Celebrini gets 1st 3-point game, Sharks pull away from Kings

SAN JOSE -- Macklin Celebrini scored twice in the third period and had an assist for his first three-point game in the NHL, and the San Jose Sharks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 7-2 at SAP Center on Monday.

"I thought we had a pretty solid hockey game,” San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Obviously, [there are] some things we have to look at and get a little bit better in certain areas, but credit to the guys. If you look back, the third period has probably been our best period consistently all year. To put a couple of goals in the back of the net was important for our group."

Fabian Zetterlund, Alex Wennberg and Luke Kunin also scored, and Yaroslav Askarov made 22 saves in his first win with the Sharks (7-12-5), who scored five goals in the third period and ended a three-game skid. Will Smith and William Eklund each had two assists.

Askarov, who was traded to San Jose by the Nashville Predators on Aug. 23, also had his first NHL assist.

"That was nice," Askarov said. "[It's] always fun to win."

Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist, and Brandt Clarke also scored for the Kings (11-8-3), who have lost four of their past six games. David Rittich made 14 saves.

"One thing people have to understand is, you shouldn't disrespect this team," Los Angeles coach Jim Hiller said. "That's not a team trying to tank. That is a good hockey team. Strong players. We played them three times; they beat us twice."

Celebrini put the Sharks ahead 3-2 at 1:03 of the third period on a shot near the left boards.

"We wanted to set the tone at the start of the third and get on them right away," Celebrini said. "I was happy that went in."

Timothy Liljegren extended it to 4-2 at 3:14 when he took a pass from Smith and scored on a one-timer from the top of the right circle.

Celebrini scored his second goal of the period on the power play to make it 5-2 at 3:43, a one-timer from the right circle.

Wennberg pushed it to 6-2 at 10:46 with a power-play goal, deflecting Jake Walman's shot through the legs of Rittich from the point.

Kunin took the puck down the left wing and scored on a wrist shot at 18:39 for the 7-2 final.

"For the better part of 40 minutes, we weren't upset with our game," Kopitar said. "We went into the third period with a tie score, but we have to make sure you maintain that and win a hockey game on the road. Obviously, it went sideways on us."

Nico Sturm gave San Jose a 1-0 lead at 1:47 of the first period. Mario Ferraro fed a breakaway pass through the middle for Sturm, who beat Rittich blocker side.

"I would like him to score, yeah. Give me an assist, I don't get too many of them," Ferraro said. "I'm just happy he put it in the net. It was a good start for us."

Clarke tied it 1-1 at 2:32 of the second period after he took a drop pass in the slot from Adrian Kempe and beat Askarov glove side.

Kopitar gave the Kings a 2-1 lead at 8:58 with a tap-in rebound following two shots from Kempe in front.

Zetterlund tied it 2-2 at 13:59, taking a pass from Eklund around the net and scoring on a wraparound that went off Vladislav Gavrikov and into the net.

NOTES: Celebrini became the second 18-year-old in Sharks history with a three-point game, joining Patrick Marleau (March 5, 1998). … Celebrini and Smith are the first set of teenagers to record multiple points in a game for a team since Feb. 13, 2018 (Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt with the New Jersey Devils). … Askarov became the third Sharks rookie goaltender to record a point in a game, joining Evgeni Nabokov (March 12, 2001 and Nov. 11, 2000) and Arturs Irbe (Nov. 29, 1991). … San Jose forward Mikael Granlund, who was a game-time decision, did not play because of an upper-body injury. Warsofsky did not provide an update on his status for Wednesday's game against the Ottawa Senators.