It's a disappointing loss for the San Jose Sharks, losing 5-2 to the Minnesota Wild, but it isn't a game that Sharks fans should be too angry with. While Vitek Vanecek only stopped 26 of the 30 shots he faced, the Sharks got to enjoy the best game of the young career of Macklin Celebrini, who found the back of the net twice against future Hall of Fame netminder Marc-Andre Fleury. The Wild won on the night, but there are reasons for optimism.
Early in the first, Marcus Foligno worked the puck back to the point for Dennis Chisholm. Zach Bogosion took the puck across at the other point. Bogosian's shot from the point deflects off Will Smith in front, who is trying to tie up Foligno. The puck just bounces off him and past Vanecek to give the Wild an early lead in this one. It's an unfortunate bounce for Smith, but he can do nothing about it.
Early in the second, San Jose would strike back through the aforementioned wonderkid. Celebrini drove the puck up the ice and into the Wild zone. A dish over to the right for Mikael Granlund let him drive to the side of the net. Granlund's pass into the middle is deposited by Celebrini, and the Sharks are level. Tyler Toffoli was right on the edge of the crease to put it home had Fleury saved it, as a devastating rush nets the Sharks a goal.
This didn't last. Mats Zuccarello would strike next to restore the Wild's lead. A point shot from Jared Spurgeon would see Vanecek kick the rebound into the corner. Kirill Kaprizov pucked the puck up along the bottom of the faceoff circle and fired a no-look pass into the middle for Zucc to tuck home. It's a 2-1 Wild lead, and the Shark's struggles are re-emerging.
On the powerplay, Kirill Kaprizov found a pass to Matt Boldy at the right circle. Boldy played catch with the man at the point before driving into a weakened slot, as Granlund had pushed out too far to try and pressure the man at the point. Boldy's shot went through the screen of Joel Eriksson Ek in front, and the Wild took a 3-1 lead as ill-discipline continues to plague the Team in Teal.
As the Sharks lost a puck battle in their zone, Minnesota would work the puck back to the point for Jonas Brodin off a pass from Frederick Gaudreau. A slapshot from Brodin would hit Cody Ceci in front, trying to block the shot, but he only got part of it, and it changed direction, removing any chance Vanecek had at it. It's a 4-1 Wild lead, and the Sharks are in trouble.
Fortunately, those who continued to watch saw a goal-of-the-season candidate from the Wonder Kid. Macklin Celebrini picked the puck at the offensive blue line and drove to the middle of the ice. As he cuts across the slot, he fires off a no-look shot from the high slot that beats Marc-Andre Fleury high to the glove side. He gets his second goal of the night with a beauty. This 18-year-old scored a no-look goal last night.
It didn't impact the result as the Sharks didn't score again, and Matt Boldy hit the empty net to ensure it, but the Sharks got to enjoy their promise that Celebrini just flexed. His injury was a big miss for this team, and scoring twice against a team that has been as good as the Wild has to start this season is a strong showing. The future is bright for the Sharks.