Sheng Peng
ST. LOUIS — Dmitry Orlov has been an unappreciated leader in the San Jose Sharks’ surprising season.
The veteran defenseman is also one of just four Sharks players who have won a Stanley Cup. Orlov hoisted the Cup in 2018 with the Washington Capitals.
“It’s not easy. It’s a mind-set,” he said. “If you want to be on top, you have to feel sore after the game.”
The 34-year-old had a lot to say about San Jose’s 6-3 loss to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, after practice at Enterprise Center on Wednesday afternoon.
Orlov has been the team’s No. 1 defenseman this season, playing 21:20 a night. He’s a mainstay in all situations and leads the blueline with 29 points.
While the Sharks might have played themselves out of the playoff race with their current five-game losing streak, the veteran defenseman, 34, hasn’t given up.
As of Mar. 25, the San Jose Sharks are seven points out of the last wild card spot in the West, 13 games left, four teams to leapfrog.
It’ll take a minor miracle, but Orlov is glad that the Sharks still have something to play for this late in the season, a far cry from years past.
“It’s tough moments for our team, but I think we can do this,” he said. “Just need a little bit more sacrifice.”
He spoke at length about what winning hockey looks like and what the San Jose Sharks must do to get themselves back in the playoff race again.
Hopefully, the Sharks are listening: There’s lots of winning wisdom here.
“We talk about a lot of things inside our locker room, but seems like we’re not listening, or we’re not executing what coach asked [us] to do.
“And this time of the year, when you battle for playoffs, everybody is so tight in the standings, in the games, we just cannot start games like that. So it’s on us, obviously, as the players, more than the coaching staff, because they show us what to do. They tell us what to do, but we’re not starting the game in the right time.
“When you give up five, it’s hard to come back. We’ve done it this year, but end of the season, it’s not gonna work like that. If we want to be in a playoff spot and in the playoffs and playing the playoffs, it’s unacceptable to play like that.
“We give up a lot of odd-man rushes. We give up 2-on-1’s. [We’re] not blocking the shots. We’re not hitting people. And [I’m not talking] about big hits, just little bumps or cross-checks. We’re weak around our net. We’re weak around the offensive net. So it’s other things.
“We need to grow. Doesn’t matter how old [the player], as a team, to be together and sacrifice for each other, sacrifice for the win. And if we’re not going to do this, it’s no point to [playing].
“It’s not easy. It’s a mind-set. If you want to be on top, you have to feel sore after the game playing, and it’s a battle. It’s not easy.
“And when you get farther, and I’ve been there, things [don’t] work like we played yesterday. We did good things in the second, third, I think it was much better, but we should play like that at the start.
“So it sucks, just sitting on a bench when you give up five, or in the locker room, and what the fuck is going on, everybody is a little bit down, I would say, but still, you try to play, and coaches give [you] shit. It’s how it should be.
“We still want to make the playoffs, we got 13 games left. I said yesterday, I give interview, we have to get 10 wins. We already lost one more [in Nashville].
“We have to play every period, every shift, like it’s our last.
“You don’t have to force things. Some players have enough skills to make a play, but when you’re forcing it, [that’s when you get] 3-on-2’s, 4-on-2’s, 2-on-1’s, you just need to be patient. You have find the right moment to make a play. Use your skill, use your instincts. But sometimes, just the simple play, it’s the best play.
“Also, when we have the puck, breaking out, we have to be on the same page, the D should move the puck quicker, forwards should slash or be open, waiting for the puck to make a next play. We’re disconnected a little bit on that, too. I think everybody can see what’s going on through the goals, through the mistakes, you know?
“It’s obviously a learning process.
“Everybody has to go and just put everything on the table to win these games, it’s important. Everybody wants to do it. But it’s not enough that you want to do it. You have to show up at night, play hard for your team, to do it.
“It’s not an individual sport, it’s a team sport. For sure, somebody’s gonna be making a mistake, but the most important is how you respond for your teammates.
“Sometimes, I feel with just one mistake, second mistake, third mistake, and [we] get more and more and deep and deep, and you just basically stop playing, bad things happen, a bad loss happens.
“But next shift, it should be more belief it’s gonna be okay, we’re gonna turn these things [around]. And right now, we’re trying to find this more often and more confidence in ourselves.
“Tomorrow’s a new day, you know? It’s a new opportunity to get better and get back to the playoff race.
“We’re in all this together, we still have to believe and have to work. If you give up, [there’s] no sense to play. Probably compared to last year, I wasn’t here last year, but it seems like it sucked [to be out so early].
“At the start of the season, it was kind of similar with last year, and then we found a little bit of confidence in ourselves and start playing better in some games. Everybody enjoyed it, everybody laughed, and right now, it’s tough moments for our team, but I think we can do this. Just need a little bit more sacrifice.”