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Sharks' Rookie Superstars Set To Team Up Against Rangers

max miller
·2 min read

San Jose Sharks rookie superstars Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith will play on the same powerplay unit against the New York Rangers.

The Sharks' powerplay hasn't been successful lately. San Jose has scored just one goal on the man advantage over the last seven games, during which time they've had 20 opportunities. With these new units in place, the two rookies will be on the same line in any format in the NHL for the first time in their careers.

"That'd be pretty cool. We'll see what happens," Will Smith said about whether the duo could combine for a goal at Madison Square Garden tonight. "We obviously want to play together. [We] just have [to have] fun out there and hope it works out."

Celebrini shares the same excitement as his teammate and friend.

"We're excited. We gotta do something with it now," Celebrini said. "It's going to be a lot of fun playing with him on the same powerplay."

Celebrini hasn't scored a point in the last two games but has looked dangerous with the puck on the powerplay.

Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky told reporters he wanted to shake things up on the powerplay and explained his reasoning for pairing the two young stars.

"We've talked about it since the summer. At what point do we want to put these guys together and on a powerplay or a line, whatever it might be, and then see if they can find some chemistry," Warsofsky said. "They're close friends off the ice, but we got to see the connection on the ice. We got to put two skilled players together and see if they can make something happen."

Smith and Celebrini won't be on the same line during five-on-five action, but Warsfosky didn't rule out the possibility of having Smith play the wing on Celebrini's line at some point this season.

"There's a chance. I'd say," Warsofsky said. "I think the future for Will is probably in the middle. We will let time tell. But to play center in this league is really, really difficult, especially in the Western Conference."

The Sharks take on the Rangers at 7 p.m. ET.

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