four of five games going into Thursday as they held the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Wyatt Johnston scored twice for the Stars (23-7-5), whose 51 points are the second-most in the NHL, four points behind the Colorado Avalanche (24-2-7).
Ultimately, the Sharks are in a place where they feel that if they clean up some of the mistakes, they can compete with some of the NHL’s best teams.
“I feel like we’re building on something really good right here,” Wennberg said. “We talked about not going in and playing one good game and then have (a bad) one. So today, even though we lose this game, I feel like we’re taking a step in the right direction.
“It’s a good team to play against, but we’re in this game, we’re fighting, and we’re really giving them a hard time today.”
Celebrini assisted on both of Graf’s goals and is now third in the NHL with 53 points, five back of Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon.