SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks didn’t want to skate and work in a dreadful performance against the Seattle Kraken, so coach Ryan Warsofsky made sure the players skated and worked Friday afternoon.
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With the leaders of the team’s hockey operations department looking on, including general manager Mike Grier, the Sharks practiced for 30 minutes in almost complete silence and with minimal puck play, a response to the lackluster effort they displayed in a 6-2 loss to the Kraken the night before.
Warsofsky, in his first season as the head coach of the rebuilding and last place Sharks, was originally leaning toward giving the players the day off Friday. But the game’s ugly turn altered that direction.
“Look, I get it. I get the trade deadline is around the corner. I get where we are. We’re not in the playoffs. I get that the human mind can drift and not be extremely focused,” Warsofsky said. “But our organization needs to draw a line in the sand. The culture is changing, and we’re not going to be a team that just gives up, no matter what the lead or the score is.
“Right now, we have give in our game when we get down, and that needs to change very quickly.”
The Sharks were tied 1-1 with the Kraken after the first period before it all unraveled early in the second, as Seattle scored four goals in a 5:49 span to take control. The backbreaking moment came at the 5:58 mark of the second period, as shortly after a Sharks power play expired, Jaden Schwartz came out of the penalty box and beat goalie Yaroslav Askarov on a breakaway for a 4-1 Seattle lead.
Seattle later scored again on a 5-on-3 power play and while holding a 5-2 lead in the third period, got a gift of a goal as Eeli Tolvanen scored his 15th of the season at the 12:18 mark.
On the play, Tolvanen took a long pass from Josh Mahura, carried the puck deep in San Jose zone, cut to the slot area and beat backup goalie Alexandar Georgiev. Walman and Barclay Goodrow might have been able to check Tolvanen but stopped skating and coasted into the defensive zone.
Walman was benched for the rest of the game, but he wasn’t the only one guilty of a lack of hustle.
“We honestly could have benched 15 guys last night,” Warsofsky said. “But we obviously can’t do that.”
Walman also wanted to have a play back on Seattle’s opening goal by Chandler Stephenson, as he drifted a bit too far out of position, leaving Stephenson a clear lane to the net before he scored to give the Kraken a 1-0 lead.
“I want to be held accountable for how I play,” Walman said. “I’m trying to be leaned on. I’m trying to be that guy, and I’m trying to be one of the top D-men in the league. So, I’m trying to do what I can to to be like that, and if it’s having to hold me accountable, then that’s good with me. I I know how I can play, and that wasn’t there last game. So the team deserves better.”
Warsofsky said defending the Stephenson goal is something the Sharks went over in training camp. That these mistakes are cropping up past the midway point is particularly aggravating.
“It’s frustrating when we make mistakes that we’ve shown in video, we’ve practiced, and we’re making some mental mistakes,” Warsofsky said. “And then when you make mental mistakes, you don’t move your legs, you’re a step behind, you don’t play with instincts, you’re not predictable. Your game snowballs out of control, and that’s what’s happening right now.”
The Sharks do not want to use injuries as an excuse, but the list of unavailable players continues to grow, hollowing out an already thin roster.
Center Alexander Wennberg did not play Thursday and is considered day-to-day with an upper body injury that has been bothering him of late. Warsofsky said he’ll know more about Wennberg’s status this weekend.
The Sharks also played the third period without Nikolai Kovalenko, who left the game with an upper body injury and did not practice Friday. Warsofsky didn’t know how Kovalenko was injured, but said the forward will likely not be available again until after the conclusion of the 4 Nations Face-Off in late February. The Sharks play three home games next week before the break begins on Feb. 9.
The Sharks already have forwards Nico Sturm, Klim Kostin, Ty Dellandrea and Logan Couture and defenseman Jan Rutta on injured reserve.
The Sharks have the day off Saturday and are scheduled to resume practice on Sunday. Their next game is Tuesday at home against the Montreal Canadiens.
“It should not change your effort and how hard we work and how hard we compete, and right now it’s changing our effort and how hard we compete,” Warsofsky said of the numerous injuries. “So we’ve got to break through the mental block that we have right now, who we don’t have in the lineup, who we do have, whatever the situation, it is what it is.”
