Thornton, DeBoer not on same page about his return
SAN JOSE >> Joe Thornton returned to practice Tuesday and suggested that he could be in the Sharks’ lineup when the team returns to action at SAP Center on Thursday.
Head coach Pete DeBoer offered a different take, chuckled and called Thornton “doubtful” for the game against the Buffalo Sabres.
After participating in the Sharks’ entire hour-long practice Tuesday, Thornton said he’s awaiting the results of blood tests to find out whether the infection in his right knee has cleared. He also needs to see how his knee responds to his first practice since he left the team’s trip on Oct. 6 to fly back to San Jose and get it checked out by doctors.
Still, Thornton refused to rule himself out for Thursday’s game.
“I’m not sure how long I’ll be on the antibiotics,” Thornton said. “But I feel good. I felt good today. There’s no swelling. It’s just day to day right now.”
DeBoer provided a more measured assessment on the likelihood of Thornton’s return this week.
“He’s never going to put himself out,” the coach said. “The reality of this is that the
antibiotics have to do their job. We can’t risk a second infection. I would put it as doubtful. I would never (bet) against him, but bottom line is, we have to let the antibiotics do their job and their job doesn’t happen overnight.”
After skating for 14:09 in the Sharks’ win at Los Angeles on Oct. 5, Thornton experienced swelling in his right knee. As a result, he returned to San Jose the next day as the rest of the group traveled for four games on the East Coast.
The swelling ended up being the result of an infection, which is common for athletes in contact sports returning from knee surgeries. An orthopedic specialist told the Mercury News that Thornton was probably suffering from an infection called prepatellar bursitis, which requires antibiotic treatment for 10 to 14 days.
The 39-year-old forward, who has undergone major surgeries in both of his knees over the last 18 months, returned to the ice Monday, skating for 15 minutes before participating in full practice Tuesday.
“Today’s the first day that I’ve pushed it. It’s literally day to day,” Thornton said. “It’s that simple. Keep an eye on it. Make sure nothing gets big around (the knee).
“They just want to make sure I get rid of it now so that I don’t have to deal with it in December, January, February. Squash it now, get me healthy and then I’ll be ready to go.”
DeBoer said the team will have a better sense of Thornton’s timetable after they receive the results of his blood test indicating whether the infection has cleared.
Regardless, Thornton’s return to practice provided a dose of optimism to a team that’s sitting below .500 (2-3-1) after going 1-2-1 in his absence.
“We really didn’t know how he was doing,” goalie Aaron Dell said. “To have him out there for a full practice is huge. It lifts morale. Just having him in the locker room lifts morale, but seeing him out there and practicing fully gives us a boost.”
Thornton isn’t overly concerned about the team’s sub-.500 record. The Sharks have controlled play in all of their games: they’re tied for first in shot differential (plus-126) and ranked second in shots per game (38.5). Right now, they’re losing
because they have scored only two goals on the power play, they aren’t finishing around the net and the team’s typically solid goaltending is failing to deliver the big save.
The Sharks entered Tuesday ranked 26th on the power play (9.5 percent), 24th in shooting percentage (6.15 percent) and 20th in save percentage (.912 percent).
“The record could be 5-1, 4-2,” Thornton said. “The power play’s going to get better. It’s just a matter of time before the guys get in sync. But I really really like our five-on-five play. It felt like, what I was watching, is that we were dictating in most of the games.”
• As Thornton’s health rounds back into form, the Sharks were hit with another injury scare at practice Tuesday. Logan Couture skated off the ice holding his hand after he collided with Rourke Chartier and fell to the ice during three-on-three drills.
Couture spent the last 10 minutes of practice on the bench getting checked by a trainer.
“I don’t have an update yet,” DeBoer said. “I’m hoping it’s nothing serious.”
• Tomas Hertl and Kevin Labanc missed practice Tuesday to recover from “minor” ailments. DeBoer said he expects both to be full participants in practice Wednesday.