Injured Joe Thornton may be forced to miss Wednesday’s game.
Forward ‘day to day’ after saying he’d suit up for playoff opener
SAN JOSE — Joe Thornton took a step back from his claim last week that there’s “no doubt” he will suit up for Game 1 of the Sharks’ Stanley Cup playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday, labeling himself as “day to day.”
Thornton played a limited role at practice Tuesday, raising serious doubt about whether his injured left knee will be healthy enough for Wednesday’s game.
“I’m confident, but it’s still day to day,” Thornton said. “We’ll see how it feels tomorrow.”
As Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, Tomas Hertl and Chris Tierney centered the Sharks’ four lines at practice Tuesday, Thornton took a limited number of line rushes, skating in between Micheal Haley and Kevin Labanc, who are likely to be the Sharks’ extra forwards in Game 1 as they spent extra time on the ice after practice.
After participating in the first 39 minutes of practice, Thornton skipped the team’s special-teams drills as Mikkel Boedker took his place alongside Couture, Marleau, Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns on the top power-play unit.
Thornton said his absence from the power-play session was a “work-to-rest ratio” decision.
“When I was out there, it felt good, so it’s a good sign,” he said.
On April 5, three days after he injured his left knee in a collision with Vancouver Canucks forward Michael Chaput, Thornton claimed there was “no doubt” that he would be back in the lineup in time for the playoffs. He even suggested that he might suit up for the Sharks’ game April 6. The alternate captain ended up sitting out of the last three games of the regular season.
After Tuesday’s practice, the 37-year-old forward said he would be willing to play a more limited role than the 18:04 of ice time that he averaged during the season if it gets him back on the ice sooner.
Although Thornton’s status for Game 1 is in doubt, Couture’s full-throttle participation in his second consecutive practice should provide the team with reason for optimism.
Couture centered the Sharks’ top line with Pavelski and Melker Karlsson on his wings again, and he took full reps with the top power-play unit during the special-teams session.
The 28-year-old center, who missed the last seven games of the season after taking a puck to the mouth March 25, could be seen engaging in intense stick battles below the goal line during practice. But Couture hasn’t taken significant contact to the facial area yet.
Couture described his health and the pain he’s experiencing in his mouth as “the same as yesterday.”
He did, however, acknowledge improvement in his conditioning after a second straight day of practice.
“It’s good to skate multiple days. I think it’s been six or seven days that I’ve skated,” Couture said. “These are the good ones (practices) to be a part of. I’m happy to be out there with the team.”
Coach Pete DeBoer said Couture looked “great” in practice. He described Thornton as “good.”
Couture acknowledged that Thornton’s potential absence would be felt on the power play, where the Sharks have struggled this season. The team is entering the playoffs with the lowest-ranked power play (25th, 16.7 percent) among the 16 squads that qualified for the tournament.
“It’s going to be different if Jumbo’s not out there, if I’m not out there,” he said. “It is going to be different for the group that’s been together so long, but it gives other guys the opportunity to jump out there and handle the puck more, create more offense, hopefully, and score some goals.”