Canucks defenseman Filip Hronko will probably be haunted by the penetration of the Sharks’ Finnish forward Mikael Granlund, who drove the entire field at the start of the third period, tricked the Czech defender and finished with a sly finish.
“Space opened up for me, I somehow bypassed the defender and was able to get the puck over the line,” Granlund did not make a science out of his finish. “But it was a nice feeling, yes.”
Losers coach Rick Tocchet was obviously not happy with Hronka’s approach to defending the Finnish forward. “You can’t just let him skate through the middle. But it wasn’t just that, we weren’t prepared for this event at all.”
But in California, after a disastrous start, things are slowly coming together. Although the Sharks are still light years away from the ideal. “But think back to where we were three weeks ago against this team (1-10) and how far we’ve come, the progress we’ve made. No one has probably faced more adversity than us and these guys stuck together and improved every day,” said coach David Quinn, who despite the frantic start to the year has so far defended his position.
“San Jose played well. You have to respect your opponent,” Tocchet said. In the event of a win, the tired Canucks could have moved to the top of the Western Conference, but it remained only a wish, even though Hronek scored for the second time this season, added an assist and is fourth in the defensemen’s ranking with 22 points. This is led by his teammate and captain Quinn Hughes (8+25), who extended his point streak to eleven games with an assist, tying Hronk’s club record among guards.
On the opposite side, Tomáš Hertl scored two assists (4+12) and with the 110th game with more than one point in the historical club tables, he caught up with Owen Nolan. Now to improve the Sharks’ match record, which is still dismal despite the unexpected win: 3–16–2.
2023-11-26 10:34:47
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