Dmitry Orlov’s shot found Macklin Celebrini’s stick, and Celebrini’s redirection beat Jesper Wallstedt above the blocker. With 12:11 played in the second period, San Jose had a 1-1 tie in Minnesota. The goal and Celebrini’s six shots gave the Sharks a credible attacking contribution. They needed more players to turn that contribution into a comeback.
Minnesota won 4-1 Friday in St. Paul, sending San Jose to a fourth consecutive defeat and a sixth loss in seven games. Celebrini scored his seventh of the season, played 24:59 and produced one-quarter of the Sharks’ shots on goal. Those are substantial contributions from San Jose’s leading shooter on the night.
They also exposed the problem: when the game needed several Sharks to join the attack, too much of the pressure remained attached to one player.
The equalizer came after Minnesota had taken advantage of a two-man advantage. Ty Dellandrea was sent off for holding at 7:00 of the first period, and Collin Graf followed with a tripping penalty at 7:28. Kirill Kaprizov converted the 5-on-3 at 7:55, with Quinn Hughes and Matt Boldy assisting.
San Jose had given the Wild a dangerous opening, but Celebrini’s response later in the game restored a contest that still had plenty of time left.
The tie lasted 2:04. Jacob Trouba was called for interference at 12:59, and Maxim Shabanov put Minnesota back ahead at 14:15 by taking Kaprizov’s pass near the left post. The sequence made special teams impossible to ignore: San Jose went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Minnesota finished 2-for-5.
But the penalty count was not a complete explanation. The Wild also scored twice at even strength, and their better players kept influencing the game after the whistles stopped.
Hughes then made the gap larger. He scored with 6:54 elapsed in the third, moving away from Celebrini in the right circle before crossing above the left circle and firing a wrist shot past Yaroslav Askarov’s blocker. Minnesota had turned a 2-1 lead into 3-1. San Jose now needed more than a single reply to get level again.
That response never arrived in sufficient volume. The Sharks recorded nine shots in the first period, 10 in the second and only five in the third. The 24-29 shot difference is not by itself a verdict on attacking quality, but the final-period split carries weight because San Jose was chasing the game.
Minnesota had a lead to protect and still allowed only five shots on goal in the period. A comeback requires making the defending team solve repeated problems; the Sharks offered too few of them.
Celebrini’s workload makes the imbalance plain without turning every teammate into a culprit. Will Smith had an assist on the tying goal but finished with two shots. Michael Misa had one shot in 20:18, while Tyler Toffoli had two.