The San Jose Sharks (27-24-4) return to play after a 19-day Olympic break, building momentum towards a wild-card position. With 27 games left in the regular season, a five-point gap separates the Sharks from a wild card position. The margin and standings don’t lie, but they are definitely workable.
The Celebrini Surge
Fresh off his Olympic run where he led the tournament in goals (five) and shots (28), is 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini. The Celebrini surge ranks fourth in the NHL, with 81 points (28 goals, 53 assists). He has more than doubled the production of the next-highest scorer on the roster, with Will Smith holding 39 points.
While Celebrini and Team Canada left Italy with silver medals, Celebrini’s breakout play on the international stage wasn’t without impact. On Wednesday Celebrini took questions from media in San Jose and said, “This is the most media we’ve had‒ever.”
Over the course of the season so far, Celebrini has elevated from bright spot to spearhead for Team Teal. Celebrini is a player the Sharks can rely on not to just produce, but also to press.
Take mid-January, where the Sharks had several back-to-back games on the road, yet Celebrini’s pace did not falter. On Jan. 15 against Washington (3-2, Sharks), Celebrini registered six shots on goal. The very next night, he pushed even further with seven shots, despite a Sharks loss.
Three nights later, the Sharks took on the Sunshine state in another pair of back-to-backs. Against the Panthers, Celebrini logged three shots on goal in the team’s 4-1 win. The next night, five shots on net from the young phenom, despite another 4-1 loss.
An older Sharks team might have seen a roster crumble under pressure or when the game got ahead of them. For a team crawling out of tank era, Celebrini’s elite chemistry with fellow rookie Will Smith elevates everyone around them. Such has been their early chemistry that fans have coined the nickname “WillMack.”
The Wild Card
In league standings, there are several teams tied or hanging close to the wild-card spot.
The Utah Mammoth currently hold the first wild-card spot, with 64 points. Wild-card spot number two is held by the Seattle Kraken with 63 points.
Elsewhere, Vegas leads with 70 points, then Anaheim with 65 points, and Edmonton with 64 points. Ahead of the Sharks are the Los Angeles Kings (60) and the Nashville Predators (59).
However, the Sharks are positioned with a schedule quirk, as 15 of their remaining 27 games are on home ice. All other teams ahead of the Sharks in the standings have between two and four more games played so far.
With 58 points, the Sharks have a couple of must-win games ahead if they want to successfully leapfrog the standings.
Celebrini told the media, “We’re not going to try to look too far ahead. But, we know. We know how important all these games are.”
Games against contenders like Edmonton, Anaheim, and Nashville make every regulation point count in the wild-card race.
Trade Deadline and Roster Moves
San Jose already made a deadline-type move ahead of March with their acquisition of Kiefer Sherwood from the Vancouver Canucks. Sherwood made his Sharks debut against the Colorado Avalanche, skating on the top line alongside Celebrini and Smith.
On Tuesday the Sharks assigned 34-year-old defenseman Nick Leddy to the San Jose Barracuda (AHL). Forward Ryan Reaves was reinstated from injured reserve after missing the last game before the break with an upper-body injury.
Final Word
Regardless of trade deadline moves, Team Teal has a bright future ahead. With elite and emerging stars like Celebrini and Michael Misa, it’s safe to say the tank era is over.
San Jose hosts six games before traveling to the East Coast and Canada for their next road swing. Their next fellow Pacific division matchup is against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
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Featured image courtesy of San Jose Sharks on NHL.com
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