Rebuilding Sharks rally past Leafs to end slide

TORONTO – Ryan Warsofsky could sense a deflated locker room.

The San Jose Sharks rookie head coach had a simple message for his young, scuffling team through two periods.

The last-place visitors — riding an eight-game slide entering Monday and without a victory since Jan. 27 — were down 2-0 to the high-flying Toronto Maple Leafs, a contender with five straight wins and designs on a long playoff run this spring.

There were plenty of loved ones in the stands to cheer on a Sharks roster peppered with players from the area. Warsofsky did his best to shake the group back to life.

“We were down on ourselves,” said the NHL’s youngest bench boss at age 37. “I just reminded them there’s eight guys in there that have a lot of family and friends here to watch you — they came to watch 60 minutes, not 40.

“My last message was it’s gonna be a hell of a story.”

In a season without many happy tales for a franchise in full rebuild mode, the Sharks penned one they’ll remember for some time after battling back from two goals down in the third period before Fabian Zetterlund buried the shootout winner to secure an unlikely 3-2 victory.

“That one felt good,” Warsofsky said. “We needed that one. We’ve been playing some pretty good hockey and haven’t got rewarded for it.”

The Sharks entered 2-14-3 over their previous 19 games and improved to 16-37-9 with the club’s fifth victory of 2025.

“We’re not far away,” said forward Alexander Wennberg, who had two assists. “We really have something to build on here.”

San Jose defenceman Jack Thompson, a product of nearby Courtice, Ont., scored early in the third to cut the deficit in half for a group featuring a pair of talented, peach-fuzzed forwards in Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith.

“We feel like we’re in these games,” said the 22-year-old Thompson. “We just keep battling. We have a great group of guys in here that enjoy playing with each other. It showed tonight.”

San Jose lost 2-1 in overtime to the Winnipeg Jets on Feb. 24 before suffering a 4-3 OT loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday and a 5-3 setback to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday as part of a seven-game road trip that wraps up Tuesday in Buffalo against the Sabres.

“We have a lot of talent in here,” said veteran winger and Toronto native Tyler Toffoli, who tied the game in regulation and scored in the third round of the shootout to keep his team alive. “There’s never any give. Even if we’re not having a good night, we’re going to come back and keep fighting.”

Warsofsky knows one win doesn’t make a season — or a rebuild. But his Sharks showed something at Scotiabank Arena.

“We’re not in a playoff race, but we’re never going to give up,” he said. “We’re going to keep playing. We’re going to keep competing. Our guys are really starting to buy into how we need to play. It’s a simple brand of hockey. That’s usually what wins in this league.

“They’re starting to figure that out.”

MISSED OPPORTUNITY

The Leafs (38-20-3) failed to gain the maximum points against the league’s worst team as they continue to battle for first in the Atlantic Division despite having a full two-minute power play in overtime.

“Any loss is disappointing,” said head coach Craig Berube. “We’re in a good spot to close it out and we didn’t do the job.”

HAPPY TRAILS

Toronto completed a perfect four-game road trip entering Monday and now heads back out for three more away dates beginning Wednesday against the Vegas Golden Knights.

When taking the 4 Nations Face-Off break into account, the Leafs will have played two home contests in just over six weeks when they return March 13 against the Florida Panthers.

“You can make all the excuses you want,” Berube said. “This is the schedule and you just gotta be mentally tough.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 3, 2025.

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