DeBoer on mend after rare absence
Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said he was feeling much better Wednesday than he was the day before when he was suffering from concussionlike symptoms and had to miss the game against the Oilers.
DeBoer was struck in the temple by a puck while he was behind the bench for the Sharks’ game against Los Angeles on Monday. He said he didn’t think anything of it at the time before he went to bed.
“Got up the next morning, came into the rink here and didn’t feel good,” DeBoer said. “I thought it was the flu coming on, I didn’t think it had anything to do with (getting hit in the head). Then as we got closer to game time, started to get a few more symptoms. It was definitely connected, but feel better today.
“Safe to say I had a concussion. I’m out of protocol, though, My wife put me in the dark room.”
It was the second time in DeBoer’s 11-year NHL coaching career that he missed a game. The other time was Nov. 21, 2015 when he left before a Sharks game in Pittsburgh to be with his daughter, who was ill at the time.
”I told the fathers, my relevance to what goes on around here was obvious last night,” DeBoer said with a smile. “I thought they did a great job. Guys played well. Coaches did a great job of jumping in and doing what they did. Real good team effort.”
• The red-hot Sharks entered Wednesday in third place in the Pacific with 57 points, one point back of both the Calgary Flames and the Vegas Golden Knights, teams that have been on an equally torrid pace.
The Sharks play Vegas at T-Mobile Arena tonight.
The Sharks are in the midst of their best stretch of the season. Their 13-3-2 record since Dec. 2 has put them 12 points up on the fourth-place Anaheim Ducks in the Pacific with 37 regular-season games to go.
•Injured defensemen Marc-Edouard Vlasic (upper body) and Justin Braun (lower body) joined Jacob Middleton and Rourke Chartier as the only Sharks players on the ice Wednesday morning before the team flew to Las Vegas.
DeBoer said early Wednesday afternoon that he thought both players would be doubtful for today’s game, but didn’t how either player would react to their skate.
“The skating and everything feels good, but (you) worry about the contact and that next battle level,” Braun said. “Just being a little cautions right now. I’m getting close to being ready to go.
“The boys are rolling right now, so if they can keep that going, it gives me more time to get back to 100 percent.”
• The Sharks’ next win will be the 1,000th regularseason victory in the history of the franchise. Going into today, the Sharks have a record of 999-842121-149 since the start of the 1991-92 season. It’s the 13th-most wins in the NHL over that time, with Detroit leading with 1,178 victories.
“It’s an amazing stat and really a testament to continuity and to consistency and to excellence,” DeBoer said. “It’s a testament to ownership and everything that’s gone on here. And probably No. 1, the fans. It’s been a tough place to play since day one and players want to come here and play because of the fans and the environment.”