The San Jose Sharks finally put an end to the slide, and they did it in a way that touched just about every corner of the room.
San Jose beat the New York Islanders 3-2 in a shootout, snapping a five-game losing streak behind goals from Ivar Stenberg and Tyler Toffoli and a huge night from Yaroslav Askarov, who stopped 30 of 32 shots in regulation and then turned aside eight shootout rounds.
The win came with a little extra detail behind the scenes, too. Ryan Warsofsky said the shootout order was built on data and practice work, and he pointed to the process behind decisions like putting Graf at No. 2 despite his 0-2 NHL shootout record and Stenberg at No.
- “We got a lot of data.
We practice it in practice. We keep track of it.
Believe it or not, there's a lot of data going back to these guys when they're in junior,…”
Stenberg’s rise was a major theme after the game. Warsofsky said the forward’s 5-on-5 game has taken a step because “He doesn’t fight the panic.
He can play through traffic. I think his pace, especially the last two games, he’s got some sneaky speed in him where he kind of catches teams off guard a little bit.”
Mason Marchment saw the same thing from a different angle, saying Stenberg has been “Just more comfortable with the puck. He’s so smooth and skilled. Sometimes, it’s hard when you’re young, to come in with the confidence to carry it and hang on to it.”
Michael Misa also had a hand in the shootout, and he walked through his read on Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin. “Honestly, watching the pre-scout on Sorokin, I was thinking low blocker.
Saw a couple shootout goals went in there. But then, I thought he was cheating low blocker a little bit, so I tried to go back glove, and he made a good save.”
Misa also tied the team’s recent uptick to the players-only meeting, saying, “I think the biggest message, I think everyone just, individually, had to buy in a little bit more. Whether that was preparing better for the game, battling harder in practice, or just the little habits. Everyone just buying in more, individually, it just makes our team a lot better.”
And when asked about Askarov’s two-pad stack save in overtime, Misa didn’t hesitate: “I told him to do that. (laughs)”
Warsofsky also credited Alex Wennberg’s return for helping settle things down. He said Wennberg was matched against Horvat’s line and “Did a really good job.
Really takes control out there as far as play without the puck. I thought he did a really good job, sorting things out.
Kind of gives our team a little bit of some calmness, in a sense, in the way we want to play.”
Stenberg echoed that value, calling Wennberg “He’s so good in the 200-foot game and brings a lot in the locker room too.”
In Other News...
Sharks Finally Got A Win And Two Young Names Stand Out
The Sharks finally snapped a five-game skid with a 3-2 shootout win over the Islanders, and the night came with a couple of encouraging signs beyond the result. Tyler Toffoli scored in regulation, but it was Ivar Stenberg who kept San Jose in it with the tying goal, giving the building a jolt and helping push the game past regulation.
San Jose also got the kind of steadiness it has been searching for from Yaroslav Askarov, whose work gave the Sharks a chance to hang around through overtime and into the shootout. The Islanders had their own moments through Ben Hutton and Bo Horvat, but for a team trying to climb out of an early hole, this was the sort of win that can make a young roster feel a little more settled. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks Young Forwards Still Have To Earn This Key Late-Game Trust
The Sharks got a lift from Yaroslav Askarov in a 3-2 shootout win over the New York Islanders, and the rookie goalies night added another line to the franchise record book. By turning away every Islanders attempt in the tiebreaker, he surpassed the previous mark of seven shootout saves without allowing a goal, a reminder of how much San Jose has leaned on his calm in pressure moments.
Ryan Warsofsky also made clear the decision-making behind the shootout was anything but casual. The order was shaped by analytics and the coaching staffs pre-scouting work, part of the same careful approach San Jose is using as it sorts out which young forwards can be trusted when games tighten late and every possession starts to matter a little more. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Victor Eklund Was At The Center Of A Heated NHL Debate
A chippy sequence in San Jose drew the kind of attention that tends to linger after the final horn, as the NHL Department of Player Safety handed Sharks forward Mason Marchment a fine for roughing Islanders forward Victor Eklund. The incident grew out of a hard hit on a Sharks player, then escalated quickly when Marchment stepped in with a shove and punch that left officials sorting out the aftermath with two minor penalties.
For the Sharks, it is another reminder of how fast a routine shift can turn into a league review when emotions spill over. The money from the fine goes to the NHL Players Emergency Assistance Fund, but the broader issue is the one San Jose has been dealing with all season in these heated moments: protecting teammates without giving the league a reason to keep looking back at the play. [Read more 🡒]