The San Jose Sharks welcome the St. Louis Blues into SAP Center.
Alex Wennberg (twice) and Macklin Celebrini (twice) and Adam Gaudette scored, and the Sharks won 5-4!
Leddy jumps up, sets up Gaudette. Real real, I didn't get to say it on the pod, but I'd retain this version of Leddy as a No. 7 defenseman next year over Klingberg.
3 in: Like that extra effort and attention from Chernyshov, he's coming off for change, but puck rimmed near him, I assume he has a sense of men on ice, and he makes a defensive play, prevents easy puck advancement, then gets off. That's defensive alertness and conscience.
4 in: Terrific bounce stretch pass from Misa to Gaudette, Gaudette partial break, Hofer save.
Lindstein goal: Sherwood's gotta be better along the wall than that, like I think I know what he was thinking, pop it to the speed coming up the middle, typical breakout. I wonder if he just didn't get all of it, came so weakly off his stick, like he was trying to execute some touch, but went too soft. Either way. Lindstein's first NHL goal, basically beats Askarov one-on-one. I met the 2023 first-round pick and his family at the Draft, nice kid and family, congrats!
Wennberg goal: Good bounce for Wennberg, in front, back turned to Hofer, tries to pass it out to Smith, but off Blue, on his stick again, Hofer vulnerable, easy-peasy. Celebrini's next point will be his 100th this season. Nice for San Jose Sharks to tie it up, they've outplayed Blues so far.
9 in: Eklund and Sherwood forecheck causing some problems so far for St. Louis.
10 in: Whoa, that's a terrific play kill by Misa on Kyrou . Collin Graf-esque, Misa sees some vulnerability, uses his feet and length to bother Kyrou. Then he carries it through the middle of the ice, blueline to blueline, gains the zone, distributes to an open teammate. That was everything my article about him today about haha. Great work.
9 left: Anecdotally, I think I see Celebrini getting himself net front a little more. Don't know if any stats bear that out. But it's a good way for him to change up his attack, we know mid-range is his "office" but if he's always there, he'll become predictable. Of course, that worked for Ovechkin for years lol.
8 left: Goodrow draws a penalty, pure work, outhustles Dvorsky.
Celebrini goal: Whoa, what a shot! From just outside the office. Hofer never found it. Celebrini's 100th point.
5 left: Under duress, Celebrini nearby, Leddy short pass to safety valve, that's veteran calm.
Buchnevich goal: Sharks gotta be better. Dominate a period like you have, just shooting yourself in the foot, keeping Blues in the game. Unacceptable Orlov pass, and he knows it. East-west like Sherwood. Back-to-back games for Orlov (last game in Columbus, Jason Demers says very clearly Orlov to Smith, Orlov can't do that, Smith expects him to do something else besides pass it where he was, probably expected Orlov to skate it up with the space he had).
Celebrini goal: Great Leddy pass to Celebrini sneaking into slot on rush. Nice job by Smith, in NZ, to recognize Leddy jumping up. Mailloux looks so focused on Celebrini coming down hard on him, doesn't really notice the pass. Leddy takes the ice given to him, love.
San Jose Sharks fortunate in some ways to be up, playing good hockey, of course, 11-4 shots, but also hurting themselves with brain cramps.
Ostapchuk still not producing much, but he looks more confident with puck on his stick than earlier this season. Still, as I've mentioned, needs to add a move or two to his arsenal, something to complement his straight-ahead bull rush. Once he does that, he's going to have a long career. He's strong defensively, and also pure fast and strong, he doesn't need much else.
4 in: Good battle win by Ferraro, Sharks needed it after Misa turnover.
5 in: Smith and Leddy up high in zone, great puck movement, under pressure but with touch. Dickinson shot attempt deflected out though.
8 in: Good NZ disruption by Orlov. Then Goodrow beats Mailloux to the puck, just misses setting up Gaudette. Dickinson stands up on Blues entry, pops it forward, and Goodrow beats a caravan of Blues to the net, almost sets up Ostapchuk for a highlight-reel strike. But draws a penalty. Couple things here: Orlov makes his share of mistakes, but he does a great job of just moving on. Impact player when he's on, but has B-game. And Goodrow, if you don't believe he's skating better than last year, watch that shift. He's been moving better all year.
Wennberg goal: Toffoli and Wennberg crash the net, Toffoli got it from Smith in front, and Toffoli just jammed it at Hofer, Wennberg right there. Love that directness.
3 left: Celebrini line can be riveting to watch, and they're just scratching the surface of their potential.
Broberg goal: That's the first goal this season that Wennberg-Graf-Desharnais-Ferraro have given up on PK. Doesn't look like a very good Mukhamadullin penalty. Hate giving up the last-minute of the period goal, time to see if San Jose Sharks can play a mature third, close out a game they've pretty much dominated.
1 in: Gorgeous Celebrini to Chernyshov rush set-up, huge Hofer save. The stuff that the next decade of San Jose Sharks' dreams are made of.
4 in: Just dominating shift from the Chernyshov-Celebrini-Smith line. Welcome to your next decade, Western Conference.
5 in: Like Misa identifying Mailloux trying to creep down slot. Good defensive hockey.
6 in: Good puck battle win by Sherwood at center ice, leads to gorgeous Sherwood-Eklund give-and-go chance. Another Hofer stop. Like that the Sharks are trying to stamp the Blues out of this game. They do need that next goal, they've kept Blues in game, obviously, too.
9 in: Another tough Orlov pass, not his game tonight. Sharks survive, but that was chaos, Askarov coming out to play a 50-50 puck.
10 in: Good recovery by Dickinson on his own puck bobble.
Fowler goal: That hurts. Askarov penalty and couldn't come up with the big save. Let's see how San Jose Sharks react. You can afford to give Blues a point this game, but you can't afford to not come out with two points yourself.
Gaudette goal: Wow! Ostapchuk faceoff win and Gaudette just gets it through.
The post Gaud Strikes! Celebrini Hits 100 Points, Sharks Win 5-4 Last Minute appeared first on San Jose Hockey Now .
