Sharks Locker Room: Karlsson on Mental Approach to Trade Deadline, Dell Details Last-Minute Trip to DC

The San Jose Sharks ended their eight-game road trip with perhaps their best 60-minute effort yet, outlasting the Washington Capitals 4-1.

Erik Karlsson, after his three-point night, talked about how he and fellow top trade target Timo Meier are coping with things. Just-recalled Aaron Dell talks about when he found out about James Reimer’s illness and San Jose’s 60-minute effort tonight. Head coach David Quinn gives an update on Kaapo Kahkonen’s injury and compliments Tomas Hertl’s game.

Erik Karlsson, on his and Timo Meier’s approach as Trade Deadline nears and rumors swirl:

You just gotta take it day by day. Like I said, I don’t worry about the circumstantial stuff and the things that I can’t control. I take care of myself and I enjoy where I’m at and I enjoy being around the guys and I’m happy to come to the rink everyday, that’s the most important thing.

See Aaron Dell’s interview here

Aaron Dell, on his travel since hearing about James Reimer’s illness yesterday:

[Heard] 12 PM Pacific time yesterday. Went home, packed up, jumped on a plane, and then got here kind of late last night. Early game, kind of right back to the rink right away. So I haven’t really had time to think about it a whole lot, actually. Just been kind of go, go, go. But kind of a crazy turn of events.

Dell, on Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s critical sticklift of T.J. Oshie on a Washington 3-on-1 in a 2-1 game:

That was huge, that was a great play. I think I yelled it at him afterwards. But yeah, it was still 2-1 at the time. So that could have changed the whole outcome of the game.

Dell, on the San Jose Sharks’ team effort tonight:

Yeah, it looked great. It was a full 60 minutes. We were physical. We had great sticks. We moved the puck well. We put the puck in the net. We limited their chances. I think that’s about as perfect as it gets.

See David Quinn’s interview here

David Quinn, on Kaapo Kahkonen’s injury:

Upper-body situation, looks fine right now

Quinn, on the San Jose Sharks finishing 3-3-2 on a tough road trip:

Honestly, Sheng, other than the first period in Tampa, the last three or four games, I think we’ve done a really good job of [executing a 200-foot game plan].

The trip didn’t get off to a great start. We were losing in Columbus and in Boston, I just think we’ve played well since then, for the most part.

We go .500 on this trip, it wasn’t easy. Thinking back to the Carolina game, how close we were to being above .500 against some really good teams on this trip.

I’m just really proud of our guys. Obviously, we certainly haven’t had the season we wanted. You look at the record and it can really get in the way of your performance right now when you’re in the situation we’re in. But I can’t say enough about our group, the way they continue to show up night in, night out, put forth a great effort. They come to practice everyday, wanting to get better. It’s certainly a testament to our veterans.

Quinn, on Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s critical sticklift of T.J. Oshie on a Washington 3-on-1 in a 2-1 game:

That’s kind of what I was just touching about. This deep into the season, obviously, like we’ve talked about all year long, no one has had more heartache than us in our losses. And to continue to be able to play the way that we did tonight, that’s a heck of a play by Marc.

It’s unfortunate the shot gets blocked and that can happen. I mean, everybody’s doing the right thing. They get a piece of it, they do a good job blocking a shot, and now they’re going the other way 3-on-1. To put your head down and dig deep the way that Pickles did, just really summarizes our night in a lot of way. Summarizes what’s been going on here over the last few weeks.

Quinn, on Hertl’s performance tonight:

I think he’s played well the last few games. Listen, we all know his abilities and what he’s capable of doing.

He can be an elite center in this league, and there aren’t many guys like him to have the skill-set and the hockey sense he has. We’re fortunate to have him and happy for him that he finally got off the schneid there. He played a big role in tonight.