Sharks Locker Room: Karlsson Talks Punchless OT, Eyssimont Tried to Goad Tatar Into Penalty

The San Jose Sharks’ season of Hell – or Salvation, if you’re Draft-focused – dragged on with another heartbreaking loss in a strong effort against a Cup contender.

10 seconds away from an inspiring victory over the New Jersey Devils, a Jack Hughes prayer went off Erik Karlsson’s stick past James Reimer. The Devils would win 4-3 in the shootout.

Karlsson talked about the San Jose Sharks’ punchless OT and Reimer’s performance, Nick Bonino spoke on the importance of staying positive despite another heartbreaking loss, Mikey Eyssimont shared that he was trying to goad Tomas Tatar into a penalty in OT, and head coach David Quinn discussed both Noah Gregor and Eyssimont’s games.

Erik Karlsson, on overtime and James Reimer:

I think they controlled most of the puck, unfortunately, in the overtime. They won every draw and it’s tough to play then. We might have had one or two looks, they had three [or] four. I think [Reimer] played great for us today. That’s why we came away with one point at least.

Karlsson, on Eyssimont:

He’s done a good job. Ever since he got here, he plays with pace. You can tell that he’s got some hockey sense in him. That’s why he’s playing where he’s at in our line-up, and hopefully, he can continue to do that and keep building on what he’s been doing well.

Nick Bonino, on the importance of the San Jose Sharks’ locker room to stay positive after another frustrating loss:

I guess it’s happened 25 times now. So it’s getting pretty old. We’re doing everything we can to win…We don’t think we should be here, but the reality is, we are in the spot we’re in. You’ll go crazy if you don’t take positives.

Bonino, on Eyssimont:

He’s brought a ton of energy. He throws his body around. He plays hard, he makes great passes. Great pick-up.

Mikey Eyssimont, on his (almost power play) assist on Bonino’s goal:

Yeah, especially an opportunity on the power play second unit. On most teams, [that’s a] shot volume unit. We’re going to try to find one pass and get the puck to the net. If I can get a shot to the net, one-timer, I’m going to try to do it.

Eyssimont, on how he’s working with top line Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl:

I think I can try to create some space. We’re still a ways away from where we want to be as a line. If we’re getting an opportunity to stay together, we’re going to continue to communicate and work with each other in between periods, before games, just so we can get a better idea of where we’re going to be.

Eyssimont, on if getting an assist on Meier’s first period goal took pressure off him:

Yeah, you want to produce when you’re on the top line. Comes with being there. So it definitely helps mentally.

Eyssimont, on crashing net and pushing with Tomas Tatar in OT:

I’m gonna finish hard at the net every time, whether it’s overtime, first period, whenever. If you try to come at me, I’m gonna give him one, and let him take a retaliation penalty. We ended up both going, but I thought maybe I could have got away with it. Maybe head back to our bench with a power play.

David Quinn, on the San Jose Sharks’ bounceback effort after a 7-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers last game:

The first one [given up], just a [bounce]. We come in, we do a good job pinching. We pause and look and they get a bounce. I can live with that one. That’s gonna happen. The thing I loved, we just kept playing. We didn’t let that get us down after what happened two nights ago. So I give our guys a lot of credit.

Quinn is pleased with how #SJSharks responded after a 7-1 blowout loss in their last game: "Just showing up with our equipment on would've been a huge step from the last game we played."

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) January 17, 2023

Quinn, on the Devils’ game-tying goal:

Some things we’re gonna have to work on 6-on-5 because we could have shut that thing down, never should have got to that point.

Quinn, on the San Jose Sharks’ OT performance:

We’ve got to recognize when you’re playing 3-on-3, not every play is an opportunity to create offense. We’ve got to be a bit smarter on when we try to beat people.

I think our guys want to win so bad. I think they start forcing plays because they probably can’t believe we’re in the situation we’re in. All of a sudden, you lose a little bit of your rationale and try to force plays.

Quinn, on Eyssimont:

A little bit of everything. He plays with pace. He’s got some skill. Plays with an edge. Makes a helluva play in overtime. They just weren’t able to capitalize on it. But I really liked what I’ve seen so far.

Quinn, on Noah Gregor’s game:

He played very well. Noah had a good night.

Quinn, on Martin Luther King:

You know Martin Luther King means an awful lot. I’m a BU guy, he went to BU. Stand for what you believe. Stand for right and wrong. In my mind, there aren’t many more key historical figures in American history than Martin Luther King. If we all lived with those principles, this would be a much better country.