Sharks Locker Room: Playing Faster Isn’t Just About Offense, It’s Also About Defense

LOS ANGELES — Every time that the San Jose Sharks are up, they remind you that they’re still a really young team.

After a rousing 6-5 shootout victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs last Thursday, it appeared that the Sharks had found some competitive consistency. They were 5-9-3 since the beginning of February, and had a lead, were tied, or within one goal in the third period in 14 of those 17 games.

But the bottom has dropped out again, after a 6-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday, followed by an 8-1 humiliation at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday.

“We’re seeing that at times throughout the games, when the game speeds up, is where we get caught,” San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said about his young team. “When we’re playing at one speed, and you have to be able to play this game at different speeds, that’s where we get in a little bit of trouble.”

He added: “It’s a high-paced team, especially the LA Kings.”

The Sharks had some momentum five minutes into the second period, after Cam Lund scored his second goal of the season, making it 2-1.

But two minutes later, the Kings overwhelmed the youngsters.

Los Angeles goal!

Scored by Trevor Moore with 13:03 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Anze Kopitar and Andrei Kuzmenko.

Los Angeles: 3
San Jose: 1#SJSvsLAK #GoKingsGo #TheFutureIsTeal pic.twitter.com/NCWlfB10yS

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 31, 2025

Trevor Moore (12) jumps off the bench, and nobody picks him up.

“It’s a defensive breakdown that we specifically talked about this morning, which I think is frustrating about that. I think a little bit of it is our D corps has changed quite a bit, so there’s some miscommunication with some areas of our game, because our team has changed a lot here,” Warsofsky said. “There’s certain assignments that when that puck goes there, where we have numbers, the read should be for specific players and we don’t make the right read.”

Lucas Carlsson (36) doubles up Andrei Kuzmenko (96) along the wall, along with Alex Wennberg (21). Whether Carlsson should do that or not in that situation is one question, he doesn’t defend Kuzmenko vigorously here, but at that point, weak side winger Will Smith (2) needs to pay more defensive attention to the most dangerous area of the ice, the slot.
The 20-year-old is the last line of defense, which he recognizes, but a second slow on Moore.

This isn’t to pile on Smith: The Sharks gave up eight goals, there’s plenty of blame to go around. The winger was also in the right defensive position at first, watching the point man. But playing faster isn’t just about offensive pace, it’s also defensive reads, reacting to breakdowns.

That’s something that the young Sharks are obviously still learning.

Ryan Warsofsky

Warsofsky, on Cam Lund’s ceiling:

I think time will tell. He’ll tell us what he’s going to be. Do we have hopes that he’s a top-nine player? For sure. Could it be a top-six? Maybe? Could be a top-three? Maybe. So he’ll tell us, as the summer goes on, he gets in the gym and come into training camp next year.

Warsofsky, on veterans Mario Ferraro and Noah Gregor each taking two penalties:

You just can’t do it. Can’t do it against any team, any place. You just can’t do it. And we did that tonight, and that was really the whole shift in the hockey game.

Warsofsky, on how Luca Cagnoni can improve:

The game’s gonna have to slow down for him at some point. It’s a lot for him right now, which is not his fault. It’s a high-paced team, especially the LA Kings, his puck play, it’s gonna have to be really dialed in. Saw a little bit in the third, he showed some flashes of things he can do.

But again, another guy that’s gonna have to have a big summer, come back into training camp quicker, physically ready to go. But it’s good, he’s gone through this. It’s a good experience for him.

Alex Wennberg

Wennberg, on what’s happened to the San Jose Sharks these last two games, and how to get back to how they were competing recently:

You just gotta move on. We got a day rest here, and then we’re going to Anaheim. So obviously, think about it. But you’ve gotta move on, as well. So instead of looking at these two games and being disappointed and just carrying that on, I feel like sometimes you just gotta close it, learn from it, and move on.

Wennberg, on Celebrini's frustration tonight: "He's a pro. He knows how to handle it, so I'm not worried about that at all. It's good. We got to be a little bit pissed off. It's not the standard we want to play right now."

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) March 31, 2025

Luca Cagnoni

Cagnoni, on what he needs to improve for the NHL level:

Just playing on your toes, more of that. Guys are so smart and so fast here, they make those cute plays, and you got to anticipate it before it even comes. So definitely still trying to pick that up.