Celebrini nets power-play goal in Sharks loss

Macklin Celebrini scored a power-play goal on five shots in Wednesday's 7-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

The 20-year-old forward added four penalty minutes and logged three hits in the defeat.

Celebrini had gone six games without a goal before Wednesday night.

That six-game drought matched his longest goal droughts from last season.

It happened three times during the 2025-26 campaign for the Sharks star.

Through 15 appearances this season, Celebrini has six goals and 17 points.

Nine of those 17 points have come on the power play.

He also has 59 shots on net, 11 hits, 12 blocked shots and a minus-6 rating.

It is not the blistering pace he set last year as a rookie.

But it still ranks among the high-end players in the NHL.

After the game, Celebrini spoke with reporters about the state of the team.

He did not hide how the room feels: frustrated and unhappy with how the team is playing.

Celebrini would not share what was said in a players-only meeting after the game.

He agreed that the slump is on the players, not the coaches or the system.

"To a man we just need to be better," Celebrini said.

He pointed to an early mistake that snowballed against a skilled Los Angeles team.

He admitted the good stretches are coming only in spurts.

He said the group still believes in each other.

The Sharks fell to 4-10-1 on the season with the loss.

San Jose has lost four of its last five games.

Celebrini was selected first overall by the Sharks in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

He won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year in 2024-25.

Last season, he posted 24 goals and 61 points in 71 games.

His 61 points led all NHL rookies last year.

The Sharks finished with the worst record in the NHL in 2024-25.

San Jose has not made the playoffs since 2019.

The Kings, by contrast, entered Wednesday's game fighting for a top spot in the Pacific Division.

Los Angeles improved to 9-3-2 with the victory.

Celebrini's power-play goal came in the second period with the Sharks trailing 4-0.

He one-timed a pass from the left faceoff circle past Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper.

The goal cut the deficit to 4-1 at the time.

Los Angeles responded with three more goals in the third period.

The Kings outshot the Sharks 38-27 in the game.

Celebrini finished the night with a minus-1 rating.

He played 18 minutes and 42 seconds of ice time.

The Sharks' power play went 1-for-3 on the night.

San Jose's penalty kill allowed two goals on four Kings power plays.

Celebrini's goal was his first since October 24 against the Anaheim Ducks.

That six-game stretch without a goal was the longest of his season so far.

He had gone seven games without a goal twice last season.

His longest goal drought as a rookie was eight games from December 23 to January 11.

The 20-year-old is averaging 1.13 points per game this season.

That is down from his rookie average of 1.33 points per game.

But his shot volume remains high at 3.93 shots per game.

He is on pace for 33 goals and 93 points over a full 82-game season.

His 59 shots through 15 games rank among the top 20 in the NHL.

The Sharks next play Friday at home against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Celebrini will face fellow 2024 first-round pick Connor Bedard.

Bedard has 10 goals and 22 points in 15 games this season.

The two rookies of the last two years were compared heavily entering the league.

Both are seen as franchise cornerstones for rebuilding teams.

Celebrini's teammates have publicly supported him through the drought.

Captain Logan Couture has said the team needs to create more chances for him.

Coach Ryan Warsofsky has kept Celebrini on the top power-play unit.

The Sharks have rotated Celebrini's linemates trying to find chemistry.

He has played most of the season with William Eklund and Fabian Zetterlund.

That line has generated scoring chances but struggled to finish.

The Sharks have scored 2.4 goals per game this season, 28th in the NHL.

San Jose has allowed 4.1 goals per game, 30th in the league.

The team's minus-26 goal differential is the worst in the Western Conference.

Celebrini's minus-6 rating is actually the best among Sharks forwards with 10 or more games played.

His nine power-play points rank tied for 12th in the NHL.

He has been on the ice for 12 of the Sharks' 36 total goals this season.

That means he has been involved in 33.3 percent of San Jose's offense.

No other Sharks player is above 25 percent.

The Kings game was the third time this season Celebrini has recorded five or more shots.

He had seven shots against the Ducks on October 24 and six against the Stars on October 16.

The Sharks have been outscored 37-14 in their 11 losses.

San Jose's four wins have come by a combined score of 22-12.

The team's inconsistent play has been a theme in Celebrini's postgame comments.