After weeks of misery, but what really felt like a year, the San Jose Sharks have finally earned the first win of the 2023-24 season! The team pulled off a gutsy, 2-1 grinding victory against the Philadelphia Flyers and, at least in the hours postgame, it feels like the weight of the world has been lifted off everyone’s shoulders.
Just a day after General Manager Mike Grier had a one-way meeting with the players, addressing the two deeply embarrassing losses to the Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins earlier in this homestand, the San Jose Sharks looked like a different team. The players arrived at SAP Center ready to play from the drop of the puck and played that way for the entire 60 minutes.
A team effort
“If you’re going to have success in any organization…you got to have everybody together.” – David Quinn
“We were desperate in the D-zone…” – Mackenzie Blackwood
These were a couple of quotes from the locker room postgame. The team brought its competitiveness last night and did not give up at any point. As goaltender Blackwood noted, they played “desperate,” which was exactly what they needed.
This roster isn’t constructed to win a ton, and certainly not on skill alone. To be competitive every night, there are a few prerequisites: a full commitment to the team’s system, doing the right things on and off the puck and playing for each other. The night felt different, especially after Luke Kunin stood up for his goaltender when Flyers forward Travis Konecny took a run at Blackwood. Kunin jumped in to defend the crease without hesitation and set the tone for the rest of the night.
Givani Smith rose to the occasion as well when tempers flared. Smith dropped the gloves with Flyer Nicolas Deslauriers. It took a while, but the Sharks stayed on message last night, stuck to the team’s game, and eked one out.
Hath the Duke arrived?
Anthony Duclair arrived in San Jose this offseason with a high volume of fanfare and was widely expected to contribute as the talented goal scorer he is. Through the first ten games of the year, Duclair managed just one goal and zero assists. The chances were somewhat there, but he hadn’t had the fortune to bury enough of them. In the last two games now, Duclair has potted a goal and an assist each. He now has a much more respectable three goals and two assists – on a Sharks team that can’t score more than two per game.
He looked dangerous tonight, playing mostly on a line with Mikael Granlund and Kevin Labanc. The opportunities were certainly there, and Duclair had several flashes of his 30-goal self against Philadelphia. Although he only tallied one shot on goal, there were several fast breaks towards the Flyers net, including some elite stick-handling and speed that looked like sure goals.
Look for Duclair to continue building on this trend and, hopefully, some more confidence along the way. If he can begin to play with this pace more consistently, shoot the puck more often, and find chances, the Sharks will have a much easier time building leads.
Eklund shines in more ways than one
William Eklund is still the Shark to watch this season. Even amidst the losing, Eklund has, on most nights, looked determined and willing to battle for pucks, play smart defense and generate scoring chances for his linemates. It’s too bad many of his brilliant plays so far have not resulted in points on the scoresheet, which is why it was especially nice to see the young Swedish winger rewarded with a game-winning goal against the Flyers. You could see the relief in his celebration with a shout that he later described as “lion screams or something?”
On any given night, Eklund will make fearless plays. He will line up to block a shot, help get the puck into the opposition’s zone, and go toe-to-toe on the forecheck against players that are bigger and stronger than him.
Between whistles, Eklund seemed to get under the skin of Flyers’ star Konecny. He kept the energy high and wasn’t afraid to stand up for his teammates when Konecny or any other Broad Street Bully would get in his way. His effort is a constant reminder of his bright future in the sport and as a member of this rebuilding team, and it should serve as an inspiration to his teammates and fans alike.
Now playing with the Sharks’ top center, Tomáš Hertl, Eklund should continue his growth and hopefully earn plenty more points along the way.
Highlight
Call me sentimental, but this hug between Tomáš Hertl and Mackenzie Blackwood is enough to expel a month’s worth of suffering:
