Eklund has played 26 games and scored twelve points (6+6) so far in his third season in the National Hockey League. Three of the goals have been match decisive. In the first two years, Eklund played a total of 17 games and scored seven points (2+5).
He has been given a lot of confidence by Sharks coach David Quinn. Against the Islanders, the young Swede played all of 21.08 in the Sharks’ second chain with Alexander Barabanov and Tomas Hertl.
– It feels better and better, self-confidence grows when things are going well for the team as well. And (Tomas) Hertl … he’s a great leader on the ice, and a big part of my game, William Eklund said. And for the whole team, he takes care of everyone, we are very happy to have such a player with us.
Sharks coach David Quinn applauded his players after the game and gave an inspired speech in the locker room:
– It was an incredibly good victory. Extremely well. We showed the mental toughness that we have shown in the last month. We’re taking it to another level now; we don’t back down, we stick together and that’s a very good recipe for winning hockey games,” Quinn said.
– And it doesn’t end here; we are on our way out of the pit. It takes hard work, hard effort, doing it together and being good teammates, just like we were tonight. This was an incredible victory, in so many ways.
David Quinn has reason to be positive. After a difficult start to the season, the Sharks are admittedly last in the Pacific Division, but the game is getting better and better. Like the goalscoring: in October, the Sharks played nine games and scored nine goals. An average of 1.0. In November: 14 games and 27 goals, an average of 1.9 goals per game. This despite defeats such as 1-10 against Vancouver, 2-10 against Pittsburgh and 1-7 against Seattle. So far in December, the Sharks have played three games and scored 16 goals. An average of 5.3.
The Sharks have won on the road against New Jersey (6-3) and the Islanders (5-4) and took a point against the Rangers, losing 5-6 after overtime. That during a six-game road trip that began at the end of November with 0-3 against Boston and ends on Thursday night against Detroit and during the night of Monday against Vegas.
– It feels completely different now than it did then (in October and November). Now we play hockey again. We are playing much more maturely… we have skilled players in the team and they are playing out now. Now we will continue like this, assured William Eklund.
2023-12-06 06:28:11
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