Coming off a disappointing and uneventful 3-0 loss on Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Kings, the Jets stayed in California as they continued their season long six game Western road trip tonight in San Jose. The now 9-4-0 Jets took on the 5-6-3 Sharks at SAP Center, looking to kick start a new win streak. The Sharks haven’t quite gotten off to the start they’ve wanted, as they’re in the midst of another rebuilding season with several promising young players. The Jets, wearing their away white jerseys on the road, started off this game pretty strong and with good pace, but a late goal in the 3rd period by the Sharks off a scramble was tonight’s difference maker.

Tonight’s Jets lineup was almost the same as last game. The 1st line remained the same, but there continues to be some small changes in the other lines. Alex Iafallo stayed on the 2nd line with Jonathan Toews and Vladislav Namestnikov, who was playing in his 800th career NHL game. The 3rd line featured Nino Niederreiter, Adam Lowry and Nikita Chibrikov. Parker Ford continues to center the 4th line, this time alongside Cole Koepke and Tanner Pearson.

Logan Stanley remains on the 2nd pairing before Dylan Samberg returns. The 3rd pairing of Luke Schenn and Haydn Fleury continues to be somewhat of a work in progress in terms of chemistry. Connor Hellebuyck got the start in goal, as he looked to bounce back from a loss where he played quite well. Hellebuyck was once again the Jets best player tonight, but unfortunately the other netminder (Alex Nedeljkovic) was almost equally as great for the Sharks.

The 1st period was similar to other recent Jets 1st periods, meaning low scoring and somewhat uneventful, but only at first tonight. Timothy Liljegren was called for the first penalty of the game, a hold on Mark Scheifele. The Jets powerplay has been struggling lately, and this 1st powerplay didn’t get much going to start the game. Nikita Chibrikov got a 4 minute high sticking penalty just after the Jets powerplay expired, but the Sharks couldn’t get many chances in this early golden opportunity.

Shots on goal were only 6-6 at the halfway point in the 1st, as both teams were cautiously trying to get the first goal of the game. With 7:36 left in the 1st, the Jets opened the scoring. Nino Niederreiter found Josh Morrissey just after a face off draw at the point, and a booming slap shot went through a crowd and past Alex Nedeljkovic to make it 1-0 Jets.

Unfortunately the Jets lead only lasted just over a minute. After a blocked point shot from Morrissey, the Sharks quickly started a breakout the other way. Shakir Mukhamadullin and Tyler Toffoli sent Macklin Celebrini up the ice and on a breakaway. Celebrini made a wonderful move to the backhand and put the puck around and past Connor Hellebuyck to tie the game at 1. The 19-year old forward, who was the 1st overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, now leads the NHL in points with 23 after an assist later in this game.

The rest of the 1st period went by with only a few decent chances on both sides. You could tell that the pace of this game really picked up after the 1st goal was scored, and both teams were going full speed by the end of the 1st. The game remained tied at 1, while the Jets were outshooting the Sharks after 20 minutes played 12-8.

After both teams regrouped during the intermission, the 2nd period action got going where it left off in the 1st period. The shots on goal in the 2nd near the half way mark were only 4-2 Jets, as both teams were shutting down any good scoring chances. Hellebuyck had his moments where he needed to stay sharp, and Nedeljkovic shut down a few promising chances from the Jets off the rush.

You couldn’t tell from the scoreboard, but this was an exciting and fun game through 40 minutes played. The game remained tied at 1-1, with no penalties in the 2nd, and the Jets still had a slight lead in shots on goal over the Sharks, 20-19. Going into the 3rd period, this felt like anyone’s game, and it was going to be interesting to see how each team approached the final 20 minutes.

Teams traded chances in the start of the 3rd period similar to what was happening during most of the 2nd period. Hellebuyck made a great save on Celebrini who almost beat him five hole from up close. Minutes later Cole Koepke had a near open net after a 2 on 1, but instead of shooting he deked to the backhand and got tripped by Nedelkovic. The ref put his arm up right away, and the Jets went on their 2nd powerplay of the night.

Hellebuyck had to make a big save on a shorthanded breakaway, and then soon after Gabriel Vilardi was called for holding the stick of Ty Dellandrea. The Jets powerplay was over, and a 4 on 4 ensued for the next minute or so. The 4 on 4 went by, and now there was 9 minutes left with the game still tied at 1.

Jonathan Toews took a rare (for him) delay of game (puck over glass) penalty, giving the Sharks a chance to take the lead on the powerplay. Hellebuyck made a few more nice saves on this powerplay, and as the man advantage ended it was approaching “next goal wins” time. The Sharks kept pushing, and with just over 4 minutes left, after a mad scramble in front, Will Smith shoveled the puck past the goal line to make it 2-1 Sharks.

The Jets pulled the goalie with 2:13 left, but they couldn’t get set up in the Sharks zone until 1:20 left. A few late quality chances for the Jets kept this game exciting until the very end, but the Sharks held on for a 2-1 win. Nedeljkovic came up big with some nice saves at the end, and tonight’s 2nd star finished this game with 32 saves on 33 shots. Hellebuyck was equally as great tonight, but he finished the night with 25 saves on 27 shots. Macklin Celebrini was tonight’s player of the game (1st star), as he was all over the ice tonight, finishing the game with 1 goal and 1 assist on 6 shots in 19:39 of ice time.

With the Jets six game road trip now two games down and four to go, the Jets regular season schedule continues on Sunday in Anaheim against the surprising Pacific Division leading Ducks. Puck drop for this game will be just after 9:00 pm CT. Stay tuned here at Jets Nation for all of the latest Jets news, plus previews and recaps on each Jets game this season.