Thornton out for opener in Vegas
SAN JOSE >> A date still has not been set for the start of the Sharks’ second-round playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights. One thing is certain: center Joe Thornton will not be in San Jose’s lineup for whenever it begins.
Thornton, who has missed the Sharks’ last 39 games, regular season and playoffs, with an injury to his right medial collateral ligament, has been ruled out for the series opener, Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said Sunday.
Thornton has been skating with the Sharks on a fairly regular basis over the last few weeks, even taking part in pre-game warmups with the team during its playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks.
Sunday, he practiced again in an orange jersey Joe Thornton won’t play in the Sharks’ second-round series opener in Las Vegas.
with other extra Sharks forwards Joel Ward and Barclay Goodrow. Thornton suffered the injury on Jan. 23 in a game against the Winnipeg Jets.
The Sharks’ top line of Joe Pavelski, Evander Kane and Joonas Donskoi combined for 12 points in the Sharks’ four-game sweep of the Ducks. The Sharks’ record this season without Thornton, including the postseason, is 23-13-3.
“Probably the biggest thing was getting (over) that confidence hump of not having him there, not having his presence there in games, in the room, in practice,” DeBoer said of dealing with Thornton’s absence. “To be honest, we probably had a week there where we were a little rattled as a group. Just trying to get the group past that and establishing a belief in our game with the group that we had in there without him.
“We stumbled around for about a week and we came out the other end of it and that was it.”
Asked if it might be complicated to reintegrate Thornton into the lineup at this point, DeBoer said, “I don’t think it’s complicated at all, but it’s not on my radar.”
The NHL, as of Sunday morning, had not set the complete schedule for the series, which will begin at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It could begin by the middle of the next week, either Wednesday or Thursday, but nothing has been established.
• Forward Melker Karlsson received a maintenance day Sunday and did not practice, as Jannik Hansen took Karlsson’s place on the Sharks’ fourth line with center Eric Fehr and forward Marcus Sorensen.
Defenseman Brent Burns also did not practice with his Sharks teammates but did skate early Sunday morning with assistant coach Rob Zettler. Burns did not skate Friday when the Sharks last practiced, but will be ready for the start of the playoffs, DeBoer said.
• Asked if the Sharks will be staying at a hotel away from the bright lights of Las Vegas Boulevard, DeBoer said no. “This is a business trip for us, and we know that.”