Macklin Celebrini continues to turn heads across the NHL, and Tuesday night was just the latest example of why the hockey world is buzzing.
The San Jose Sharks rolled to a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks, improving to 27-21-3 and climbing into the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Once again, Celebrini was at the center of it all.
Sharks Phenom Macklin Celebrini Making History
Celebrini delivered a dominant four-point night. He finished with a goal and three assists. In the process, he etched his name into the NHL record books.
He became the third teenager in league history to record 50 assists in 51 games or fewer. The only other players to ever reach that milestone as teenagers are Wayne Gretzky, who did it in 42 games in 1980-81 and 49 games in 1979-80, and Sidney Crosby, who pulled it off in 44 games during the 2006-07 season.
Celebrini’s historic pace doesn’t stop there. He now ranks fifth all-time in three-point games by a teenager, trailing only Gretzky (33), Crosby (26), Jimmy Carson (21), and Dale Hawerchuk (20). His 27 goals on the season tied with Crosby and two others for 10th in league goal scoring. His 78 points place him fourth overall, behind only Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Nikita Kucherov.
He was also named first star of the game for the second time in San Jose’s two trips to Vancouver this season. “It’s always special coming back home,” Celebrini said after the win.
Vancouver got on the board first when Willander scored at 1:15 of the opening period during 4-on-4 play, beating a screened Askarov with a high glove-side shot. San Jose didn’t take long to respond, as Macklin Celebrini tied the game just 36 seconds later, ripping a one-timer from the right circle off a pass from Smith.
The Sharks then took the lead at 4:43 when Adam Gaudette finished off a quick passing sequence that started with Celebrini intercepting a clearing attempt at the blue line. Tyler Toffoli followed up at 5:55, blasting home a one-timer from the left hash marks to make it 3-1. It forced Vancouver to make a goalie change.
Smith later scored on the power play to push the lead to 4-1. Vancouver couldn’t cash in on a long 5-on-3, and San Jose made them pay by scoring on a two-man advantage early in the third to go up 5-1. Hronek answered with a power-play goal to make it 5-2, snapping the Sharks’ four-game run without giving up a power-play goal.
Riding that momentum, Celebrini and the Sharks next take on the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
