Macklin Celebrini scores dazzling goal, assists on OT winner as Sharks stun Kings

Macklin Celebrini scored a spectacular tying goal with just over a minute left in the third period, then assisted on William Eklund’s goal at the 3:08 mark of overtime to lift the San Jose Sharks to a stunning 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday.

In overtime, Celebrini took control of the puck along the boards in the neutral zone, carried it into the Kings zone and on a 2-on-1, fed Eklund, who scored past the outstretched arms of goalie Darcy Kuemper for his 11th goal of the season.

Celebrini finished the game with three points, extended his point streak to 12 games, and now has 67 points this season. He has 24 points in his 12-game streak.

Goalie Yaroslav Askarov had 23 saves as the Sharks won for the fifth time in six games and not only moved into the first wild card spot in the Western Conference, but also one point back of first place in the tightly packed Pacific Division.

Celebrini’s tying goal was one for the ages.

Celebrini took control of the puck just inside the blue line, stickhandled past Kings forward Warren Foegele at the top of the slot, eluded a stick check from Quinton Byfield and fired a shot between the legs of Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper to tie the game 3-3 with 1:07 to go in the third period.

Before Celebrini’s 24th goal of the season, Alex Laferriere scored with 2:10 left in the third period to give the Kings a 3-2 lead.

WHO ELSE BUT MACKLIN CELEBRINI?

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The Sharks took a 2-1 lead at the 5:38 mark of the third period on a power play goal by Adam Gaudette, who tipped a shot from Timothy Liljegren past Kings goalie for his ninth of the season.

Just 1:02 later, Kevin Fiala scored his 16th goal of the season, collecting a loose puck and firing it past Askarov. Defenseman Vincent Iorio was unable to control the puck after a Joel Edmundson shot went wide and bounced off the end boards and back in front of the net.

The Kings thought they had taken a 3-2 lead with 7:51 left in regulation time, but after an official review, it was determined that Edmundson, who was near the crease, directed the puck into the Sharks net with a glove hand as he was being cross checked by Zack Ostapchuk.

The Sharks and Kings, after a scoreless first period, traded goals in the second period.

Toffoli scored his 11th of the season at the 4:10 mark as the Sharks took a 1-0 lead with a power play goal. Macklin Celebrini put a shot toward the net from inside the blue line and Alexander Wennberg collected the loose puck and sent a no-look pass across the crease to Toffoli for a tap-in goal.

Celebrini’s point streak to 12 games is tied for the third longest in team history. Wennberg’s assist marked his 400th career NHL point.

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The Kings got that goal back at the 11:34 mark. Fiala had control of the puck and fired a shot from near the slot that was stopped by Askarov. The Sharks tried to clear the loose puck, but it went off Fiala and to the side of the net, where Alex Turcotte fired it in from a sharp angle.

DELLANDREA UPDATE

Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said before Wednesday’s game that center Ty Dellandrea is considered week-to-week with a lower body injury.

Dellandrea exited Tuesday’s game with the Columbus Blue Jackets with 4:45 mark left in the second period. Trying to take the puck to the net, Dellandrea was instead inadvertently tripped by Blue Jackets defenseman Denton Mateychuk, causing his right leg to crash hard into the post next to goalie Jet Greaves.

Dellandrea, who has established himself as the Sharks third-line center in recent weeks, had to be helped off the ice and into the dressing room and did not return as the Sharks went on to a 5-2 win before an announced crowd of 16,258 at SAP Center.

The right-shot Dellandrea has 11 points in 41 games this season, is third on the Sharks with 511 faceoffs taken with a team-high win percentage of 52.3. Dellandrea is also among the Sharks’ top penalty-killing forwards.

Adam Gaudette took Dellandrea’s spot in the lineup as the Sharks’ third-line center for Wednesday’s game. Gaudette had missed the last three games with a lower body injury after he had to leave the Sharks’ Dec. 29 game against the Anaheim Ducks.

The Kings were without three of their regulars. Anze Kopitar and Joel Armia were both injured during L.A.’s 4-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Monday and had to miss the game, and forward Corey Perry was designated as non-roster status as he tended to a family matter.

Wednesday’s game was the last meeting of the regular season between the Sharks and Kings. Kopitar will retire at the end of his season, so he finishes his Hall of Fame caliber career with 77 points in 99 career games against San Jose.

ALDRICH HONORED

Mike Aldrich worked his 2,500th game as a head equipment manager in professional hockey on Wednesday. The coaching staff and players recognized Aldrich’s milestone by wearing teal t-shirts with ALDRICH emblazoned on the front, and took a moment to honor him before the game.

Aldrich is in his 30th year as the Sharks’ head equipment manager but is stepping down from a full-time role at the end of this season and take an advisory role with the team.

“He’s the best,” winger Barclay Goodrow told the Sharks Audio Network. “Guys have been on different teams, and I had different guys throughout the league, and you realize how special Mikey is. We’re going to miss him next year. Hust look to make the most of the rest of this year that we have.”

Before he came to the NHL, Aldrich was the head equipment manager for the IHL’s Kansas City Blades from 1993 to 1995 when they were San Jose’s top minor league affiliate.