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Quick bites: It was close until it wasn’t

Posted on by Erika Towne
The Arizona Coyotes scored 5 goals on 30 shots and beat the San Jose Sharks 5-2. Filip Zadina and Anthony Duclair scored for the Sharks.

Another regulation loss has dropped the San Jose Sharks firmly back into the race for the bottom. The Sharks lost 5-2 to the Arizona Coyotes last night, once again failing to find that third goal that has been so elusive this season save for that one fun week and a half at the start of December.

The Sharks jumped on the Coyotes early, taking a book from the Los Angeles Kings’ playbook and creating turnovers in the neutral zone. Team Teal got sticks into lanes, played the body, and, for the most part, controlled the play more than the Coyotes through two periods.

Yet, despite all of that, San Jose entered the lockerroom after the sound of the second horn trailing the Coyotes 3-1. It was almost as if the players felt that they put it all on the line, and this time, it wasn’t good enough for the comeback. San Jose came out with a quick goal to start the third period, but the Coyotes pushed back and the Sharks could not handle it. Instead of bending, San Jose broke and lost, returning the team firmly to the NHL’s basement.

Sharks’ players who needed to score did

It wasn’t all bad. Two of the Sharks players who needed to score the most found the back of the net.

Filip Zadina, who played a strong game against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night, was rewarded with a promotion to the first line. Zadina, Tomas Hertl and William Eklund clicked and at the top of the third period, cashed in.

With a simple poke at the puck, Zadina scored his first goal since Nov. 9. It was a much needed goal for a young forward looking to find his place in the NHL.

Then there’s Anthony Duclair, who was a healthy scratch just two games ago.

Duclair’s ability to accelerate through the neutral zone was impressive. The forward gained so much distance on the Coyotes players so quickly that he created a breakaway with a few strides. It’s fun to watch and I’ll be sad to see him go at the trade deadline.

Side note: props to Fabian Zetterlund for getting that stick in there to break up a pass and put just enough on it to send Duclair the other way. He’s becoming more responsible in his own zone, something that Head Coach David Quinn has preached to him in the past. Zetterlund seems to have taken the message to heart. He has become a better all-around player under Quinn.

Mackenzie Blackwood was less than stellar

Last night was not a good night for netminder Mackenzie Blackwood. While he bailed out the Sharks a time or two in the past, tonight, he needed the team to bail him out. Blackwood allowed 5 goals on 30 shots. That wouldn’t be so bad if the shots were exceptional, but according to Natural Stat Trick, his expected goals against for this game was 2.95. At least two of the goals Blackwood let in last night should have been saved.

It was tough to watch when Lawson Crouse scored the fifth goal of the game. Yes, there was traffic in front of the net, but you needed Blackwood to be better in that situation.

Since starting the season so strong, Blackwood’s play has come back down to earth.

William Eklund gets feisty

I want to call out a couple of instances involving William Eklund last night that show the kid is coming into his own and developing a new aspect of his game.

First, there’s the spin-o-rama move Eklund performed in the Coyotes zone just before the Zadina goal. Was it necessary? Maybe, maybe not. It did do what it was meant to do, which was create space for Eklund to make a play. Absolutely. When Eklund spun, the Coyotes player backed off just enough to give him more room. The fact that Eklund had the confidence to perform such a move is a testament to where he’s gotten to in his development.

Then, there’s the end of the first period. Eklund had the puck behind the net as the horn sounded. The players were skating off to the benches but Eklund remained, playing with the puck. It looked as though he was trying to pull off a stick move he hadn’t managed to get a handle on in the waning seconds of the period. A Coyotes player took exception to it and gave Eklund a little shove. Eklund brushed it off and it was over. But he didn’t seem disturbed by the confrontation; he almost relished it.

In the second period, there was a shot on net that was bobbled but eventually stopped by Coyotes netminder Karel Vejmelka. Eklund drove to the front of the net and stopped when Vejmelka froze the puck, but then he stood there for what felt like five to ten seconds longer than he needed to, almost like he was daring the Coyotes to confront him. Maybe it wasn’t on purpose, but I like to think that it was. It looks like Eklund is trying to get in opponents’ heads as he finds new confidence in his first full season with the Sharks.

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