The San Jose Sharks have matched up exactly twice with the Florida Panthers this season and twice the team has skated away with wins. Tonight, the Sharks defeated the Panthers 4-1 in a penalty filled fest that included a combined for 38 penalty minutes, including the unicorn of them all, the rare goalie fight.
Things started out mundane enough, with some fairly good hockey back and forth, but when the Sharks took good control of the puck in the first period, the Panthers decided to up the part of the game that won the team its back-to-back Stanley Cups, the tough stuff.
As you can see from Natural Stat Trick’s Corsi differential in all situations, the Sharks managed the play through two periods, including a second period in which Team Teal outscored the Panthers 3-0. Do, Florida did what it does best in the third and got nasty.
But credit to the Sharks for not putting up with any of it. When Matthew Tkachuk slashed Vincent Desharnais, Desharnais went right back at him. When Uvis Balinskis hit an unsuspecting Michael Misa, Pavol Regenda was quick to stand up for his young linemate. When Evan Rodrigues hit Desharnais from behind after the whistle, Alex Nedeljkovic was right there sticking up for his buddy. It was an all around team effort made even sweeter by the W that followed.
Third line’s impact
This was the first game this season that the Sharks have won a game without a point from Macklin Celebrini and a lot of the credit for tonight’s win can go to the third line. The trio of Regenda, Misa and Igor Chernyshov were a handful for the Panthers tonight, testing Florida’s depth.
They were the most impactful line tonight, by a long shot. According to Natural Stat Trick, the third line out scored their counterparts 1-0, out shot them 7-2 and were 8-1 when it came to scoring chances.
There were moments tonight where you could see Misa and Chernyshov resurrecting that chemistry they had when they played with the Saginaw Spirit last season. That’s good news for the Sharks moving forward now that the contract situation is sorted out and Misa is officially here to stay.
Happy to have you back, Vinny
This was a return game for Vincent Desharnais and to say that the big guy made an impact would be an understatement. For one thing, he drew the attention of noted pest Matthew Tkachuk. The two jousted in the first period:
Just the 1st period into his return and Matthew Tkachuk got into it with Vincent Desharnais 😅👀 pic.twitter.com/uFUlAiVzKG
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) January 19, 2026
Anytime you can trade off Tkachuk for Desharnais is a good day in my book. While Desharnais drew the extra two minutes because he got caught with the retaliation, the Sharks helped him out by artfully killing the ensuing two-minute minor penalty.
Better yet, Desharnais got the better of Tkachuk later in the game, putting Tkachuk down with a legal check.
And then, as if that weren’t enough, Desharnais scored a goal in his first game back. His first goal in more than 140 games.
WELCOME BACK BIG GUY 🚨 pic.twitter.com/kR4Kbkrp05
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) January 20, 2026
While Desharnais is never going to be a game breaker, it’s hard to underestimate the impact he has had for the Sharks this season as a depth defenseman.
Highlight
The Sharks aren’t the most skilled team, but they are a team willing to go to battle for one another, as they showed tonight against the Florida Panthers. The Sharks weren’t taking any crap from the defending Cup Champions, and if it meant literally going to battle, then so be it.
So the highlight of the night is Nedeljkovic doing everything for the Sharks, including standing up for his teammates. Make sure you watch all the way to the end for the absolute joy on Mack’s face at Nedeljkovic’s scrap.
🚨 GOALIE FIGHT 🚨 pic.twitter.com/GbVXvVTLWk
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) January 20, 2026
Scoring summary San Jose Sharks at Florida Panthers Jan. 19, 2026
First period
No scoring
Second period
0:50 SJS Will Smith from Timothy Liljegren and Alex Wennberg
2:41 SJS Vincent Desharnais from Igor Chernyshov and Michael Misa
6:12 SJS Mario Ferraro from Igor Chernyshov and Michael Misa
Third period
0:43 FLA Eetu Luostarinen from Aaron Ekblad
17:21 SJS Barclay Goodrow into the empty net unassisted