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Sharks Locker Room: ‘That’s what it takes to win in this league’

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3 weeks ago

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Credit: Dean Tait/Sport Shots

“That’s what it takes to win in this league.”

Head coach Ryan Warsofsky wasn’t talking about goals by Tyler Toffoli and Mario Ferraro, or even Yaroslav Askarov’s 23 saves, in the San Jose Sharks’ 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The win snapped an eight-game losing streak.

Warsofsky was talking about the heart shown by the Sharks tonight, all of them, on the heels of one of their worst efforts of the season, a 4-0 New Year’s Eve embarrassment to the Philadelphia Flyers.

There was a commitment to crashing the net, literally.

Luke Kunin (11) gives no quarter forechecking Emil Lilleberg (78), and both up-end Andrei Vasilevskiy. Kunin and Lilleberg went to the box, a fair and even-up call, and Vasilevskiy got up unscathed, no problem.

But more important was Kunin’s no surrender hustle, which helped set a tone for the Sharks.

There was a commitment to getting the puck back, killing plays.

Sure, Macklin Celebrini (71) got penalized for taking down Gage Goncalves (93). But frankly, it was a borderline call, and my takeaway was the 18-year-old’s hunger for the puck, to play defense.

There was a commitment to each other.

Ferraro (38) doesn’t hesitate when he sees Nikolai Kovalenko (15) get hit awkwardly by Mitchell Chaffee (41), no matter if Chaffee was a college teammate and friend.

“That’s what it takes night in and night out,” Warsofsky said, of the San Jose Sharks’ all-out effort tonight. “Shift in and shift out.”

Of course, a “sick” goal by Toffoli, a fortunate strike for Ferraro, and a spectacular Askarov save on Nick Paul matter a lot too.

But that soft skill received center stage because of the hard foundation that San Jose established from the get-go tonight.

Now we know what the bar is for the young Sharks, what they need from every man, in terms of heart and effort, every night.

“We were on it from the start,” Warsofsky said.

Ryan Warsofsky

Warsofsky, on the San Jose Sharks’ all-out effort tonight:

That’s what it takes to win in this league. So we matured, we learned a valuable lesson, and we got a result, which is nice, but that’s what it takes night in and night out. Shift in and shift out.

Proud of the guys, the leadership group did a really good job, I thought tonight, getting our younger guys prepared, and getting the whole group ready for 60 minutes.

Warsofsky, on using Macklin Celebrini and Collin Graf to close the game:

Obviously, we see Mack can make plays and under pressure, and sometimes you need a guy to make, that’s something I’ve developed in my coaching, is sometimes you got to go with guys that can make plays 6-on-5. And I think Mack can do that.

I thought Graf had a really good, solid hockey game where we could trust him. He was doing things away from the puck that we really need to focus on. He’s smart. He’s a smart individual. So when I called his name, I think he was a little surprised, but he did a good job.

Warsofsky, on Ferraro’s overall game:

I thought he was really good tonight.

Sticks up for a teammate and gets in the scrap, has a big goal.

But even you take those two things away, I thought he was skating. He was engaged, he was simplifying his hockey game. That’s the Mario Ferraro we need.

Warsofsky, on if the San Jose Sharks were reminded of their 8-1 loss to the Lightning in Tampa Bay in December:

If we didn’t remember that, then we’re in the wrong profession.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic

Vlasic, on his first few shifts after such a long layoff:

Felt like I was playing my first NHL game. It’s a lot of fun. I had a blast coming back, playing against a great team, playing with these guys that played well tonight made my job easier. Coming back, we had energy, excitement. So did I. It was a lot of fun.

Vlasic, on Askarov’s puckhandling:

It’s not that hard [to play with]. He makes our job easier. He plays the puck. It’s like playing with Mike Smith. He comes out and plays everything. You just get to an open spot and they’ll find you. It makes our job quite easy out there.

Yaroslav Askarov

Askarov, on the Toffoli goal:

What a shot by Toff. That was sick. Toe drag and shot, no chance for Vasy.

Mario Ferraro

Ferraro, on the fortunate bounces on his goal, from his broken stick causing a Lightning turnover to getting the puck back on a missed pass:

It’s a lot of weird bounces. I find myself, when you’re losing and things aren’t going your way, I find myself complaining quite a bit, and then I forget the things that happen when the bounces do go my way.

My [broken] stick got in the way, I got the puck back, and I even fanned on the pass, and I got the puck back.

Things happen I should be grateful for, for the bounces that go my way, not just the ones that sometimes don’t. It was definitely a fortunate bounce, but I’m happy I put that one home.

Ferraro, on winning and losing as a team:

It kills everybody inside this room. We want to win. We want to do it for not only ourselves, because we’re competitors and we like to win, but just for each other. We all put in the effort. We come to the rink everyday. We respect each other. We hang out with each other. We have beers together. You know, aside from the young guys, obviously they’re underage, except for some of them, if we’re in Canada. Maybe not. I’m kidding! We want to win together. That’s the most fun part that makes hanging out outside the rink even more enjoyable.

 

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