Agnew Talks Sharks Leaders’ Determination

SAN JOSE — It started at the top. It started with the leaders, with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski, with the big names and big talents. Those were the San Jose Sharks players who, as Agnew saw it, were not going to let the Western Conference Final continue.

They were ready to end the series. They were ready to go to the Stanley Cup Final.

“Their determination,” Agnew said. “I thought Thornton was so focused. They showed a clip on the TV where he was barking at somebody coming down the ice after they turned the puck over, and I just felt that he looked like he wasn’t going to let anything bad happen.

“He was going to make sure – in my opinion, anyway, and I’m sure there’s other guys in there – but when your team plays that way and everybody’s on notice and everybody’s on the same page and you’ve got four lines and six [defensemen] playing that way, it’s pretty impressive.”

And that came from the top down, as the Sharks defeated the St. Louis Blues 5-2 in Game 6 at SAP Center on Wednesday.

“I thought that comes to the leadership group and it certainly comes to the determination and the desperation of the group,” Agnew said. “Who knows, maybe they saw what happened in Tampa the night before and were like, ‘We’re not going back for Game 7. We’ve got a chance, let’s make sure we take care of business.’ “

On Monday, the Tampa Bay Lightning entered Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final with a 3-2 series lead on the Pittsburgh …

continue reading in source sharks.nhl.com