Challenged by Boughner to seize opportunity, Baby Sharks respond
Sharks coach Bob Boughner implored the handful of players called up from the AHL over the last two weeks to dig a little deeper and start to take advantage of the opportunity that they’ve been given.
It finally happened Saturday night.
Timo Meier and James Reimer played starring roles in the Sharks’ 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks, with Meier collecting his third career hat trick and Reimer finishing with 27 saves.
But forwards Sasha Chmelevski, John Leonard, Lane Pederson and Scott Reedy, and defenseman Ryan Merkley all had a hand in the victory as well, answering the bell after Boughner challenged them as a group to be better.
“That’s probably the game where I can say collectively as a group, they played very well. They all contributed,” Boughner said. “One of the things we talked about (Saturday) morning is not just being happy to be here and happy to be in the lineup but to seize the opportunity. I thought a lot of those guys did.”
Merkley and Reedy assisted on Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s first-period goal. Reedy’s line with Chmelevski and Leonard was more assertive than they had been in previous games — looking to make things happen instead of waiting for something to happen.
Pederson with linemates Jonah Gadjovich and Jeffrey Viel played a heavy game and were noticeable on most shifts.
On Pederson, Boughner said, “I thought he looked a lot more confident. He was making plays, moving his feet, drew a penalty. He played extremely well. He played with great pace. It’s the best I’ve seen him look.”
Merkley quarterbacked the second power-play unit that also featured Reedy, Leonard, and Noah Gregor. Chmelevksi was one of the Sharks’ leaders in penalty kill time (3:19).
Context is important,
as the Sharks were playing a Ducks team that had traded Josh Manson, Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell and has now lost nine straight.
Still, for the group of players that has to compete to remain in the lineup, it’s something to build on. The Sharks’ next game is Wednesday in Arizona.
“I thought Sasha’s line was great,” Boughner said. “I thought (Pederson’s) line was strong for us and I thought Ryan Merkley was good. The young guys helped us get this win tonight.”
“Some of the young guys, (Chmelevski) and Merkley, they made some really nice plays,” Meier said, “and showed that they can play in this league.”
Merkley’s skill was on full display.
In the first period, Merkley had an opportunity to shoot as he controlled the puck and skated toward the Ducks’ net. Merkley finally did shoot from a sharp angle, but the puck bounced off of Kevin Shattenkirk’s leg and right back to him.
Merkley then saw Vlasic in the slot at the top of the circles and fired a pass from the goal line in traffic right on the tape. Vlasic let a wrist shot go that beat rookie goalie Lukas Dostal for the game’s opening goal.
“Merks, when he has the puck, he makes things happen,” Vlasic said. “I really enjoy playing with him. He’s very creative offensively and he made a bunch of great plays tonight.”
”I saw a tight line there between the (defender’s) feet when I just tried to get it through to him when he
was in the high slot,” Merkley said of Vlasic. “It’s a good shooting opportunity there and it’s nice that it found the back of the net.”
Boughner liked Merkley’s defense as well.
“That’s what we need,” Boughner said. “He made a couple of high-end plays, especially on that goal. But towards the middle and the end of the game, you saw a few more very highly skilled plays and that’s what he does.”
The Sharks played Saturday’s game without injured forwards Logan Couture, Jonathan Dahlen, and Matt Nieto. Winger Kevin Labanc and defenseman Mario Ferraro remain on injured reserve. Andrew Cogliano and Jake Middleton are now with the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild, respectively, after they were traded on Monday.
All of that meant that the players who were with the Barracuda just a couple of weeks ago were getting a terrific chance — one they needed to take advantage of before some of these players return. Couture is expected to be back for Wednesday’s game in Arizona, and Nieto, too, is close to a return.
“They’re getting a great opportunity here,” Boughner said Saturday morning. “It’s good to get your feet wet but at some point, we expect more and want them to seize the opportunity and start becoming impact players during the game.
“You have that patience and there’s going to be a learning curve. There are going to be mistakes, but you’d like to start seeing them take the next step.”