It’s a bit of a catch-22 for the San Jose Sharks or any team, frankly: It’s hard to win big games without confidence, but they also need confidence to win big games.
As they prepare to face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday to continue their southeastern swing, the Sharks are developing more of that swagger, with Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime victory over the Washington Capitals being their fourth win in five games – and maybe their best yet this season.
The victory, courtesy of William Eklund’s power-play goal, could help set the tone for the rest of the arduous trip. The Sharks also play the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Saturday, the playoff-contending Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, and the improving St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
“Continuing on this trip, it’s not going to get any easier,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky told reporters after Tuesday’s game. “So anytime you can win a game on the road, it gives your team some confidence, and our group is starting to believe in each other, and I think that’s the hurdle we’re trying to get over right now.”
The Sharks have the NHL’s ninth-best record (10-6-3) since Oct. 27, and are now three points out of a playoff spot, although they remain in 14th place in the Western Conference in points percentage (.446).
Here are three reasons for the Sharks’ recent success:
THE CELEBRINI EFFECT: Macklin Celebrini might have needed some time to find a rhythm last month after he returned from a 12-game absence due to a hip injury, but he’s hitting his stride now.
With his assist on Eklund’s overtime winner, Celebrini has 10 points in his last seven games. But he also played a crucial role in why the Sharks had the power play in the first place.
Celebrini was competing for a puck along the boards inside the Washington zone when he was high-sticked by Capitals forward Tom Wilson. The infraction drew blood, resulting in a four-minute power play.
“He can make things happen. He’s competitive. He gets into guys, even on the penalty that he draws on Wilson,” Warsofsky said. “It’s because he gets in there. He doesn’t care that (Wilson is) 6-foot-4; he gets in there, puts his nose over it, and wants to win the puck battle.
“That’s the ultra-competitiveness that he has, and that we need to continue to bring as a group.”
Going back to the Sharks’ Nov. 18 game against the Detroit Red Wings, Celebrini has now factored into each of the team’s last five game-winning goals, with three goals and two assists in that time.
The only other 18-year-old rookie to accomplish that was Sidney Crosby, who factored into six straight game-winners from Mar. 12 – Apr. 13, 2006.
Celebrini affects winning in so many ways, as besides the offense and compete level is his work away from the puck. He’s always on the hunt and is rarely out of position. That awareness helps to limit the number of odd-man rushes against.
The Sharks are 7-5-4 with Celebrini in the lineup, and only two of those five losses have been by more than two goals. They’ve been in the game almost every time he plays.
THIRD PERIODS: The Sharks’ management of third periods has been impressive recently. In the third periods of their last four games, the Sharks have, per Natural Stat Trick, allowed just two high-danger chances against combined.
While San Jose allowed a somewhat fluky third-period goal to the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 27, the team mostly put the clamps down on Seattle in protecting two late leads last week. In the Capitals game, the Sharks allowed four shots on goal and one high-danger chance against.
Warsofsky said in Saturday’s game against the Kraken, the Sharks were “giving up too many line rushes, and that started with our F3 in the middle of the ice in the offensive zone.
“We want to score when you’re in the offensive zone, but you also have to have a guy in that high ice making sure you can soft lock pucks and wedge up pucks and slow their rush down, especially when their (defensemen can) get up in the rush and score at a higher rate. We did a better job of that (Tuesday).”
The Sharks have also taken just one two-minute penalty in the last five third periods, so they’re not putting themselves in bad positions. There also seems to be a calmness late in games, aided by the presence of some veteran forwards and defensemen.
The Cody Ceci-Jake Walman defense pair is logging considerable minutes in the third period, as is the Sharks’ line of Alexander Wennberg, Tyler Toffoli, and Luke Kunin.
Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, coming off a 36-save performance Saturday in Seattle, made 16 saves in the first period but faced just 12 shots the rest of Tuesday’s game.
COHESIVENESS: Beyond the numbers, though, is the fact that the Sharks are building chemistry, caring for each other, and having some fun. When you have that love, players usually want to work harder and do the right things for one another.
Warsofsky talked after Joe Thornton’s number retirement ceremony about how the Sharks teams of yesteryear developed a strong bond and cared deeply about one another. Even with the team still in a rebuilding phase, perhaps that is starting to take place with the current Sharks.
“Everybody’s working for each other in there, and I think that’s what we’re building up here,” Eklund said on NBC Sports California after the game. “Guys are coming in there every morning and doing their best, and I think that’s something we built here.”
“We are a good team, and when we play connected, and we compete, and we’re executing our breakouts and playing within our structure, we’re really good, and we have really good players individually in there,” Warsofsky said. “Sometimes your belief in yourself and in the group can kind of change throughout the game. We’ve got to stick to it a little bit, and I’m glad our guys responded to that, and (are starting) to understand that.
“Because I think anytime the puck is dropped, you have a chance to win the hockey game if you do the things you need to do.”
