SAN JOSE – Will Smith’s third-period goal turned out to be the game-winner as the San Jose Sharks held on for a crucial 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday at SAP Center.
Macklin Celebrini found Collin Graf with a pass near the net after he carried the puck into the Blackhawks zone, and Graf sent a backhand pass to Smith, who beat goalie Spencer Knight for his 23rd goal of the season and his 100th point of his NHL career.
Kiefer Sherwood also scored, and William Eklund added a goal and an assist as the Sharks kept pace in the race for the second and final wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic allowed goals to Ryan Donato and Frank Nazar but finished with 27 saves as the Sharks improved to 4-1-0 on this six-game homestand that ends on Wednesday against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.
San Jose is now two points back of the Los Angeles Kings for the second and final wild card spot in the Western Conference with a game in hand.
“Take it, move on. That’s just what you do this time of year,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Big two points, we’ll look at it, we’ll make the corrections, and move on.”
With his team trailing by a goal, Eklund was checking Wyatt Kaiser inside the Sharks’ blue line before he intercepted a pass intended for Connor Bedard. Eklund then took control of the puck, raced in on a breakaway, and beat Knight to tie the game 1-1.
“Tried to stay on the puck on the defensive side there,” Eklund said. “They made a play on the blue line, and I was just trying to go, and it went in.”
The Sharks took a 2-1 lead with 5:05 left before intermission.
After Alex Wennberg won a draw in the Blackhawks zone, Sherwood sent the puck around the boards and behind the net to Eklund. Sherwood found some open ice on the edge of the circle near the slot, and one-timed a pass from Eklund past Knight for his 22nd goal of the season.
Eklund now has five points in his last three games, after managing just three points in his previous 10.
The Sharks had just four shots on goal during 5-on-5 play in the first period, and trailed 1-0 after a power play-influenced goal by Ryan Donato.
With Macklin Celebrini’s holding penalty about to expire, Connor Bedard gathered a loose puck in the corner to the left of the Sharks’ net and then fired a seam pass that got past two San Jose players and right to Frank Nazar, whose shot was stopped by Alex Nedeljkovic before Donato pounced on the rebound for his 15th goal of the season.
Monday’s game felt like one the Sharks needed to win – for a host of reasons.
Obviously, the Sharks, with 79 points, entered the day two points behind the Nashville Predators and Los Angeles Kings, with the Predators holding the second and final wild card spot in the Western Conference due to having more regulation time wins than the Kings.
San Jose Sharks’ William Eklund (72) fights for the puck against Chicago Blackhawks’ Landon Slaggert (84) in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, April 6, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ William Eklund (72) celebrates his goal with San Jose Sharks’ Kiefer Sherwood (44) against the Chicago Blackhawks in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, April 6, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Kiefer Sherwood (44) celebrates his goal against the Chicago Blackhawks in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, April 6, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Will Smith (2) controls the puck against Chicago Blackhawks’ Alex Vlasic (72) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, April 6, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Nick Leddy (4) fights for the puck against Chicago Blackhawks’ Ryan Greene (20) and Chicago Blackhawks’ Frank Nazar (91) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, April 6, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) takes a shot against the Chicago Blackhawks in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, April 6, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Will Smith (2) celebrates his goal next to San Jose Sharks’ Vincent Desharnais (5) against the Chicago Blackhawks in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, April 6, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) and Chicago Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard (98) face-off in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, April 6, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Alexander Wennberg (21) checks Chicago Blackhawks’ Alex Vlasic (72) in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, April 6, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ William Eklund (72) bats the puck down against the Chicago Blackhawks in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, April 6, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) celebrates their 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks with San Jose Sharks’ Tyler Toffoli (73) at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, April 6, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
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San Jose Sharks’ William Eklund (72) fights for the puck against Chicago Blackhawks’ Landon Slaggert (84) in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, April 6, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
The Blackhawks had also won just one of their last six games before Monday, and since the Olympic break, per Natural Stat Trick, they were the NHL’s worst team at allowing high-danger chances against. In the last 20 games before Monday, the Blackhawks, with the NHL’s youngest roster, allowed a combined 256 high-danger chances.
The Sharks, coming off a 6-3 loss to the Predators, also have a challenging schedule ahead. Starting with Wednesday’s home date with the Edmonton Oilers, the Sharks have six games in 11 days, with four on the road and three against teams now in a playoff spot.
So the Sharks needed to take care of business against the Blackhawks, like a playoff-caliber team should, although San Jose lost 6-3 in Chicago on Feb. 2.
“This is a team that gets up the ice,” Warsofsky said of the Blackhawks on Monday morning. “They’ve got young skill that can make plays. They can score quickly. So we’ve got to be on top of them.”