Sharks rookie earns kudos from Couture after debut
SAN JOSE — Joel Kellman says he patterns his game after Sharks captain Logan Couture.
So it came as high praise to Kellman, 25, when Couture paid the rookie centerman a compliment after he made his NHL debut.
“Kellman played well for his first game,” Couture said Saturday after the Sharks lost 5-2 to the St. Louis Blues. “Steady, smart player. Thinks the game at, I believe, an NHL level. I thought he had a good camp, too. Kind of a guy that does a lot of things well.
“Nothing that’s going to wow you, I guess you could say. But I think he showed he can play in his league.”
That would certainly be welcome news for the Sharks, whose fourth line has struggled for most of the season to create chances and spend time in the other team’s end.
Kellman, recalled Thursday from the Barracuda, will be back in the Sharks’ lineup Sunday for their game with the Vegas Golden Knights, their last before a fourday Christmas break.
Against the Blues, Kellman, who played four full seasons in the Swedish Hockey League before he signed with the Sharks in April, had just under 10 minutes of ice time and won five of 11 draws.
“I was impressed,” Sharks interim coach Bob Boughner said Sunday afternoon. “He has some experience, playing professional over there and he’s a little bit of an older guy. I think that showed last night.
“His first shift or two, he looked a little nervous and then he settled into the game. The little details to his game were there.”
Kellman and linemates Stefan Noesen and Melker Karlsson, per naturalstattrick.com, created six scoring chances and allowed just one.
“We didn’t have the ending we wanted, but I thought we were able to get pucks deep and establish a forecheck,” Kellman said Sunday afternoon. “Those guys helped me out and made me feel comfortable.”
Boughner anticipates playing his fourth line a little more against the Golden Knights than he did against the Blues. At even strength Saturday, Noesen had 10:15 of ice time and Karlsson had 9:29. The Golden Knights fourth line featured William Carrier, Ryan Reaves and Tomas Nosek.
Marleau’s struggles: Winger
Patrick Marleau entered Sunday on a 10game point drought, the longest of his 22year NHL career.
Marleau, who has 11 points in 33 games this season, was back on the Sharks’ top line with Couture and Evander Kane for the start of Sunday’s game.
Saturday, Marleau had three shots on goal in 15:35 of ice time, but that line was victimized on the Blues’ winning goal. All three forwards were caught deep as the Blues broke out and created an oddman rush, with Alex Pietrangelo scoring at the 11:07 mark of the third period to give St. Louis a 3-2 lead.
“I liked his game. The separation speed was there and I thought he had some chances on net,” Boughner said of Marleau. “That line hasn’t really clicked as of yet, but they had some chances.”
The task wasn’t going to get easier Sunday, as Marleau, Couture and Kane were likely going to be matched up quite often against the Vegas line of Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone and Chandler Stephenson, who combined for eight goals and 13 assists in their last five games before Sunday.
“I’m more concerned about when the puck flips over,” Boughner said. “That line has got to play against the Stone line for most of the night. Those guys are hot, so you’ve got to at least play those guys even up.”
Injury update: Defenseman Mario Ferraro will miss his third straight game Sunday with an upper body injury.
Boughner said if Sunday’s game was a playoff game, “I think he’d probably be playing tonight, but we have to be smart with him. He’s a young guy and he wants to be back in there. But probably another three or four days rest will do him good in the long term.”