SAN JOSE -- In a series as hard-hitting and physical as the current Round 1 matchup between the Sharks and the Golden Knights, you expect to see players like Evander Kane and Micheal Haley getting into the mix and making some noise.
But Team Teal is also getting some of its current snarl and grit from it’s younger players. Young guns Marcus Sorensen and Timo Meier did a particularly good job throwing their weight around in Game 1, and their team is very happy to see it.
“I thought those guys were great,” head coach Peter DeBoer complimented after San Jose’s morning skate on Friday. “Timo is a 30-goal scorer, but he’s not afraid to do that like Kane. I really like Marcus’ game, he’s fearless out there.”
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Meier registered nine hits on the evening and was a constant force bulldozing his way down the ice. Meier’s mix of skill and size makes him a tough player to contain, teammate Evander Kane pointed out.
“He’s a lot to handle for any opposing defenseman,” No. 9 summarized to NBC Sports California. “Timo’s a big boy. He’s always kind of had that physical side to his game. I think you’re obviously seeing it a lot more in this series, just with the nature of how things are going. I think when he uses that it feeds him and it gets him going as well.”
Kane was equally complimentary of Sorensen, who tallied a whopping six hits on the evening. Despite being one of the smaller players on the team, the Swedish winger has absolutely no fear when it comes to mixing it up and defending his teammates – even when an opposing player is bigger than him.
“You know Marcus, he’s a feisty player,” Kane said, referencing a game earlier in the regular season when Sorensen stuck up for linemate Joe Thornton against Justin Falk of the Senators. “I remember back in Ottawa there, Jumbo went down and (Sorensen’s) fighting the biggest guy over on Ottawa. He’s always ready to stick up for his teammates and he always plays with that edge to his game.”
San Jose Sharks
DeBoer went on to extend his compliments to the rest of the team. “Even on the less physical side, on the ‘physically competing’ side, I thought our whole group did a good job getting to pucks first and winning little battles.”
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With Game 2 on Friday evening promising to be even more contentious, the intensity level is only expected to go up. Lucky for the Sharks, some of their younger players are fully able and ready to match that level of physicality and give their team a better chance of winning.
“They like this time of year and we have a lot of trust in them,” Joe Pavelski said. “It is good to see, for sure.”