Sharks recover late after blowing 3-goal lead to Canadiens

SAN JOSE, Calif.  — Macklin Celebrini scored his 30th goal of the season and had three assists for the San Jose Sharks, who recovered late after blowing a three-goal lead in the third period to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 7-5 at SAP Center on Tuesday.

Will Smith, Kiefer Sherwood and Collin Graf each had a goal and an assist for the Sharks (30-25-4), who have won three in a row. Michael Misa scored for the third straight game, and Yaroslav Askarov made 32 saves.

“Like we’ve said all year, we’ve learned lessons along the way. You go up 5-2, and you probably come off the gas just for a little bit, and a skilled team like that will make you pay,” San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “I liked the resiliency of our group to just keep playing and get back to competing.”

Alex Newhook scored two goals, and Mike Matheson had three assists for the Canadiens (33-18-9), who had their seven-game point streak end (5-0-2). Jake Evans had two assists, and Jakub Dobes made 21 saves.

“We’re going to talk about this game the same way we talk about every game,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. “We got to look at it and be mature.”

Ivan Demidov’s one-timer on the power-play cut it to 5-3 at 5:02 of the third period, and Newhook made it a one-goal game just 18 seconds later with a wrist shot from the slot that went off Askarov’s glove.

Newhook then tied the game 5-5 at 10:56, converting a rebound along the goal line with a shot that went in off Askarov’s skate.

“I think we gave up too much quality stuff,” Newhook said. “I thought we showed some character to come back and give ourselves a shot.”

However, Sherwood responded during a power play to put the Sharks back in front 6-5 at 16:34. Dobes went to his right for a save, and he could not recover when Philipp Kurashev passed the rebound to Sherwood on the opposite side for his first goal since being traded to the Sharks by the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 19.

“That was a pretty high IQ play. Everyone sold out thinking that he was going to shoot it, and I thought he was going to shoot it, too,” Sherwood said. “Then when it ended up on my stick, I was kind of, so just put it in. A lot of guys are finding ways to chip in.”

Adam Gaudette scored an empty-net goal at 19:56 for the 7-5 final.

Oliver Kapanen gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead at 6:18 of the first period with a wrist shot from the left circle that was deflected by Sharks defenseman John Klingberg.

Graf tied the game 1-1 at 15:32 with a backhand tap-in at the left post off a pass from Smith.

“He’s just a really, really smart player. I’ve said a number of times. The way he thinks the game,” Celebrini said of Graf. “His stick, he has such a great stick, turning over pucks and just making those little plays that maybe you guys don’t even notice. He’s just a great player and really smart.”

Phillip Danault gave the Canadiens a 2-1 lead at 5:09 of the second period, deflecting Matheson’s shot from the left point.

Misa tied the game 2-2 at 10:28, scoring from the slot on a loose puck after Dobes tried to poke away the rebound of Tyler Toffoli’s shot.

Celebrini gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead at 18:23 with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle that beat Dobes through the five-hole.

Alexander Wennberg put the Sharks up 4-2 just 25 seconds later with a wrist shot from the slot at 18:48.

“A couple turnovers cost us tonight,” Canadiens forward Josh Anderson said. “We battled back as a team. Look at a few things the next few days and get back to work.”

The Sharks went up 5-2 on a power-play goal from Smith, who tapped in Celebrini’s pass from the right circle at the left post at 3:29 of the third period.

NOTES: Celebrini recorded his fifth career game with at least four points, passing Jimmy Carson (four) for the fourth-most by a teenager in League history, behind Wayne Gretzky (14), Crosby (eight) and Dale Hawerchuk (seven).

By Max Miller/ NHL.com Independent Correspondent

Photos by Jack.Lima@prohockeynews.com