SAN JOSE — Macklin Celebrini had a goal and an assist in his NHL debut for the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night at SAP Center. But that was of little consolation to the first overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft.
Here’s what the Sharks said after Thursday’s loss
RYAN WARSOFSKY
What went wrong there in the third period?
“Just sat back in the third period. That’s what you get.”
Thoughts on Celebrini?
“Thought he was good. Thought he was really good. Obviously, the points are one thing, but there’s some things he needs to learn on without the puck, him and Will (Smith). But I thought they were both solid in their debuts.”
What did you think of Tyler Toffoli and that line (with Celebrini and Eklund) in general.
“That line was good for us.”
On Gushchin?
“I thought he was a little inconsistent at times. He tried doing some things. Had a good second period. Obvioisly takes a penalty in the third there. But I thought he was solid.”
What do you see in the first period?
“Our puck play was very poor through the neutral zone. Weren’t managing our shifts very well. So a lot of teaching points in that first period, and I liked our second, so a lot of teaching moments tonight.”
What worked in the second period?
“We were imagining the puck through the neutral zone through our breakouts. We were holding on to pucks down low. We had some momentum going there with the power play. We were creating some offense, and guys started; I thought maybe they were gripping their sticks a little too tight in the first and just played a little bit more looser in the second. But again, a lot of learning to do tonight.”
What can you learn from the third period?
“Don’t sit back.”
Teachable moment?
“Yeah, it’s hard to win, right? It’s hard to win this league. It’s hard to win any single night. There are no teams that are just going to give you two points. So we’re going to learn from this. We’re going to bottle that second period up. We have a lot to learn, a lot to get better at with the puck, without the puck. It’s going to be a growing moment for our group. But the biggest thing is we’ve got to learn from this and move forward.”
Why do you think the group took its foot off the gas?
“Just a young group that’s going through some experiences together, a lot of new faces in there, a lot of scar tissue from the last couple years of how to win. It’s hard to win this league. It’s all the little things. It’s not the big thing. It’s not the points; it’s not the goals and assists. It’s a little things. Stopping on pucks. It’s playing without the puck, being underneath battles, playing on the defensive side, all those things that we saw spiral out of control in the third period, and a good team like that will capitalize.”
Do you have to tell the group to …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
