Sharks blast Canucks, set record as Celebrini dominates hometown team

Macklin Celebrini had his way with his hometown Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, scoring a goal and adding three assists to lead the San Jose Sharks to a comfortable 5-2 win at Rogers Arena to begin a five-game road trip.

After allowing a goal to Canucks defenseman Tom Willander just 75 seconds into the first period, the Sharks responded as Celebrini, Adam Gaudette and Tyler Toffoli all beat Vancouver goalie Kevin Lankinen in just over a four-minute span to take a 3-1 lead at the 5:55 mark.

The three early goals were the fastest from the start of a game in team history, beating the previous mark by one second, set on March 29, 1994, by Jeff Norton, Sergei Makarov and Ray Whitney against the Winnipeg Jets.

“I think it kind of woke us up a little bit; it was a little sleepy there to start,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Not great coverage on that goal (by Willander), but I like their response.”

Will Smith and John Klingberg later added power play goals as the Sharks improved to 3-0-0 against the Canucks this season. Celebrini, a North Vancouver native, now has 11 points in six career games against the Canucks.

“It’s always special coming back home,” said Celebrini, a Canucks fan growing up.

Smith finished with three points and now has seven points in five games since his return from an upper body injury on Jan. 16. The Sharks’ 10 wins and .714 points percentage since the Christmas break lead all Pacific Division teams, and they enter Wednesday in the Western Conference’s second wild card spot.

Goalie Yaroslav Askarov finished with 23 saves, including seven on the penalty kill, as he earned his first win since Jan. 7 when he made 23 saves in the Sharks’ 4-3 overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings.

Holding a 4-1 lead, the Sharks were down two men for 1:56 late in the second period after Toffoli and Barclay Goodrow were whistled for minor penalties.

The Canucks missed the net four times on shot attempts during the power play, but Askarov also made three saves during the 5-on-3, and defensemen Mario Ferraro and Vincent Desharnais each came up with a big block to keep the Sharks up by three.

“He’s electric on the PK, that’s for sure,” Askarov said of Desharnais. “He’s a big guy. He probably makes more saves than I do, so I appreciate it.”

“Started with the big kill, that 5-on-3 we got to kill off and then we talked about it after the second period, we got a chance to put the nail in them here, and step on them,” Warsofsky said. “(Kingberg scores) a big goal on the power play 5-on-3, so I think we’ve learned a little bit of a lesson there.”

The Sharks (27-21-3) continue their road trip with games against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, the Calgary Flames on Saturday, the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 2 and the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 4.

Celebrini had two points in the first period, including his 27th goal of the season at the 1:51 mark as he one-timed a pass from Smith past Lankinen.

“It happened so fast you can’t really get put your head up and try to read it. You just try to put it over the pad or pick a nice spot,” Celebrini said. “We kind of woke up a little bit. It’s pretty quick, when they scored, and I think we just kind of wanted to get to our game.”

Celebrini then intercepted a pass from Filip Hronek at the Canucks’ blue line, carried it into the Vancouver zone and found William Eklund, who fed Gaudette for a one-timer and his 11th goal of the season.

Toffoli’s goal, his 15th, came at the 5:55 mark off assists from Alex Wennberg and Dickinson as the Sharks took a 3-1 lead.

Dickinson’s two first period assists gave him his first two-point game in the NHL.