SAN JOSE – Sharks captain Logan Couture will miss Friday’s game with the Arizona Coyotes at SAP Center with a lower-body injury, which could keep him out of the lineup for the rest of the regular season.
Sharks coach Bob Boughner said Couture has been bothered by the injury recently, adding that he did not want to put him in a position where he could aggravate it further with just three games left and the team out of playoff contention.
“When someone’s not 100 percent and you have guys that are 100 (percent) waiting to go in, I think it’s just a smart decision,” Boughner said. “You don’t want to put (Couture) in a situation where, especially with his past history of injuries, to put him somewhere he’s going have to struggle through. We want to make sure that we’re taking care of it now.”
The Sharks play the Coyotes again Saturday and finish the regular season Wednesday at home against the Vegas Golden Knights.
“We have to take it day-by-day,” said Boughner, adding that Couture’s injury is “nothing that is going to require offseason surgery or anything like that.”
Patrick Marleau will take Couture’s spot at center Friday night as he’ll play with Timo Meier and Rudolfs Balcers. Alex True will draw back into the lineup and will center the Sharks’ fourth line.
Couture, 32, has played in all 53 Sharks games this year and has 17 goals and 14 assists in what has been an up-and-down season.
Couture had 13 goals and nine assists in the Sharks’ first 24 games through March 12, but his production tailed off, as he went the next 29 games with just four goals and five assists.
Couture said earlier this week that he hasn’t been contacted by Team Canada to play for them at the upcoming IIHF World Championships in Latvia, saying he was going to take time after the end of the season “to regroup here. Mentally and physically, it’s been a grind.”
Couture has been banged up at times this season but has remained in the lineup.
Couture was hurt in a March 24 game with Los Angeles as he was caught with the butt end of then-Kings forward Jeff Carter’s stick in an open-ice collision. Couture remained on the ice for several moments before he was able to leave under his own power. Although his neck felt stiff afterward, he still played for the Sharks in their next game two days later with the Arizona Coyotes.
On April 6 in a game against Anaheim, Couture used his right leg to block a shot from Ducks defenseman Josh Manson late in the third period of what would become a 5-1 Sharks loss. He was hurt on the play, but remained in the game and played one more shift.
OTHER LINEUP CHANGES: John Leonard will replace Sasha Chmelevski in the Sharks’ lineup Friday, although Boughner said he hasn’t totally settled on who else would play in the bottom six forward group. Leonard was a healthy scratch in Wednesday’s 3-2 Sharks win over the Colorado Avalanche. On defense, Brinson Pasichnuk replaces Nicolas Meloche.
WORLD NEWS: Both forward Timo Meier and defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov said they will play for their respective countries at the World Championships, which begin May 21. Meier will play for Switzerland and Knyzhov for Russia.
Meier last played in the tournament in 2018 when Switzerland won the silver medal in Copenhagen.
“I’m looking forward to playing with some guys that I’ve played with growing up and all the energy that Team Switzerland is going to have,” Meier said. “This is kind of been a long year, so it’s going to be nice to get in a fresh group and feel that energy from Switzerland and obviously represent your country.”
Knyzhov played for Russia at the 2018 World Junior Championships in Buffalo. Knyzhov is flying to Europe right after the Sharks’ season ends to join the Russian team for its exhibition game against the Czech Republic on May 15 in Prague.
“I just remember putting on the jersey for the World Juniors. It was surreal,” Knyzhov said. “I really want to feel that again, so I’m really excited and looking forward to it.”
