Sounds like a game to not watch the replay of if you missed it right…
It was a decent game. I'd say it was our most cohesive game structurally and there was some sick plays from Eklund. It's also interesting to see how they looked without Vlasic. I hope he continues to be scratched
But also, we still suck
Haven’t read the rest of the thread; just finish the game. Good one to watch.
I thought this was the first game where I saw Eklund show what he might be at the NHL level. Some great plays and a dope AF assist.
Eklund and Bordeleau both showed some things, working with not much open ice to connect dangerous plays (Eklund moreso). While I’d love the story for both of them to be that they’re breaking into the league on a great team where they just need to provide secondary offense, after watching this game I’m encouraged to see how both are adapting to the reality that they aren’t going to have much, if any, open ice to work with. Both players (again, Eklund moreso) showed some nice signals that they can find ways to make things happen with little space to work with.
In some ways the game felt, to me, similar to a playoff game - in the sense that the Sharks continue to have little room to simply dictate the flow through the neutral and offensive zones and that they will need to generate offense with little time or ice to operate.
Almost antithetical to the Thornton/Karlsson eras of regular season hockey; the Sharks lack keystone player(s) to slow the game down and put pucks on open sticks in dangerous areas with time and space. While not at all conducive to actual winning hockey in the short term, I feel like this is great for the development of the Eklunds and Bordeleaus; forcing them to claw for every offensive chance and make the most of any space they can get. I found myself really encouraged by their play this game. Both were tenacious, aggressive, and opportunistic (again, Eklund moreso)
Vlasic, perhaps unsurprisingly so, was not remotely missed; the team already being very capable of bleeding chances against while simultaneously not counting on the defense to do anything offensively dangerous. The defensive corps seems perfectly capable of providing what Vlasic brings without him on the ice; namely some mildly gritty defensive play, pushing opposition offenses vaguely away from scoring areas, the occasional flip out of the zone, and not a damn thing in the offensive zone.
I thought Labanc continued where he left off last game, if he keeps engaging on the forecheck he’s gonna keep getting ice time. Again, while not in any way remotely doing enough to drag this team to a win, he contributed without having the puck on his stick, forechecked with greater fervor than a soggy biscuit, and created some offensive opportunities through some genuine hard-nosed efforts. I wonder if having a child has lead him to reexamine what his game needs to be to stick in the NHL through his late 20s and early 30s. In a minor way, I’ve enjoyed seeing him put forth, in my opinion, a fundamentally different version of his game.