Celebrini has 3 points, breaks Sharks single-season record in win against Jets

WINNIPEG -- Macklin Celebrini had a goal and two assists to break the San Jose Sharks single-season points record in a 6-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Thursday.

The 19-year-old forward, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, pushed his total to 115 points (45 goals, 70 assists), passing Joe Thornton (114 in 2006-07).

“I think it was just a good way to end the season,” Celebrini said. “We had a tough game last night and we wanted to end on the right note. … That kind of hockey is fun when you're making plays, getting chances, you’re playing the puck around. I think that's when hockey is the most fun. So, we were just enjoying it.”

Celebrini recorded his 18th three-point game of the season, tied with Thornton (18 in 2006-07) for the most in a season in franchise history.

“I'm a firm believer that individual goals are extremely important,” San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “You need your teammates to do that, so his teammates were obviously very excited for him. He's been our guy all year, really, so I'm so happy for him. He's worked so hard for this, and we've come up a little short getting in the playoffs, but this will be something that he'll remember for the rest of his life, I'm sure.”

William Eklund also had a goal and two assists, Will Smith had a goal and an assist, and John Klingberg had three assists for the Sharks (39-35-8), who ended their season with points in three of four (2-1-1). Alex Nedeljkovic made 25 saves.

“I just think we have a lot of pride in our team,” Klingberg said. “Obviously we fell short of the ultimate goal to make the playoffs, but like I said, there’s a lot of really good guys in there and we've been working hard all year for each other, so we wanted to end on a good note.”

Cole Koepke scored for the Jets (35-35-12), who finished their season with four straight losses. Eric Comrie made 27 saves.

“I think it's everyone as a group is disappointed with how it turned out … disappointment just in general of how kind of the season went out,” Koepke said. “I still feel like it's kind of no excuse for how we ended up playing. We just need to have a little bit more pride and gratitude for the game and the opponent. I don't know, we're not really happy with how it went. But it's over now.”

Koepke made it 1-0 Jets at 3:28 of the first period. After chasing down a loose puck from a Sharks misplay in the Winnipeg zone, Koepke scored on a breakaway with a snapshot that beat Nedeljkovic over his blocker.

“We got the first goal and then we kind of disrespected our opponent and came with a little bit of pond hockey,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “Trying to be cute, trying to make these fancy plays. And a young team like that, they played last night, and instead of keeping the hammer down and staying after them, we stopped playing. We didn't have the intensity or the drive we should have followed up (with) for the rest of that game.”

Igor Chernyshov tied it 1-1 at 6:26, lifting his own rebound over Comrie’s leg at the edge of the crease on the power play following a point shot from Eklund. Celebrini had the secondary assist.

“(Celebrini’s) a superstar,” Klingberg said. “I mean, I think we've all been talking about him all year, how good he is and what he can do. I'm not surprised anymore. He’s been the driving force for us all year. Just the way he competes and comes to the rink and prepares himself, it's high end. I said I think this organization is going to be in good hands.”

Smith made it 2-1 Sharks at 16:54, when Celebrini set him up for a quick catch-and-release shot from the bottom of the left circle.

“Absolutely I think we let (the fans) down tonight,” Winnipeg defenseman Dylan DeMelo said. “Let ourselves down. Just a real bad showing to end it off. … You always have something to play for, if it’s yourself and your job, the teammates next to you, for the fans, for the organization. So even if you're out of it, you always have something to play for, and you have to manufacture that yourself. We didn't do it once we were eliminated.”

Collin Graf pushed it to 3-1 at 5:51 of the second period, scoring unassisted when he cut to the middle on the rush and scored with a wrist shot from the slot.

“(There’s) a lot of momentum,” Celebrini said. “I mean, I for sure can speak for myself and a lot of the other guys in the room, I think it brings that mindset of, we got so close (to making the  playoffs) and we kind of know we can do it. That's going to be our goal next year.”

San Jose scored twice in the final two minutes of the second period, when Michael Misa made it 4-1 at 18:01, and Eklund tapped in his own rebound to make it 5-1 at 19:55.

“We had some timely goals late in that second period, some secondary scoring,” Warsofsky said. “Obviously (Celebrini) carried a lot of the weight this year, and to have some other guys chip in — some guys came into the lineup had some really good nights -- (Pavol) Regenda, (Philipp) Kurashev, (Ty) Dellandrea. Klingberg, 700 games, comes in helps move pucks. So I think it was a total group effort tonight and I think that's what was the difference.”

Celebrini made it 6-1 at 1:14 of the third period, scoring his 45th goal of the season with a shot from the left hashmarks and passing Thornton.

“What people don’t realize is, he is an unbelievable human being, and that’s how special he is,” Warsofsky said. “He’s got a high character -- you can tell he was raised with some really good parents. It’s hard to put into words because he’s a special kid.”

NOTES: Celebrini’s 45 goals are the second-highest season total in Sharks history (Jonathan Cheechoo, 56 in 2005-06). … Celebrini had his 31st multipoint game of the season, surpassing Erik Karlsson (30 in 2022-23) and Thornton (30 in 2007-08) for the second most in a single season in team history. Thornton had 35 in 2006-07. … The Jets finished the season with 82 points, which is 34 fewer than the 116 points (56-22-4) they had when they won the Presidents’ Trophy as the top team in the NHL last season.