San Jose Sharks' Macklin Celebrini becomes the first NHL Player to score on an Olympic penalty shot

Macklin Celebrini carved his name into Olympic history Sunday at Santagiulia Arena. The 19-year-old San Jose Sharks center became the first NHL player ever to score on a penalty shot at the Winter Games when he beat French goaltender Julian Junca at 17:16 of the second period.

Celebrini was awarded the penalty shot after being hooked by Florian Chakiachvili on a breakaway. The teenager showed no nerves on the biggest stage, taking his time before going forehand-backhand and lifting a soft shot over Junca's blocker to make it 5-1.

Team Canada dominated France, scoring ten goals in their final group game

The goal put an exclamation point on Canada's dominance and gave the hockey world a moment it had never seen before. The historic marker was part of a three-point performance for Celebrini, who added another goal and an assist.

He finished the preliminary round with four goals in three games, announcing his arrival on the international stage in emphatic fashion. Canada wasted no time asserting control despite France tying the game 1-1 just 13 seconds after Tom Wilson's opening goal.

Devon Toews restored the lead at 9:33 of the first period, and Mark Stone added a shorthanded goal with 3.4 seconds remaining in the frame to give Canada a 3-1 advantage heading into the first intermission.

Cale Makar extended the lead with a power-play goal at 12:10 of the second before Celebrini's penalty shot and Sidney Crosby's quick strike 19 seconds later made it 6-1 through two periods.

Connor McDavid, Bo Horvat, Brandon Hagel, and Celebrini all scored in the third period as Canada poured it on. McDavid and Stone each finished with a goal and two assists, while Crosby and Makar both had a goal and an assist.

The dominant victory allowed Crosby to make history of his own. The Canadian captain recorded three points to surpass Jarome Iginla as Canada's all-time leading scorer at the Olympics, featuring NHL players with 16 career points.

McDavid praised his young teammate after the game, calling Celebrini special and highlighting his comfort level at just 19 years old. Jordan Binnington made 12 saves as Canada finished the preliminary round 3-0-0-0 and secured a bye directly into the quarterfinals.

The dominant goal differential gives Canada the top seed heading into the medal round, which begins Wednesday with the quarterfinal matchups.


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