Sharks like response after `dirty' hit on Zadina
The losses are expected to mount for the Sharks this season, oddsmakers having picked the team to finish with the NHL's worst record.
But regardless of how few and far between the victories might be for the Sharks in 2023-2024, one thing that absolutely must happen from coach David Quinn's perspective is for his team to stick together.
To that end, Quinn was encouraged by what he saw during the Sharks' preseason game Wednesday with the Anaheim Ducks, even though the result was a 4-2 loss.
“When we went to every scrum, it was all five guys, and there were scrums because we were playing hard,” Quinn said Thursday. “I thought we had an edge to us offensively. There was no (B.S.) to our game. And when you play hard, you're going to (tick) people off and there are going to be scrums.”
Wednesday's game got particularly chippy in the final two minutes of the third period, when the Sharks took exception to Ducks forward Alex Killorn's hit to Filip Zadina's numbers along the boards near San Jose's bench. Quinn said there was an incident earlier in the game that precipitated that hit but wouldn't elaborate.
Zadina on Friday resumed practice with the Sharks, who continue the preseason tonight at SAP Center against the Los Angeles Kings.
“It was just such a blatantly late hit and obviously dirty,” Sharks defenseman Jacob MacDonald said. “I honestly don't even know what the penalties ended up being but it's just not the right move at that time.”
With Zadina down on the ice, Sharks defenseman Matt Benning went right at Killorn before Thomas Bordeleau jumped into the fracas. Killorn was called for boarding and Anaheim defenseman Radko Gudas received a 10-minute misconduct after he got involved.
Benning got two minutes for high sticking.
“The Zadina scrum at the end, everybody was right in there right away,” MacDonald said. “There were three or four other ones where somebody's involved with a little bit of a scrum with somebody and the other four guys are right there. So it's nice to see that guys have your back and it just builds camaraderie.”
“That's probably one of the biggest things you need as a team,” Sharks winger Givani Smith said, “that everyone's
willing to protect your friend and protect your teammate.”
Quinn was openly unhappy at times last season with the number of liberties opposing teams were taking against the Sharks. Entire games, it seemed, would go by without so much as a shoving match.
After a game at home against Minnesota in March, when the Wild physically imposed their will, former Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson noted, “We don't really have anyone
that's going to go out and fight (Marcus) Foligno, (Ryan) Reaves, and those guys. I think they know that.”
The Sharks tried to address those shortcomings by signing free agents Smith and Kyle Burroughs, players who bring a hardnosed style and provide the kind of pushback general manager Mike Grier felt was lacking at times last year.
Time will tell if it results in a few more wins. At the moment, FanDuel lists the Sharks as having the best chance of any team to finish last in the NHL's overall standings. On Draft Kings, a $100 bet on the Sharks to miss the playoffs would bring back a net win of $2.50.
Still, as the Sharks try to build something for the long term, one thing that is non-negotiable is sticking up for one another.
“As proud as I was of our effort, I was proud that when there was a scrum, there were five guys in it, and that's the way it's got to be,” Quinn said. “It can't be one guy, it can't be nobody. It's got to be everybody. And that doesn't mean we turn into the Broad Street Bullies.
“But when you're a competitive team and you play hard and you've got no b.s. to your game, you're going to (tick) people off, and when people are pushing, you've got to push back.” DRAFT PICK SENT TO LONDON >> The Sharks officially sent 2023 second-round draft pick Kasper Halttunen to the London Knights on Thursday. This summer, at the behest of Grier, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Halttunen agreed to sign with London of the OHL instead of returning to Finland to further his game and help get used to the North American style. “I think being over here will certainly be more beneficial for him to just get acclimated to the North American style, to be in (North America),” Quinn said.