SAN JOSE – It was perhaps an opportunity for San Jose Sharks forward William Eklund to catch his breath and lift the weight off of his shoulders after he went five games without a point.
After centering San Jose’s second line for much of the last four weeks, Eklund started Thursday’s game with the Tampa Bay Lightning on the fourth line, a demotion, in some respects.
“It’s been a tall task for him,” Sharks coach David Quinn said of Eklund and the second-line center role on Thursday morning. “Everybody wants to play center in the National Hockey League until they go through it and experience and go, ‘Woah, maybe this isn’t what I thought it was going to be.’”
The question was how Eklund was going to respond.
Pretty well, it turns out, although he and the Sharks still didn’t get the result they wanted.
Eklund scored his 10th goal of the season in the first period Thursday, but the Sharks allowed two third-period goals to Brayden Point and one to ex-teammate Anthony Duclair in a 4-1 loss to the Lightning at SAP Center.
“I thought he had a really good night tonight,” Quinn said of Eklund, who finished with nearly 15 minutes of ice time. “He and I talked at length this morning. We talked about why we were moving him, and I thought he had a really good night.”
Point’s first goal came at the 34-second mark of the third period with Jan Rutta serving a slashing penalty. Duclair’s goal, his fourth with his new team since he was acquired by Tampa Bay from the Sharks on March 7, came at the end of a pretty passing sequence.
Point also scored at the 14:02 mark of the third period, giving him 40 goals for the season. Nikita Kucherov assisted on all four Lightning goals to give him a league-leading 122 points.
Nick Paul also scored a funky first-period goal in the win as the Lightning handed the Sharks their sixth straight loss.
During the skid, San Jose has been outscored 16-1 in the third period, as its record fell to an NHL-worst 16-46-7. They host the Chicago Blackhawks, owners of the second-worst record at 19-46-5.
“Maybe the residue of our season,” Quinn said when asked if there’s a common thread to the third periods.
On Eklund’s goal, Jacob MacDonald picked up a loose puck that Erik Cernak had lost control of, entered the Lightning zone, and put a pass toward the middle of the ice that Eklund snapped past Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.
“You get put in a situation like that, you want to respond accordingly, and I thought he did that,” MacDonald said of the 21-year-old Eklund. “He’s a young kid. He’s learning from the older guys. He puts his head down and works hard, so he got rewarded for it tonight.”
The Sharks next game is Saturday at home against the Chicago Blackhawks and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Eklund back in the top nine.
“I haven’t played my best hockey here,” Eklund said Thursday night. “But I think today was a huge step in the right direction. You’re not always going to have ups in a season. You’re going to have some downs.
“I’m learning here. I’m going to keep learning and be a better person.”
Still, despite the third period, it was a slightly better game overall for the Sharks after they allowed four third-period goals on Tuesday in an 8-2 loss to the Nashville Predators. In that game, the Sharks basically stopped playing with about seven or eight minutes to go, something Quinn addressed before Thursday’s game.
Eklund went without a point on the Sharks’ 0-5-0 road trip, as the last time found the scoresheet before Thursday was at home on March 9 when he assisted on Thomas Bordeleau’s power-play goal against the Ottawa Senators.
On the trip, Eklund was also 9-for-43 in the faceoff dot, usually taking draws against bigger, more experienced players.
The NHL schedule takes a toll on young players not used to the physical and mental grind of an 82-game season. Eklund played 62 games last season, with 54 coming at the AHL level where there’s less travel and more practice time. Thursday was his 67th game this season.
Eklund said he feels fine right now, but perhaps needed to hit the reset button after a dry spell. His goal snapped an eight-game goal drought.
“I play my best hockey when I don’t think,” Eklund said. “I feel like it was a fresh start for me today. Come back and play a little better hockey, and I feel like I did today.”
BLACKWOOD RETURNS: The Sharks needed some sort of confidence boost after they allowed 22 even-strength goals on the five-game road trip.
Mackenzie Blackwood tried to provide that Thursday, as he stopped 17 shots. He was getting evaluated for an upper-body injury after the game, but Quinn said he doesn’t expect it to be serious.
Blackwood hadn’t played since Feb. 27 when he was injured in the first period of the Sharks’ home game against the New Jersey Devils.
“It helps a lot,” Quinn said of having Blackwood back. “As a player when you know you’ve got a goalie of that stature back there, it just makes everything a little bit different. You approach things differently, feel better, approach your responsibilities a little bit differently, so that certainly helps.”
It’s safe to say Blackwood is going to get the bulk of the work with now 13 games left in the regular season. Devin Cooley, with one NHL start under his belt, is the backup to Blackwood for the time being.
