Couture questionable to play vs. Kings after blocking shot
Logan Couture is questionable to play tonight when the Sharks, trying to remain in the playoff picture, host the Los Angeles Kings.
Couture was hurt Tuesday after he blocked a shot from Anaheim Ducks defenseman Josh Manson late in the third period. Couture left the ice and tried to walk it off, but did not return to the game. The Sharks lost to the Ducks 5-1, snapping their four-game winning streak.
Couture skated Thursday morning at the Sharks’ practice at SAP Center.
“He thinks he’ll be OK, but it will be a decision in the morning if he can feel comfortable enough when he skates on it,” Boughner said. “But I have a feeling that we’ll see him in the lineup.
The Sharks (17-17-4) entered Thursday in sixth place in the West Division with 38 points, five points back of the Arizona Coyotes for the fourth and final playoff spot with two games in hand. The Sharks play the Kings again Saturday then host the Ducks again Monday and Wednesday.
Couture has played in every Sharks game this season and is second on the team with 25 points. Couture has been slumping of late, though, with no goals and just two assists in his last eight games since March 24.
If Couture can’t play, Tomas Hertl would likely become the Sharks’ No. 1 center. The Sharks could also bring up either Antti Suomela or Fredrik Handemark to play center on one of their bottom two forward lines.
Dylan Gambrell would also presumably take Hertl’s spot as San Jose’s second-line center.
FANS BACK SOON? >> The Warriors announced plans Thursday to host fans for games later this month, but a similar announcement from the Sharks is not imminent, with a team spokesman saying they hope to have something “in the relatively near future.”
The Warriors said they will begin hosting fans inside Chase Center in San Francisco for their April 23 game with the Denver Nuggets.
The state’s Department of Public Health announced last week that starting April 15, indoor venues could once again host events with a limited number of spectators.
The Sharks’ first home game after that date is April 23 against the Vegas Golden Knights, with seven more home games to follow before the end of the regular
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Today: Kings at Sharks, 7:30 p.m., NBCCA+ season May 8. The Sharks have not yet alerted season ticket holders about the possibility of attending games this season.
As of Thursday, Santa Clara County was operating in the orange tier. In that tier, capacity inside venues is limited to 10% or 2,000 people. Capacity can increase to 35% if all guests are tested or show proof of full vaccination. SAP Center’s seating capacity for hockey is 17,562. SECOND CHANCE >> It appears defenseman Christian Jaros will be back in the lineup tonight. Jaros played his first NHL game in more than a year Tuesday, finishing with two hits and two blocked shots in 11:41 of ice time against Anaheim.
Jaros had played in 11 AHL games this season with the Barracuda but had not played in the NHL since March 5 of last year.
“I thought he got better as the game went on,” Boughner said. “I really liked his feet. He’s a big guy, he’s physical. For a first game in a long time, he played OK. There’s another level there, there’s no doubt.
“Itwasatoughgametogetareadoffof anybody. I just don’t think we were good as a team, and I’d like to see him here against L.A. Hopefully, our game’s better so we can make a better judgment on where he’s at in a better effort.”
Jaros is taking the place of Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who incurred an upper-body injury in last Saturday’s game in Los Angeles.
Boughner said Monday that Vlasic, who has averaged close to 18 minutes of ice time per game this season, may not be available to play again until next week.