The San Jose Sharks hosted the Anaheim Ducks for the final time this season on Thursday. Before warmups even concluded, things got interesting. Ilya Lubushkin was pulled in favor of Jackson LaCombe last minute due to pending trade discussions. He was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs before the game even began. In a game that saw an abundance of goal-scoring, the Sharks would eventually be defeated by the Ducks with a final score of 6-4 and Anaheim also won the season series 3-1.
Lackadaisical Defense Leads to Early Deficit
The Sharks got out to an early lead when Anthony Duclair found the back of the net during the first period. It was short-lived though, as roughly 20 seconds later Leo Carlsson would tie it up. He was left wide open in front of the net, and he only had to beat Kaapo Kahkonen once he got the puck on his stick. It seemed like the defense was barely moving in an attempt to break up any passes or scoring opportunities. Lackadaisical defense has been a theme for the Sharks at times this season, and it happened again later in the period. Alex Killorn went to the penalty box to give the Sharks their first power play of the game. Almost immediately, Brett Leason made it 2-1 with a shorthanded goal. He took it from end-to-end and it seemed almost like the defense was standing still on the play.
To quote Herb Brooks, the Sharks “don’t have enough talent to win on talent alone.” Yet they often show minimal effort in situations that end up being game-defining moments. For a team going through a rebuild, they certainly don’t expect to win every night, but the effort needs to be consistent and players need to show that they belong in the NHL. Between what we saw on Thursday and the game against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday (Feb. 27), things seem to be trending in the wrong direction. In a game they could’ve easily been winning 2-0, or even 3-0, at the time, the Sharks’ lack of effort in their own zone made them fight an uphill battle for the remainder of the game. Throughout the night, nothing in that regard really changed either until the third period. The Sharks continued to play lazy defense until desperation set in and as a result, the Ducks were able to run up the score early.
Fabian Zetterlund Continues Career Year
On Duclair’s goal, Fabian Zetterlund got his ninth assist of the season bringing his point total to 24. This was a new career-high for the young Swedish forward, as last season he recorded 23 points between his time with the New Jersey Devils and the Sharks. He’s had a phenomenal goal-scoring season, with 15 goals through 57 games which is tied with Tomas Hertl for the team lead.
Anthony Duclair Was Buzzing
We talked earlier about the team’s overall lack of effort, specifically in the defensive zone. However, one player who was certainly putting in everything he had was Duclair. He opened the scoring and created multiple other chances, including a breakaway that he nearly converted but John Gibson was able to make the stop and got an assist on the game-tying goal in the second period. He was all over the offensive zone, driving offense and creating chances. He was originally credited with the Sharks’ second goal of the night as well, but it was later changed.
Duclair finally got his second goal of the night during the third period though, on a 4-on-3 power play when Mikael Granlund found him wide open in front of the net to bring the Sharks within one with half a period remaining. As a result, some fans mistakenly threw hats on the ice thinking he had scored a hat trick.
Hoffman Breaks Scoring Slump, Eklund Follows Suit
Mike Hoffman finally broke out of his long scoring slump with a goal in the second period. It was initially credited to Duclair, but eventually, it became clear that it deflected off of the defender in front rather than his teammate in teal. There were 28 games between his eighth and ninth goals, the longest slump of his career. While it certainly wasn’t a pretty goal by any means, a goal is a goal and Hoffman will certainly look to carry that momentum into the upcoming games.
William Eklund hadn’t gone quite that long without a goal, but he had gone over a month without finding the back of the net. He notched his ninth of the season late in the second period to tie the game up at three. His role is only going to get bigger in the coming weeks, so it was certainly a great time for him to break his slump as well.
Related: Revisiting Sharks’ Timo Meier Trade to the Devils
The Sharks ended up losing to their divisional rival, and a team they should be able to compete with, for the third time this season. The Ducks were without both Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry, yet they were able to get scoring up and down the lineup which proved to be the difference maker when all was said and done. The Ducks walked away with a deserved 6-4 win.