The Wild are familiar with what a young San Jose team can do. Led by budding star forwards Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, the Sharks came into Tuesday night’s game at Grand Casino Arena.
In the last two meetings between the teams, the Sharks scored a combined 15 goals while going 1-1 in St. Paul. And San Jose entered Tuesday’s game on a three-game winning streak and averaging 3.3 goals a game, 12th in the 32-team NHL.
So, a 1-0 lead midway through the third period, no matter how hard-fought, was delicate. And it broke.
Smith scored on a third-period power play to knot the game 1-1, and Collin Graf converted on a 2 on 1 during the 3 on 3 overtime to give the Sharks a 2-1 victory.
Celebrini had the first assist on both goals.
The Wild worked hard to hold the Sharks scoreless, and to just 13 shots on goal, midway through the third period. But their lead was precarious, 1-0 on Matt Boldy’s second-period power-play goal. It was unlikely that would be enough to win the game, and everyone in the arena knew it.
So when defenseman David Jiricek was penalized for slashing, the other shoe seemed about to drop, and it did. The Sharks’ top line of Tyler Toffoli, Celebrini and Smith went tic-tac-toe to knot the game on Smith’s one-timer from the right circle with 10 minutes, 3 seconds left.
The Wild dominated the second period, outshooting the Sharks 15-5, and putting together 10 scoring chances. But Minnesota could only convert on goaltender Yaroslav Askarov once on Boldy’s one-timer from the right circle off a cross-ice pass from Mats Zuccarello on a man advantage at 5:02.
That made it 1-0, and it seemed the Wild would build on that as they kept the pressure on for the rest of the period. But the Sharks started putting on pressure of their own.
San Jose Sharks right wing Collin Graf, center left, celebrates with center Macklin Celebrini after scoring the game-winning goal during overtime of an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
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