SAN JOSE – Will Smith scored a go-ahead goal with 4:21 left in the third period to lift the San Jose Sharks to an impressive 2-1 win over Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg on Friday at SAP Center.
With the game tied, Philipp Kurashev controlled the puck behind the Jets’ net before he put a pass out to Smith, who slid the puck over to Macklin Celebrini. After a moment, with the puck resting behind Hellebuyck and just in front of the goal line, Smith poked it across for his sixth goal of the season.
Celebrini also scored a dazzling first-period goal and now has sole possession of the NHL’s scoring lead with 23 points as the Sharks won for the sixth time in nine games and now have a .500 points percentage with a 6-6-3 record.
Sharks goalie Alex Nedeljkovic finished with 31 saves, outdueling Hellebuyck, who had 25.
Nedeljkovic made four saves in the final 35 seconds to preserve the win for San Jose, which hosts the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Saturday.
The Jets took a one-goal lead at the 12:34 mark of the first period as a shot from inside the blue line by defenseman Josh Morrissey found its way past a screened Nedeljkovic.
But Celebrini answered right back. Just 1:12 later, he took a long pass from Tyler Toffoli, went in alone on Connor Hellebuyck, and beat the reigning Vezina and Hart Trophy winner with a forehand to backhand move for his team-leading ninth goal of the season.
Celebrini entered Friday in a three-way tie for the lead in NHL scoring, as he, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, and Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel all had 21 points. Celebrini was coming off a three-point game on Wednesday when the Sharks romped past the Seattle Kraken 6-1 for their fifth victory in eight games.
Celebrini is among many players his age who grew up admiring Jonathan Toews, who signed a one-year deal with his hometown Jets in July. Toews, a three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks who was named one of the NHL’s top 100 players of all time in 2017, had missed the past two seasons for health reasons related to Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome and long COVID-19.
Celebrini said the first hockey jersey he owned was a Blackhawks jersey with Toews’ name and number.
“It’s tough to emulate a player like that, he’s just so unique,” Celebrini said. “Talk about one of the best defensive forwards, his ability to win face-offs, and just how he tied that (Blackhawks) team together. Obviously, he was the captain, but he just did all things exceptionally well.”
Friday’s game represented a chance for the Sharks to get to a .500 points percentage. The last time the Sharks owned such a mark was March 30, 2022, when they were 29-29-8. Over the last three years, the Sharks had gotten off to such poor starts that they never gave themselves a chance to reach a .500 points percentage.