The San Jose Sharks – for multiple reasons — would love to see Anthony Duclair respond this week after the veteran forward was healthy scratched by coach David Quinn for the first time this season.
Duclair watched Sunday as the Sharks fell behind early and were unable to score a 5-on-5 goal in what became a 6-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, bringing an end to a 0-2-0 road trip.
Among other things, Quinn wasn’t happy that Duclair didn’t hustle to get back onside Friday against the Arizona Coyotes, negating a late third-period goal by Mikael Granlund in what turned into a 1-0 Sharks loss.
“He and I have talked about it,” Quinn told reporters Sunday night regarding Duclair. “I’ll keep that conversation between him and I. Listen, he’s had a good stretch here.”
Duclair, with six points in his last seven games, figures to be back in the lineup Tuesday as the Sharks play the Los Angeles Kings to start a two-game homestand.
In the past, Duclair has shown he can respond to being left out of the lineup.
Duclair was a healthy scratch for Game 4 of the Florida Panthers’ first-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins. He then scored the opening goal in Game 5, then had 10 more points in the next 16 games as the Panthers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Sharks’ coaching staff — and front office – would be happy to see Duclair bounce back in the same fashion, not only to help San Jose possibly string some victories together, but also perhaps build up his value before the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline.
Duclair, with 11 points in 27 games this season, is one of 10 pending unrestricted free agents inside the Sharks’ organization, per CapFriendly. Of that group of players, Duclair, in a trade, could bring back the best return, such as a high draft pick or a younger player with upside as San Jose’s braintrust continues to have a long-term outlook.
Duclair, 28, told this news organization last week that no contract talks have taken place between himself and the Sharks, adding that he would be open to having those discussions at any time. Sharks general manager Mike Grier, too, said before the start of the season that he would be willing to re-sign some of his pending UFA’s if they produced and proved to be good examples for younger players.
Still, Duclair could bring in a lucrative return in any deal.
Duclair had 261 points in 490 NHL games before the start of the season, including three years with the Florida Panthers where he had 99 points in 137 regular season games.
Asked last month when the Sharks were 0-10-1 whether the slow start by some pending UFA’s was hurting their trade value, Grier said, “I think all those guys have a pretty good track record of who they are.”
STUDNICKA’S FIRST GAME: Jack Studnicka is hoping he can have a better showing Tuesday than he did in his Sharks debut against the Avalanche as he struggled to play at his usual pace.
“Didn’t really have my legs,” said Studnicka, who was acquired from Vancouver on Friday. “It’s kind of been a whirlwind. No excuse, but it’s been a lot of travel recently. There were some good moments, some moments I’ve got to work on. But it was a lot of fun.”
Studnicka, centering the third line, had three hits and two blocked shots in the game, and won just four of 16 faceoffs in 12:18 of ice time.
“A tough game to be thrown into,” Quinn said. you know. “I’m sure he’s just glad it’s over with. Didn’t really think he had a lot of pop in his skating tonight, which usually he does. It’s a tough situation to be put into, but I thought he was fine.”
The Sharks were off Monday, so it wasn’t immediately known whether Studnicka would play that same role against the Kings, who, with Anze Kopitar, Phillip Danault, and Pierre-Luc Dubois, are as deep down the middle as any team in the NHL.
The Kings have the best road record in the NHL so far this season at 12-1-1.
Related Articles
Early penalties sink San Jose Sharks in loss to Colorado Avalanche
Sharks forward and pending UFA to be healthy scratched for first time this season
Why the San Jose Sharks’ newest forward says he’s “extremely motivated”
Lackluster Sharks shut out, but some ‘skilled’ help has been added
Sharks put one center on IR, acquire another one from Vancouver Canucks
FACEOFF WOES: The Sharks have been smoked in the faceoff circle the last two games, winning just 21 of 56 draws against the Coyotes and 21 of 55 against the Avalanche. The Sharks’ troubles were magnified in the defensive zone, where they won just 11 of 42 faceoffs in the two games.
The Sharks will be without their faceoff leader in terms of percentage, Nico Sturm, for an undetermined amount of time. Sturm has won 62.2 percent of his 354 faceoffs this season, fifth-best in the NHL before Monday’s game. That includes winning a team-high 58.4 percent of his 154 defensive zone draws.
The Sharks are now 0-5-0 this season without Sturm in the lineup.
