Macklin Celebrini scored two goals and added an assist to reach over 100 points for the first time in his National Hockey League career, as the San Jose Sharks secured a 5-4 win against the St. Louis Blues at SAP Center on March 31. Adam Gaudette delivered the decisive goal with just 22 seconds left in regulation.
Celebrini now has 101 points this season, becoming only the sixth teenager in NHL history to achieve at least 100 points in a single season. He joins Sidney Crosby, Wayne Gretzky, Jimmy Carson, Mario Lemieux, and Dale Hawerchuk in this exclusive group. “I mean, I didn’t really think I’d do it this year, but I have a bunch of amazing teammates that have helped me get here. Our goal is to win every night,” Celebrini said.
Gaudette described his game-winning moment: “I think it was [Mario Ferraro] who threw that out. It just happened to land on my stick, and I was shooting that the whole way.” Alexander Wennberg contributed two power-play goals and an assist for San Jose (34-31-7), which has now earned five out of six possible points over its last three games.
The victory moves San Jose within two points of the Nashville Predators for the second wild card spot into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said: “We’ve had a lot of resiliency in what’s gone on, and maybe some adversity or situations throughout games. Our thing is just to just play and just compete. I thought our group did a really good job of that.”
For St. Louis (31-31-11), Theo Lindstein scored his first NHL goal while Pavel Buchnevich, Philip Broberg, and Cam Fowler also found the net; Jake Neighbours provided two assists. The Blues remain four points behind Nashville for a playoff berth after their five-game point streak ended.
Reflecting on their performance and playoff hopes, Blues coach Jim Montgomery said: “That had a playoff feel to it. For us, it’s a lot of disappointment. Hanging heads right now. I love the way we kept fighting to get back in it, but in the end we made too many mistakes.”
