Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks lose to Vancouver Canucks

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The San Jose Sharks allowed three goals in a 70-second span late in the second period and never recovered after suffering a narrow 4-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Monday in the final game before the Christmas break for both teams Vancouver Canucks had to accept.

The Sharks allowed Kiefer Sherwood and Elias Pettersson equal goals just 26 seconds apart as the Canucks tied the game and took a 3-1 lead at 17:08 of the second period.

The Sharks unsuccessfully fought Pettersson’s goal as the goalie interfered with them and were soon down two men after defender Mario Ferraro was called for a hook at 17:20. Pettersson then scored his second goal of the game and his 10th of the season with 2:08 left in the period, giving the Canucks a three-goal lead.

William Eklund, Cody Ceci and Luke Kunin all scored for the Sharks, who have now won just one of their last nine games and have fallen to 31st in the NHL standings.

Shortly before his power play goal, Eklund was canceled out by outstanding Vancouver defenseman Tyler Myers as he moved the puck into the Canucks’ zone. Eklund stayed in the game long enough to score his sixth goal of the season, but did not play at the start of the second period before being ruled out of return at the start of the third period.

The loss spoiled the homecoming of Macklin Celebrini, the North Vancouver native who was playing his first NHL game near his hometown. Celebrini set up Eklund’s goal, but his miss at the offensive blue line led to Pettersson’s first goal.

The Sharks and Canucks traded goals in an entertaining first period.

With the Sharks holding a two-man lead, Celebrini took control of the puck and passed it to Mikael Granlund at the point. He then sent the puck to Eklund, who fired the pass past the Canucks goalkeeper from near the faceoff point, giving the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 11:36.

Just 2:34 minutes later, Canucks defenseman and reigning Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes quickly pushed the puck toward the Sharks net, where Brock Boeser directed the puck past goaltender Yaroslav Askarov.

On the ensuing faceoff, 6-foot-10 forward Barclay Goodrow outscored the 220-pound defender 6-8 in response to Myers’ big hit on Eklund at 9:07 of the first period. Goodrow played his 300th career game for the Sharks, the fifth most in team history among undrafted players.

Celebrini, a North Vancouver native, had skated on the Rogers Arena ice surface years ago when his father, Rick, worked for the Canucks’ rehabilitation director. He held that position for four years before joining the Warriors as director of sports medicine and performance (he is now the team’s vice president).

However, Monday marked the first time Celebrini played a real game at Rogers Arena.

“It’s a little strange,” Celebrini said in the arena on Sunday. “To skate here when I was younger, to kind of put myself in the shoes of an NHL player and act like I was one, and now training here and getting ready for tomorrow’s game, it’s pretty surreal .”

Celebrini started Monday’s game with Mikael Granlund and Tyler Toffoli on the wings in the middle of the Sharks’ top line. Coming into the game, he was third among all NHL rookies with 23 points despite having only played 24 games. He also scored 11 goals, tied with Philadelphia’s Matvei Michkov for the rookie lead, despite playing eight fewer games.

Well over 100 players in NHL history have hailed from the Greater Vancouver area, but Celebrini, who was selected first overall by the Sharks in June’s NHL Draft, could be among the players with the highest profile.

His homecoming was a big deal for him and the community.

“I think he’s more excited than anything,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Celebrini on Monday morning.