Cody Ceci scored with 25 seconds left to lift the San Jose Sharks to a 3-2 win against the visiting New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon.
Nikolai Kovalenko and Macklin Celebrini also scored and Yaroslav Askarov made 28 saves for the Sharks, who have won two in a row following an eight-game losing streak.
Nico Hischier scored on his 26th birthday, Paul Cotter also scored and Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves for the Devils, who have lost four in a row to match their longest skid of the season.
Ceci took a one-timer from the right point that went off the glove of Markstrom and trickled across the goal line for the 3-2 lead.
San Jose had just gone its second straight power play without a shot on goal when Kovalenko scored at 17:40 of the first period to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead.
Luke Kunin prevented a bouncing puck from exiting the New Jersey zone and then fed William Eklund along the wall. Eklund passed the puck to Kovalenko cutting through the right circle and he had room to skate in and score from in close.
It was Kovalenko’s first goal in 11 games since he was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 9.
The Devils tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 4:19 of the second when Hischier redirected a centering pass from Jack Hughes with 14 seconds left on the penalty. It marked the third time Hischier has scored on his birthday in eight NHL seasons (2019, 2023, 2025).
New Jersey came in 0-for-10 on the power play in their previous three games.
Celebrini gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead at 1:53 of the third period, scoring with a wrist shot from inside edge of the left circle off a feed from Will Smith to finish off a rush, the 13th goal of the season for the 18-year-old rookie.
Cotter carried the puck through the right circle and around defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic before scoring from in close to tie it 2-2 at 5:07.
–Field Level Media
