It was the type of game the San Jose Sharks probably would have lost last season. But Macklin Celebrini, in another pressure-filled situation, wouldn’t let that happen.

Seemingly in control of their game with the Minnesota Wild on Sunday night with a two-goal lead, the Sharks allowed third-period goals to Zeev Buium and Joel Eriksson Ek, whose goal with 2:18 left — after Minnesota pulled goalie Jesper Wallstedt for the extra attacker — helped force overtime.

The Sharks’ trio of William Eklund, Alexander Wennberg, and Timothy Liljegren then could not get off the ice in 3-on-3 overtime as the Wild controlled play and changed their skaters multiple times. But Eklund was finally able to get off, Celebrini came on, stole the puck from Wild defenseman Brock Faber, went in on a breakaway, and beat Wallstedt five-hole at the 3:47 mark of overtime, giving San Jose a dramatic 6-5 win.

“That’s a tough spot, especially with (the Wild players) buzzing around,” Celebrini said on NBC Sports California. “Especially when you’re tired, it’s hard to make a play. But I thought we did a great job weathering it and just kept it out of our net.”

Eklund had two goals and an assist, Tyler Toffoli, Michael Misa, and Ryan Reaves each had one goal, and goalie Yaroslav Askarov finished with 28 saves, including two in overtime, as the Sharks won for the second time in three games and finished their road trip with a 2-2-0 record. Misa’s first-period goal was his first in the NHL.

Celebrini, with five goals and five assists on the trip, now has a team-leading 15 points in nine games. He also now has an NHL-best 12 points in six road games.

“He had a very good road trip. Led the charge, and obviously he’s a huge part of our team and organization,” Toffoli said of Celebrini. “That was another great performance by him.”

Celebrini also assisted on Toffoli’s power play goal at the 7:52 mark, which restored the Sharks’ seemingly safe two-goal lead after they entered the third period with a 4-2 advantage. But the Sharks had just a 12-8-5 record in games last season in which they held a third-period lead, and were 0-0-1 in that respect this season.

The final 20 minutes were anything but clinical by the Sharks. Askarov allowed three goals but also made 14 saves in the third period, and a crucial one on Faber just seconds before Celebrini’s goal.

“There are some things we definitely have to clean up, especially around our net,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “People are getting to our net way too easily. So we’ll go back, we’ll look at it again. I think it’s a lesson that we’ve learned.”

Misa’s goal came at the 13:35 mark of the first period, and Reaves scored his second of the year at the 11:34 mark of the second, just 19 seconds after Eklund’s goal gave the Sharks a 3-2 lead.

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Originally Published: October 26, 2025 at 5:51 PM PDT