#4.15.26

SJS vs. CHI (4.15.26)

Botg ground last night and I can't even talk about the game 😩 so let's just talk about our boys. This was my first time seeing the Sharks in person and it did not disappoint! I was sitting behind the Sharks bench, a few rows back. Perfect seats. Great view of the bench, even better view of the ice. Expensive? Yes. Would I do it again? Yes. But I think I might sit on the other side of the ice to see faces on the bench rather than the backs of heads. Idk pros and cons to both, I suppose. Some of my impressions, in no particular order:

Wenny. Is. Stunning.

Willmack chemistry was just sort of meh last night. I didn't see any salting and they didn't even sit together a lot. It's so clear they care about each other though. When they were doing warm up laps before each period their eyes always seemed to find each other.

Will spent a lot of time in his depression/anxiety corner in the second period. Probably most of the period. He was really upset about the offside call, shaking his head and staring at the ground a lot. He did seem to regroup slightly, but then whiffed a pass from Mack and that's when he really holed himself up in the corner. He took his helmet off at one point and just sat there like that. I wondered if he was done for the rest of the game! I was sitting behind him so I didn't see that clip of him admonishing himself about the offside call until I got home. Oh my heart! He cracked open his chest (in public!) in a way that's very rare for him. At the end of the period he stood up, and when Mack skated back to the bench he (Mack) came to the door and looked at Will and shook his head and Will looked down. :( I don't think Mack was frustrated specifically with Will, but just in general. When they came back for the third, Will was smiling again and Mack seemed to be really attentive, sort of like he was making sure Will was keeping a smile on his face. 🥹

Unc looks very tired y'all. He needs rest! Lol

Luca is a stud. I think (hope) he's really going to be good for this team.

Mack did his stick tap on Will's leg right before the first faceoff. I've seen him do this a few times now.

I was truly taken by what a good a skater Will is. Just in general. In true Will fashion he has flair, and is so so graceful. This doesn't really come across on tv imo. When I watch on tv, I get frustrated with him for being so slow and lacking in stamina. But tonight it felt like he was skating so fast! There was one play where he was keeping up with Mack! They were side by side and flew by and I felt faint. I know the party line is that Will needs to bulk up but I've been saying for awhile to offline peeps I think if he just worked on his speed and endurance, he could break out of his rut. You don't need to be huge in hockey anymore. You need to be fast. The game has changed. His agility could get him in and out of tight spots and with more speed I think he could get to Mack's passes more easily. Then let some of that hockey IQ he's famous for really shine. Get him to the ENT and eye doctor and we might see big changes from him. I personally think he's been doing great lately though; seems to be working hard at the weaker parts of his game.

Mack spent most of the third period just doing his Mack head shake. On the ice, on the bench, everywhere. Same, Mack, same. H*wks were insane. They came back like a bat outta hell. Oh, and I just gotta say Mack's eyes are unreal (in the most literal sense...I mean, wth lol).

When Luca got the penalty for holding, Wenny spent the entire commercial break talking to the ref about it. Maybe he thought it was a bad call, not sure.

Eky is a joy to watch. He wasn't really on my radar until he made that flying goal against the Br*ins last month and he's among my favorite players to watch now.

At one point during the third period Will shouted "Fuck!" really loud after a play and you could hear it very clearly in the stands lol

B*dard was a maniac. Could he be in the penalty box any more? What's going on with him lately?

Oof, there's so much more but to be honest I was just soaking it all in and spaced out a lot trying to process it all. 🙃 Feel free to message me if you're curious about anything specific.

SJS vs. CHI (4.15.26)

SJS vs. CHI (4.15.26)