SHARKS TAKE POINT, AND ONE TO THE JAW
Top scorer Couture suffers injury as San Jose rallies from flat start, but falls short in overtime
VANCOUVER >> Dropping an overtime game in mid-December isn’t a big deal. Losing Logan Couture to injury for a significant chunk of time might qualify as a crisis situation in San Jose.
The Sharks (17-10-4) received a scare on Friday as Couture left their 4-3 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks (15-14-4) at 5:12 of the third period after taking a shoulder to the jaw area from Alexander Burmistrov.
Couture skated to the Sharks bench lightly after spending roughly a minute down on the ice, suggesting that he might have gone through the NHL’s concussion protocol after leaving the game.
But head coach Pete DeBoer declined to provide any information about the severity of Couture’s injury.
“I don’t have an update yet,” the Sharks coach said after the game.
DeBoer also claimed to be un-
aware of whether Couture underwent the concussion protocol after he left the bench, which seems highly unlikely. It’s hard to believe that a coach would be left in the dark about the nature of his top player’s injury for more than 10 minutes after a game.
One thing is certain: a significant injury to Couture would be a major blow to the Sharks at a time when they’re hitting a stride.
Couture is currently leading an offensively starved Sharks squad in goals (15) and points (25). The Sharks lost a Stanley Cup playoff series to the Edmonton Oilers last spring as Couture battled through a mouth injury, and they went 14-15-1 in his absence after he suffered major leg injuries in 2015-16.
“Never good. He’s obviously very important to us,” forward Jannik Hansen said. “You want to see him bounce back as quick as possible.”
Without Couture, though, the Sharks managed to mount a third-period comeback in Vancouver, extending their point streak to five games. But Sam Gagner won the game for the Canucks by scoring off a breakaway with 25.7 seconds left in overtime.
Brent Burns tied the game at 3-3 with 5:49 left in the third, scoring his second goal of the contest and his fifth in five games. With the goal, the Sharks erased a two-goal deficit for the third time in five games.
Burns, who scored just one goal in the Sharks first 26 games, scored off a blast from the right point through traffic.
The reigning Norris Trophy winner also opened the scoring for the Sharks at 10:45 of the first with a power play goal.
What’s changed for Burns since the Sharks returned from an East Coast road trip on Dec. 7?
“Nothing,” DeBoer said. “I was asked about this from day one — nothing other than they’re going in for him now. Goal scorers are streaky, and we said, when he gets one, more will follow.”
Marcus Sorensen cut the Canucks lead to 3-2 with 1:44 left in the second, scoring his first goal of the season off the rush as Hansen and Justin Braun picked up the assists.
Sorensen’s only other NHL goal came against the Canucks on March 2, 2017.
After picking up a crucial Pacific Division win over the Calgary Flames Thursday, the Sharks came out flat against a hungry Vancouver squad that had lost four-consecutive games.
Unlike the Sharks, the Canucks are at risk of falling out of the playoff race before the Christmas break after going 0-4 and losing by a combined 20-5 since Bo Horvat went down with a foot injury on Dec. 5.
The Canucks were humiliated in their previous game, losing 7-1 to the Nashville Predators in their own barn. They came out with fire Friday, producing the game’s first 10 shots and scoring the opening goal, a Markus Granlund tally on the power play, just 44 seconds into the game.