San Jose Sharks, Macklin Celebrini rally for biggest win of the season

MONTREAL – The San Jose Sharks have lost some games in frustrating ways recently, notably in a shootout after giving up a tying goal late in the third period and in another where they committed game-deciding, absent-minded penalties.

The Sharks, though, will no doubt find some inspiration from their game against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.

Down by two, the Sharks rallied to tie the game in the third period before Macklin Celebrini scored on the power play at the 2:11 mark of overtime, lifting San Jose to a 4-3 win over the Canadiens before a stunned Bell Centre crowd.

Just 18 seconds after Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes was called for interference, Celebrini, who had heard boos from the home crowd most of the game, ripped a one-timer past Dobes for his second goal of the game and fifth of the season as the Sharks rallied for arguably their biggest win of the season.

“We were all connected. We knew what we wanted to do,” Celebrini said of the third period. “Everything was predictable.”

Celebrini said Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky delivered a no-nonsense message to the group during the second intermission.

Something must have clicked, as the Sharks (5-4-1) improved their record to a respectable 2-1-1 on the six-game road trip.

“It’s not about me,” Warsofsky said. “It’s about the players and just getting them to understand how we need to play.”

After beating the Nashville Predators last Thursday, they lost to the Detroit Red Wings two days later in a shootout after blowing a two-goal lead. On Monday, they allowed two power-play goals after committing two needless penalties in a 3-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“Sometimes you have some rough moments and nights, and it can kind of get in between the ears a little bit, and you get off your game, and that’s probably what happened there in the first two periods,” Warsofsky said of Tuesday’s game. “But proud of the group to kind of get back on track and find our game in the third.”

The Sharks trailed by two in the third period before Michael Misa and Tyler Toffoli each scored, with Toffoli’s game-tying goal coming on the power play with 8:51 left in regulation.

Misa’s goal, his first of the season off an assist from Kiefer Sherwood, cut Montreal’s lead to 3-2 with 14:24 left in the third period.

The Sharks’ rally came after Juraj Slafkovský and Cole Caufield scored in the second period to give the Canadiens a 3-1 lead.

With the Sharks and Canadiens tied in the second period, Slafkovský took a pass from Caufield, skated toward Darnell Nurse in the San Jose zone, chipped the puck past the veteran defenseman, picked it up on the other side, stickhandled around Alex Nedeljkovic and scored his second goal this season.

The electrifying move came at the 1:49 mark of the second, and Caufield scored an insurance goal at the 14:03 mark.

The Sharks were on their heels for the opening nine or 10 minutes of the first period before they finally got their bearings and took a 1-0 lead on Celebrini’s fourth goal of the season.

With the puck in the Montreal end, Will Smith bothered Jake Evans enough along the boards to affect the Canadien center’s pass, which Celebrini easily picked off, went in alone, and beat Dobes at the 13:49 mark.

The Sharks made some lineup changes following their 3-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. Some voluntary, others not.

Alexander Wennberg sustained an upper-body injury in Monday’s game, missed his first game of the season, and is considered day-to-day, Warsofsky said. The Sharks play the Ottawa Senators on Thursday and finish their six-game road trip Saturday in Boston.

It wasn’t known exactly when Wennberg sustained the injury.

He had a 2-on-1 with Toffoli early in the third period, had a shot attempt blocked by Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly, and left the ice shortly afterward. A television camera then showed Wennberg in discomfort on the Sharks bench as a team trainer tended to him, but the Swedish-born forward returned to the ice less than three minutes later.

Wennberg has three assists in nine games and typically matches up against the opposing team’s top line, especially at home. He was also third among all Sharks forwards in average ice time (20:00) and led the team in faceoffs taken with 158, including 113 at even strength.

“It’s a tough loss,” Warsofsky said of Wennberg. “But we’ve got some guys here healthy that haven’t played in a little bit, and we’ve got some depth there in that position. So it’s an opportunity for some guys to step up.”

Ty Dellandrea entered the Sharks’ lineup for Wennberg and played the right wing on the Sharks’ fourth line with center Zack Ostapchuk and left wing Barclay Goodrow.

The Sharks also moved Collin Graf to center to replace Wennberg, with Toffoli and Mason Marchment on the wings on the third line. The other two Sharks lines remained the same as they were for Monday’s game, with Celebrini playing with Smith and Igor Chernyshov, and Misa on a line with Ivar Stenberg and Sherwood.

Defenseman Nolan Allan returned to Tuesday’s lineup after being scratched in Toronto, with Luca Cagnoni, who took an ill-advised cross-checking penalty on Monday that led to a Maple Leafs goal, a healthy scratch.

GAUDETTE STILL OUT

Adam Gaudette was a healthy scratch for the sixth straight game as he still hasn’t played this season. Gaudette, who has spent some time at center in his NHL career, spent the Sharks’ first four games on injured reserve.

Asked why Gaudette isn’t getting in after a loss, Warsofsky said, “You look at a few things. Obviously, (Dellandrea), we know we can play center, gives us a right-shot center there. There’s some speed impact there. It wasn’t like we just didn’t think about (dressing Gaudette). It was a conversation that we had as a group, and this is what we went with tonight.”