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Couture injured in
practice Centerman had to be helped off the ice
during practice
If a road trip through the north east wasn't a test
enough, the Sharks were left with a bigger challenge on Thursday when assistant
captain Logan Couture was injured in practice in New Jersey and had to be
helped off the ice. Couture was injured during a 5-on-5 drill according to CSN
Bay Area. A video showed Couture in obvious pain, and didn't place any weight
on his right foot as he was helped off the ice.
The video shows
Couture laying in the corner writhing as trainers tried to stabilize his leg.
Teammates helped Couture off the ice.
The San Jose Mercury News
reported that Couture left the arena in a protective boot. The Sharks did not
disclose any details on the injury other than to say that Couture was being
evaluated and the club would know more on Friday.
There was also no
word on who might replace Couture in the Sharks lineup. Froward Ben Smith has
been a scratch in each of the Sharks three games, and he's traveling with the
team. The Sharks could try to call up a prospect, but it's unlikely any players
from the Barracuda roster would be available to play in Friday night's game in
New Jersey.
The Barracuda played in Stockton on Thursday night.
beating the Heat 3-1 on goals from Micheal Haley, Ryan Carpenter and Nikita
Jevpalovs. Nikolay Goldobin would seem to the be the most logical choice for a
call up, but the young Russian also participated in the Barracuda's win.
One of the Sharks biggest strengths this season has been the ability
to role four lines that can compete. If San Jose were to lose Couture for any
extended period of time, they would have to play without one of the most vocals
players on the roster.
Throw in the fact that Couture was the team's second
leading scorer last season. San Jose only had two players score more than 20
goals last season and Couture was one of them.
He's centered the
Sharks second line, leading wingers Patrick Marleau and Joel Ward. Given that
Marleau is a natural center, they could slide him into the middle of that line
and bring up Tomas Hertl or Tommy Wingels. Centerman Chris Tierney is another
option for the second line, given Marleau's versatility.
Whatever the
case, they will have to move past Couture's injury quickly. The club plays the
Devils on Friday night, then they square off against the New York Islanders
less than 24 hours later. The saving grace for the Sharks is that Brooklyn is a
short bus ride from the Prudential Center in Newark.
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