Tyler Toffoli’s OT dagger completes Sharks’ wildest comeback of 2026, re-writes Pacific race

Tyler Toffoli’s one-timer 1:58 into overtime capped a two-goal comeback, pushed Macklin Celebrini’s point streak to 13 games and rocketed San Jose to 6-1 in January—suddenly the hottest surge in the Pacific.

How the chaos unfolded

San Jose entered the third period trailing 3-2 and watched Mikko Rantanen bury his 18th of the season at 7:53 to stretch Dallas’ lead to 4-2. The Sharks had mustered only 18 shots through 50 minutes and looked headed for a quiet regulation loss.

Instead, they unleashed a four-goal tidal wave in 10:31 of game time:

9:28 — Toffoli rips his first, a five-on-three power-play missile that cuts the deficit to one.
15:01 — Adam Gaudette jams a rebound home to even the score and force overtime.
1:58 OT — Celebrini dishes to Eklund, Eklund slides it cross-crease, Toffoli hammers it past a sprawling Casey DeSmith. 5-4 Sharks.

The power-play clinic

San Jose finished 4-for-6 with the man advantage, their best single-game conversion rate since March 2022. Toffoli scored twice on the PP, Alexander Wennberg and Jeff Skinner added the others, and the Sharks moved from 23rd to 14th in league power-play percentage in one night.

Jeff Skinner celebrates his second-period power-play tally that briefly tied the game — Skinner’s second-period power-play marker was the Sharks’ second of the night and foreshadowed the special-teams onslaught to come.

Celebrini’s Calder case grows louder

Rookie phenom Macklin Celebrini now owns 46 assists—tied for third among all NHL skaters—and has tallied in 13 straight. His three-helper night included the primary assist on Toffoli’s winner, giving him five OT points this season, most by any freshman since Elias Pettersson in 2018-19.

What it means in the standings

The victory vaults San Jose to 48 points, one behind Calgary for the final wild-card slot and only four back of third-place Vegas. With games in hand on every Pacific contender, the Sharks have leapt from fringe spoiler to legitimate playoff threat in seven days.

Jeff Skinner and Ilya Lyubushkin battle along the boards in the pivotal third period — San Jose outhit Dallas 34-25 and won 62 % of third-period draws, flipping possession and setting the stage for the late barrage.

Stars suddenly skidding

Dallas had won eight of nine in December but is now 1-3-1 in January. The club dropped to 26-12-4, still second in the Central, yet the once-stingy penalty kill has surrendered seven goals in its last 16 times shorthanded—an alarming 56 % kill rate that head coach Pete DeBoer must fix before a California back-to-back that continues in Los Angeles on Monday.

Mikko Rantanen celebrates what was briefly a two-goal Dallas cushion in the third — Rantanen’s 18th goal looked like insurance until San Jose’s power play flipped the script.

Next up

Stars: Visit the Kings on Monday in a battle of Central vs. Pacific heavyweights.
Sharks: Host Vegas on Sunday in a four-point clash that could pull them even with the Golden Knights.

San Jose is no longer just an entertaining rebuild—they’re the team no Pacific contender wants to see on the schedule right now. For lightning-fast breakdowns of every goal, trade rumor and playoff push, keep your rink-side seat right here on onlytrustedinfo.com.