Celebrini, Eklund score in shootout as Sharks close out 2025 with a bang

Curtis Pashelka, Bay Area News Group on Dec 31, 2025

Published in Hockey

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — William Eklund and Macklin Celebrini both scored in the shootout to lead the San Jose Sharks to a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday before a sellout crowd of 17,435 at SAP Center.

Yaroslav Askarov finished with 20 saves, including three in overtime. He also stopped both shots he faced in the shootout.

It is the Sharks’ third straight win, as they ended 2025 with a bang despite losing a two-goal lead in the third period.

The Sharks took a 3-1 lead at the 4:16 mark of the third period as Celebrini took a nifty pass from Igor Chernyshov and fired a shot past Jesper Wallstedt for his 22nd goal of the season.

But after the Wild’s Marcus Foligno cut the Sharks lead to one with his first goal of the season at the 6:40 mark, a giveaway by Celebrini led to the tying goal by Minnesota.

Celebrini corralled a loose puck behind the Sharks’ net but his clearing attempt was intercepted by Mats Zuccarello, who fired a shot past goalie Yaroslav Askarov to tie the game 3-3 with 11:13 left in regulation time.

Chernyshov and Jeff Skinner both scored in the second period, with Chernyshov’s goal at the 1:14 mark coming off an assist from Celebrini, and Skinner’s power-play goal, his fifth of the season, coming at 16:47.

The Sharks were looking for a season-sweep of the Wild after beating Minnesota in overtime in their first two meetings in St. Paul. Celebrini scored the winner in San Jose’s 6-5 thrilling victory on Oct. 26, then assisted on Collin Graf’s overtime goal in the Sharks’ 2-1 win on Nov. 11.

It was a different looking Minnesota team on Wednesday, though. Since that November loss to the Sharks, the Wild have been nearly unbeatable with a record of 17-3-2, including an impressive 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.

On Dec. 12, Minnesota acquired the NHL’s second-best defenseman, Quinn Hughes, from the Vancouver Canucks. With Hughes in the lineup, the Wild were 6-1-1 in the lineup before Wednesday.

The Sharks had a slow start to Wednesday’s game and allowed the first goal.

Sharks defenseman Dmitry Orlov tried to break up a pass intended for Wild winger Vinnie Hinostroza as he pinched inside the blue line, but Ryan Hartman chipped the puck past Orlov and Celebrini to start a Wild 2-on-1. Tarasenko kept the puck and fired a rocket past Askarov for his eighth goal of the season at the 10:38 mark.

The Sharks entered Wednesday with a 7-6-0 record in December and in a playoff spot as the Western Conference’s second wild-card team.