After an incredibly tough to watch first 45 minutes, the San Jose Sharks managed to pull it together in the third period last night and come back to win 3-2 over the Vancouver Canucks in regulation. While entering the third period with no goals and coming back to win the game was certainly exciting, it most definitely is not a sustainable way to play hockey and win games. Plus, the opponent was the Vancouver Canucks…it shouldn’t have been such a difficult win.
A recurring theme for the Sharks the past few games have been very slow, sluggish starts. With the exception of Kiefer Sherwood, who comes out flying right out of the gate night in and night out, everyone looks like they’re not even present. Repeatedly games have started with very little movement going for the Sharks. There is a serious lack of energy among the team and in the locker room, and one can only wonder why. Did guys like William Eklund, who was traded to Ottawa for this year’s 9th overall NHL Draft pick (Keaton Verhoeff), and Ryan Reaves, who retired, really hold the team together that much with their energy? Or has Head Coach, Ryan Warsofsky, completely lost the locker room?
It honestly could be a mix of both. Eklund and Reaves were incredibly well-liked guys who had great locker room presences. Warsofsky definitely has shown signs of losing the team, with things tending to work when they undo the previous decisions he’s made. Also, his decision to separate Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini for the first two periods of the game last night was baffling. Yes, when offense isn’t working you want to switch it up and perhaps spread the wealth. However, you don’t mess with proven success.
Critics of Smith can be quick to call him a “Celebrini merchant” and while he certainly benefits from playing on his wing (who wouldn’t?), he can stand on his own plus Celebrini also benefits from playing with him. When they were separated, Celebrini was noticeably slowed down. The second they were reunited, offense started to fall into place again with Smith starting the comeback scoring twice. Smith’s first goal was on the powerplay and greatly assisted by an outstandingly placed screen by Ivar Stenberg, and his second was off a beautiful feed from none other than Celebrini. 11 seconds after Smith’s second goal, Marchment scored the game winner thanks to a tremendous effort by Sherwood. All of this because Warsofsky’s previous choices had been undone.
Thankfully goaltender Yaroslav Askarov has been fantastic on the backend, because defense has been messy. Particularly, Dmitry Orlov. It’s probably better for Luca Cagnoni’s development to have been sent back down to the San Jose Barracuda because Warsofsky’s insistence on pairing him with Orlov was completely hindering him. Orlov wasn’t only detrimental to Cagnoni, he’s detrimental to the entire team and has been singlehandedly responsible for countless goals against this season alone.
Unfortunately, all of this mess completely overshadowed Filip Bystedt’s NHL debut. While he didn’t end up on the scoresheet, he was incredibly confident and kept up with pace well. He even had a dangerous scoring chance on his first ever shift. With injuries to Igor Chernyshov and Alexander Wennberg, plus last night’s performance, he’s hopefully not going anywhere soon. However, Warsofsky’s insistence on giving players like Ty Dellandrea more opportunities is frustrating and directly impacted why it took so long to call him up after the initial injuries in the first place.
Last night was a beyond frustrating game, and while it was exciting to come out on top with a big comeback in the third period it’s absolutely not sustainable. The more games that follow this pattern, the more the chances of a playoff appearance lower. It’s an exhausting way to play not just for the players, but also the fans.
Add us as a preferred source on Google