At the forefront of the Sharks’ rebuild is Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. The 18-year-old center is having a Calder Trophy-type season; he leads all rookies in goals (16) and is second in points (36) in 41 games. Celebrini missed 12 games because of a lower-body injury sustained in his debut on Oct. 10.

Will Smith, Macklin Celebrini and Yaroslav Askarov all make impact in San Jose Sharks win over Pittsburgh Penguins

Macklin Celebrini scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, Yaroslav Askarov stopped a penalty shot and the San Jose Sharks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 to snap a six-game losing streak.

BOTTOM LINE: The San Jose Sharks will try to stop their six-game skid when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins. San Jose is 14-32-6 overall and 8-16-1 in home games. The Sharks have allowed 191 goals while scoring 137 for a -54 scoring differential.

The Pittsburgh Penguins continue their West Coast road trip with a game against the San Jose Sharks. Welcome back to NHL Predictions here on Last Word on Hockey!

Are the San Jose Sharks getting better? That’s been the big question recently, amidst another long losing streak. On one hand, after a 7-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday night, the 14-32-6 Sharks have virtually the same record after 52 games as last year’s 14-33-5 Sharks.

During his mid-season media availability, San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier shut down any indication that Logan Couture would lose his captaincy.

Welcome back to NHL Predictions! Today, like every day, Last Word on Hockey looks at the games happening and gives our predictions for each. We’ll also break down head-to-head matchups and other factors that may play a part.

Eklund snapped a three-game pointless drought by setting up two of the Sharks' five goals in this offensive barrage, though San Jose still lost the game after an epic meltdown in the final period. Eklund,

This season has been a period of rebuilding, growth and developing the team’s skills. The San Jose Sharks have struggled to find themselves out of the bottom of the league. Each game, win or lose, is never the same in the end.

Jonathan Marchessault and William Eklund will be two of the best players to keep an eye on when the Nashville Predators meet the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose on Thursday, January 23 at 10:30 PM ET.

Never a huge goal-scorer, Granlund is on pace to hit 20 for the third time in his 13-year career and the first since 2017-18 with Minnesota. But the 32-year-old has been a point producer with the Sharks. He’s leading the team with 44 points in 51 contests after a scoring a team-high 60 points in 69 games last season.