CALGARY — Ryan Warsofsky was right to be angry at the officials, but he should be angrier at his team.
The San Jose Sharks, in desperate need of points to stay in the playoff hunt, did not put out a desperate effort in a 3-2 loss at the Calgary Flames.
Sure, the officials took a two-minute 5-on-3 power play away from San Jose, with a head-scratching even-up call, when Martin Pospisil boarded Mario Ferraro, and Vincent Desharnais responded.
Wennberg gets tripped by Lomberg, then Poposil cross checks Ferraro, Desharnais gets called for pulling Poposil off the scrum. Sharks PP#TheFutureIsTeal 1, #Flames 1 pic.twitter.com/oBnPvCQoRT
— TEAL TOWN USA – A San Jose Sharks Podcast (@TEALTOWNUSA) January 31, 2026
Ryan Warsofsky was HEATED after Vincent Desharnais was assessed a penalty after getting tied up in this scrum 😳 pic.twitter.com/BLmNwemXCv
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) January 31, 2026
But?
“We just got to keep grinding,” Alex Nedeljkovic, who made 39 saves, said. “Can’t use it as an excuse.”
So ultimately, the Sharks should be angriest at themselves, not really for the loss, but for their unremarkable effort.
“We just couldn’t stop a puck up [on the forecheck]. There’s a lot of issues, but [puck management] was one,” Warsofsky said. “Breakouts, puck play, connection and being connected [need to be better]. Our execution was not good.”
It’s one thing to lose when you play well, like San Jose’s last defeat, a 4-3 OT decision at the Edmonton Oilers.
It’s another to allow cellar-dwellers like the Flames to dictate pace for most of 60 minutes.
“It’s a tough one to swallow,” Nedeljkovic said. “Especially, I thought the other night, we played pretty well minus maybe the last six, seven minutes of that third period.”
“We know how tight it is,” Will Smith said. “Just can’t happen.”
Look, you’re not going to be at your best every night, and Calgary’s got plenty of good players. It happens. Can San Jose dust themselves off, and finish their pre-Olympics road trip at the Chicago Blackhawks and Colorado Avalanche with a flourish?
“We got two more games here,” Nedeljkovic said. “.500 through the first three games, kind of stings, but we’ll take it.”
“We definitely don’t take any of these games for granted,” Smith said.
But it felt like the San Jose Sharks did this afternoon, so hopefully, this is a lesson learned.
Will Smith
Smith, on losing to the Flames: “That one hurts.”
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) February 1, 2026
Alex Nedeljkovic
Nedeljkovic, on leaving the game and coming back: “[Leg] was starting to bug me a little bit. So I just needed a little breather. Thankfully, it was a TV timeout, so I was able to get things under control.”
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) February 1, 2026
Philipp Kurashev
Kurashev took responsibility for the too-many-men on the ice penalty at the end: “It’s the very worst moment I can make that turnover, that leads to a penalty, and then we’re down a guy, trying to tie the game. Obviously, it’s a bad mistake, and was very frustrating.”
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) February 1, 2026
Ryan Warsofsky
Warsofsky, on frustration from missed 5-on-3 power play, after Pospisil boards Ferraro: “There was no explanation. [Referee]Cody Beach doesn’t talk to the coaches.”
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) February 1, 2026