San Jose Sharks Avoid Disaster, Defeat Florida Panthers 4-3 in Overtime

The San Jose Sharks faced a tough test to begin the 2026-27 season, as they hosted the Florida Panthers, a team widely considered to be one of the NHL's top Stanley Cup contenders. For a team looking to make the playoffs and kickstart a new era, the Sharks had an instant opportunity to show that they could hang with the top teams in the league. 

Yaroslav Askarov was called into work early, as he was forced to save a tough cross-crease pass, but he did so with ease. That save helped the Sharks get a rush, as Igor Chernyshov's speed helped him get past the Panthers' defense and get a shot on net, even though it was from a tight angle. 

Kesselring had a nice defensive zone exit early in the period, chipping the puck off the boards for a self-pass that helped him spring the Sharks up the ice. 

Jacob Trouba got his first fighting major less than half a period into his Sharks stint, dropping the gloves and standing up for his captain after a heavy off-the-puck hit by Brady Tkachuk knocked Macklin Celebrini's helmet off. 

Darnell Nurse took the first minor penalty of the season for the Sharks as he was called for slashing, giving the Panthers' high-powered power play a chance early on. The penalty kill looked solid on the first shift, which ended with a two-on-one rush with Nolan Allan and Barclay Goodrow heading toward Akira Schmid. Allan opted to keep the puck and shot it straight at the Panthers' netminder. 

Matthew Tkachuk hit the inside of the post with the penalty close to expiration, but Askarov was able to cover the puck. 

Mason Marchment lit the lamp three quarters of the way through the opening frame, causing the Sharks' new goal song, "Holiday" by Green Day to blare throughout the SAP Center.

Shortly afterwards, Askarov once again came up big in his own end of the ice. 

The Sharks got their first power play of the season when Seth Jones sat for interference with just under a minute remaining in the first period. They ran out of time before they were able to convert though, so the power play continued into the second period and was killed off by the Panthers.

Kiefer Sherwood, using his special "Kiefer" branded Sherwood stick, was called for high-sticking when he made contact with Aleksander Barkov. Barkov was cut by the stick, resulting in a four-minute double minor. 

While the Sharks were killing off the penalty, Will Smith netted his first goal of the season on a rush with Macklin Celebrini, doubling the Sharks' lead. Considering Smith has had limited shorthanded ice time throughout his career, Ryan Warsofsky's decision to throw him out there on this occasion surely looked like a brilliant move. 

Shortly after the goal, Barkov left the ice in substantial pain for the Panthers. He missed all of last season with a knee injury, as a result there is likely substantial concern in the Panthers organization. 

Moments after he got out of the penalty box, Marchment was sent right back, this time for slashing. Once again, the Sharks' penalty kill was able to neutralize the Panthers' dangerous power play. 

It was a period full of special teams, as shortly after Marchment left the penalty box for the second time, the Sharks earned a power play as Sam Bennett sat for hooking. The Sharks took advantage, as the captain, Macklin Celebrini seemingly scored on a wraparound to put the team in teal up 3-0 just over halfway through regulation, but the goal was later changed to Smith who had his second of the night. 

After a hard hit by Uvis Balinskis on Ivar Stenberg, Collin Graf dropped the gloves to avenge his teammate. Graf lost his footing and immediately fell to the ice though. After all was said and done the Sharks got a power play, which was shortened after about a minute when Luca Cagnoni was called for interference. The Sharks once again killed it off, and remained perfect on the penalty kill so far this season.

Darnell Nurse handed the Panthers their sixth power play of the night when he was called for his second cross-checking penalty of the night. They finally capitalized on this opportunity, as Eetu Luostarinen got his first goal of the 2026-27 campaign. As a result, the Sharks' lead was cut to 3-1. 

Early in the third period, Tyler Toffoli had a very nice breakout pass that found Michael Misa in the neutral zone and gave him a bit of a breakaway. Unfortunately for the Sharks, Misa was unable to capitalize on the chance. 

Not long afterwards, the Panthers did capitalize on a scoring chance though, as Luostarinen scored his second of the night. Then, just 17 seconds later, Matthew Tkachuk scored his first of the season to tie things up at 3-3. 

The Sharks responded well after the equalizer, as they should. Given the fact that they had a 3-0 lead in the third period, they couldn't afford to leave this game without any points. 

Kiefer Sherwood was taken down hard in the offensive zone late in the first period by Niko Mikkola and skated gingerly to the bench where he was immediately evaluated by medical staff. 

The Sharks ensured one point, as they pushed the game to overtime. They still had almost a full power play heading into the extra frame as well. 

The Sharks had some strong chances on the power play, but the Panthers' defense and goaltender were even stronger as they made some big plays to keep the game tied. 

Luca Cagnoni came through big time for the Sharks, scoring his first career NHL goal in overtime to win the game for San Jose 4-3.