Post-Game | Ryan Huska – 08.12.25

Post-Game | Ryan Huska – 08.12.25

There was uh I I thought we scored some timely goals, let’s put it that way, where when we gave one up, we came right back and scored. And I thought that was a big point of the game where the guys, you know, they didn’t really sag all that much at that point. They found a way to score again. But it was a game with lots of stops and starts and power plays, penalty, not a lot of rhythm to tonight’s game, but we found a way to win. So, not not happy with your team’s I mean, I know they got the win, but it wasn’t pretty at all. Um, yeah, but you got to win that way sometimes. You know, earlier on we weren’t winning that way. So now we, you know, you find a way, whether it’s the the timely goals that we scored tonight, you have to give the players credit for that. I just don’t feel like we we checked hard enough or fast enough. We gave up, you know, too much zone time, and that’s something that we have to address here moving forward. Can the stop start nature of that game? Like there were a lot of whistles. be hard to get into that. Well, if I was a player, I would probably say yes because hey, you don’t know how long you’re going to be sitting on the bench forever. Um, it was a funny game all around, but as I said, we we got the two points. What’s working for Diego Sharonovic in that line with him and Cajury? Um, I I think he’s going to the net right now. We talked about him after the last game where he’s starting to skate with the puck more and he’s I think he has more confidence, composure, whatever you want to call it right now with the puck and he is going to the net. Like he’s scored a goal that went off him tonight. I mean, it doesn’t matter how they go in, they go in, but it it goes in because he’s where he should be. Um, and I I do think that line has some chemistry now. Even the um the goal that Naz scored, that was a beautiful play and we don’t see a ton of those where we haven’t seen a ton of those this year. It was nice to see them connect with a goal that looked like that. Ryan, does that adage that it doesn’t matter how they does that, I guess, apply especially when a guy’s been under fire for maybe not producing enough that bit of weight? Uh, probably. I mean I mean but I feel like you know the last two three weeks he’s been good player for us you know since he’s been put on that line and I think he’s feeling or understanding that if he goes to certain areas he’s going to touch the puck more right now and I think he’s really committed to being uh a harder player on the walls in the battles all those different areas because he does know that if he he finds a little bit more in that category he has the puck more and when he does have the puck he can make things happen. take us back to that moment when when he was in and out of the lineup and then made the decision put him back in that top line. I just bigger picture seen that seen him thrive there. Um how have I seen him thrive? Well, you know, not the start that he wanted to have, but he’s got a skill set and that’s something that we miss at times on our team is someone that has the ability to help generate offense, whether it’s setting a play up or scoring goals. and he wasn’t doing a lot of that early in the year, but when he’s, you know, kind of been put on that line with Naz and Joel, um I’ve talked a lot about the the connection that Joel and Naz have together, like they play well and they needed somebody that could make a play with them, was also a shooter and and was a guy that could, you know, I I I think be a threat for us when he’s on the ice and he’s fit in very well there right now. But I I do think a lot of it comes from he he built his game slowly as he got going. Now I feel like he’s the more confident guy that we expect and need him to be moving forward. I asked about scoring and he sort of said it’s purely a bonus if he scores at this point. It’s periodly about what? A bonus like he’s he’s focused on the other thing. Is is that how you see it? Uh yep. I do. I mean it’s it’s nice for a defenseman like that to score for sure. I mean he’s had some really good games for us. He’s done a lot of good things and and um sneaking up there in the play like that was another good one. He picked the right time to do that. You talked about that cadre line, but just as a coach, how nice is it to be able to kind of unplug the line blender for a little while? It’s been really nice. We we come to the rink now and we know what we’re doing. You know, there’s early on in the season. We were shifting things around a lot to try to find some chemistry with people. And one, um, sometimes that works. Um, but oftentimes you’re not giving guys an opportunity to spend time together so they understand where they’re going to be on the ice. Um sometimes with with coaches though that the results aren’t quite there or you’re not getting the most out of a certain player, you want to see if you’ve missed something with the connection, but um over the last little while I feel like those three lines in particular have done a lot of good things. In the last couple games, they haven’t had a lot of ice time, but the beacher line’s been better as well. It’s not something we see very often. Do you like seeing that fire out of Dustin late in the game? I think it’s kind of fired up. Yeah, I like to see the fire out him for sure. I don’t like the penalty, the extra penalty. Whether uh I liked uh Kevin Ball going in there the way he did, I think that’s important. Anybody bumps your goalender, I think that has to happen. That’s number one priority for our team that we always take care of the guys that are in the net. Um but you don’t want to see us, you know, in a game that was as kind of strange as this one was having to kill a penalty late in the game like that. [Music]

“I thought we scored some timely goals”