Ivar Stenberg arrived at the back post, and Macklin Celebrini found him there. The pass arrived, Stenberg redirected it past Jeremy Swayman, and the San Jose rookie had his first NHL goal.
That was the bright spot in a 6-3 defeat to Boston at SAP Center on Tuesday. San Jose’s young power play produced two goals and showed a promising two-way connection between Stenberg and Celebrini. At five-on-five, though, the Sharks repeatedly lost the next important detail: loose pucks and rush opportunities that kept Boston in control.
Stenberg’s goal came 5:48 into the second period, bringing San Jose level at 2-2. The sequence began with Celebrini surveying the right circle before sliding the puck across to the rookie. It was a simple play executed quickly, and simplicity was its strength. The Sharks did not need to overwork the penalty kill once Stenberg had slipped into space.
The partnership turned around in the third period. With San Jose trailing 4-2, Will Smith sent the puck to Stenberg along the left wing. Stenberg immediately moved it across to Celebrini in the right circle, where Celebrini finished with a one-timer at 5:04.
That goal cut the deficit to one and gave the Sharks a second example of the same young pair creating danger from different positions.
San Jose went 2-for-4 on the power play while Boston went 0-for-2. The Sharks also held a 38-26 edge in shots. Those figures describe real offensive progress, particularly from a group whose best work came through quick decisions rather than elaborate movement. They do not, however, explain why the Sharks never led.
The power play gave San Jose an advantage in personnel and a clear reward for connecting its passes. That progress cannot be discarded because the final score was poor. But the same scoring partnership still needed its teammates to protect a tied game and then a one-goal deficit. The Bruins kept finding the next opening.
The second period supplied the harsher evidence. Stenberg’s goal gave the Sharks an answer, but Matthew Poitras restored Boston’s lead at 8:42. A puck knocked loose behind the San Jose net emerged near the left post, and Poitras jammed it through while Askarov was looking away from the immediate threat.
The play was not a complicated offensive masterpiece. It was a quick Boston conversion after the Sharks failed to finish the defensive sequence.
Pavel Zacha’s goal at 19:57 made the problem more expensive. Morgan Geekie created the chance on a 2-on-1, then Zacha took the pass in the left slot and beat Askarov. The timing mattered: San Jose had spent much of the period within reach, only to carry a two-goal deficit into the intermission because Boston had made one rush count.