A week ago today, the San Jose Sharks were heading to Columbus in the middle of a six-game losing streak with their playoff chances seeming to crumble before their very eyes. Now, the Sharks have won four straight and are in control of their own destiny as they sit in the Western Conference’s second Wild Card spot.
That game in Columbus seemed to change everything though. The Sharks closed out their road trip with a win, bringing some confidence home with them in the process. When asked about what changed against Columbus, Collin Graf was very straight forward with his answer.
“I think it's just desperation, we knew our season was on the line,” the 23-year-old forward told the media. “It was basically a do or die type game in Columbus. We played well in that game before [in St. Louis], but it didn't go our way. We were building towards a better process, and now the results have started to come."
Tonight, the Sharks will host the Nashville Predators, a team currently tied with the Sharks for that second WIld Card spot, in a game that could massively help decide who makes it to the postseason and who is sent home early. As a result, it’ll be important for the Sharks to keep playing with that desperation.
“You’ve got to be desperate here,” William Eklund echoed.” It's a big stretch of games coming up here, and we got to be really hungry. Saturday [there] is going to be a hungry team coming here as well. They want to get to the playoffs [as well], so you just want to keep going here.”
Head coach Ryan Warsofsky maintained the same sentiment as his players following the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night. “This time of year, you have to play with a hard, high level of desperation,” Warsofsky said. “We'll have a good meeting on Saturday morning and get ready for the biggest game of the year.”
Now, Saturday has arrived and the San Jose Sharks are looking to secure their first five-game winning streak since November 2019. The Predators are coming off of a win as well, they defeated the Los Angeles Kings in a shootout on Thursday which put both teams even with the Sharks with 79 points. The Sharks currently hold the final playoff spot in the Western Conference due to tiebreakers, but a win tonight would help their playoff odds tremendously.
Desperation has pulled the San Jose Sharks from near hopelessness regarding the playoffs to a true battle in just a week. Now it’s time for the “most important game of season” as Warsofsky put it, and we’ll see if desperation can make them persevere once again.