NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The San Jose Sharks escaped Bridgestone Arena with a 3-2 shootout victory Thursday night, surviving one of the most dramatic finishes of their young season. Nashville forced overtime when Steven Stamkos scored with one second left in regulation, but Alex Nedeljkovic steadied San Jose through the extra period before Macklin Celebrini converted the only goal of the shootout.
The Sharks built a two-goal advantage through Mason Marchment and Will Smith. Marchment opened the scoring at 5:30 of the first period after Tyler Toffoli found him in the slot, and Smith doubled the lead at 4:28 of the third. Ryan O'Reilly pulled Nashville within one on the power play before Stamkos' late wrist shot erased the remaining margin.
Stamkos' goal made him the first player in NHL history to record two game-tying goals in the final second of regulation. San Jose still had to survive overtime, where Nedeljkovic made the night's defining stop by sliding across the crease to deny Roman Josi with nine seconds remaining.
Celebrini finished the job in the shootout, cutting toward the middle and beating Juuse Saros to the glove side. The win moved the Sharks to 4-3-0 after they had dropped three of their previous four games, while Nedeljkovic's 32-save performance gave San Jose the composure it needed after the late momentum swing.
