Radek Faksa and Ryan Suter also scored in the third period, Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou each provided two assists for the Blues (2-0-0). Joel Hofer made 25 saves.

“Considering how we played in the first game, I thought we played pretty composed,” St. Louis coach Drew Bannister said. “There were a lot of great things. We moved away from pre-control and direct play. In the third game we went back to what worked well for us in the first.”

Tyler Toffoli had a goal and an assist and Blackwood made 35 saves for the Sharks (0-1-0).

“The thought (Celebrini) was really good,” San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Of course points are one thing. (There are) some things he needs to learn without the puck, him and (Will Smith), but I thought they were both solid in their debuts.”

Celebrini, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, gave San Jose a 1-0 lead at 7:01 of the first period. He attempted to send a spinning backhand pass to William Eklund in the slot, but the puck deflected off the skate of Blues defenseman Matthew Kessel.

“Eklund (told me I scored a goal). I said, ‘Nice goal,’ and he just said, ‘I didn’t score either,'” Celebrini said. “I thought he was just super excited that he scored a goal, but I think he was happy for me.”

“I think just the whole process that went through with all of my teammates and with ‘Smitty’ was really cool. Just all those memories, those plays, the first shift, all of that. The warm-up, rookie round. I tried to soak up as much as I could.”