SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Cody Ceci scored with 24 seconds left in the third period, and the San Jose Sharks beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 on Saturday.
With the game tied 2-2, Ceci’s slap shot from the point beat Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom.
Yaroslav Askarov stopped 28 shots for San Jose, and Markstrom made 21 saves for New Jersey.
Macklin Celebrini gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead with a hard wrist shot on his first shift of the third period, but Paul Cotter answered for the Devils.
Nikolai Kovalenko scored his first goal with the Sharks late in the first period after joining the team in a trade last month. Nico Hischier, on his 26th birthday, tied the game in the second on the power play by deflecting the puck in off a pass by Jack Hughes.
Devils: The Devils lost their four straight on a six-game road trip, and have yet to find a rhythm coming off the holiday break.
Sharks: The Sharks won against a second consecutive playoff team after beating the Lightning on Thursday to snap an eight-game losing streak. Askarov, coming off a perfect third period on Thursday, looked solid in his second straight start as the Sharks are giving their goaltender of the future more experience.
With the puck in the Devils’ zone in the final seconds of the third, Jonas Siegenthaler fell in the corner. The Sharks’ Alexander Wennberg retrieved the puck and passed it up high to Ceci, whose slap shot trickled off Markstrom’s glove and in.
Celebrini’s 13th goal of the season put him in first amongst rookies. He entered the game tied with the Flyers’ Matvei Michkov.
The Devils visit the Kraken on Monday, while the Sharks host the Golden Knights on Tuesday.
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