While the 3-2 overtime loss wasn’t ideal, Sharks’ fans can be happy with Magnus Chrona’s outing last night. Chrona, who made just his second NHL start against the Dallas Stars, stopped 36 of 38 shots, including some spectacular saves like the one below that prevented things from getting away from the Sharks.
MIGHTY MAGNUS 😤 pic.twitter.com/STzllHCZZ5
— NHL (@NHL) March 3, 2024
Chrona also stopped Dallas on a breakaway in overtime.
MAGNUS CHRONA! pic.twitter.com/grbAx4btoc
— JD Young (@MyFryHole) March 3, 2024
Overall, it was a solid outing for the young netminder. Remember, this is his first season as a professional, so there will be fits and starts. It’s nice to see him do so well in his second start of the season.
Defensive breakdowns put Chrona to the test
And, let’s be honest, Chrona sometimes had to cover for the Sharks’ mistakes. The first Dallas goal was something he could have used some help on.
Poke, poke! 👉 pic.twitter.com/fHNd9WNLHS
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) March 3, 2024
While the puck sneaks through, all he needed was a defenseman there or really anyone to help tuck the puck back under his butt. However, the only person that seemed to find the puck in time the Stars’ Radek Faska.
During the broadcast, the announcers called out Kyle Burroughs for not coming back hard enough. There have been several defensive breakdowns from Burroughs lately that have me concerned, especially when the team continues to talk about doing things the right way.
Second line does the heavy lifting
The second line of Filip Zadina, William Eklund and Luke Kunin were especially potent last night. Zadina and Eklund scored both of San Jose’s goals in the game and the line was an offensive driver for the Sharks. Looking at the Hockey Stat Cards game impact card for the Sharks, you can see that all three of them were creating their own offense while also working with their linemates to create offense in the Stars’ zone.
#NHL GameScore Impact Card for San Jose Sharks on 2024-03-02:#SJSharks pic.twitter.com/Bh8GHJh8O3
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) March 3, 2024
The fact that Eklund has goals in consecutive games is a good sign that the young forward has started to take another step in his learning process as he takes on the role of second-line center in the absence of Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture.
Highlight San Jose Sharks at Dallas Stars March 2, 2024
The highlight of the night goes to kind of rookie, but not a rookie in the eyes of the NHL, William Eklund, who followed up his own rebound to get the goal. Here’s to hoping the kid is heating up.
EKLUND IN BACK-TO-BACK GAMES 🔥 pic.twitter.com/SnCty3R6tl
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) March 3, 2024
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