Sharks Almost Healthy; Granlund To Miss Next Three Games; Impacts Of Couture & Sturm Return
The San Jose Sharks came close to being fully healthy for the first time all season as the returns of Logan Couture and Nico Sturm bring hope.
Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports - Sharks Almost Healthy; Granlund To Miss Next Three Games; Impacts Of Couture & Sturm ReturnThe San Jose Sharks came close to being fully healthy for the first time all season as the returns of Logan Couture and Nico Sturm bring hope.
Quinn confirmed after practice today that he expects Mikael Granlund to be out for the next three games.
"I think we dodged a bullet," Sharks coach David Quinn said about Granlund's injury after yesterday's practice. "When we had three of our centers in tact, we were a much more successful hockey team."
The impact of adding Couture and Sturm to the lineup should be felt right away, especially from a special teams perspective. Couture and Sturm will be on the penalty kill, and Couture looks like he is at the point of the Sharks' first powerplay unit.
"I'm not sure what we're going to do from a line standpoint. I've been going back and forth with it," Quinn said today. "Losing Granlund kind of threw [us off]. I'm still not sure what the lines will look like tomorrow. Obviously, we had our lines looking like they do today, but I'm not sure what it's going to look like tomorrow."
Couture was on the point of PP1 at today's practice. Neither Quinn nor Couture wanted to commit to that position, but Couture talked about what he expects on the powerplay against the Anaheim Ducks tomorrow.
Granlund had been running the point on the powerplay for the Sharks, and Couture said he would talk to him before tomorrow's game.
"[Quinn and I] were just going over that this morning trying to figure out where I was going to start," Couture said. "I'll probably talk to [Granlund] today if he's still here or tomorrow morning."
Nico Sturm told reporters yesterday that he will have no restrictions if he is in the lineup. He is the Shark's best faceoff man this season, with a 62.2% winning percentage.
"If I play, I play my game," Sturm said. "If I can't take faceoffs, I won't play."
Losing Mikael Granlund will significantly impact the offense, but getting Couture and Sturm back should pay dividends.
San Jose will also need to open two roster spots to activate both players on IR. With Granlund missing the next three games, he is a candidate for IR, as is Ty Emberson, who is also dealing with an injury.
The Sharks will have their roster updated either tonight or tomorrow to maximize space on their roster and cap hit.
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