Sharks Locker Room: Eklund Injury Update, Quinn & Burroughs on Importance of Ferraro

Can the San Jose Sharks keep it up?

Not the comebacks – down 4-2 with 10:37 to go on Sunday night, the Sharks tied it, ultimately losing 5-4 in the shootout to the Vegas Golden Knights. It’s the third consecutive game that San Jose has stormed back down two-or-more goals to earn at least a point.

That’s not likely sustainable. But what could be sustainable?

For the second straight game, the Sharks outshot their opponent, and more often than not, played structured, suffocating hockey.

On Thursday night against the Detroit Red Wings, San Jose played perhaps its best period of hockey all season, outshooting Detroit 14-6 in the first period. It got wild after that, a 6-5 Sharks OT win, San Jose with a 36-31 shots edge.

Versus Vegas tonight, they outshot the defending champs 39-27.

This was only the third time during their 8-17-3 start that they outshot the opposition.

“You really felt from the drop of the puck that this was an extension of what was going on in Detroit,” San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn said. “I think we’ve kind of created a blueprint of how we’re gonna have success here over the last month. We’ve been doing it, but not as consistently as we have over the last two games.”

“We’re just in a groove right now,” Ferraro said. “We’re defending hard, defending well, and playing as a unit of five all across the ice.”

“I thought they had a five-minute stretch in the third where they kind of hemmed us in a little bit,” Quinn said. “A month ago, that’s 25 minutes of hemmed-in hockey.”

The Sharks are playing, dare I say it, winning hockey.

How many victories that leads to, especially with mounting injuries – William Eklund was a late scratch with a lower-body injury, while Anthony Duclair left the game after Keegan Kolesar hit him in the head early in the second period – and trade rumors – swirling around Ferraro, and soon, others – it’s hard to say.

But it’s a sight for eyes sore from watching their 0-10-1 start.

Mike Hoffman (twice), Calen Addison, and Mario Ferraro scored.

After the game, Quinn gave an Eklund injury update. Kyle Burroughs spoke on the importance of Ferraro to the San Jose Sharks. Ferraro discussed the team’s better play. And Hoffman talked about his shooting mentality.

David Quinn

Watch the full Quinn interview here

Quinn, on how the San Jose Sharks played:

One of the things that we talked about right after the game ended, do not let the result of the shootout affect what happened. It would have been easy to mail in this game. It’s been a long trip.

I thought we were on top of them a lot. We didn’t give them a lot of room. Last time we’re in here, they had all sorts of space.

When you get a team like that, the best thing to do is try to play in the offensive zone and not give them easy exits. I thought our neutral zone forecheck was good tonight. I thought we did a good job staying on top of them and not allowing them easy access into our zone.

Last time we played here, they carried all night long. Tonight, they had to dump a lot of pucks in.

I think we’ve kind of created a blueprint of how we’re gonna have success here over the last month. We’ve been doing it, but not as consistently as we have over the last two games.

I think our guys pretty much understand how we’re going to have success. I thought we defended pretty well. Not a lot of big-time chances. I thought they had a five-minute stretch in the third where they kind of hemmed us in a little bit. A month ago, that’s 25 minutes of hemmed-in hockey.

You really felt from the drop of the puck that this was an extension of what was going on in Detroit.