Celebrini has 2 points, Sharks edge Wild in shootout

Celebrini, who also scored in the second round of the shootout, extended his career-long point streak to nine games (seven goals, 12 assists).

“I can’t really put it into words. I was so excited,” Celebrini said about the Olympic honor. “It was tough to refocus into the game, especially with the early [start]. It’s just excitement.”

Igor Chernyshov had a goal and an assist for the Sharks (20-17-3), who have won three straight. Jeff Skinner also scored, and Yaroslav Askarov made 20 saves.

Vladimir Tarasenko, Marcus Foligno, and Mats Zuccarello scored for the Wild (24-10-7), who are 2-0-2 in their past four games. Jesper Wallstedt made 25 saves.

“We’re in a good spot, but we’re not happy, or we’re not satisfied,” Wallstedt said. “There’s still work to be done, and we could always improve. We could always get better. I like the spot we’re in.”

All three games between the teams went past regulation this season, with the Sharks winning each one. They also won 6-5 in overtime on Oct. 26, and 2-1 in overtime on Nov. 11.

“We did a good job taking away time and space for the most part. We checked. That is something that we talked about. We got into people,” San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Obviously, they have some skill on the back end and up front that can make you pay. I thought we did a good job of limiting time and space.”

Taraskenko gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 10:38 of the first period. Skating in on a 2-on-1 rush, Tarasenko elected to shoot from the right circle and scored with a wrist shot that beat Askarov blocker side.

Chernyshov tied the game 1-1 at 1:14 of the second period. After receiving a hard pass from Celebrini, Chernyshov skated down the left wing, put the puck inside on Quinn Hughes, and scored with a shot under Wallstedt’s glove from the left circle.

The 20-year-old rookie has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his first seven NHL games, including scoring a goal in each of his past three.

“That is an NHL move. The speed, the demand that he wants with the puck,” Warsofsky said. “He and [Celebrini], they’ve got some chemistry going right now.”

Skinner gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal at 16:47. He collected the puck along the right boards, skated into the high slot, and beat Wallstedt five-hole with a wrist shot through a screen.

It was Skinner’s first goal since Nov. 2 (15 games).

“It’s nice when you haven’t scored in a while,” Skinner said. “It’s always nice to be able to contribute. Nice screen by [Pavol Regenda]. I don’t think it goes in without that screen.”

Celebrini extended the lead to 3-1 at 4:16 of the third period. Chernyshov intercepted Joel Eriksson’s pass in the neutral zone, skated down the right wing, and as he got to the goal line he passed across to Celebrini, who roofed a shot over Wallstedt’s blocker from the left circle.

Foligno scored his first goal of the season to cut it to 3-2 at 6:40. After taking a pass along the right boards, Foligno skated to the bottom of the circle and scored short side on Askarov from a bad angle.

Zuccarello tied the game 3-3 at 8:47. Celebrini tried clearing the puck from behind his own net, but Zuccarello intercepted it near the high slot before beating a standing Askarov glove side.

“I give our guys a lot of credit, I thought it was a hard-fought game,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “Down two in the third and coming back and tying the game, I think, was good from that standpoint, but obviously you want to come away here with two points instead of one.”

NOTES: Celebrini, 19, has 62 points (22 goals, 40 assists) in 40 games this season. He is the third-fastest teenager to get 40 assists in a season in NHL history. The only others to reach the mark in fewer games are Sidney Crosby (34 games in 2006-07) and Wayne Gretzky (36 games in 1980-81).