MONTREAL - The night belonged to Macklin Celebrini, the kind of game that reminds everyone why the San Jose Sharks are leaning so hard on him. He scored twice, buried the overtime winner and set up Tyler Toffoli for the tying goal in San Jose’s 4-3 comeback win over the Montreal Canadiens.
But buried under the Celebrini show was something San Jose needed just as badly: a bounce-back from Michael Misa.
Misa scored the Sharks’ other goal, his first of the season, and there were signs beyond the box score that he might be coming out of his early-season rut. Per Stathletes, the 19-year-old center led San Jose with three 5-on-5 Rush Shots, tied with Collin Graf, and he also paced the club with five 5-on-5 Closer Carries in the offensive zone. Five Sharks, including Celebrini and Will Smith, were next with three.
Those numbers matter because they point to a player getting more assertive with the puck. Stathletes defines a Closer Carry as a “successful carry where the puck is carried closer to the net than the original possession gain”.
Before Tuesday, Misa had been sitting in the bottom third among Sharks forwards in that category.
It fits into a broader picture, too. Rush shots are a pretty clean way to spot whether Misa is playing to his strengths, and right now those strengths are all about pace.
Before Tuesday, he had only one game this season with multiple shots, when he had four on opening night against the Florida Panthers. He had gone eight straight games with no more than one shot before finally producing three against Montreal.
Even with his limited ice time, that had become a problem: he entered the game averaging 2.93 5-on-5 Shots Per 60, last among Sharks forwards and even behind Alex Wennberg’s 3.53.
The reality, though, is that Misa’s game is still in the early stages. He’s 19, and one solid night doesn’t suddenly make the picture complete. But the Sharks need that speed-driven, attack-first version of him more often, especially with Wennberg day-to-day because of an upper-body injury.
There’s also a larger team issue sitting underneath all of this. San Jose had been putting together some of its best 5-on-5 hockey of the season before Wennberg got hurt, with strong stretches from the Igor Chernyshov-Macklin Celebrini-Will Smith line, the Mason Marchment-Wennberg-Tyler Toffoli group, and the Barclay Goodrow-Zack Ostapchuk-Collin Graf line. Ivar Stenberg-Misa-Kiefer Sherwood was in the mix as well, but the Sharks are still waiting for that unit to really tilt the ice.
The expected-goals numbers make that gap hard to ignore. Per Evolving Hockey, Celebrini’s line sat at 63.8 xGF%, Wennberg’s line at 70.6, Ostapchuk’s at 56.1, and Misa’s at 29.0.
That doesn’t mean the slump is all on Misa. Not close.
Stenberg has shown promise on the power play, but he’s still finding his way at 5-on-5, and Sherwood is being asked to do a lot next to two teenage forwards. As Ryan Warsofsky put it, “Mis is trying,” head coach Ryan Warsofsky said.
“The game is is a quick game, and he’s getting put in some tough spots.”
Still, the Sharks know the math here. A team built around one line, or one player, is not a playoff team.
They tried that last year, and it didn’t work. Celebrini can carry plenty, but San Jose needs Misa to become part of the answer.
In Other News...
Sharks Suddenly Face A Center Depth Problem On This Road Trip
Alex Wennbergs latest absence leaves the Sharks trying to patch together their center group as the road trip winds through Ottawa and Boston. The veteran pivot, signed by San Jose as an unrestricted free agent in 2024, has chipped in three assists in nine games this season, and head coach Ryan Warsofsky said the injury is enough to keep him out for the rest of the trip.
For a team already leaning on every healthy body, losing a center of Wennbergs experience at this point adds another layer of uncertainty to the lineup decisions ahead. Hell be re-evaluated once the Sharks get back home, which at least gives the club a clearer checkpoint, but for now San Jose has to navigate the final two stops without one of the players it was counting on down the middle. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Game Suddenly Drew Attention For A Trade Story Fans Should Watch
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At the center of the speculation is goaltender Karel Vejmelka, whose name has surfaced in reports tied to the New York Rangers and possible multi-team discussions that also involve Connor Hellebuyck and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Nothing has been confirmed, and for now it remains rumor and reporting rather than a completed move, but the level of interest around the game suggests plenty of teams are watching this story closely. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks Suddenly Face A Bigger Wennberg Problem Than Expected
Alexander Wennbergs absence is becoming a bigger issue than the Sharks initially hoped for. The veteran center was hurt in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the club has had to move on without him as it heads through its road trip, keeping the same forward lines for the next game with Collin Graf sliding in at center in Wennbergs spot.
The immediate concern is less about one missed game than about how long San Jose may have to keep adjusting around him. Wennberg has already sat out the next stretch, and the Sharks wont get a clearer update until they are back in San Jose and he is re-evaluated, leaving the middle of the lineup in a holding pattern for now. [Read more 🡒]