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Nabokov injury may not be
bad
McLellan comments ease concerns
11/7/08 - By Mike Lee
Evgeni Nabokov's injury on
Thursday night is bad enough that he won't be playing on Saturday night Against
the Stars. It's also unlikely that he'll make the trip to Phoenix on Sunday
when the Sharks square off against the Coyotes. Now for the good news.
Nabokov's injury may not be that bad.
"The news was a lot more
positive than we thought it would be yesterday," Sharks Coach Todd McLellan
told San Jose Mercury News reporter David Pollak on Friday. "From what I
understand, it's not nearly as concerning as it was last night."
For
now, the Sharks will lean on backup Brian Boucher, who has turned in two solid
performances this season. Boucher has yet to give up a goal, stopping all 43
shots he's faced this season. Granted Boucher's shutouts have come against the
Los Angeles Kings and Tampa Bay Lightning, but his play with the Sharks over
the past two seasons has been consistent.
The Sharks list Nabokov as
having the opaque "lower body injury", but anyone that watched the final play
of Thursday's game against St Louis can attest to the fact that the injury is
most likely centered around the goaltender's left knee.
The "surgery"
word is not something the Sharks are using, and McLellan's comments suggest
that Nabokov may be back sooner than later.
The schedule also looks
favorably on the Sharks, who play once on the road over the next eight days,
and Nabokov will more than likely not play at Phoenix. That means he's not even
required to get on a plane for at least a week. If the injury requires more
rest, the Sharks travel to Chicago and Nashville on November 16th & 17th,
then don't have another road game until the end of the month.
San Jose recalled Thomas Greiss on Friday to serve as
Boucher's backup. Greiss has a 4-5-0 record this season with the Worcester
Sharks. His generous 3.22 goals against average and .860 save percentage don't
exude much optimism should the Sharks need to rely on him. The Sharks also
signed Boucher last season because they didn't feel Greiss was ready to handle
the backup duties full time.
The Sharks also recalled left wing Brad
Staubitz and returned Jamie McGinn on Friday.
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