Can the San Jose Sharks keep it going?

While they fell 5-3 to the Dallas Stars on Thursday, it was striking how much more swagger that San Jose played with in that game, as opposed to the 4-1 loss at Dallas on Dec. 5.

They played like a team that thought they were going to topple the Stars, overcoming three two-goal deficits before an empty netter sealed it for Dallas.

Of course, a lot has transpired since that Dec. 5 tilt that began a five-game road trip. The Sharks ended that swing with two comeback victories at the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins, then came home and trounced the Calgary Flames 6-3.

The Penguins’ comeback, of course, was the first time in franchise history that the team has come back from a four-goal third period deficit to win the game.

Macklin Celebrini reflected on the differences between the Dallas contests, good measuring sticks for the Sharks, because the Stars are a no-doubt Stanley Cup contender.

“I mean, last time we played them, we were coming off a 7-1 loss, so there wasn’t a lot of confidence in our group,” he said, referencing the 7-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Dec. 3. “Just over the last couple games, we’ve been playing better and playing more consistent and doing some really good things. So I think it’s just going in that game, we had a lot of confidence and felt like we were able to kind of create a little bit more.”

This stretch of games, and riding that post-Penguins comeback high, could be key to the San Jose Sharks making the playoffs. They’re obviously not going to go on a four-month hot streak just because of the Pens game, so they need to stack wins now, while they’re still feeling themselves, to stave off an inevitable upcoming slump or two.

Which brings us to the Seattle Kraken today. For the Sharks to make the post-season, they’ll need to take care of opponents below them in the standings, like the Flames and Kraken, and hang with the best squads, like the Stars.

San Jose Sharks (17-15-3)

Yaroslav Askarov will start.

Vincent Iorio is a last-minute replacement for Timothy Liljegren, who suffered an upper-body injury at morning skate.

This will shake up defensive pairings, but also the power play, where Liljegren was on the second unit.

Jeff Skinner and Sam Dickinson will re-enter the line-up:

Graf-Celebrini-Chernyshov
Eklund-Wennberg-Toffoli
Skinner-Dellandrea-Gaudette
Goodrow-Ostapchuk-Reaves

Orlov-Klingberg
Ferraro-Mukhamadullin
Dickinson-Iorio

Askarov

Warsofsky expanded on what he’s looking for from Jeff Skinner. Skinner spoke with San Jose Hockey Now about getting scratched on Thursday.

Warsofsky on what he wants to see from Jeff Skinner, who will get back in tonight:

“It comes (down) to the way we want to play with our structure and having good details and good habits. This is probably a little different situation than he’s been in in his career. But there’s…

— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) December 20, 2025

Seattle Kraken (12-14-6)

This is NHL.com’s projected Kraken line-up:

Kaapo Kakko — Matty Beniers — Jordan Eberle
Eeli Tolvanen — Chandler Stephenson — Frederick Gaudreau
Jani Nyman — Shane Wright — Ryan Winterton
Tye Kartye — Ben Meyers — Jacob Melanson

Vince Dunn — Adam Larsson
Ryan Lindgren — Jamie Oleksiak
Ryker Evans — Josh Mahura

Joey Daccord

Where To Watch

Puck drop between the San Jose Sharks and Seattle Kraken is at 7 PM PT at SAP Center. Watch it live on NBC Sports California. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.