Sharks defeat Panthers, spoil Tkachuk's return

SUNRISE, Fla. -- The San Jose Sharks scored three goals in the second period en route to a 4-1 win against the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday, spoiling the return of Matthew Tkachuk.

The Panthers forward hadn't played this season after having surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle and sports hernia on Aug. 22, 2025.

“I will say, it was such a relief and nice to be out there,” Tkachuk, who played 20:58 on 22 shifts and had six shot attempts, said. “The first period was weird, just a little strange. Nothing mimics a game. The second felt better, third felt back to normal.”

Will Smith, Vincent Desharnais, and Mario Ferraro each scored in the second period, Igor Chernyshov and Michael Misa each had two assists, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 35 saves for San Jose (25-20-3), which has won five of its past seven games.

"We stuck with it, sacrificed a lot, and committed to playing solid defense," Nedeljkovic said. "When the time came, we got rewarded. … We’ll take it."

Eetu Luostarinen scored and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 24 shots for Florida (25-20-3), which had won three of its past five games.

“You are worried about this game for two months,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “You have six on the road, this comes off a back-to-back. Thought we might come out sluggish, and we did. We have been fortunate to be able to come off the road and be really strong. We’re not quite there yet. It looked the way we feared it might.”

After a scoreless first period, Smith gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead 50 seconds into the second by controlling the rebound of a Timothy Liljegren shot in front of the net, cutting to his forehand and swinging it around Bobrovsky's pad.

Desharnais scored off the rebound of a Chernyshov wrist shot from the right circle five-hole at 2:41 to extend the Sharks lead 2-0. It marks Desharnais first goal of the season and second in 186 career NHL games.

Ferraro gave the Sharks a 3-0 lead at 6:12, getting the rebound of Chernyshov's shot past Bobrovsky's glove with a wrist shot after a quick touch on the puck in front from Misa.

"We’re starting to learn how we need to play," San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "We’re not going to tiptoe into a game. We have to get onto the attack, we have to push forward, and we’re a good hockey team. That was really the message, and the guys did that from the drop of the puck."

Luostarinen got the Panthers on the board 3-1, 43 seconds into the third period by sending a shot from the point through traffic and past Nedeljkovic.

Barclay Goodrow scored into the empty net at 17:21 for the 4-1 final.

"We knew we had to be ready from the drop of the puck," Misa said. "We know they’re a good team but we’re a good team, too. Good to find a win."

NOTES: Misa is the third 18-year-old in Sharks franchise history with at least two points in a game. The only 18-year-olds with more are Macklin Celebrini (five points on April 9, 2025, three points on Dec. 12, 2024 and Nov. 25, 2024) and Patrick Marleau (three points on March 5, 1998). … The Sharks got their eighth win in Florida in franchise history and first since Dec. 1, 2017. Florida had won 12 straight games against the Sharks before losing 3-1 in San Jose on Nov. 8, 2025. … Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad had an assist on Luostarinen’s goal to earn 400 career points.