Macklin Celebrini, Alex Nedeljkovic play hero in Sharks' dramatic win over Predators

Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News on Oct 15, 2026

Published in Hockey

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The San Jose Sharks are still looking for their first regulation-time win of the season.

That matters less if they keep winning in overtime or, in Thursday’s game against the Nashville Predators, in a shootout.

After neither team scored in the first two rounds of the shootout, Macklin Celebrini beat Juuse Saros, and Alex Nedeljkovic stopped Ross Colton at the other end in the third round as the Sharks earned a heart-stopping 3-2 win at Bridgestone Arena.

The Sharks allowed a tying goal to Steven Stamkos with less than a second left in the third period, but regrouped and got five saves from Nedeljkovic in overtime to begin a six-game road trip on a positive note.

Forwards Mason Marchment and Will Smith both scored even-strength goals, and Nedeljkovic made 32 saves.

Marchment scored at the 5:30 mark of the first period on an assist from winger Tyler Toffoli, and Smith scored at the 4:28 mark of the third on an assist from Michael Kesselring to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead.

Nashville’s Ryan O’Reilly cut the Sharks’ lead to one with a power-play goal at the 9:05 mark of the third, before Stamkos scored.

Nedeljkovic, making just his second start of the season, made 17 saves through two periods, including a spectacular stop on Predators winger Filip Forsberg during a Sharks penalty kill in the first period.

Nedeljkovic had started one other game this season, making 24 saves in the Sharks’ 3-2 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues last Thursday. He entered the game with a 5-4-0 record and a .908 save percentage in nine career games against the Predators.

The Sharks’ three other victories this season came in overtime.

Yaroslav Askarov, who started five of the Sharks’ first six games, was not sharp in the team’s 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday, stopping just 20 of 25 shots. He has a 2-3-0 record and an .848 save percentage in his five starts.

The Sharks face the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, and the Montreal Canadiens next Tuesday. San Jose’s road trip ends with stops in Ottawa on Sept. 22 and Boston on Sept. 24.