'Just Gotta Be Better': Luca Cagnoni Returns to the Sharks Lineup Against Maple Leafs

After the San Jose Sharks' loss to the Boston Bruins, a dejected Luca Cagnoni spoke to the media following a disappointing performance on both a team and individual level. He was then going to be a healthy scratch against the Nashville Predators in the Sharks' next game, but Darnell Nurse wasn't ready to go and he drew into the lineup, recording the second-lowest ice time amongst Sharks defensemen. Then, when the Sharks went to Detroit to face the Red Wings, he was out of the lineup.

Tonight, the Sharks are set to face the Toronto Maple Leafs and he's back in the mix.

Cagnoni's performance against Boston was certainly one he'll want to forget. "[It was] not very good," he said." A couple bad bounces, but gotta be better."

Analytically, the data backed up Cagnoni's assessment of the game as HockeyStatCards' Game Score Breakdown had him listed as by far the worst performing player on the ice:

With that being said, Cagnoni is a 21-year-old, 5-foot-9 defenseman playing in the NHL. Outside of rare exceptions like Lane Hutson with the Montreal Canadiens, there are going to be growing pains. "It's frustrating, but [it's a] long season, I guess," Cagnoni added.

So far, Cagnoni's rookie season has had exorbitant highs and very low lows. His first career NHL goal was an overtime winner, the type of goal that kids dream of scoring in their driveways. Just a few weeks later, he had the worst showing of his young career. With that being said, Cagnoni has overcome significant odds to even reach this point, so it wouldn't be wise to bet against him moving forward. He's shown glimpses of how valuable he can be in the long-run, he just needs to find consistency and he'll get there.