Celebrini unhappy with his shootout performance: 'Letting my team down'
San Jose Sharks rookie Macklin Celebrini's NHL career may just be beginning, but he still expects more from himself in the shootout.
"I'm letting my team down here," he said, per NBC Sports' Sheng Peng. "I haven't scored on the shootout yet. I know I can do better and be there for my team when they're relying on me to score in that shootout. I'm 0-for-3 right now, so I'm not happy with it."
The 18-year-old's harsh self-review came after the Sharks' 3-2 shootout loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. Celebrini tried to get Jordan Binnington to bite with some quick puck movement, but the goaltender made the stop.
Celebrini similarly tried to out-deke Philadelphia Flyers netminder Samuel Ersson during his first-ever shootout attempt earlier in November. He attempted to go five-hole on Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Alex Nedeljkovic two games later, but to no avail.
The Sharks haven't won in the shootout yet this season.
Celebrini is contributing to San Jose in plenty of other ways. He recorded his third multi-point outing of the season against the Blues, won four straight faceoffs with the goalie pulled, and made a key stop in the final minutes of regulation before the Sharks scored the equalizer with nine seconds remaining.
HOW ABOUT THIS DIVING EFFORT FROM CELEBRINI 💪
— NHL (@NHL) November 22, 2024
This game doesn't get to overtime without him. pic.twitter.com/2uRKOkEImg
"It's obviously an important part of the 6-on-5 (game) in crucial situations," head coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Celebrini's work between the dots. "But I think the more important part of the whole 6-on-5 was his effort to come back and save the game."
Celebrini is up to four goals and seven points in 10 outings while averaging almost 20 minutes of ice time per contest. He scored the first overtime winner of his career Monday against the Detroit Red Wings to snap San Jose's three-game winless streak.
After recording a goal and an assist in his NHL debut back in October, he missed the next 12 games with a suspected hip injury. The Sharks selected him with the first overall pick at the 2024 NHL Draft.
San Jose is 29th in the league with a 6-11-5 record.