Overview
- Macklin Celebrini completed a third career hat trick with a power-play winner at 2:52 of overtime to beat the Utah Mammoth 3-2, giving him 30 points in 20 games and joining Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby as the only teenagers to hit that mark in a season’s first 20 games.
- He set Sharks records for the most points (30) and goals (13) through a season’s first 20 games.
- San Jose has nine wins in its last 14 games after an 0-6-0 start, but results remain tied to Celebrini’s production, with nearly half of the team’s goals involving him and a far better record when he scores than when he doesn’t.
- Opponents are assigning top shutdown forwards to shadow Celebrini, and coach Ryan Warsofsky is tinkering with linemates and zone starts to create more support at five-on-five.
- Goaltender Yaroslav Askarov made 24 saves against Utah and entered the game on a .965 save percentage, 4-1-0 run over five starts, a notable heater that has stabilized San Jose’s results.