Sharks rookie Knyzhov takes a few punches, earns respect
San Jose Sharks rookie defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov has already taken several steps this season to earn the respect of his teammates.
They were already impressed with his backstory. Two years ago as a 19-year-old, he played in three separate leagues in his native Russia, and showed enough promise to earn an entry-level contract from the Sharks in the summer of 2019.
Undrafted and somewhat unheralded going into training camp in December, Knyzhov came out of it with not only a roster spot, but a place in the Sharks’ opening night lineup. He has played in every game this season.
The respect level went up another notch Monday during an otherwise forgettable night for the Sharks, as the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Knyzhov had the temerity to fight the more seasoned Marcus Foligno late in the first period of what became a 6-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild.
Foligno’s hit on Knyzhov at the 8:22 mark of the first period may have lit the match, as later in the period the two players dropped the gloves for what would turn out to be a one-sided fight.
Foligno fed Knyzhov with a barrage of right hands, and with Knyzhov cut, potentially from his visor, Foligno asked the linesman to step in and stop the fight.
“It’s a game and it was in the moment just, kind of a battle there down low,” Knyzhov said. “After the whistle, he came up to me and he’s like, ‘you want to go?’ So, you know, it just happened. A good way to get the monkey off my back. I’ll take it as an experience.”
“You know, good on him. I give him a lot of credit,” Foligno said of Knyzhov. “I think there’s things you do when you’re young to answer the bell, and you have to do it and you gain a lot of respect from your teammates. So I’m sure he got that tonight.”
Earlier Monday, Marc-Edouard Vlasic gave Knyzhov kudos for his skating and puck handling ability, as he’s had to take on a larger role with Erik Karlsson and Radim Simek both out of the lineup.
“I enjoy playing with him,” Vlasic said of Knyzhov. “He can skate, he can make plays, he’s good with the puck. If he jumps up in the rush, he can always get back because he moves so quickly. It’s been a lot of fun.”
When the fight was over, Knyzhov 22, earned enthusiastic stick taps from his teammates for what was the Sharks’ first fighting major this season. Knyzhov likely won’t fight too many more times this season, but teammates know there’s no doubting his commitment.
“He’s been unbelievable this
season, in all aspects of the game,” Sharks captain Logan Couture said. “Just a cool story, too. A kid that was never given anything, never drafted and worked his ass off to get to where he is. Really wants to compete and help our team, doing anything that he possibly can help us win.
“So, nothing but great things to say about him for a young player guy that kind of came out of nowhere. And he’s had an unbelievable year.”
STRUCTURAL ISSUES: The Sharks know they have to stick to a certain identity in order to remain competitive in most games this season. After beating the Anaheim Ducks a week ago, the Sharks went into St. Louis and played a disciplined, structured game for four of six periods, and took three of a possible four points.
That structure largely went by the wayside Monday. A Sharks turnover in the neutral zone led to Mats Zuccarello’s goal at the 7:49 mark of the first period, and just 11 seconds later, Kirill Kaprizov got a free path to the San Jose net and redirected a pass from Zuccarello past Martin Jones for a 2-1 Minnesota lead.
On another rush goal, Ryan Hartman found Ian Cole in between a handful of Sharks skaters with a nice centering pass, and Cole beat Jones for his first goal of the season at the 3:36 mark of the second period.
The Wild scored a more fluky goal at the 17:25 mark of the second period. With just three seconds left in a high-sticking double-minor call on Knyzhov, a shot from Jonas Brodin went off Nicolas Meloche’s stick and floated over Jones, into the Sharks’ net for a 5-2 Wild lead.
Considering the Sharks
have only scored five goals three times in 17 games this season, that goal pretty much sealed their fate.
The Kaprizov-Zuccarello-Victor Rask line combined for nine points Monday, and obviously that will be a concern for the Sharks considering some of the potent offenses they have coming into town over the next several days between the Golden Knights, Blues and Avalanche.
POWER PLAY ISSUES: Unlike their series with the Blues, the Sharks had their opportunities with the man advantage Monday, with two in the first period and one more in the second.
Not that it mattered a ton. The Sharks had some good looks in the first period and nearly scored a greasy one after some scrambles in front of the Minnesota net, but still, it was another game without a power play goal when they absolutely needed one to build momentum.