Cody Ceci scores with 25 seconds left, Sharks beat Devils 3-2

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Cody Ceci scored with 25 seconds left in the third period, and the San Jose Sharks beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 on Saturday.

With the game tied 2-2, Ceci’s slap shot from the point beat Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom.

Yaroslav Askarov stopped 28 shots for San Jose, and Markstrom made 21 saves for New Jersey.

Macklin Celebrini gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead with a hard wrist shot on his first shift of the third period, but Paul Cotter answered for the Devils.

Nikolai Kovalenko scored his first goal with the Sharks late in the first period after joining the team in a trade last month. Nico Hischier, on his 26th birthday, tied the game in the second on the power play by deflecting the puck in off a pass by Jack Hughes.

Devils: The Devils lost their four straight on a six-game road trip, and have yet to find a rhythm coming off the holiday break.

Sharks: The Sharks won against a second consecutive playoff team after beating the Lightning on Thursday to snap an eight-game losing streak. Askarov, coming off a perfect third period on Thursday, looked solid in his second straight start as the Sharks are giving their goaltender of the future more experience.

With the puck in the Devils’ zone in the final seconds of the third, Jonas Siegenthaler fell in the corner. The Sharks’ Alexander Wennberg retrieved the puck and passed it up high to Ceci, whose slap shot trickled off Markstrom’s glove and in.

Celebrini’s 13th goal of the season put him in first amongst rookies. He entered the game tied with the Flyers’ Matvei Michkov.

The Devils visit the Kraken on Monday, while the Sharks host the Golden Knights on Tuesday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes, right, skates toward the against San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini during the third period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

New Jersey Devils left wing Jesper Bratt, middle, skates with the puck against San Jose Sharks right wing Barclay Goodrow (23) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro (38) skates with the puck against New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov, second from left, celebrates with defenseman Cody Ceci (4), defenseman Mario Ferraro (38) and center Mikael Granlund after an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

San Jose Sharks defenseman Cody Ceci, left, reacts after scoring a goal next to New Jersey Devils left wing Erik Haula (56) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom (25) cannot stop a goal scored by San Jose Sharks defenseman Cody Ceci during the third period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

San Jose Sharks defenseman Cody Ceci, left, is congratulated by center Alexander Wennberg (21) after scoring against the New Jersey Devils during the third period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's the largest prosecution in Justice Department history — with reams of evidence, harrowing videos and hundreds of convictions of the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Now Donald Trump's return to power has thrown into question the future of the more than 1,500 federal cases brought over the last four years.

Jan. 6 trials, guilty pleas and sentencings have continued chugging along in Washington's federal court despite Trump's promise to pardon rioters, whom he has called “political prisoners" and “hostages” he contends were treated too harshly.

Here's a look at where the prosecutions stand on the fourth anniversary of the Capitol riot and what could happen next:

More than 1,500 people across the U.S. have been charged with federal crimes related to the deadly riot. Hundreds of people who did not engage in destruction or violence were charged only with misdemeanor offenses for entering the Capitol illegally. Others were charged with felony offenses, including assault for beating police officers. Leaders of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys extremist groups were convicted of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors described as plots to use violence to stop the peaceful transfer of power from Trump, a Republican, to Joe Biden, a Democrat.

About 250 people have been convicted of crimes by a judge or a jury after a trial. Only two people were acquitted of all charges by judges after bench trials. No jury has fully acquitted a Capitol riot defendant. At least 1,020 others had pleaded guilty as of Jan. 1.

More than 1,000 rioters have already been sentenced, with over 700 receiving at least some time behind bars. The rest were given some combination of probation, community service, home detention or fines.

The longest sentence, 22 years, went to former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy along with three lieutenants. A California man with a history of political violence got 20 years in prison for repeatedly attacking police with flagpoles and other makeshift weapons during the riot. And Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes is serving an 18-year prison sentence for seditious conspiracy and other offenses.

More than 100 Jan. 6 defendants are scheduled to stand trial in 2025, while at least 168 riot defendants are set to be sentenced this year.

Authorities have continued making new arrests since Trump's election victory. That includes people accused of assaulting police officers who were defending the Capitol.

Citing Trump's promise of pardons, several defendants have sought to have their cases delayed — with little success.

In denying one such request, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who was nominated to the bench by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, wrote: "This Court recently had the occasion to discuss what effect the speculative possibility of a presidential pardon has on the timetable for a pending criminal matter. In short: little to none."

One defendant who convinced a judge to postpone his trial, William Pope, told the court that the “American people gave President Trump a mandate to carry out the agenda he campaigned on, which includes ending the January 6 prosecutions and pardoning those who exercised First Amendment rights at the Capitol.” Pope has now asked the judge to allow him to travel to Washington to attend Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20.

Trump embraced the Jan. 6 rioters on the campaign trial, downplaying the violence that was broadcast on live TV and has been documented extensively through video, testimony and other evidence in the federal cases.

Trump has vowed to begin issuing pardons of Jan. 6 rioters on his first day in office. He has said he will look at individuals on a case-by-case basis, but he has not explained how he will decide who receives such relief.

He has said there may be “some exceptions" — if “somebody was radical, crazy." But he has not ruled out pardons for people convicted of serious crimes, like assaulting police officers. When confronted in a recent NBC News interview about the dozens of people who have pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement, Trump responded: “Because they had no choice."

Many judges in Washington's federal court have condemned the depiction of the rioters as “political prisoners," and some have raised alarm about the potential pardons.

"No matter what ultimately becomes of the Capital Riots cases already concluded and still pending, the true story of what happened on January 6, 2021 will never change," Judge Lamberth recently said in a statement when handing down a sentence.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, has said it would be “beyond frustrating and disappointing” if Trump hands out mass pardons to rioters.

In another case, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta alluded to the prospect of a pardon for Rhodes, the Oath Keepers founder convicted of seditious conspiracy.

“The notion that Stewart Rhodes could be absolved of his actions is frightening and ought to be frightening to anyone who cares about democracy in this country,” said Mehta, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, a Democrat.

Follow the AP's coverage of the Jan. 6 insurrection at https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege.

FILE - Violent protesters loyal to President Donald Trump, including Kevin Seefried, center, holding a Confederate battle flag, are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police officers outside the Senate Chamber inside the Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

FILE - Supporters of President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

FILE - A flag hangs between broken windows after then-President Donald Trump supporters tried to break through police barriers outside the U.S. Capitol, Jan 6, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

FILE - Insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump try to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)