Carlsson's go-ahead goal lifts Sharks past Bruins

SAN JOSE -- Lucas Carlsson scored the game-winning goal with 3:23 left in the third period, and the San Jose Sharks defeated the Boston Bruins 3-1 at SAP Center on Saturday.

Carlsson put the puck over Joonas Korpisalo's blocker with a backhand after Will Smith's shot rebounded to the left of the crease. The defenseman also had an assist in his first NHL game since Nov. 1, 2022, when he was with the Florida Panthers.

He had played 44 games for the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League this season, with 10 goals and 13 assists, after the Sharks signed him to a two-year, two-way contract on July 1, 2024.

"It's been tough the last 10 months, but now I feel so much better," Carlsson said.

William Eklund also had a goal and an assist, and Macklin Celebrini had two assists for the Sharks (19-42-9), who are 2-2-0 in their past four games. Alexandar Georgiev made 22 saves.

"I thought we worked extremely hard tonight. I thought we got our effort back," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "We had a good feeling going into the third period."

Casey Mittelstadt scored for the Bruins (30-32-9), who have lost five in a row (0-4-1). Korpisalo made 18 saves. The Bruins are six points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

"I thought we had a number of opportunities to make it 2-1 ourselves in the third period," Bruins coach Joe Sacco said. "Just unable to finish off our opportunities."

Eklund put the Sharks ahead 1-0 at 2:13 of the second period, beating Korpisalo five-hole after a pass from Celebrini from along the right boards.

"We were actually talking on the bench," Celebrini said. "Eklund said something about going five-hole on him, and then he went five-hole on him."

Mittelstadt tied the game 1-1 at 16:50. After Georgiev moved the puck to Vincent Desharnais, Cole Koepke took the puck away and fed Mittelstadt in front before Georgiev could get back to the crease.

"There was a stretch where I thought we could've played better, but we had them on their heels," Mittelstadt said.

Barclay Goodrow got Eklund's pass at center ice for the empty net goal and the 3-1 final with 50 seconds remaining.

NOTES: The Bruins had won 14 straight games against the Sharks dating to the 2016-17 season, which was the longest active winning streak by a team against a single opponent. ... Celebrini recorded his sixth multiassist game and tied Pat Falloon (six in 1991-92) for the most by a Sharks rookie in a single season.