Quinn laments Sharks’ lack of compete after heartbreaking loss: ‘The ending was probably fitting’
Vladimir Tarasenko scored with 3.3 seconds left in the third period to lift the Ottawa Senators past the San Jose Sharks 5-4 on Saturday.
From Sharks coach David Quinn’s perspective, it was an appropriate ending.
Feeling his team was mostly out-competed by the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, Quinn saw Vladimir Tarasenko shake off a check in front of the Sharks’ net and score off a rebound with 3.3 seconds remaining in the third period to lift the Ottawa Senators to a 5-4 win.
With the Senators applying pressure, Tarasenko created some distance between himself and Justin Bailey, collected a rebound after Artem Zub’s shot on goal, and fired the puck past Mackenzie Blackwood into a mostly empty net for the game-winning goal.
An official review by the NHL upheld the call, as the Sharks fell to 1-2-0 on this five-game road trip and 1-13-0 since mid-December.
“We just got outmuscled at the net, really,” Quinn said. “They hemmed us in pretty good. We had chances to clear and we didn’t. They played with a tenacity tonight that we didn’t match consistently enough, so the ending was probably fitting.”
The Sharks (10-33-3) were hoping to bring some of the momentum they created on Thursday with their 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens that snapped a 12-game losing streak. But the Sharks once again just weren’t hard enough to play against, allowing 41 shots as they were out-chanced 35-19, per Natural Stat Trick.
“When you’ve had the year we’ve had, you really start getting a little bit deflated, regardless of the situation,” Quinn said. “You’re professionals, so you’ve got to shake through it.”
The Sharks had a chance to at least earn a point after Blackwood finished with 36 saves. Anthony Duclair, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Kevin Labanc, and Filip Zadina all scored, with Zadina’s goal, off Mario Ferraro’s third assist of the game, tying the game 4-4 with 3:04 left in regulation time.
“The boys did a pretty good job of battling back there. Showed some character, showed some heart,” Duclair said. “It’s tough to go down that way, especially in the last few seconds there. The thing we’ve got to continue to improve on is playing the full 60.”
The Sharks allowed first-period goals to Claude Giroux and Thomas Chabot and second-period goals to Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson.
The loss marked the 10th time in the last 13 games that the Sharks have allowed four goals or more in a game.
Asked about a possible lack of communication between Sharks players on Tarasenko’s goal, Quinn said, “I just thought it was our lack of compete, really, throughout the night. I don’t think we competed anywhere the level we needed to, regardless of our opponent.
“Our puck play, we really struggled. There weren’t many areas that we were efficient in tonight. … We’re just not physical enough. It’s not about running people, it’s about being harder on the puck and not fishing for pucks and being consistently physical.”
The Sharks are scheduled to play the Buffalo Sabres on Monday at noon but remained in Ottawa overnight after a powerful storm moved into Western New York, forcing a travel ban in Erie County after 9 p.m. Saturday.
Two to three inches of snow is expected to fall in the Buffalo area in the next 24 hours, with the storm bringing along high winds and temperatures in the low 20s. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said that the ban will be re-visited at 6 a.m. Sunday to see if it needs to be extended.
The powerful storm led the NFL on Saturday to push back the Buffalo Bills’ wild-card playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers from Sunday to Monday at 1:30 p.m. (PST).
COUTURE UPDATE: Sharks captain Logan Couture continues to skate on a near daily basis but it remains unclear as to whether the veteran centerman will be able to rejoin the team’s lineup by early next week.
Couture skated Friday and Saturday in Ottawa but did not play against the Senators.
Quinn said last week he was hopeful Couture, out all season with a lower-body injury, would return to the active roster by the time the team’s road trip ended. After Monday, the Sharks finish the trip on Tuesday in Chicago.
“I have hope every day for him,” Quinn said of Couture before Saturday’s game. “He’s getting closer.”
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