San Jose Sharks center Jacob Peterson (24) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against the Colorado Avalanche during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in San Jose, Calif.(AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks’ goaltending has been much improved, the forwards have played faster, Erik Karlsson remains a constant offensive threat and some of the younger players have added a genuine spark.
It’s all added up to a four-game point streak for the Sharks, their third such stretch of the season.
Some will suggest it couldn’t come at a worse time. With their 4-3 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, after three straight wins, the Sharks, prior to Wednesday’s games, are now four points up Columbus, Chicago, and Anaheim for 32nd and last place in the NHL.
San Jose, as of now, has a 9.5 percent chance of winning the NHL Draft Lottery in May, down from 25.5 percent at the start of last week.
The Sharks (22-39-16) host the Avalanche again on Thursday, then play the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday in their final home game.
Are the Sharks helping to create some momentum going into next season, when Year Two of the Mike Grier-David Quinn era begins, or are they shooting themselves in the foot?
Time will tell.
The reality is the Sharks still have pride, plus a handful of players in contract years who want to show they belong in the NHL.
Included in that group are Noah Gregor and Jacob Peterson.
Gregor and Peterson, both pending restricted free agents with arbitration rights, per CapFriendly, are looking for the moment like keepers. Gregor, nicknamed ‘Noah Gretzky,’ in some corners of the Sharks’ dressing room right now, has eight points in six games. Peterson, acquired from Dallas a month ago for Scott Reedy, has five points in that same stretch.
“I love his poise and his smarts,” Quinn said of Peterson. “He makes good plays with the puck, he’s got offensive anticipation when he gets it. He’s just a smart player.”
Other pending RFAs include Fabian Zetterlund and Evgeny Svechnikov, Jonah Gadjovich, and Martin Kaut.
Goalie James Reimer and forwards Kyle Criscuolo and Jeff Viel are pending unrestricted free agents who have also made positive impacts in recent games.
“We’re just all competitors,” said Sharks winger Kevin Labanc, who scored twice Tuesday and has four points in four games. “It doesn’t matter if we’re in it or not. We’re competing every single game; we compete to win and we compete for each other. Guys are planning for contracts; guys are playing to move up in the lineup and make a good showing for themselves for next year.”
Labanc was in Quinn’s doghouse earlier this season when he was a healthy scratch for eight of 10 games from mid-January to mid-February. He’s entering the final year of his contract, and the Sharks will have to decide whether Labanc’s $4.725 million cap hit makes sense for them to keep for next season.
There’s no doubt Labanc still has offensive flair, as witnessed by the cross-body wrist shot he fired past Avs goalie Alexandar Georgiev from near the faceoff dot in the second period, a goal assisted by Karlsson, who now has 96 points.
Labanc also scored in the third period, taking a pass from Gregor – who did some nice work to possess the puck – and beating Georgiev high glove side from the slot to tie the game 3-3 after San Jose by two goals to start the period.
“He’s definitely made strides and he’s going in the direction we want him to go in,” Quinn said of Labanc. “It’s good to see him get rewarded.”
Young players like Thomas Bordeleau, Danil Gushchin and Henry Thrun have had their moments, with Gushchin collecting his first NHL assist Thursday.
Goalie Kaapo Kahkonen gave the Sharks a chance to come back with 26 saves in the final two periods and one in overtime before Nathan MacKinnon scored at the 3:13 mark of the extra session. During the point streak, Kahkonen and James Reimer have combined for a .936 save percentage, with two starts each.
That’s nice to see from a momentum standpoint, as Kahkonen is signed through next season, although it hasn’t done much from a draft lottery perspective.
Right now, though, that’s the furthest thing from the minds of the players, especially those whose futures NHL are in question. The Sharks were rinsed 6-0 by the Avalanche last month and Tuesday, they wanted to show that they belonged on the same sheet of ice as the defending Stanley Cup champs.
“Just really proud of the way we competed and the way we played, especially after what happened last time we played these guys,” Quinn said. “I really felt we came with an effort and a compete tonight that we’re going to need from here on in and we’ve been trying to get to. I thought we took a step forward in those two areas.”
Originally published at Curtis Pashelka