Warsofsky's adjustment pays dividends as Celebrini, Sharks beat Capitals

Curtis Pashelka, Bay Area News Group on Jan 15, 2026

Published in Hockey

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Thanks in part to a revamped top line, the San Jose Sharks quickly turned a one-goal deficit into a two-goal lead in the second period to help earn an impressive 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Thursday.

Trailing by 1-0 on Dylan Strome’s power-play goal with 9:02 left in the second period, the Sharks got even-strength goals from Zack Ostapchuk, Collin Graf and Pavol Regenda in a span of 2:46 to take the lead for good as they began a four-game road trip on a strong note.

Regenda’s goal gave the Sharks a 3-1 lead at the 16:13 mark and came after a dazzling play and assist from Macklin Celebrini.

Working behind the Capitals’ net, Celebrini stole the puck from forward Nic Dowd, lost it briefly, then stole it from Dowd again. He then sent a blind, between-the-legs pass to Regenda, who shoveled it past goalie Logan Thompson from the side of the net for his seventh in nine games this season.

Both Regenda and Graf finished with a goal and an assist, and goalie Alex Nedeljkovic finished with 21 saves, including some timely ones, as the Sharks won for the seventh time in nine games.

Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky tweaked two of his forward lines midway through the second period, dropping Igor Chernyshov to the third line and moving Regenda to the top line with Celebrini and Graf.

The move paid immediate dividends.

After the Sharks created a neutral zone turnover, Regenda took the puck into the Capitals zone and sent a pass toward the front of the net, where Graf tipped it past Thompson for his 13th goal of the season with 5:07 left in the period.

Celebrini’s assist on Regenda’s goal gives him 71 points, including 50 even strength points, in 46 games this season.

The Sharks continue their road trip on Friday in Detroit against the Red Wings.

Thursday’s game was the final regular-season meeting between the Sharks and Capitals, and potentially Alex Ovechkin’s last against San Jose unless the two teams meet in the Stanley Cup Final in June.

Ovechkin, the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer with 917 goals, is in the final year of a five-year, $47.5 million contract and has not said whether he’ll return in 2026-27 for a 22nd season.

Although Ovechkin turned 40 in September, age hasn’t slowed down his production as he entered Thursday as the Capitals’ second-leading scorer. With his assist on Strome’s goal, Ovechkin has 20 goals and 21 assists in 48 games this season.

Ovechkin now has 33 points in 31 career games against the Sharks. In the Capitals’ 7-1 win over the Sharks in San Jose on Dec. 3, Ovechkin scored twice and had four shots on goal in 16:33 of ice time.

Thursday’s game also marked Nedeljkovic’s 200th game and 177th start in his nine-year NHL career. He came into the game with a career record of 81-68-29, a .902 save percentage, and a 3.01 goals against average.

Smith to return

Forward Will Smith is expected to return to the active roster on Friday when the Sharks face the Red Wings. Smith was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice in Washington and took part in the team’s morning skate on Thursday.

Smith sustained an upper-body injury in the Sharks’ Dec. 13 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He has 29 points in 33 games this season and, before Thursday, was the Sharks’ fourth-leading scorer despite missing the last 12 games. The Sharks were 7-5-0 in his absence before Thursday’s game.

The Sharks on Thursday afternoon cleared a spot on their 23-man roster for Smith’s return, placing center Ty Dellandrea on IR. Dellandrea sustained a lower-body injury on Jan. 6 in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets and is considered week-to-week. He will be reevaluated before the Olympic break in early February.

Smith and forward Philipp Kurashev have been on injured reserve since Dec. 15.

After Friday, the Sharks finish the challenging trip with games against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Monday and the Atlantic Division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.