Sharks Locker Room: Did Kostin Make Right Decision To Try To Fight Pospisil?

“Not right now! Not right now! Not right now! You gotta play!”

That’s what color commentator Drew Remenda urged, after Klim Kostin tried to fight Martin Pospisil with three minutes left, San Jose Sharks down 2-1 to the Calgary Flames.

Pospisil had just hit Mikael Granlund in the numbers, close to the boards.

For what it’s worth, the Flames’ Sportsnet broadcast thought the hit was clean, and ridiculed Kostin for trying to drop the gloves with Pospisil.

Pospisil declined, and Calgary pulled out a 3-1 victory.

Macklin Celebrini was San Jose’s lone goal scorer, and Yaroslav Askarov stopped 30-of-32 shots in a losing effort.

Personally? All this is something that I’ve been thinking about a lot, since Kevin Stenlund boarded Celebrini on Dec. 14.

Cody Ceci went after Stenlund then, as did Ty Dellandrea later in the game, but there was a sense that the Sharks could’ve done more to protect the future of the franchise.

“Do we want probably a better response? We can argue that,” head coach Ryan Warsofsky said afterwards.

Since then, it feels like the San Jose Sharks have heightened their response to borderline hits.

Take, for example, Barclay Goodrow after Tyler Myers injured William Eklund on Monday, Goodrow after Nicolas Hague stood up Nikolai Kovalenko on Friday, Nico Sturm after Brayden Pachdal injured Carl Grundstrom in the first period, and Kostin on Pospisil. For what it’s worth though, Goodrow, Kostin, and Warsofsky have all pushed back on the notion that any of this is in response to the Utah game.

“Every team in the NHL, I think, does that,” Kostin said. “If you don’t step up for your teammates, that questions what kind of team you are.”

But anyway, I’ve changed my mind about it, regardless of what the Sharks are doing or not doing.

When Celebrini got boarded, it was a 1-1 game, and Ceci was right to hold back a little.

In the same way, Remenda’s plea to Kostin was right too.

You don’t want a penalty in those situations.

If you’re in the business, first and foremost, to win games, they’re absolutely right.

But the rebuilding Sharks? Sure, they’re trying to win games, but that’s not the No. 1 goal over everything right now, if we’re being honest.

They’re trying to develop players, Celebrini and Will Smith and Shakir Mukhamadullin and company over that — and they’re trying to develop winning habits, such as always sticking up for your teammates.

Winning habits don’t always lead to wins right now, but you hope that the young Sharks saw how two-time Stanley Cup winner Goodrow flew in on Hague in a 6-3 game that was already lost and took note.

Personally, I do believe if you care more for your teammates, that’s going to mean something when your talent level is higher. You’re going to block more shots, you’re going to forecheck more vigorously, you’re going to defend your net a little harder, and with your increased talent, that will lead to more victories.

These little buy-in’s matter in the playoffs.

I’m not so sure it deters injuries to your stars, which is the cliché, but maybe it prevents a cheap hit or two a season?

So back to Kostin on Pospisil: I don’t mind the Sharks, and Kostin, erring on the side of standing up for your teammates.

“That was a good reason to drop the gloves,” Kostin said.

Warsofsky, by the way, had no update on Grundstrom after the game.

Ryan Warsofsky

Warsofsky, on the San Jose Sharks’ iffy first period:

We just couldn’t get into the game early in the first, puck play, soft in front of our net, and then we got it going there in the third, but it’s too late.

Warsofsky, on Askarov’s puckhandling:

Continuing to work on it. [The] timing of it. He likes to cut the rim down, when we’re in [defensive]-zone coverage, which can be a positive, but there’s gotta be a balance.

Warsofsky, on Kostin’s return:

Thought he was good. Gave us some good boost coming into the lineup. Obviously hasn’t played in a while, so I thought conditioning needs to continue to improve. But, big guy, can hold on to pucks. As you guys see now in the National Hockey League, it’s a big man’s game. So, we need him. It’s good to see him back in the lineup.

Warsofsky, on if the Sharks have made a particular emphasis recently of stepping up for each other:

No, that’s just what the game is right now. I think every team does it. We’re a good group of guys in there that stick together, that have each other’s backs, and that’s what we’re all about.

Warsofsky, on message to the San Jose Sharks after another loss:

We have tomorrow off. We’ll regroup Monday. Have a good meeting, a good practice. Again, I think the big theme will be [that] we have to defend better, in front of our net especially. We got to break out pucks cleaner. When we have breakout success, it usually translates into offense and playing the offensive zone. So, those two things will be a big key for us come Monday.

Warsofsky, on how good it feels for the team to have Askarov back there to erase mistakes:

He’s a good goalie. He’s got a bright future, so we might have that spot taken care of.

Klim Kostin

Kostin says Pospisil wouldn't fight, after the Flame hit Granlund in the numbers late in the game:

"I just asked him, how are you?

"When you hit our best player, you got to be ready to answer the bell.

"Like Tom Wilson said…that's really rare right now in the league.…

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 29, 2024

Kostin, on if San Jose Sharks have made it more of an emphasis recently to stand up for each other:

I think we always [do] that. Every team in the NHL, I think, does that. If you don’t step up for your teammates, that questions what kind of team you are. I think that’s pretty obvious that we have all four lines, [defense], and goalie, we’re all like warriors and we’re always ready to step up for the brother next to us. I think it’s just [as] simple as that. It always has to be like [that] in the NHL.

Yaroslav Askarov

Askarov, on if he feels like he’s playing his game at the NHL level:

Feels pretty comfy.

Askarov, on Dustin Wolf:

He’s a pretty good goalie. I met with him in last year [during] the [AHL] All-Star Game. He’s a good guy. He’s a pretty good goalie. It was fun to play against him.

Askarov, on what he wants to improve from tonight to his next game:

Just want to win the game.

Macklin Celebrini

Celebrini on Askarov: "He's unbelievable. Some of the saves he made, keeping us in that game. Stopping some of those chances. He's been very, very consistently great for us. He's kind of like a brick wall back there. We definitely needed him."

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 29, 2024

Celebrini, on if it feels like the San Jose Sharks are close to breaking through:

It’s felt like that for the last, however long our losing streak is, we’ve had a lot of games where we’re leading going into the third or we were right there and just can’t close it out. I mean, that’s reality.

Special thanks to Josh Frojelin for his help transcribing.