By Jordan Long
The San Jose Sharks had high expectations for the 2019-2020 season. Going into this year, the Sharks were coming off a Western Conference Finals appearance. The goal for them was to make the Stanley Cup Final. They aren’t anywhere near that at this point. They stand at 19-22-4 for a total of 42 points, 8 points behind the Calgary Flames for the 2nd Wild Card spot. They will have to make a playoff push without captain Logan Couture.
Couture injured himself in the second period of San Jose’s 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night. Couture lost an edge and ran into the boards skate first. That impact caused him to break his left ankle and he will miss at least 6 weeks. This injury could impact San Jose’s opportunity to get back into a playoff position.
Couture is one of San Jose’s fastest skaters. He skates around defensemen to create scoring chances. Couture uses his speed to produce odd man rushes. He can either pass it to a teammate for them to score or throw the puck on net for rebound opportunities. Couture has a total of 14 goals and 22 assists for 36 points which leads the team.
On the power play he sets up near the goaltender and can screen him so it makes it difficult to see the puck. Couture will pass the puck to a wide-open teammate when the goaltender is out of position for goals. He has yet to score a power play goal but has 8 assists on the power play.
San Jose uses Couture on the power play kill. Couture poke checks the puck to steal it. When that happens, he shoots the puck to the other end to kill time. Those poke checks lead to odd-man rushes for the Sharks to score shorthanded goals. Couture has 2 shorthanded assists this season.
According to ESPN, interim Head Coach Bob Boughner said, “It’s big-time concerning. Even if it’s a couple games or a couple weeks … he’s a captain, he’s a leader, a catalyst for our offense. If he’s missing out of our lineup, that’s a big loss. I think that other guys are going to have to step up in his absence, for sure.”
With him out, other veterans must step up their game to help change the course of the San Jose Sharks’ season. These include forwards Tomas Hertl, Evander Kane, Joe Thornton, and Patrick Marleau as well as defensemen Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns. They must replace the production of Couture. If not, the San Jose Sharks might miss the postseason for the 1st time since 2015.
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