Sharks relish role as contender while Jets languish near bottom

After snapping a five-game losing streak, the San Jose Sharks will look to make it two straight wins and keep pace in the playoff race when they host the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.

The Sharks are coming off a 5-4 home win against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. Their two-goal lead after the first period was narrowed to one in the middle frame and then erased early in the third. They regained the advantage a few minutes later before conceding the tying goal yet again in less than two minutes.

Defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin then delivered the tie-breaking tally just over two minutes after the equalizer to snap San Jose's skid (0-4-1). That pulled the team within five points of the second wild card in the Western Conference held by the Seattle Kraken, who beat the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.

"I thought we did some really good things," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "Like our first (period). Did some good things in the second. Obviously, (the Oilers are) a good team, and they're going to push, and they did that in the third period of the game. Obviously, (it) opened up a little bit too much of our liking, but we found a way to win a hockey game."

The rebuilding Sharks have been a surprise team in the playoff mix, hovering in and out of a postseason spot. Though the future is expected to be bright for the Northern California squad, led by young star Macklin Celebrini, it wasn't expected to be in playoff contention just yet.

"I learned a lot while I was (with Team Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games) over there just being around our coaches, some of the best coaches in the league, and some of the best players in the world," Celebrini said. "Just their mentality, some of the things that they preach. ... the message around our locker room over there, I think I can bring some of that back and just know what it takes."

Unlike San Jose, Winnipeg was expected to be among the postseason participants after a Presidents' Trophy-winning campaign last season.

Instead, the Jets find themselves 10 points out of a playoff spot, in 12th place in the Western Conference and 27th in the NHL overall.

Their most recent outing was yet another disappointment in a season full of them, falling 5-4 in overtime to the host Anaheim Ducks on Friday. The Jets held a 2-0 lead early in the second period and a 3-1 advantage early in the third before Anaheim scored three unanswered to pull ahead.

Winnipeg's Kyle Connor scored late to tie it at 4-4, but Anaheim's Chris Kreider notched the winner with 13 seconds remaining in overtime.

"We had the two-goal lead twice and gave that up," Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. "But at the end of the day, we had some leads that we should have found a way to bring home. I mean, we stuck with it, and obviously the 6-on-5 goal was big at the end. We got a point out of it."

The Jets know they'll have to be better against the Sharks.

"It's a young team that's going to try and push the pace," Arniel said. "We have to be smart in how we approach them."

--Field Level Media