How Celebrini made franchise history with the Sharks’ loss to the Jets

How Celebrini made franchise history with the Sharks’ loss to the Jets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Macklin Celebrini had a pretty strong game against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, but the Sharks couldn’t pull off a win despite the rookie phenom making franchise history.

Celebrini finished with two points in San Jose’s 4-3 loss at SAP Center, passing former Sharks winger Jeff Friesen, who had the most multi-point games in franchise history with seven as an 18-year-old.

Celebrini earned his first point of the night with an assist on Tyler Toffoli’s game-winning goal in the second period.

And later in the second, Celebrini showed off his Macklin magic with a no-look goal – his 11th goal of the 2024-25 NHL season.

Celebrini’s goal gave him the NHL rookie lead, even after he missed three weeks of the season from October 12 to November 3 due to a hip injury.

After the game, Jets coach Scott Arniel praised Celebrini.

“Yeah, we hadn’t seen him or (Will) Smith…some of the little kids they had. “Celebrini, he’s dynamic,” Arniel said (h/t William Espy of San Jose Hockey Now). “What really strikes you about him is his performance.” He doesn’t go outside. He doesn’t leave the place where the fight is taking place. He gets in. San Jose obviously wants to build around a player like that; You can understand why he was the first overall pick. He was, he stood out, that’s for sure.”

Despite the Celebrini’s efforts, the Sharks ended up on the losing side of a back-and-forth battle with the NHL-leading Jets after Winnipeg rallied from a 3-2 deficit in the third quarter. San Jose is now 11-18-5 this season after suffering nine straight losses to start the season.

But with Celebrini at the helm, things are certainly looking up in San Jose.

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