Doug Wilson says Sharks’ Couture out ‘several weeks’ with ankle fracture
The Sharks confirmed reports Thursday morning that captain Logan Couture has a fracture in his ankle after a collision with Blues defenseman Vince Dunn.
A brief statement from general manager Doug Wilson said that Couture is expected to miss “several weeks” and that he’ll be reevaluated continually. Such a vague timetable is common in the NHL, unlike in other professional sports.
Couture was injured in the second period of the Sharks’ 3-2 loss to St. Louis on Tuesday after an awkward collision with Blues defenseman Vince Dunn. He left the game immediately and was in a walking boot after the game, according to interim coach Bob Boughner.
Boughner added Tuesday night that he believed X-rays on Couture were negative, but Wilson’s statement noted a small fracture in the captain’s ankle.
This is the last thing a struggling Sharks team needs. They collected half of the available points on a tough five-game road trip, but with just 42 points entering Thursday night’s game against Columbus, they’re sixth in the Pacific Division and nine points out of the Western Conference’s second wild card spot, held by the Calgary Flames.
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported Wednesday night that Couture was expected to miss at least six weeks, a blow for a team looking to climb the standings and avoid missing the playoffs for just the second time in the last 16 seasons.
Couture, 30, has 548 points in 708 career NHL regular season games and leads the Sharks this season with 36 points in 45 games. Last week, he was selected to be a part of the Pacific Division team for the NHL All-Star Game later this month in St. Louis.
The Sharks’ next leading scorer this season is center Tomas Hertl with 33 points, followed by Evander Kane and Erik Karlsson with 32 points each.
Later Thursday morning, the Sharks announced the recall of forward Joachim Blichfeld from the Barracuda.
Beat writer Curtis Pashelka contributed to this story.