National Hockey League
San Jose 4, St. Louis 3
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 12, 2024
Where: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Referees: Beau Halkidis, Francois St. Laurent
Linesmen: Michel Cormier, Julien Fournier
Attendance: 18096

Rookie Macklin Celebrini scored twice and earned an assist to lead the visiting San Jose Sharks past the St. Louis Blues 4-3 on Thursday.

Jake Walman had a goal and an assist, Tyler Toffoli also scored and Nikolai Kovalenko notched three assists as the Sharks snapped a three-game losing streak.

Alexandar Georgiev made 17 saves to win his Sharks debut. He and Kovalenko arrived from the Colorado Avalanche in a trade for Mackenzie Blackwood and Givani Smith on Monday.

Jake Neighbours had a goal and an assist for the Blues, who took just their second regulation loss in eight games (5-2-1) since Jim Montgomery took over as coach.

Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou also scored for St. Louis, and Jordan Binnington made 27 saves.

Toffoli put the Sharks up just 1:21 into the game. He converted a rebound during the goalmouth scramble that followed Binnington's turnover behind his net.

Neighbours leveled the game 1-1 midway through the first period. He took an outlet pass from Ryan Suter, skated up the left wing and scored off a toe-drag move to the middle.

Celebrini put the Sharks ahead 5:43 into the second period. He raced up the left wing and tried to make a cross-ice pass to Toffoli. Blues defenseman Colton Parayko blocked the pass while sliding, but the puck came back to Celebrini -- who caught Binnington playing the pass.

The Sharks closed the second period with a power play that produced heavy pressure. Celebrini capped the flurry by scoring from the left faceoff dot off a pass from Mikael Granlund at 19:53 for a 3-1 lead.

Schenn cut the deficit in half by converting a weak-side rebound at 5:34 of the third period after Mathew Kessel shot the puck into heavy traffic.

However, 27 seconds later, Walman increased the Sharks' lead to 4-2 by scoring from left wing off a two-on-one pass from Kovalenko.

Kyrou cut the lead to one goal again by driving to the left post and scoring off a touch pass from Pavel Buchnevich at 7:57.

With Binnington pulled for an extra attacker, Buchnevich hit the left post in the closing seconds as St. Louis' comeback bid fell short.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
San Jose   St. Louis
Macklin Celebrini 3 Points Jake Neighbours 2
Macklin Celebrini 2 Goals Jake Neighbours 1
Nikolai Kovalenko 3 Assists Jake Neighbours 1
Macklin Celebrini 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Alexandar Georgiev .850 Save Percentage Jordan Binnington .871
Alexandar Georgiev 17 Saves Jordan Binnington 27
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
San Jose 31 4 1-2 2-2 11 19
St. Louis 20 3 0-2 1-2 11 19
Upcoming Games
  • St. Louis will play their next game on the road against Dallas. The Blues have a W/L % of .357 after a win and .562 after a loss.
  • San Jose will play their next game at home against Utah. The Sharks have a W/L % of .364 after a win and .333 after a loss.