Sharks Locker Room: Reality Check?

TAMPA, Fla. — Ryan Warsofsky called it a “reality check”.

Fresh off perhaps the win of the year, a 2-1 OT victory over the Washington Capitals, the San Jose Sharks were zapped by the Tampa Bay Lightning 8-1.

Alex Wennberg scored in the rout.

Personally, I saw what happened when your goalie doesn’t play lights out — that’s not a shot at Vitek Vanecek, who was pulled after a first period where he gave up five goals. In Washington, San Jose was dominated in the opening frame and were only up 1-0 because Mackenzie Blackwood made 16 saves.

Warsofsky pushed back on that, saying the Sharks were far worse tonight than even that one-sided first period in DC.

“We got a case of reality, a reality check of when you don’t skate and you don’t compete against really good hockey teams or any team in the National Hockey League, this is what’s going to happen,” he said.

That’s not all on Vanecek, and either way, our conclusions sound about the same: You need to play much better in front of your goalie, if you’re going to make that leap from scrappy underdog to a serious playoff contender.

Let’s see if the San Jose Sharks can get off the mat in another tough test, against the defending Stanley Cup champs on Saturday.

Celebrini did not play last 7:27 of game. Re-watched his last shift, saw nothing clearly amiss.

If something happened, I missed it at first, sorry guys. I didn't get to ask Warsofsky. #SJSharks practice tomorrow in Fort Lauderdale, I'll be there https://t.co/5m6PO3slxz

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 6, 2024

Mario Ferraro

Ferraro, on what the San Jose Sharks defense can do better:

We didn’t do a good enough job boxing out in front of the net, myself included. We got to be more hard to play against down there.

In the past or in [other lopsided] games, maybe the other team, has had a lot of O-zone time, I feel like most of it, the chances we gave up were sort of grade A’s from shots from the point. So it has a lot to do with our box-outs, and then when we recover the puck to be able to get the puck out and get some fresh legs on the ice.

Ferraro's message to Vanecek: "We let him down tonight. We didn't play very hard in front of him tonight. We owe him big time."

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 6, 2024

Ferraro, on continuing to encourage teammates and going out of his way to organize his teammates on the ice, even when down by a lot:

We can’t quit. We have to have no quit in our game. No matter what the score is, no matter what time of the game, we got to be competitive.

So it’s just trying to keep us in the now and forget about what’s happening and continue to compete. And then we’ll look at clips when the game is over. But we have no time to sulk and feel sorry for ourselves mid-game. So just try to stay on top of things and just have our next best shift.

Luke Kunin

Kunin, on what the forwards could do better tonight:

Physicality, get pucks behind them, shoot more pucks, not turn pucks over, play faster. I mean, list goes on and on.

Kunin, on what he told Blackwood at the beginning of the third period:

Both of them have been playing great for us all year. They deserve better. We let them down tonight, and we got to be better in front of them.

Ryan Warsofsky

Warsofsky, on where this game went off the rails:

We just weren’t ready from the start. Didn’t skate, didn’t compete, didn’t do anything.

Warsofsky, on if this result was deflating after the high from the win in Washington:

Disappointing, I would say, is a better word. Thought we had a good morning skate. Had some good energy, good meetings. I thought our guys were excited for the challenge tonight, but we got a case of reality, a reality check of when you don’t skate and you don’t compete against really good hockey teams or any team in the National Hockey League, this is what’s going to happen.

Warsofsky, on the San Jose Sharks’ forwards tonight:

Just didn’t pay a price. You watch that team over there, they’re blocking shots, Eyssimont, Glendening, 8-1, and that’s the price to pay to win games in this league, and that’s what we got to learn.

Warsofsky, on Vanecek’s game:

I’m sure there’s some goals he’d like back, but we didn’t help him at all with the chances and shots that he got…we didn’t help him in any way.