Magnus Chrona didn’t get the win in his second NHL start, but he was able to wash away the bad memory from his first one.
On Dec. 28, Chrona made his first NHL start against the Edmonton Oilers. What should’ve been a game to remember became one to forget though: The San Jose Sharks prospect got pulled after a first period where he gave up four goals on 12 shots, in an eventual 5-0 loss.
“His first NHL game and we didn’t help him,” Tomas Hertl acknowledged then.
Chrona came back on Saturday night with 36 saves in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Dallas Stars.
“He kept us above the water,” Filip Zadina, who scored his fourth goal in eight games, said. William Eklund also scored.
Alternate captain Luke Kunin, who contributed two primary assists, said it was a point of emphasis for the Sharks to play better in front of their young goalie this time around.
“I think we all remember that. That was unfortunate,” he said.
While the Stars’ 38-23 shot differential suggests that the Sharks didn’t defend much better in this game than in Chrona’s first start, according to SPORTLOGiQ’s micro-stats, San Jose actually had a 6-5 Quality Chances edge at Even Strength. Dallas ate on the power play, however, where they outshot the visitors 11-0.
That said, for all their warts and struggles, the Sharks are still playing like a team.
“I think our guys really felt bad about what happened last time he was in net,” Quinn said. “We kind of left him out to dry and didn’t really give him a fair chance and I thought we did tonight.”
“It means a lot,” Chrona said of his team’s effort. “It also shows the progress that we’ve made as a team. I think it’s a great building block to build off from.”
David Quinn
Quinn, on Chrona and the San Jose Sharks’ performance:
He was really good. He really was. He was good when he needed to be.
I liked our game too. I thought we did a good job. They had that seven-minute blitz in the second period early. I thought we did a good job of defending other than that. Made it hard on them every step of the way.
Quinn, on the Sharks stepping up for Chrona:
I think our guys really felt bad about what happened last time he was in net. We kind of left him out to dry and didn’t really give him a fair chance and I thought we did tonight.
Quinn, on opting for a line-up of 11 forwards and seven defensemen, and scratching Kevin Labanc:
Just thought it was our best line-up for tonight.
Quinn, on how angry he was with the refs are Eklund’s hand over the puck penalty:
I didn’t think it was clear enough to make that call. It’s a huge scrum, he drops to his knees. You better be sure of that call.
Quinn, on Kunin’s 200-foot game tonight:
He had a good night. I thought he had a real good night against Anaheim as well. He’s been banged up a little bit, dealing with an upper-body injury. Starting to get better, he’s healing.
You can see he’s playing with a lot more confidence and conviction. It’s nice to see him getting healthy.
Quinn, on selecting Kunin as an alternate captain:
He’s always been a guy that’s so well-respected wherever he’s played. This is no different here. He’s a guy that we lean on from a coaching stuff standpoint, these guys respect him. He certainly earned it.
Magnus Chrona
Chrona, on what it means that his teammates made it a point of emphasis to make up for their effort in his last start:
It means a lot. It also shows the progress that we’ve made as a team. I think it’s a great building block to build off from.
Chrona, on the advice that he received from Kaapo Kahkonen and Mackenzie Blackwood:
Kahkonen and Blacky gave me some really good advice about how I should approach it and enjoy it. I think I did every single thing [of] what they told me today. They were totally right.
Filip Zadina
Zadina, if this is the most confidence that he’s played with this season:
Yeah, I would say so. Just trying to do my job and help my linemates out. Just gonna keep going like that. Hope things get better, we win some games.
Zadina, on what Kunin brings to the line:
He’s a strong and smart guy. He sees plays and he’s always on the right spot. It’s huge to have him on the line and he brings that calmness to the game.
Luke Kunin
Kunin, on how his skills fit on his line:
At least with Eky, he likes to have it below the goalline. I like to find that quiet pocket of ice, try to get my shot off, in that little house in front of the net.
Kunin, on the San Jose Sharks emphasizing a better effort in front of Chrona tonight, as opposed to his first start:
Yeah, absolutely. I think we all remember that. That was unfortunate.
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