The San Jose Sharks are starting to show how bright their future looks with consecutive victories over two of the NHL’s heavy hitters.
The Sharks are hoping to build upon those wins — the latest a 3-2 overtime victory over the visiting Colorado Avalanche on Saturday afternoon — when they play host to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday night.
“Everybody’s smiling,” said Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov. “The atmosphere is great in the locker room. It’s great. It’s way better when you’re winning some games.”
The Sharks have been a bottom-feeder the past half-dozen seasons, but some of the benefits of those pains are starting to show. They have won two straight — beating the New Jersey Devils 5-2 on Thursday — and taken three of their last four. They have not pieced together a three-game winning streak since Nov. 29 to Dec. 3 last season.
“We’re getting better,” said Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky. “We’re learning lessons here as we go. We’ve done some really good things.”
The Colorado verdict was the kind of win a young team does not always muster. The Avalanche opened the scoring 30 seconds after puck drop before San Jose responded to take a 2-1 lead early in the second period. Colorado evened the score to force overtime before Philipp Kurashev netted the winner — his fourth goal in a three-game run.
The Sharks know that rising star Macklin Celebrini is the focal point of the future — he scored San Jose’s first goal to push his points streak to seven games, during which he has collected six goals and seven assists — but Kurashev’s arrival as an offseason free agent has provided more scoring depth.
“He’s starting to get confident,” Warsofsky said. “When he’s competing and he’s skating for pucks, he’s a very effective player. He’s really solidified our top six.”
Meanwhile, the Red Wings are looking to rebound after snapping their three-game winning streak with Friday’s 5-2 loss at the Anaheim Ducks.
One night after beating the Los Angeles Kings in extra time, Detroit looked nothing like the club that ranks among the Eastern Conference’s top teams one month into the season.
The Ducks were quicker off the mark and controlled the clash right from the start.
“I thought our bodies wanted to go, but our brains didn’t,” said Red Wings coach Todd McLellan. “At the end of the night, that probably cost us. Some of our problems in the past reared their heads again in the first period, a few outnumbered rushes on real poor decisions.”
The Red Wings appeared to tie the clash 2-2 five minutes into the second period, but Moritz Seider’s goal was waved off when it was ruled he kicked the puck into the cage — even though he was attempting to put it to his stick. The Ducks made it a 3-1 game a couple of minutes later and Detroit could not claw back, only pulling close late in the middle frame when Alex DeBrincat scored for the fourth consecutive game.
“We gave ourselves a lot of trouble out there,” said forward Lucas Raymond. “I think it was, more so, a lot of self-inflicted stuff for us.”
Despite the setback, the Red Wings can take solace in a strong opening month that has them in the hunt for a playoff spot for the first time in 10 seasons.
“Last time I checked, we’re a team that’s just really trying to work hard to get into the playoffs, so we got a lot of learning lessons,” McLellan said. “We’re a mixed bag at this point, but we got a lot of opportunity for growth and we’re looking forward to getting better.”
