Celebrini celebrates first taste of NHL victory in return

Celebrini celebrates first taste of NHL victory in return originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN JOSE – Macklin Celebrini felt pretty good after tallying a goal and an assist in his first NHL game. It took nearly a month more before the Sharks’ rookie center got to celebrate a win.

There really was no comparison.

Celebrini, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL draft, returned to the ice Tuesday after sitting out 12 games with a hip injury he suffered in his professional preseason debut. Although he didn’t score a point in Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the 18-year-old phenom still left the night feeling pretty good overall.

Especially the outcome.

“It’s tough to beat the home opener and the start of the season, start of a fresh year and a fresh start,” Celebrini said inside the Sharks’ locker room at SAP Center. “But this one was awesome, especially to come away with a win. It was a better outcome than the first one.”

Celebrini’s return was indeed a treat for the 10,376 fans inside the Tank, although Alexander Wennberg’s game-winning goal in overtime was the icing on the cake on a night when Sharks goalie Vitek Vanecek was absolutely brilliant in the net.

Vanacek stopped 49 of the 50 shots that the Blue Jackets attempted and later was praised by Celebrini and coach Ryan Warsofsky.

“Vitek was unbelievable,” Celebrini said. “The way he played tonight, it felt like every shot against him there was no chance it was going in. He was the reason we won that game.”

Celebrini, however, was a main focus of the Blue Jackets.

Columbus played very physical against the Sharks rookie, at one point sending him to the ice skidding into the poles around the Blue Jackets’ net.

That didn’t seem to bother him as much as the long layoff did. He got whistled for a holding penalty early in the first period then took a shot that deflected off Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins in the second period. Celebrini got the rebound…