Couture, back from illness, scores winner
Sick one night, a hero the next.
An ill Logan Couture was left home when the Sharks beat Los Angeles on Wednesday, but on Thursday, the alternate captain scored a tie-breaking goal early in the third period to lead San Jose to a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at SAP Center.
“He’s one of those players who if he is having an off-day, there’s always that chance he can break open,” Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said of Couture. “It’s a huge goal for us, and it’s good to see someone step up there.”
Couture scored his 15th goal of the season 22 seconds into the final period. It helped propel San Jose, which found its legs after a slow start, to a third straight win in front of a sellout crowd.
Couture’s sweeping shot from the bottom of the right circle slipped under the pads of goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy after Sharks teammate Kevin Labanc won a battle on the end boards and punched a short pass to Couture.
Couture said he lost 6 pounds during his two-day ordeal, which included an overnight trip to the hospital.
“For 48 hours, it was a tough little stretch,” Couture said. “Finally, yesterday I was able to get back to normal a little bit.”
Backup goalie Aaron Dell was strong when he needed to be, stopping 24 shots to record his fifth win this season.
“He was probably the reason we won it,” Sharks forward Ryan Carpenter said. “He made some big saves tonight. It’s just what he does. Whenever he plays, he does well somehow.”
Dell was good early when Tampa Bay tried to take advantage of the Sharks’ tired legs. Once San Jose found its game, the Lightning managed only five shots in the final period and Dell was up to the task on every one.
“He’s done it every game for us,” Pavelski said. “We like playing in front of him. You see him, he’s aggressive, he’s into the game and he’s attacking pucks. That’s everything you want from your goalie.”
“I feel like I’m starting to develop a little bit of a rhythm,” Dell said. “Hopefully, I can get another (start) soon.”
Carpenter broke a scoreless tie 5:01 into the second period.
San Jose defenseman Paul Martin fed the rookie center with a short pass along the boards, and Carpenter let go with a one-timer from the top of the right circle that deflected off the right leg of Tampa Bay defenseman Nikita Nesterov and past Vasilevskiy.
Joel Ward “did a good job in front of the net creating traffic,” Carpenter said. “Even the shift before that, they got a lot of zone time and I sort of just jumped out there. I kind of benefited from that. They were tired at the end of their shift, so I think that can create space, too.”
The lead was short-lived, however, as the Lightning’s Jonathan Drouin skated past defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic and went backhand-to-forehand to tuck his 14th goal of the season around Dell, a power-play strike at 6:51 of the second.