Kiefer Sherwood Blasts Sharks' Effort and Calls Kings' Late Power Play "Disrespectful"

Following a 7-2 rout in Los Angeles, San Jose forward Kiefer Sherwood openly criticized his team's effort and took issue with the Kings deploying their top power play while ahead 6-2.

The lopsided Wednesday night defeat dropped the Sharks to a 7-9-1 record.

It also marked the team's third consecutive loss during a difficult stretch of the schedule.

Immediately after the final horn, the Sharks held a closed-door, players-only meeting in the visiting locker room.

When the doors finally opened to reporters, Sherwood pulled no punches regarding what had transpired on the ice.

FRUSTRATION OVER THE KINGS' POWER PLAY

Sherwood directed part of his frustration directly at the opposing bench.

With Los Angeles holding a comfortable four-goal cushion late in the contest, the Kings opted to send out their premier power-play personnel.

That decision did not sit well with the veteran forward.

"They’re up 6-2. Put their top power play out. Panarin’s blocking shots, celebrating to his bench. It’s disrespectful,"

Sherwood said.

In hockey culture, late-game blowouts often dictate that teams dial back their top offensive units to run out the clock respectfully.

Deploying a top unit in a four-goal game is often viewed by opponents as running up the score.

Sherwood noted that Panarin was walking into shots and celebrating toward the Kings' bench.

Yet Sherwood was equally clear that the Sharks had no one to blame but themselves for being in that position.

"Things aren’t going to change unless we man up and do something about it," Sherwood added.

Until San Jose pushes back, opponents will continue to dictate the terms of engagement.

"Until we do something about it," Sherwood emphasized when describing the situation.

CALLING OUT THE EFFORT

While Sherwood took issue with Los Angeles, his harshest criticism was reserved for his own locker room.

"We don't deserve any praise right now," Sherwood told reporters candidly.

He refused to point fingers at the coaching staff for the blowout.

"It’s unacceptable. It’s not good enough. It’s not good enough to a man, to a team,"

Sherwood said.

He continued to emphasize that the breakdown came down to execution and intensity.

"It’s not. It’s not on the coaches right now,"

Sherwood stated.

"We’re not winning our battles,"

he continued.

"We’re not being hard to play against,"

Sherwood explained.

"We’re not making plays. It’s not good enough,"

he said.

Sherwood noted that the entire roster must take individual ownership of the recent slump.

"We gotta turn it on here,"

Sherwood urged.

"We gotta stick together here, obviously going through some growing pains, but we got to look ourselves in the mirror & do something about it,"

he said.

When asked about where the disconnect lies on the ice, Sherwood acknowledged that the group is out of sync.

"I don’t know. I don’t know. We’re not connected right now,"

he admitted.

"I think there’s intangibles, talking and helping each other out sometimes, and you can see that we’re not on the same page,"

Sherwood said.

CLOSED DOORS IN LOS ANGELES

Facing a season that threatens to spiral, the players took immediate action by locking the dressing room doors.

Sherwood confirmed that the roster conducted a players-only meeting before addressing the media.

"We just had one. We’re gonna move forward here,"

Sherwood said of the private summit.

Players-only meetings are typically reserved for pivotal moments when team accountability needs to be addressed without the coaching staff present.

"We got a lot to learn, and listen, it’s better to go through growing pains now than later on, right?"

Sherwood remarked.

He expressed confidence that the team will eventually find its collective identity.

"But we’re gonna stick together, and we’re gonna get through it together, and we’re gonna fix our mindset,"

he stated.

Sherwood outlined clear areas where the team must show immediate improvement.

"We’re gonna fix our work ethic next game, and we’re going to get gritty,"

Sherwood promised.

He emphasized focusing strictly on controllable elements.

"The outcome, sometimes you can control, sometimes you can’t,"

Sherwood noted.

"But things that we can control, bringing the energy, bringing the work, being a good teammate, bringing good communication, things like that,"

he said.

"That’s the stuff we’re going to fix,"

Sherwood concluded.

CELEBRINI AND WARSOFSKY

Captain Macklin Celebrini also addressed the media following the difficult loss.

Celebrini scored one of San Jose's two goals on the night.

Swedish forward Ivar Stenberg scored the other goal for the Sharks.

During the contest, Celebrini took a fall while arguing with an official.

Celebrini publicly pushed back against head coach Ryan Warsofsky's concerns regarding the roster's overall commitment.

"We're all bought in,"

Celebrini insisted when challenging Warsofsky's assessment.

Celebrini acknowledged the heavy emotional toll the skid is taking on the group.