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Macklin Celebrini ends scoring drought, but Kings hat trick sinks Sharks in loss
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- Macklin Celebrini ends scoring drought, but Kings hat trick sinks Sharks in loss
Macklin Celebrini ends scoring drought, but Kings hat trick sinks Sharks in loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The Sharks dug themselves an early hole against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena, and they weren't able to climb out as their offensive struggles continued in an eventual 7-2 loss .
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San Jose's third consecutive defeat featured two power-play goals — one from Macklin Celebrini in the second period that ended a six-game goal drought for the Sharks captain, and another by Ivar Stenberg in the third. But in both cases, the damage already had been done.
Celebrini made it 3-1 after the Kings scored on a trio of first-period goals. En route to his fifth career hat trick, Adrian Kempe scored two straight to put Los Angeles up 2-0, and Quinton Byfield gave the Kings a 3-0 advantage with a power-play goal as just over one minute remained in the first period.
In the second period, the Kings tacked onto their lead after Celebrini scored when Erik Haula found the back of the net on a backhand shot.
Kempe, who entered the game with just three goals on the 2026-27 NHL season, completed his hat trick with just over four minutes left in the second period, scoring on the power play to make it 5-1 Los Angeles. In the third period, Joel Armia and Byfield extended their lead with the Kings' sixth and seventh goals of the night.
One bright spot despite the loss was defenseman Eric Pohlkamp making his NHL debut after being recalled from the Barracuda on Tuesday afternoon.
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"Just a lot of excitement," Pohlkamp told reporters on Wednesday morning ( h/t The Mercury News ). "Obviously looking forward to this as a kid for a while, and there's so many people to thank. Just growing up, the Cedar Rapids (USHL) organization, Denver University, Bemidji State, so I just can't thank enough people. My family, of course. I'm just gonna enjoy this moment."
Pohlkamp finished the game with three shots on goal in 17:37 of ice time. Michael Misa finished with a team-high two points after assisting on both Sharks goals, while goalie Yaroslav Askarov finished with a .741 save percentage in the loss.
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Despite taking 32 shots on goal compared to the Kings' 27, the Sharks weren't able to take advantage of their opportunities. San Jose also went 2-for-6 on power-play opportunities, while Los Angeles was 3-for-5.
The Sharks now have scored just seven goals in their last five games, leading to a 1-4-0 record.
