Macklin Celebrini scored two goals and added an assist to help the San Jose Sharks secure a 4-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on March 15. The win extended Celebrini’s point streak to eight games and marked San Jose’s second consecutive win.
The game was significant for both teams, with the Sharks improving their recent record to 5-1-2 in their past eight games. Collin Graf contributed a goal and two assists, while John Klingberg had two assists. Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic made 25 saves for San Jose. For Montreal, Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki each scored, and Noah Dobson recorded two assists.
Celebrini said after the game, “A lot of guys bought in playing the right way. We did a good job of not making it difficult on ourselves. They’re a great team and they hemmed us a few times, but we did a great job weathering it and just handling it.”
The Sharks played most of the game with only eleven forwards after Igor Chernyshov left early in the first period following an awkward fall from a hit by Mike Matheson. Chernyshov was taken to hospital but later rejoined the team and is expected to travel for San Jose’s next game against Ottawa. “It kind of took us out of the game a little bit,” Celebrini said. “It was really scary. He’s back around the team right now, but I hope he’s all right and doesn’t feel anything further.”
Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle commented on Celebrini’s performance: “He’s tough to gap up on. He’s a really smart player. He’s got speed, hands, shot, good vision, he’s a good player. There’s a reason he was with the (Olympic) team playing with those top players.”
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky addressed Chernyshov’s injury: “It’s a scary situation but we kind of knew he was going to be OK,” Warsofsky said. “Injuries happen and you see guys go down, you’ve got to play for them. And I thought our guys did a really good job. We had 11 forwards for the whole game and guys really stepped up.”
With this win, Celebrini achieved his 41st multipoint game as a teenager in National Hockey League history, passing Brian Bellows for seventh most all-time among teenagers.
