Celebrini breaks tie in 3rd, Sharks edge Penguins

SAN JOSE -- Macklin Celebrini scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, and the San Jose Sharks ended a six-game losing streak with a 2-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at SAP Center on Monday.

Celebrini gave the Sharks the lead at 3:41, scoring blocker side from the low slot after Tyler Toffoli intercepted Marcus Pettersson's clearing attempt in front.

"We did a great job, I don't think our confidence wavered," Celebrini said. "I think we stuck with it. We knew what we needed to do."

Mikael Granlund also scored for the Sharks (15-32-6), who had allowed at least six goals in each of their previous four games. Will Smith had an assist to extend his point streak to five games (two goals, four assists) and Yaroslav Askarov made 29 saves.

"The result is the big thing, but we did some really good things tonight, things that we've talked about," San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "Some guys stepped up, which we needed."

Sidney Crosby scored for the Penguins (20-24-8), who have lost three straight and seven of their past nine games. Alex Nedeljkovic made 26 saves.

"I'm not sure how many good things we did tonight. I don't think we were nearly as good tonight as we'd been. That was my observation from behind the bench," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "Having said that, it is hard to win when you only score one goal."

Granlund put the Sharks ahead 1-0 at 7:41 of the second period. After Ryan Shea flubbed a clearing attempt, Smith passed across to Granlund, who skated into the left circle and beat Nejeljkovic glove side with a wrist shot.

Crosby tied the game 1-1 just 24 seconds into the third period. Bryan Rust drove to the net and had his pass broken up by Cody Ceci, but the puck bounced right to Crosby, who scored five-hole from a sharp angle.

"It is a game of mistakes, and right now, we are making the ones that are hurting us," Crosby said. "That's how it is going and we've got to find a way to change that."

After Celebrini put the Sharks back in front, Drew O'Connor had a chance to tie it 2-2 at 10:19, but his short-handed penalty shot was stopped by Askarov.

"Woah woah woah, no, no, no. It is what I felt in that moment, but he didn't score obviously, so," Askarov said.

Michael Bunting then thought he had tied it for Pittsburgh at 14:46, but the call was reversed after San Jose successfully challenged the play for goaltender interference.

"It was a great challenge. I mean, it felt weird, kind of like, how did that go in? Obviously, [it] just bounced off my skate," Granlund said. "It just went so slow. I'm like, what's going on here? So, you knew there was something else going on with Askarov so he couldn't get there."

NOTES: Rust returned to the lineup after missing one game with a lower-body injury. He had an assist in 21:35 of ice time. ... Celebrini is the third rookie in Sharks history to score at least four game-winning goals in a season, joining Logan Couture (eight in 2010-11) and Niko Dimitrakos (four in 2003-04).