Following the San Jose Sharks’ 5-4 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, William Eklund accidentally revealed Shakir Mukhamadullin’s big news.
Mukhamadullin scored the game-winning goal for the Sharks on Saturday after he was away from the team due to personal reasons on Friday. As it turns out, Mukhamadullin was welcoming his first child into the world.
“Probably both. I saw him come down there, and he made a hell of a shot there. It was nice,” Eklund said.
But then the San Jose Sharks got a little too excited when asked about how the team reacted to his game-winning goal.
“He’s been doing a really good job all year. His goal is huge for us as a team and for him also. That was for his kid.”
Eklund, when pressed about what he meant by that comment, confirmed that the Sharks defenseman had his first child. After a quick confirmation with the team, Mukhamadullin said it was okay for Eklund to say something.
Mukhamadullin had recently voiced some frustration with his season as a whole, but kept his focus on taking things one game at a time.
“No challenge for me. I’m just happy to be back and playing, be with the team,” Mukhamadullin said postgame. “I’m just trying to play my best every game. Today, I scored the winning goal. Tomorrow, someone else scores; it just happens. It’s a team game, not about, like, only my goal. It’s all about the team.”
San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky was proud of the 24-year-old defenseman’s performance, which included a game-saving kick save.
“He was good. Makes that huge block, saves a goal, and gives us a goal. Again, did some really good things,” Warsofsky said.