Misa’s finish gave the Sharks a way back before the power play

The third-period clock read 5:36 when San Jose produced the kind of goal their comeback required. Michael Misa slipped behind Noah Dobson, drove toward the net and converted Kiefer Sherwood’s feed, trimming Montréal’s lead to 3-2.

San Jose still had work to do. The Sharks eventually defeated the Canadiens 4-3 in overtime Tuesday at Bell Centre, but Misa’s finish was the bridge between two very different parts of the night. Tyler Toffoli tied the game on the power play, and Macklin Celebrini won it with another man-advantage goal. The special teams supplied the finish; Misa’s even-strength goal made the finish plausible.

This was not a single magical swing that transformed two poor periods into a complete performance. It was a layered escape: Misa reopened the game at five-on-five, then San Jose’s best offensive players punished Montréal’s penalties.

Misa changes the shape of the game

Misa’s goal was his first of the season, and its value went beyond reducing the deficit. San Jose had spent much of the opening two periods trying to keep pace with Montréal rather than dictating the terms of attack. Misa’s finish gave the Sharks a goal created in ordinary play, where they needed one most.

Juraj Slafkovský and Cole Caufield scored in the second period, putting the Canadiens ahead 3-1. Alex Nedeljkovic kept San Jose within reach with 31 saves on 34 shots, but goaltending could preserve the comeback chance only so long. Misa gave the Sharks an actual route back into the contest.

His goal did not mean San Jose had suddenly solved its five-on-five issues. Montréal finished with a 34-30 advantage in shots, and the Canadiens remained capable of making the Sharks defend. But the deficit was now one goal instead of two, and that changed the value of every subsequent penalty and faceoff.

Toffoli and Celebrini provide the finish

San Jose’s power play then did what it had to do. At 11:09 of the third, Celebrini moved the puck from the right circle toward Toffoli in the slot. Toffoli finished the chance to make it 3-3, with Celebrini and Jacob Trouba credited with the assists.

The tying play was more than a convenient scoring entry in the box score. It showed why Misa’s goal mattered: the Sharks were close enough for one power-play chance to alter the game, and their puck movement was sharp enough to use it. San Jose finished 2-for-3 with the man advantage. Montréal went 0-for-2 on its power-play opportunities.

That special-teams margin is also the necessary counterpoint to the comeback narrative. The final score could suggest a broad turnaround, but the underlying night was messier. San Jose needed Nedeljkovic’s steady work, an even-strength goal from Misa and precise execution after Montréal put itself short-handed. Remove any one of those pieces and the Sharks’ escape becomes much less likely.

Overtime delivered the final piece. Jakub Dobes was penalized for interference against Collin Graf with 1:53 gone in the extra period. Twenty seconds later, Celebrini finished a one-timer supplied by Ivar Stenberg, with Will Smith also receiving credit on the play. It was Celebrini’s second goal of the night and San Jose’s second power-play goal.

Celebrini ended with two goals and an assist, while Toffoli added the tying goal and Misa provided the first meaningful correction to the Sharks’ five-on-five shortcomings. The lineup’s most gifted scorers handled the dramatic portion, but Misa’s contribution came earlier and carried a different weight.

San Jose did not erase its uneven start in Montréal. It found enough even-strength life to keep the game within reach, then capitalized when the power play was given room to operate. Misa’s goal was the foothold; Toffoli and Celebrini built the escape from there.

Sources

NHL: Sharks–Canadiens game report

NHL: official game records