Most productive player
This is how a number one draft pick should perform: Teenager Macklin Celebrini is only in his second season in the NHL, but he's already making a name for himself.
His performances may not have helped a young San Jose side win that often, but they give all Sharks fans hope that soon their team could be in the upper echelons of the league once again.
Celebrini has scored in four games and has maintained a 2.5 points per game average. He contributed five (3+2) in the win over the New York Rangers and three points in the win over the Minnesota Wild. Coincidentally, both games ended 6-5 in overtime.
His eighteen shots on goal were the second-best of the week, and with an average of 22:20 minutes played per game, he was the eighth busiest forward in the competition.
Goaltender of the week
Only three goaltenders managed to pick up three wins in the week, and one of them was Montreal's Czech number two, Jakub Dobes.
The Ostrava native hasn't lost yet this season, and last week he overcame Buffalo, Calgary and Vancouver. He saved 94 shots out of 100 (94%), and his goals per game average was just 1.99.
Dobes is the first rookie in NHL history to start his first two seasons with a 5-0-0 record.
"He was great, he made some outstanding saves and we let him down pretty good a couple of times," forward Jake Evans said of Dobes after the 4-2 win over the Sabres.
Highlight of the week
A highly anticipated return occurred in Boston when former captain and club icon Brad Marchand arrived with his Florida side. The current league champions won the game 4-3, and the Canadian helped the Panthers with two assists. But those are just the numbers.
Boston treated Marchand, who spent nearly 16 seasons with the club and won the Stanley Cup, to a touching video montage of his most memorable moments midway through the first period. The fans gave him a standing ovation, and he couldn't help but shed a tear.
"I knew it would hit me like this," he told NHL.com after the game.
"I'm so grateful for this, and I'm glad Boston did this for me. And I really appreciate the fans' goodwill, I've always loved it here," he added.
Interestingly, Marchand returned to the Boston ice as a guest exactly 16 years to the day after his rookie debut at TD Garden. Back then, he helped beat Nashville 3-2 in overtime with an assist on Michael Ryder's goal.
Stat of the week
This guy once again: nineteen-year-old forward Macklin Celebrini is just getting his feet wet in the NHL, but he's slowly starting to conquer the league in San Jose.
The No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft has got off to a great start this season, and when the Sharks beat the Rangers 6-5 in a shootout (the first win of the season for the Californian team), the Canadian made history.
He contributed five points (3+2) to the victory, a statistic he achieved for the second time in the NHL.
Only a few other teenagers have ever managed to score five points at least twice in the NHL, along with Celebrini. Dale Hawerchuk and Bryan Trottier have also done it twice, and a certain Wayne Gretzky did it five times.
Social media highlight
And sticking with San Jose, when the side lost their fifth straight game (0-3-2), capping a horrendous start to their campaign, coach David Warsofsky joked he would gladly give up one of his kids for the team to win.
He quickly apologised for the statement, and when the Sharks got their first win against the Rangers, he smiled and explained the situation to reporters.
"I still have all my kids," he quipped.
Photo of the week
Colorado took on Carolina in historic jerseys last week, and so it looked like the Quebec Nordiques and the Hartford Whalers - the predecessors of the current teams - were back on the ice. A throwback to the 90s!
The game was a feast for the eyes, not only because of the iconic jerseys but because the fans were treated to an epic duel that ended 5-4 after a shootout to the visitors.
The only goal in the final shootout was scored by Seth Jarvis. The last time the two teams in their former guises played each other, the twenty-three-year-old Jarvis wasn't even born.
That was in May 1995, and Quebec won 4-1 thanks to three points from Joe Sakic.
