There was a brief moment at the start of the Sharks’ 4-1 loss where it looked like San Jose would catch the Toronto Maple Leafs on their heels. After all, the Leafs would not be the first team in the NHL to have an off night against the worst team in the league. However, the early jump by the Sharks seemed to wake Toronto up. By midway through the first period, the Toronto players suddenly remembered the misery that befell their Canadian brethren (i.e., the Winnipeg Jets and the Edmonton Oilers) earlier in the season, and they were not anxious to repeat. So, Toronto pushed back, and instead of the one-and-done pushes the Sharks seemed to muster, the Maple Leafs came at the Sharks with wave after wave of offense.
Toronto’s William Nylander had a very good night, finishing with two goals and an assist and claiming first star honors. It’s the kind of night that makes it hard to argue with the eight-year, $11.5 million AAV contract extension rumor that’s currently floating around the league.
William Nylander closing in on an 8-year deal that would be around $92 million with the deal possibly being done by Monday, per @FriedgeHNIC
— David Alter (@dalter) January 7, 2024
An approximate $11.5m AAV.
Too high? Too low? Just right?
Mitch Marner and Calle Jarnkrok also scored for the Maple Leafs.
Don’t blame this one on Blackwood
The only thing that stood in Toronto’s way, it seemed, was Mackenzie Blackwood and maybe a goalpost or two. Blackwood was phenomenal in the first period, stopping 17 of the 18 shots he faced and robbing more than one Maple Leafs star. That save on Auston Matthews, in particular, was one for the highlight reel.
Blackwood was put to the test in the first period 😅 pic.twitter.com/SNIVZfHbeP
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) January 7, 2024
Blackwood stood on his head when the Sharks needed it, keeping San Jose in the game through two periods. The fact that it was only 2-0 after two was a testament to his skill as a netminder. And while that second goal is probably one he’d like back, he was one of the better Sharks on the ice overall.
Sharks didn’t give up
You have to give the Sharks credit for continuing to try and win, even after going down 3-0. It felt like that third goal sealed the deal, but the Sharks didn’t let it get to them. Instead, the team continued to try and score. If you look at the gameflow chart from Natural Stat Trick, you see that the third period momentum shifted ever so slightly in the Sharks’ favor.
Even though San Jose was down in the game, the players continued to put in the work on both offense and defense. It would have been easy for the team to deflate and call it a game before the 60 minutes was up, but credit to the players for not allowing that to happen. As a result, San Jose broke the shutout at the 11:57 mark of the third period.
Also, credit to the team for adjusting on the fly. Through 30 minutes, the Sharks had approximately five shots on net. There were only three shots in the first period. However, the Sharks adjusted as the game went on and by the end, it was a much more respectable 24 shots to Toronto’s 33. The Sharks did not win, but they did generate more offense later in the game.
Granlund and Zetterlund finding great chemistry
The most noticeable line on the ice was the trio of Mikael Granlund, Fabian Zetterlund and Anthony Duclair . Granlund and Zetterlund, in particular, worked exceptionally well together.
The forwards were the only line of the Sharks with a positive Corsi for percentage to end the game. The momentum often swung in the Sharks’ favor when they were on the ice.
The work by the line paid off in the latter half of the third when Duclair took the puck behind the net, and then played it to the point to Ty Emberson. Emberson did what the Sharks should have been doing all game and quickly got the puck on net. Zetterlund picked up the rebound and shot/passed it to Granlund to tucked it in past Martin Jones.
Granlund gets the Sharks on the board 🙌 pic.twitter.com/e3DQ9q46qP
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) January 7, 2024
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