Sharks Make More Changes As Search For Spark Continues Against Flames

The San Jose Sharks are looking to move on from the fallout of their 5-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators, with changes coming against the Calgary Flames.

During Monday’s morning skate, head coach Ryan Warsofsky continued his line adjustments, hoping to find something that sticks. Tyler Toffoli gets a chance to play with Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith on the top line.

“He’s played pretty good hockey, and he’s probably earned that spot up there,” Warsofsky said. “[Let’s] see if we can reignite some chemistry that we had before.”

Celebrini shared similar thoughts on what the veteran winger can bring to the San Jose Sharks’ top line.

“We’ve worked with them before. This line has clicked in past years,” Celebrini said. “We know what to expect from each other, and we’re familiar with each other.”

Knowing what to expect, or being connected, was a common theme among the Sharks on Monday. Celebrini told reporters he believes the system in place can lead to team success, but communication needs to be better. His head coach echoed the same points.

“There definitely can be more, can be better communication,” Warsofsky said. “I think hockey back in the day [there] was probably a lot more communication than there is today for whatever reason, so we got to obviously work on it.”

“God gave us mouths for a reason; let’s use them.”

Celebrini wants his team all on the same page.

“We just need to get on the same page overall. I think we’ve just been a little bit disconnected, and that leads to all of our issues,” he explained. “If we have a little more energy and we’re on the same page, it’ll work out just fine.”

Power-play changes

The San Jose Sharks are also making adjustments to their power-play setup. Smith will play at the point on the Sharks’ top unit, which now boasts five forwards.

Warsofsky told reporters that he and Smith have had discussions about playing the point on the power play before. Smith has some experience in that role during his college career, but tonight will be his first time in the NHL.

“You can see everyone in front of you. You’ve got to work the blue and open up the flank guys, and also be a shot threat,” Smith explained. “I’ve done a little bit. I’ve been wanting to try it out, and a couple of teams do it, so we’ll see how it goes.”

The other change was having Celebrini on the left flank, his strong side. As a left-handed player, the Sharks center can get moving downhill. Many of the Sharks’ recent PPGs have come from a wrist shot while moving downhill.

Celebrini moving downhill into the offensive zone makes him one of the NHL’s most dangerous players.

“Just having as many shooting threats as we have, and like you said, just being able to attack down at the defenseman,” Celebrini said. “I mean, with Toff and Mush around the net, I think that’s a great duo for guys down low and to win those pucks.”

Puck drop will be at 6 p.m., one hour earlier than the traditional 7 p.m. Yaroslav Askarov will start in goal.