Editor’s note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
Look at this shift from Collin Graf.
Protecting a one-goal lead late in the third period, Graf turned in a three-zone shift which was the epitome of winning hockey and being hard to play against, in the Sharks’ 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Friday at SAP Center.
First, along the wall, Graf (51) doesn’t panic with the puck. He doesn’t toss a hope pass for offense that isn’t happening, he makes the easy play to Ty Dellandrea (10) who’s able to just get it out.
That, of course, isn’t the ideal place to surrender the puck when you’re up one goal late. But Graf doesn’t give up on the possession, getting under Connor Garland (8) in the neutral zone, almost forcing a turnover there, and getting Garland to reverse to Quinn Hughes (43).
That could’ve been the end of it, the perennial Norris Trophy contender with the puck, which is where Vancouver is most comfortable. But Graf then attacks Hughes in the DZ and forces a turnover.
Graf changes, his shift over.
Winning hockey, of course, isn’t just about goals, which the San Jose Sharks got from Will Smith, William Eklund, and Adam Gaudette. It’s not just about saves, which the Sharks got plenty of, 32 from Yaroslav Askarov.