Sharks Locker Room: Bright Side of Last-Second Loss?

The San Jose Sharks got what they deserved in a last-second 4-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

After a sloppy first period where they gave up three breakaways to Johnny Gaudreau in five minutes, the Sharks didn’t learn their lesson, giving Boone Jenner a breakaway with 13 seconds left in the game…

Boone Jenner
4-3 #CBJ pic.twitter.com/MpQJv2YCLM

— JD Young (@MyFryHole) February 18, 2024

“Just another opportunity for us to play smart and we didn’t,” San Jose Sharks David Quinn lamented. “We lose F3 in the O-zone and we got beat up ice. It was the story of the night, it was a struggle.”

On the bright side, this was a good night for the Sharks in a lot of different ways.

First, the Sharks played a competitive, entertaining game. Considering how they started the season, 0-10-1, and their overall talent, that’s about all you can expect.

Second, Anthony Duclair was flying. The speedy winger scored two goals, and the pending UFA certainly didn’t hurt his Trade Deadline value.

Third, Fabian Zetterlund scored his 15th of season, tying Tomas Hertl for the team lead. The 24-year-old winger has established himself as a part of the Sharks’ future, so it’s important to see him keep scoring.

Finally, San Jose, the second-worst team in the league, came up empty on a day when their chief competitor for the best Draft lottery odds, the Chicago Blackhawks, won a game. Columbus is in the mix too, they’re the fourth-worst team in the NHL, so surrendering two clean points to them has a silver lining.

Tank Standings 2/17 pic.twitter.com/aPJlBaVHrJ

— JD Young (@MyFryHole) February 18, 2024

David Quinn

Quinn, on what happened with the last-second Jenner game-winner:

Just another opportunity for us to play smart and we didn’t. We lose F3 in the O-zone and we got beat up ice. It was the story of the night, it was a struggle. Breakaways, almost breakaways. We were just watching the puck way too much and not really paying attention.

Quinn, on Kevin Labanc’s performance:

I’d have to watch the film, but overall, I thought it was okay.

Quinn, on Gaudreau’s back-to-back breakaways on the same 4-on-4 shift in the first period:

Bad read by our forward who was backing up our D, didn’t wait long enough for him to replace him, but he dived in, and there he went. Then a bad change, our defenseman turned the wrong way.

Calen Addison

Addison, on if he’s trying to be more of a shot threat:

Just attacking. It’s hard for the defense to read whether you’re going to shoot or pass. I’ve been trying to shoot more, just get pucks to the net and create chaos. That [pass to Zetterlund] I think, you kind of make them bite a little and send it over.

Anthony Duclair

Duclair, on if he meant to go five-hole on his first goal:

No, not at all. (smiles) You couldn’t tell by my celebration there? There was no celebration. It was all luck.

Mario Ferraro

Ferraro, on what Duclair brings to the San Jose Sharks, on and off the ice:

The jump that he has to his game, that offensive jump and speed that he showed tonight is kind of what he’s like off the ice too in the locker room. He brings that good laughter and that energy, even when times may be tough, days that it’s a little harder to get up for, maybe a tough loss the night before. He’s always back in the rink the next day, ready to bring the energy, and bring the laughter. We love him in our locker room and on the ice for his play.