Thomas Bordeleau, the Sharks’ second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, will play for the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday. San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng provides a scouting report on the prospect.
The Sharks' Stanley Cup Playoff hopes officially ended Thursday night.
Falling 5-4 to the Chicago Blackhawks in a shootout at United Center, San Jose's eighth-straight loss officially eliminated them from playoff contention for the third-straight season.
With both teams tied 4-4 at the end of overtime, it was a shootout goal from Blackhawks wing Alex DeBrincat that ended it.
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Sharks coach Bob Boughner obviously was disappointed San Jose failed to make the playoffs but wasn't surprised that a slew of mid-season injuries and an offense that continued to struggle ended up sinking the Sharks right after the break earlier this winter.
"It's disappointing, obviously," Boughner told reporters postgame. "Let's be realistic, I think if you looked throughout the season, a lot of teams deal with a lot of issues. The biggest issue for us was losing our most offensive player for a team that was already going into the summer starving for goals, knowing that was going to be our weakness. That hurt.
"Guys playing hard and being in the fight right until the middle of the season, I think we ran into about a month and a half where we had -- at times -- seven, eight, nine veterans out of the lineup. You can see that's where the season turned for the worst for us. If you're behind the race after Christmas, statistically, it's not a good sign. We just couldn't stay healthy. And then when we did, we battled, we played hard, and we were in a lot of games. Just at the end of the day, the problem that we thought going into the season was the problem we're sitting here with right now."
Jaycob Megna, who scored the game-tying goal late in the third period, understands that the remaining nine games offer plenty of opportunity for many players on the roster.
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"It's definitely frustrating," Megna said. "You play hockey to play in the playoffs and that's something we didn't earn this year, unfortunately. But these are important games for everybody in our lineup and on our roster. It's positioning for next year, it's being here next year. We have a lot to play for. Obviously, we want to be in the playoffs every year and the fact that we're out now, we're not happy about. But the preparation for next year and making sure we are in the playoffs next year can start now. Just kind of establishing the way we're playing, so we have a lot to play for."
If there's one player on the roster who is the most disappointed he won't be contending for a Stanley Cup, it's Sharks captain Logan Couture, who came oh-so-close to hoisting one in 2016, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.
"It's not what you expect coming into a hockey season," Couture said postgame. "You expect to be in the playoffs, you expect to play for the Stanley Cup. I look at it this way, it's one last year you have a chance to win it. I'm getting older, so it hurts more and more each year. But we've gotta play hard, play for each other. I'm definitely proud of the way we've come together in that locker room, it's a very tight room. Guys sticking up for each other all over the ice, guys having fun playing together. Definitely enjoying that this year would love to see it result in more wins."
With Doug Wilson stepping down as general manager, the Sharks will begin their search for the next architect of the team, someone who likely will be watching the final nine games this season to scout the talent on San Jose's roster for next season.
"I think the start was great, we got off to winning a lot of games, and that break I think kind of cost us," Couture added. "We came back and didn't play our best and then we fell out of it. These last nine, if you're a young guy, if you're a veteran, if you're getting old like myself, there's still a lot to play for. You're playing for a job. We're going to have a new general manager coming in, so he's probably going to be watching tape, watching games down the stretch here. Someone's always watching, so you have to play your best."
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