3 Takeaways From the Sharks’ Win Versus the Panthers

In an overtime thriller, the San Jose Sharks beat the Florida Panthers 4-3 in their season opener at SAP Center. 

The Panthers erased a 3-0 deficit to force overtime, but the Sharks prevailed on Luca Cagnoni’s game winner that was also his first career NHL goal. 

Here are three takeaways from the barn-burner to open the Sharks’ season.

Sharks First Line Looks Dangerous

The Sharks first line of Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and Mason Marchment looks like it will be giving teams fits this season. 

Marchment opened the scoring in the first period, a cool moment for the son of a former Sharks player and scout Bryan Marchment, firing the puck past Panthers goalie Akira Schmid from the blue line. He even scored wearing his dad’s jersey number. 

Smith scored a pair of goals on special teams, one on the power play and one short-handed. Celebrini dished primary assists for both.

The addition of Marchment is a perfect compliment to Celebrini and Smith. He blends his skill with his willingness to do the dirty work, allowing his linemates to focus on their creativity in the offensive zone. Celebrini had seven shots on goal, which showcased his blistering shot that looks even better than it did in his franchise record-breaking 115 point season in 2025-26. 

Smith’s play was particularly excellent as the game’s first star. His two goals were great, but what should excite Sharks fans is the growth in his overall game. He looked physically stronger, winning more battles in the corners and made better decisions. The game slowing down for a player with the offensive toolkit as good as Smith’s can only mean good things for San Jose. His no-look pass to Cagnoni on the game-winning goal was the cherry on top to a strong opening statement from Smith, who is looking to sign a large extension of his own this year.

Defensive Improvements

In 2025-26, the Sharks were competing for a playoff spot in spite of their defense. In the opening game of 2026-27, the blue line looked vastly improved.

The key offseason additions of Michael Kesselring, Jacob Trouba and Darnell Nurse helped bring stability that was severely lacking last season. 

Kesselring’s size, speed and skill flashed at moments. His skating ability entering the offensive zone, his shot that always seemed to find its way to the net and his decision making of when to pinch and when to fall back highlighted a strong game from the young defenseman. 

Trouba was brought in to be physical. He answered the call early. In the first period, he fought Brady Tkachuk after he cross-checked Celebrini in the head. The former Rangers captain had a strong game that included 6:04 time on ice (TOI) on a penalty killing unit that only allowed one goal in six opportunities. 

Nurse had an up and down game. He did well by blocking shots, backchecking and winning puck battles, but he took two penalties including the emotional cross-check to Matthew Tkachuk’s head immediately after San Jose just killed another penalty. The Panthers scored, taking momentum from the last five minutes of the second period until the end of the third period. As a veteran, Nurse cannot take that penalty. It was exactly what Florida needed to get themselves back into the game.

The 21-year-old Cagnoni played well after winning a job on the roster out of training camp. He effectively ran the Sharks power play as their quarterback with an assist on Smith’s second goal. Defensively he held his own by making smart plays, showcasing his plus skating ability and helping create offense. He even flashed his shot, beating Schmid five-hole on his game-winning goal.

Between the pipes, Yaroslav Askarov had a strong start to his season. He finished with 23 saves on 26 shots, but his performance was better than the .885 save percentage on the scoresheet. 

The first goal he let in came off the foolish Nurse cross-check penalty fresh off a penalty kill. At the end of Florida’s sixth power play, Eetu Luostarinen was in alone behind Askarov to bury an easy rebound from an Aaron Ekblad shot from the point. He had no chance. 

The second goal was rotten luck. A shot from the point bounced off the body of Luostarinen, then the body of Cagnoni into the net. 17 seconds later, Sam Bennett stole the puck from Michael Misa in the corner, who zipped it to Matthew Tkachuk for an easy goal in the slot. The Sharks defense hung Askarov out to dry on the tying goal.

Askarov made big saves all night and he tightened the screws after the game was tied. He stood tall even though the Panthers controlled the game in the third period. The young goalie lost similar games in 2025-26, so his performance against the Panthers is encouraging for his growth as a player who needs to take the next step. 

The Sharks Pass First Test of Many

The Panthers presented a well needed test for a Sharks team that has playoff expectations for the first time this decade. 

Florida is a Stanley Cup favorite who recently won back-to-back championships for good reason. Their relentlessly brutal style wears out their opposition physically, which then wears them out mentally. Each cheap shot perfectly walks the line between a penalty and rage inducing dirty play. As they game wears on, the opposition is more likely to make an emotional retaliatory mistake which the Panthers take advantage of with their depth of offensive skill. They lure the other team into their muddy game that only they can win.

This strategy is especially smart against a Sharks team that is young and mostly inexperienced. Celebrini was the early target for their proud and patented dirty play, but it didn’t phase San Jose’s young captain. The Sharks actually handled the pressure pretty well, aside from the Nurse penalty and a slash by Marchment in the second period. They responded to the physicality by bringing some of their own. That’s why Sharks general manager Mike Grier shook up the roster the way he did. He wanted the team to be bigger, faster and tougher for games like this against good teams like the Panthers.

A team with championship DNA is inevitably going to present adversity. The Sharks faced that adversity head on early in the third period when Florida tied the game with two quick goals. This kind of collapse gave Sharks fans flashbacks of many unfortunate moments in 2025-26, but especially their first game which was also at home against a championship contender. 

The Sharks opened their season against the Vegas Golden Knights in 2025-26. In that game, San Jose led the whole way only for it to fall apart in the third period. William Eklund was denied on an empty net goal chance, which turned into an absurd tying goal in the final minutes where Jack Eichel innocently flipped the puck from center ice that bounced past Alex Nedeljkovic. Then in overtime, Nedeljkovic badly misplayed a puck, turning it over to Reilly Smith who scored on an empty net to steal the game in San Jose. The Sharks snatched defeat from the jaws of victory like they have so many other times in the 2020s. The Sharks faced a similar opportunity against the Panthers. 

Instead of wilting under the spotlight of a marquee early season matchup, the Sharks found a way to win. San Jose took Florida’s best punch late and still walked out the winner. 

The new look Sharks used their size and noticeably improved team speed to their advantage. There are things to clean up, but this team looked far more prepared to play a good team than they did last season. 

This season will present many more tests and difficult obstacles to overcome, but from what they showed against the Panthers, the Sharks are a good hockey team.