Luca Cagnoni ends Sharks’ blown lead as San Jose outlasts Panthers 4-3 in overtime

A 3-0 start, then a jolt back from Florida

San Jose controlled the scoreboard early even if the game never became comfortable. Mason Marchment opened the scoring at 14:20 of the first period with an unassisted wrist shot, and the Sharks stretched the margin in the second when Will Smith struck twice. His first came at 5:52 off a feed from Macklin Celebrini, and his second arrived at 10:37 on a slap shot set up by Celebrini and Cagnoni for a 3-0 lead.

That should have given the Sharks room, but Florida finally found a way through late in the second. Eetu Luostarinen put the Panthers on the board at 17:10 with a backhand off assists from Lars Eller and Aaron Ekblad, trimming the deficit to 3-1 before intermission and changing the feel of the night.

The third period flipped fast. Luostarinen scored again at 5:01, this time on a tip-in from Dmitry Kulikov and Anton Lundell, and only 17 seconds later Matthew Tkachuk tied it 3-3 with a wrist shot assisted by Sam Bennett. A game San Jose had directed for more than 30 minutes suddenly became a scramble again.

Smith, Celebrini and Cagnoni drove the answer

The Sharks still had their best players involved when the game needed another decisive play. Cagnoni finished it at 3:14 of overtime, beating Akira Schmid with a wrist shot after helpers from Smith and Celebrini. That capped a three-point night for Smith, who produced two goals and an assist, and a three-assist performance from Celebrini.

Cagnoni’s night mattered beyond the winner. The defenceman added an assist on Smith’s second-period goal, giving San Jose production from the back end at a moment when Florida’s push was threatening to erase the rest of the Sharks’ work. Marchment’s opener also proved important, because San Jose needed every one of its four goals once the Panthers surged.

Florida had its own standout efforts. Luostarinen supplied the comeback’s spark with two goals, while Matthew Tkachuk finished the equalizer. Schmid stopped 29 of 33 shots and kept Florida close enough to recover after the early damage. At the other end, Yaroslav Askarov turned aside 23 of 26 and survived the third-period burst long enough for the Sharks to settle the game in overtime.

The details underneath the comeback

The broader numbers show why San Jose had enough attack to survive the blown lead. The Sharks outshot Florida 33-26 and blocked 21 shots to the Panthers’ 11, a significant defensive workload that helped limit second chances on a night when the Panthers pushed hard once they got moving. Celebrini led San Jose with seven shots, while Smith put five more on net area and converted twice.

Florida did win some categories that usually give a team a platform. The Panthers controlled 59.3 per cent of the faceoffs and delivered 40 hits to San Jose’s 24. Lundell was especially effective on draws, winning 11 of 16, and Sam Bennett won six of 10. But those edges did not erase the cost of chasing a 3-0 game, especially against a Sharks side that got scoring from its most dangerous young pieces.

Our take: San Jose deserved credit for not letting the collapse become the whole story. Teams that surrender a three-goal cushion can start waiting for the next mistake; the Sharks instead got back on the front foot in overtime, and their top contributors finished the night. Smith, Celebrini and Cagnoni were involved in all three of the club’s final goals, which is exactly the kind of concentrated offensive impact that changes results.

Our take: both teams still left obvious repair work behind. Florida’s comeback was real and impressive, but a 1-for-6 power play and 33 shots against limited how much it could cash in from a strong faceoff night. San Jose won despite taking seven penalties and being charged with 20 giveaways, so the Sharks hardly produced a clean template. What they did produce was the deciding sequence, and in a game that swung wildly after the midpoint, that was enough.

Scoring moments

1. 1st · 14:20

   Mason Marchment Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: none

2. 2nd · 5:52

   Will Smith Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Macklin Celebrini (1)

3. 2nd · 10:37

   Will Smith Goal (2) Slap Shot, assists: Macklin Celebrini (2), Luca Cagnoni (1)

4. 2nd · 17:10

   Eetu Luostarinen Goal (1) Backhand, assists: Lars Eller (1), Aaron Ekblad (1)

5. 3rd · 5:01

   Eetu Luostarinen Goal (2) Tip-In, assists: Dmitry Kulikov (1), Anton Lundell (1)

6. 3rd · 5:18

   Matthew Tkachuk Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Sam Bennett (1)

7. OT · 3:14

   Luca Cagnoni Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Will Smith (1), Macklin Celebrini (3)