Celebrini has 4 points for Sharks in comeback win against Ducks

SAN JOSE -- Macklin Celebrini had four points and Alexander Wennberg scored the game-winning goal with 31 seconds left in the third period as the San Jose Sharks rallied to beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 at SAP Center on Wednesday.

Celebrini, who had two goals and two assists, tied the game 3-3 at 18:21 of the third period. Celebrini took a pass at the top of the left face-off circle, and his wrist shot past a Wennberg screen beat Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal over the glove.

“(Wennberg) took the whole thing away, like the goalie couldn't see anything, and I had the whole side of the net," Celebrini said. "That's not going in if he's not in front."

Wennberg put San Jose up 4-3 just 68 seconds later at 19:29 after Celebrini found him in the high slot. His wrist shot beat Dostal over the glove.

"Good entry, kind of like a little bit of a broken play. (Celebrini) gets the puck and just kind of finds me wide open right there," Wennberg said. "Nice shot, but the play, how they develop, it all worked out really nice."

Will Smith had a goal and two assists for the Sharks (35-31-7), who have won three straight. Yaroslav Askarov made 28 saves.

The Sharks are a point behind the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card spot from the Western Conference into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Sharks have played one fewer game than the Kings.

San Jose had lost six straight before winning its past three. Celebrini has nine points (five goals, four assists) in the three wins and his second goal of the game was his 40th of the season. He’s the first Shark with 40 goals since Joe Pavelski in 2013-14.

"That's just who (Celebrini) is, right? Of course, we were all frustrated with the losing streak and being ultra competitive, frustration wears on you," Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "It can kind of get you off kilter there a little bit with your game, and not just individually, but as a group. And that happened, and we got it back on the rails. And Mack is a big reason for that. He drags a lot of guys into the fight."

Alex Killorn, Troy Terry and Ryan Poehling scored for the Ducks (41-29-5), who have lost three straight (0-2-1). Drew Helleson had two assists, and Dostal made 17 saves.

The Ducks remain in first place in the Pacific Division, holding a two-point advantage over the Edmonton Oilers.

"The guy who is a pretty special player who tied it,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said of Celebrini. “Scored a nice goal, and they got another one right after. We’ve done that all year. I can imagine how it feels, and now I know how it feels to give up something like that, a lead in the third. A terrible loss, and it put us in a tougher spot for sure."

Smith put the Sharks ahead 1-0 with a power-play goal at 4:37 of the first period. Celebrini walked into the zone on the left wing, wrapped behind the net, then found Smith at the top of the left face-off circle for a one-timer.

Poehling tied the game 1-1 at 17:47. After slipping a hip check on the right boards, Poehling skated into the low slot, and his wrist shot went over Askarov's blocker.

Killorn put the Ducks in front 2-1 at 14:59 of the second period. Helleson walked the blue line to the right point, then hit Killorn on the left post with a seam pass for a tap-in.

Celebrini tied the game 2-2 for the Sharks 27 seconds into the third period. Smith found Celebrini with a pass from the right face-off circle to the slot, and his one-timer beat Dostal's blocker.

"I think we had expectations on ourselves. You can say all you want about the division or the position we're in," Celebrini said. "The goal is to make the playoffs, and that's what we're going to try to do."

Terry put the Ducks ahead 3-2 at 4:04. Dmitry Orlov tried to make a pass to the middle of the ice, but Terry intercepted the puck, and after his initial shot was stopped, Terry put the rebound in from the bottom of the right face-off circle.

"We talk about managing those games, I don't know. We will have to look at it," Terry said. "I didn't really feel like we mismanaged it; they got some really talented players over there."

NOTES: Celebrini has 102 points, passing Erik Karlsson (101; 2022-23) for the second-most in a season in Sharks history behind Joe Thornton (114; 2006-07). … Celebrini has 65 assists, passing Sidney Crosby (63; 2005-06) and Bryan Trottier (63; 1975-76) for the third-most by a teenager in a single season. Only Wayne Gretzky (86; 1979-80) and Crosby (84; 2006-07) have more. … Smith had two assists for the third consecutive game. … Wennberg has a four-game point streak (six points; four goals, two assists). … Celebrini recorded his sixth career four-point game, which is one shy of Dale Hawerchuk (seven) for the third-most as a teenager in NHL history behind Gretzky (14) and Crosby (eight). ... San Jose forward Ty Dellandrea returned from a lower-body injury and played in his first game since Jan. 6, with three shots on goal in 9:33 of ice time.