Macklin Celebrini was scratched shortly before the opening faceoff as the San Jose Sharks were beaten 5-0 by the Dallas Stars on Monday at American Airlines Center.
Celebrini participated in the pre-game warmup, but the Sharks announced just before the matchup that their star forward would be unavailable due to a lower-body injury. The 20-year-old had been one of San Jose’s top contributors during the early portion of the season.
Sharks still assessing Celebrini
San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky stated that the club would evaluate Celebrini’s condition following the game and once more on Tuesday.
“Obviously, he didn’t play tonight,” Warsofsky said. “We’ll evaluate tonight and tomorrow and see where he’s at. He’s still being evaluated.”
Celebrini stayed with the Sharks at the arena even though he was scratched. When Warsofsky was asked whether his presence alongside the other scratched players could be seen as a positive sign, the coach simply mentioned that he was “here in the building” with the team.
The Sharks have not revealed how long Celebrini might be sidelined, leaving his availability for their next game unclear.
Celebrini had started strongly
The injury occurred after Celebrini had begun the season in impressive fashion for San Jose, which had won two of its first three games.
He collected three assists in Thursday’s 4-3 overtime victory against the Florida Panthers before adding two more assists in Saturday’s 5-4 overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings. His five assists had helped the Sharks get off to a strong start before Monday’s setback in Dallas.
Celebrini also had a massive individual season last year, finishing fourth in the NHL with 115 points in 82 games after scoring 45 goals and recording 70 assists.
Sharks confront an unclear next step
Chosen first overall by San Jose in the 2024 NHL Draft, Celebrini has already registered 183 points in 154 NHL games, including 70 goals and 113 assists.
The Sharks are set to visit the St. Louis Blues on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, leaving Celebrini and the team little time before their next challenge.
“We’ll see (about moving forward without Celebrini),” Warsofsky said. “We’ll get through tonight and tomorrow and go from there.”