SAN JOSE - The Sharks keep circling back to the same truth: when Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith are humming together, the whole operation looks different.
That was on display Thursday night against the Vancouver Canucks, when Ryan Warsofsky first split his two top scorers onto separate lines in an effort to spark better 5-on-5 play. The move didn’t stick for long. After nearly 100 minutes without a goal, Warsofsky brought Celebrini and Smith back together with about 90 seconds left in the second period, and the game flipped almost immediately.
Down 2-0 entering the third, the Sharks ripped off three goals in under three minutes and escaped with a 3-2 win at SAP Center. Smith scored twice in a 2:39 span to pull San Jose even, with his second goal coming off a Celebrini assist at 10:39 of the third. Eleven seconds later, Mason Marchment finished the comeback with the winner.
“Obviously, we couldn’t generate anything, and we’ve been trying to work with some things within our lines and try to get some chemistry going,” Warsofsky said. “And obviously, it wasn’t working, and it was just time.”
The Sharks are deeper up front than they’ve been in recent seasons, especially when healthy. Even so, Celebrini and Smith remain the engine. Entering Saturday’s matchup with the Ottawa Senators, they were again San Jose’s top two scorers, and the way this week played out only reinforced how intertwined their production has become.
Celebrini leads the club with 16 points in 12 games, despite missing two games, and has been involved in 41% of the Sharks’ goals this season. Smith, coming off his second two-goal game this month, leads the team with six goals and has 10 points in 14 games.
The duo’s connection has been obvious since last season, when Smith had assists on 17 of Celebrini’s 45 goals and Celebrini assisted on 18 of Smith’s 24 goals. The Sharks won only once in 19 games last season when both came up empty on the scoresheet.
“You can see that they know where each other is,” Marchment said of the duo. “They’re always looking for each other, and they’re very good at finding each other.”
Smith’s first goal Thursday came on the power play and seemed to loosen up a Canucks team that has been sliding badly. Vancouver, starting on Oct. 4, had gone 1-9-1 and sat at the bottom of the NHL standings.
“When they’re playing like that, it helps us win,” Tyler Toffoli said of Smith and Celebrini. “When we’re struggling, that’s when they’re supposed to step up.”
For Smith, the message was simple after the first two periods went sideways.
“We definitely don’t take it lightly when we’re not producing, so we want to do it for the team,” Smith said when asked if he and Celebrini took it upon themselves to come through after the first two periods. “I think everyone wants to win in here, so we definitely take it personally. We want to perform for this team.”
The Sharks have now gone three games this season without either Celebrini or Smith recording a point, and they’re 1-2-0 in those games, including Tuesday’s 2-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Thursday’s rally kept San Jose from dropping its first three-game skid of the year.
Warsofsky may have found something with his latest line combinations, at least for now. The top line with Collin Graf got rolling, Marchment clicked alongside Michael Misa and Kiefer Sherwood, and Ivar Stenberg dropped to a line with Filip Bystedt and Toffoli. Natural Stat Trick had the new combinations outchancing Vancouver 10-2 at 5-on-5 in the third period.
Still, Warsofsky’s emphasis hasn’t changed.
“As much as we need to score … we’ve got to keep the puck out of our net,” he said. “That was the goal coming into the season.
That was the issue last year. We’ve got to keep the puck out of our net.
We’ve got to keep 5-on-5 chances down, and we can’t lose sight of that, and that’s been the message since day one.”
Before Friday’s practice, the Sharks also made time for something bigger than hockey. Through the team’s charitable foundation, they hosted 22-year-old Zach James, an Illinois native in remission from Stage 3 Ewing sarcoma. James, along with his wife and two brothers, flew in from Pekin, Ill. to watch practice and be the team’s guest for Saturday’s game.
The visit was arranged through the Sharks Foundation with help from goalie coach Thomas Speer, and James also spent time with Celebrini and Misa, two of his favorite players.
“It’s cool to spend time with him,” Misa said. “Everything he’s been through recently, it’s humbling for me. … Excited to see him at the game and after the game.”
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