The San Jose Sharks open a four-game homestand against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night, and Macklin Celebrini is one point away from a franchise mark that has not been reached at home in more than a decade. If he extends his season-opening home point streak to five games, Celebrini would become the first Sharks skater to do it since 2013-14.
The game starts at 10:30 p.m. ET at SAP Center, with the Sharks coming in at 6-5-1 after a 3-2-1 trip through six road games. That is why this one matters now: San Jose is back home with a young center chasing history, and the building has not been a safe stop for Buffalo. The Sabres have won four consecutive games in San Jose since Feb. 18, 2023, and another win would give them their second five-game road winning streak against an opponent in the past 10 years.
That history gives Tuesday’s matchup more weight than a routine early-season date. Celebrini does not need to match the names tied to the old standard to make the point clear. Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl each put together five-game home point streaks in 2013-14, and no Sharks skater has done it since. For Celebrini, the chance is immediate and specific: produce another point at home and he writes himself into a very short list.
The Sabres, though, bring their own form into the rink. They are 4-4-3 and have already handled this building four straight times, which is the kind of detail that can flatten a preview built around one player’s pursuit. San Jose has the streak, the home ice and the spotlight on Celebrini, but Buffalo has the recent results in the one place this game will be decided.
So the question is not whether Tuesday night is meaningful. It is whether Celebrini can turn a clean opportunity into a five-game opening run at home while the Sharks try to stop a visiting team that has had their number in San Jose. If he does, the milestone becomes the story. If he does not, the Sabres’ recent hold on the building will be the sharper number when the night is over.
