Sorensen stays on postseason roll
SAN JOSE >> Forward Marcus Sorensen began the season in the American Hockey League after he went through a training camp that left Sharks coaches disappointed and perhaps a little confused. Was this the same player that had impressed everybody during the Sharks’ brief stay in the 2017 playoffs?
Fast-forward six months, and it’s obvious that Sorensen has rediscovered his game, and his place as a regular in the Sharks’ playoff lineup.
Sorensen, building off the momentum he had built in the first two games, had a goal and an assist in the first two periods of Game 2 in the Sharks’ opening round playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks.
He scored on a 2-on-1 with Joonas Donskoi at the 3:41 mark of the second period, taking a pass from Donskoi and beating Ducks goalie John Gibson with a forehand to backhand move. He later had an assist on linemate Eric Fehr’s goal at the 13:43 mark of the second that gave the Sharks a 4-1 lead.
Sorensen also scored a first period goal in Game 2. He now has made nine straight playoff starts for the Sharks.
“He’s fast, and I know he’s a tough guy, too,” Sharks forward and linemate Melker Karlsson said of Sorensen, his Swedish countryman. “He can go in there and play gritty. It’s nice to have him on our line.”
• The Sharks knew the Ducks would make adjustments as their opening round playoff series progressed and one area in which Anaheim was making strides was cutting down amount of shot attempts from Brent Burns.
Burns set a new playoff career high with nine shots on goal in Game 1, but only had one in Game 2. Two of his shots missed the net and another one was blocked. Burns had three shot attempts in the first two periods of Game 3 on Monday.
“They made some adjustments, but nothing that ... doesn’t (allow him to) play his
game. I still thought he was very effective,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said Monday morning of Burns’ Game 2 shot output. “Whether its a night that he gets eight shots or whether he gets two, he’s still a real effective guy for us.”
• Karlsson said he had to go through concussion protocol after he was hit by Anaheim’s Corey Perry late in the third period of Game 2. Perry was given an interference penalty and Karlsson did not play the rest of the game as he was getting assessed.
“I didn’t know he was coming there. Kind of saw him right before,” the hit, Karlsson said. “If they want to keep taking penalties, they can. It’s good for us. We’re trying to stay out of that and not take stupid penalties.”
Karlsson assisted on Marcus Sorensen’s first-period goal in Game 2, his first playoff point since he scored in overtime in Game 1 of the Sharks’ first-round series against the Edmonton Oilers
last year.
Of his Swedish countryman Sorensen, who has now made nine straight playoff starts for the Sharks, Karlsson said, “He’s fast, and I know he’s a tough guy, too. He can go in there and play gritty. It’s nice to have him on our line”
• Forward Kevin Labanc gave a frank assessment of the hard hit took from Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin in the first period of Game 2.
“I just thought it was a dirty hit,” Labanc said. “His shoulder or elbow went to my head. It is what it is. You just have to calm down, stay focused, stay composed.”
No penalty was assessed. Labanc, who was starting to skate backward and as he about to accept a pass from Dylan DeMelo to help get the puck out of the Sharks’ zone, was flattened by a Beauchemin shoulder check. To add insult, Labanc then caught a puck in the head when he was
on the ice, just before DeMelo landed on top of him after DeMelo was hit by Nick Ritchie.
The Ducks had outhit the Sharks 61-46 through two games. But the Sharks have largely turned the other cheek.
“We’ve asked our whole team to make plays and not retaliate. Like I said, I liked our response to their physical play. We won’t be pushed out of games,” DeBoer said. “He’s a young guys and that’s a good example of our whole team mentality.”
“If somebody hits me, I just have to smile and come back,” forward Tomas Hertl said. “Maybe it frustrates them more.”
• The Sharks didn’t make any lineup changes for Monday’s game. The Ducks made two, bringing in 6-foot-3, 215 pound Jason Chimera to play on the fourth line to replace the 6-1, 197-pound Antoine Vermette. Defenseman Kevin Bieksa was scratched in favor of Andy Welinski.