Sharks looking to get into West race
But Couture injured ahead of Arizona trip
Logan Couture, knocked out of the game a night earlier, made the trip with the San Jose Sharks to Arizona on Thursday, a positive sign for a team that’s trying to re-enter the playoff picture in the West Division.
Couture was injured late in the third period of the Sharks’ game with Los Angeles on Wednesday night. Right after he released the puck in the neutral zone past the red line, Couture was knocked to the ice by a hit from the side from Kings forward Jeff Carter.
Couture, who did not appear to see the hit coming, remained on the ice for several seconds before he got up and skated off under his own power, leaving with 2:55 left in the game. The Sharks won 4-2 and enter their two-game series with the Coyotes in seventh place in the West.
Couture mentioned to coach Bob Boughner after the game that he might have been caught by the butt end of Carter’s stick. Carter was assessed a two-minute minor for high sticking, but no supplementary discipline was announced by the NHL on Thursday.
The Sharks (13-14-4) could ill afford to lose Couture at another crucial time of their season.
Couture has played in all 31 games this season and has 14 goals and nine assists. He is second among all Sharks forwards in average time on ice (19:36), plays in all situations,
and regularly matches up against the opposing team’s top centerman. He has also won 50.4% of his team-leading 542 faceoffs this year.
Couture didn’t have a point Wednesday, but as San Jose’s No. 1 center, he helped the Sharks keep Kings center Anze Kopitar off the scoresheet for two straight games. Kopitar has a team-leading 37 points in 32 games this season.
Second-line center Tomas Hertl missed six games from late February to early March after he tested positive for the coronavirus, and the Sharks went 2-3-1 without him, although they were also without Timo Meier for the last two games of Hertl’s absence. Couture missed 18 games last season and the Sharks were 7-11-0 without him.
The Coyotes (14-14-5) are in fifth place in the division and started Thursday four points back of St. Louis for the fourth and final
playoff spot.
After this weekend’s series in Arizona, the Sharks will still have four games left with the Coyotes, Kings and Colorado Avalanche. They also have three left with Anaheim and Vegas, and five left with Minnesota. Also, 15 of their remaining 23 games will be at home.
“For the longest time we’ve been talking about taking advantage of the second part of our schedule and staying in the fight,” Boughner said after Wednesday’s game. “With this week, so far we have.” JONES ‘LIKE WALL’ >> It’s been close to 30 years since a Sharks goalie has had to make more than 40 saves in consecutive games, but Boughner wasn’t concerned about the volume of shots his team allowed in the two-game series sweep over the Kings.
Goalie Martin Jones, playing his best hockey of the season, stopped 41 of 42 shots in Monday’s 2-1 win, then stopped 42 of 44 shots in Wednesday’s 4-2 victory, becoming the first San Jose goalie to stop at least 40 shots in consecutive games since Arturs
Irbe in April 1993.
“We knew we were going to face a lot of shots and Jones did a great job of handling rebounds,” Boughner said. “When there was a second and third opportunity, I thought Jones was big.”
Jones will undoubtedly start one of the Sharks’ two games in Arizona this week, but it is not known which game. Jones is 4-1-1 in March and has stopped 214 of 228 shots for a .939 save percentage, fourthbest among all NHL goalies who have played at least six games this month.
Jones has a record of 106-2 and his save percentage is now .902 for the season, up from .879 on March 5 after 15 games. Wednesday, the Sharks were outshot 29-18 through two periods and 44 to 28 for the game.
“When you’re getting really solid goaltending, it covers up some of your mistakes and allows you time to sort of reset your game if you have three or four bad shifts in a row,” Boughner said. “He’s just been one of our best players here in the last little while and it’s given us a chance to get points every night.”