Slow start, miscues doom Sharks in 6-3 loss to Blackhawks

Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News on Feb 2, 2026

Published in Hockey

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CHICAGO – The San Jose Sharks started slowly then allowed four goals in a wide open second period in what became a potentially costly 6-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks Monday at the United Center.

The Sharks allowed a first period power play goal to Connor Bedard then gave up three goals in a span of 8:22 before coach Ryan Warsofsky pulled starting goalie Yaroslav Askarov in favor of Alex Nedeljkovic.

Macklin Celebrini had a goal and assist in the second period and defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin scored in the third, but the damage was done as the Sharks lost their third straight game and fell to 1-2-1 on their five-game road trip that ends Wednesday in Colorado.

Askarov’s four goals allowed came on 10 shots as he now has just one win in his last six starts. Still, the Blackhawks goals Monday were more the result of Sharks defensive breakdowns than clear goalie miscues.

The Sharks also took four minor penalties in the game’s first 24 minutes and also went 0 for 4 on the power play.

Forwards Ryan Donato and Ilya Mikheyev both had four points for the Blackhawks, who snapped a five-game losing streak.

Entering Monday, the Sharks were two points out of a playoff spot in the still tightly packed Western Conference standings.

“Every game is important this time of year,” Warsofsky said before Monday’s game. “We know where we are in the standings. Many people didn’t expect us to be where we are in this spot, and this is an opportunity for us. This is a great opportunity to to get back on it tonight against a good team, and get two points on the road and feel good about ourselves going to Colorado.”

Monday’s game marked the first meeting of the season between the Sharks and the Blackhawks, and the second time that Celebrini had faced Bedard in the NHL.

Celebrini, who entered Monday as the NHL’s fourth-leading scorer with 79 points in 53 games, assisted on a Will Smith first period goal in his one game against the Blackhawks last season, a 4-2 Sharks win at SAP Center on March 13, 2025.

Bedard, the No. 1 selection in the 2023 NHL draft, a year before the Sharks took Celebrini first overall, was held without a point that night but had five points in five career games against San Jose before Monday. Despite missing 13 games with a shoulder injury, Bedard still led Chicago with 52 points before Monday.

More significant than the individual appeal of Monday’s game was its importance to the Sharks.

San Jose began the road trip with a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks, the NHL’s last place team, last Tuesday, but two nights later coughed up a three-goal lead and lost 4-3 in overtime to the Edmonton Oilers.

The Sharks then had to kill six penalties and allowed a third period shorthanded goal in 3-2 loss to the Calgary Flames, another team that will likely miss the playoffs.

The Sharks didn’t get the start they were looking for Monday – not even close — as they took three minor penalties in the first period, had just one shot on goal and allowed a power play goal to Bedard.

After the Sharks were called for too many men, the Blackhawks worked it around the San Jose net, as Teuvo Teravainen took a pass from Tyler Bertuzzi, slid it over to an open Bedard for a one-timer from near the bottom of the circle and a 1-0 lead at the 7:00 mark.

The Sharks’ only shot in the first period came from Celebrini with 11:33 left.

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