Macklin Celebrini nets a power-play goal in Sharks' loss

Macklin Celebrini scored a power-play goal Wednesday night.

It was his first goal in six games.

The Sharks lost 7-2 to the Los Angeles Kings.

Celebrini finished with five shots on goal, four penalty minutes and three hits.

The 20-year-old superstar now has six goals and 17 points in 15 games this season.

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.

The six-game goal drought matched his longest dry spells from last season.

That happened three times during the 2025-26 campaign.

After the game, Celebrini spoke to reporters.

He did not hide how the room feels.

“Frustrated,” he said.

He agreed the slump is on the players.

“To a man we just need to be better,” he 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.

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

But he confirmed the meeting happened.

He made clear the issues are not with the coaching staff or the system.

He put the responsibility on the players in the room.

The Sharks are in a difficult stretch.

Celebrini’s production has not matched his rookie-year pace.

Last season he set a blistering standard.

This year his numbers are still among the NHL’s high-end players.

But the team results are not there.

The 7-2 loss to the Kings was the latest example.

Celebrini’s power-play goal cut the deficit at one point.

But the Sharks could not sustain momentum.

He described the team’s play as coming in spurts.

Consistency remains the issue.

Celebrini is 20 years old.

He is already the face of the franchise.

The Sharks drafted him first overall in 2024.

He won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2024-25.

Expectations are enormous.

The team is rebuilding around him.

Nights like Wednesday show both the talent and the growing pains.

A power-play goal is a positive individual moment.

But a 7-2 loss is a team failure.

Celebrini acknowledged both.

He did not make excuses.

He did not deflect blame.

He said the players need to be better.

That message came from a players-only meeting.

Those meetings are a sign of a team trying to find its way.

They are also a sign of leadership.

Celebrini is young, but he is already the voice of the room.

He is not hiding from the frustration.

He is naming it.

His power-play goal Wednesday was his first in six games.

That drought was notable because it matched his longest from last year.

He had three such stretches in 2025-26.

So this is not a new problem.

But it is a problem the Sharks need to solve.

Celebrini’s 17 points in 15 games is still strong.

It puts him among the top scorers on the team.

But the team needs more from everyone.

Celebrini is the first to say that.