Celebrini's Double Helps Sharks Beat Rangers
SAN JOSE, CALIF. (AP) -- Macklin Celebrini ended his longest goal-scoring drought of the season with a double, leading the San Jose Sharks to a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Friday night. Celebrini's 25th and 26th goals of the season were his first since January 7th, a six-game stretch.
The 19-year-old, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, had a chance for his third hat trick of the season, but his shot in the third period was stopped by Rangers goalie Martin Spencer, and the puck slowly rolled to the side of the net.
Pavol Regenda added his eighth goal for the Sharks, while Will Smith and Collin Graf each had two assists. Alex Nedeljkovic made 28 saves.
Sam Carrick had his second goal in six games for New York, which lost its third straight and is now 2-8-1 over its last 11 games.
Celebrini got the Sharks on the board quickly with a power-play goal 1:09 into the first period. He positioned himself in front of the Islanders' net and scored off a quick pass from Tyler Toffoli.
San Jose added a second power-play goal less than two minutes later when Regenda flipped a backhand shot over Martin's left shoulder. Michael Misa and Graf assisted.
Celebrini scored his second goal of the night at the 7:37 mark in the first period, with chants of 'MVP MVP' breaking out moments later.
Carrick's goal was his third of the season for the Rangers. Taylor Raddysh and Anton Blidh assisted. Martin finished with 28 saves.
Up next:
- Rangers: Play the Canucks on Tuesday night.
- Sharks: Host the Bruins on Monday night.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Michael Wagaman, The Associated Press
