SAN JOSE – Anthony Duclair fit in well on and off the ice with the San Jose Sharks earlier this season after he was acquired from the Florida Panthers last summer.
Duclair’s first two weeks with the Tampa Bay Lightning have been no different.
Going into Thursday’s game between the Sharks and Lightning at SAP Center, Duclair, since Tampa Bay acquired him on March 7, had five points in four games to help his new team solidify its postseason chances in a crowded Eastern Conference playoff race.
During Tampa Bay’s four-game winning streak, which began after Duclair’s arrival, the Lightning outscored opposing teams 23-9 and moved five points clear of the playoff cut line with 14 games left before Thursday.
The Sharks, by contrast, lost six of their first seven games since the trade, which also saw a 2025 seventh-round pick to go the Lightning and defenseman Jack Thompson and a 2024 third-rounder come to San Jose.
Thompson is in the AHL and has three assists in five games with the Barracuda.
For the season, Duclair, before Thursday, had 19 goals and 32 points in 60 games.
“He’s been a spark for us,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said of Duclair. “Just the skill set that he brings, the speed has been a really big addition to our top six. Whether he’s played with (Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov), or me and (Anthony) Cirelli, he just opens up a lot of space by utilizing that speed. and then that’s when you see the skill set takes over.
“He can make a lot of great plays at a high-end pace.”
Duclair, a pending unrestricted free agent, was a popular figure in the Sharks’ dressing room and per Stamkos, has made a pretty easy transition in that regard with the Lightning, a team that’s made the playoffs for six straight seasons and is used to bringing in new players at the trade deadline. Tampa Bay also acquired defenseman Matt Dumba from the Arizona Coyotes.
“Anytime our management has brought in players over the years, whether it’s free agency or deadline, they’re obviously very good players, but they fit the mold of coming into this dressing room and adding something with their character,” Stamkos said. “(Duclair’s) done that as well.
“I think it was a perfect situation for Anthony here, also having Matt Dumba come in. I know they’re really good friends. That eases the transition as well. … It’s not an easy spot to be in.
“We’re right in the hunt for a playoff spot but both those guys have added an element not only on the ice, but in the room and spark this group. We’ve seen what we’ve been able to do since the deadline and they’ve been a big part of that.”
TRANSACTIONS: The Sharks activated goalie Mackenzie Blackwood off injured reserve Thursday and reassigned Magnus Chrona, who was on an emergency loan, back to the Barracuda of the AHL.
Blackwood, who will start Thursday’s game, injured his groin in a Feb. 27 game against the New Jersey Devils. So far this season he is 9-18-3 with a .899 save percentage in 35 games.
Following Blackwood’s injury, and after Kaapo Kahkonen was traded to the Devils on March 8, Chrona took over No. 1 goaltending duties. From March 7 to Tuesday’s game against the Nashville Predators, an 8-2 Sharks loss, Chrona went 1-5-0 with an .862 save percentage.
“I thought he did a good job,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “I thought he got better while he was up here. I thought his game improved. Obviously, you don’t want to be giving up that many goals. We certainly didn’t help him in a lot of situations, but I think it was a great experience for him.”
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The Sharks kept Devin Cooley on their active roster to back up Blackwood, and he will stay in the NHL for the time being, but that could change, Quinn said.
Cooley, in his first NHL start, made 26 saves on Sunday in a 5-2 Sharks loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Cooley, a Los Gatos native, was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres on March 8 for a 2025 seventh-round draft pick that originally belonged to the Washington Capitals.
LINEUP CHANGES: Alexander Barabanov will return to the Sharks lineup on Thursday after he was scratched from Tuesday’s game in Nashville. Givani Smith will be scratched.