CALGARY, Alberta — Head coach Pete DeBoer provided some good news and bad news after the Sharks morning practice in Calgary Friday.
Let’s start with the bad news: Joonas Donskoi is officially out for Friday’s game against the Calgary Flames (35-26-10) after suffering an apparent left-shoulder injury against the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday. The good news is that Evander Kane, who missed two shifts against the Oilers with a lower-body injury, is considered a game-time decision and DeBoer isn’t expecting Donskoi’s injury to sideline him on a longterm basis.
“I don’t think it’s longterm, but (we’ll see),” DeBoer said, referring to Donskoi. “He’s here, but he’s out tonight.”
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A quick glance at the tea leaves suggests that Kane will play Friday.
First, he finished the game in Edmonton after skipping two shifts in the first period. Second, Marcus Sorensen skated on Pavelski’s line at the Sharks morning practice, but stayed out on the ice to get some extra work in with Joel Ward, suggesting that he will be a healthy scratch Friday. On the other hand, Hansen, who also skated on Pavelski’s line at the morning skate, came off the ice with the rest of his teammates, indicating that he’ll be in for Donskoi.
The Flames will be missing a major piece of their offense, as well. The team’s second-leading goal scorer, Matthew Tkachuk (24), is out with an upper-body injury. Forward Kris Versteeg, who’s been sidelined since Nov. 24 with a hip injury, will be rejoining the Flames lineup Friday.
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2. The biggest game of the year.
Sports talk radio hosts in Calgary aren’t shying away from stating the obvious: Friday’s game is a must win for the Flames.
Throughout the day Thursday, the Flames showdown with the Sharks in Calgary was being referred to as “the biggest game of the year.”
It’s hard to argue with them.
The Flames are entering Friday’s action three points out of a wild card spot, four points out of third place in the Pacific Division and five points behind the Sharks (38-23-9) for second place. With just 10 games left on the Flames schedule after Friday, the Sharks know that they can come pretty close to eliminating them as a potential threat by stretching their lead to seven points with a regulation win.
“That’s a given,” DeBoer said. “I also know that they’re in their dressing room looking at it going, we play these guys twice in the next (eight) days and we can close the gap. I’m sure they’ll have a Game 7 type of mentality. It’s that time of year.”
The Pacific Division rivals will conclude their season series at SAP Center on March 24.
The big challenge Friday will be solving goalie Mike Smith, who pitched a 28-save shutout against the Oilers Tuesday in his second game back from a lower-body injury that sidelined him for one month.
Smith owns a .940 save percentage against the Sharks in 25 career appearances against them.
The veteran netminder is a particularly challenging opponent for the Sharks because his tremendous puck-handling skills allow him to serve as a “third defenseman”, debunking the team’s forecheck, which is the backbone of its puck possession style of play.
“That’s something we talked about this morning,” Pavelski said. “He’s one of the best goalies in the league at handling the dump in, a rim. Wherever you put it, he can seem to get it, so we need to come in with some speed to create that possession game and keep him in his net.”
3. DeBoer isn’t messing around with his goalies.
When the Sharks last visited Calgary on Dec. 14, DeBoer gave the start to Aaron Dell, who grew up in Airdrie, Alberta, a suburb just north of the city. As a result, Martin Jones also got to start in his hometown of Vancouver one night later.
At the time, the Sharks and Flames were tied for third place in the Pacific Division standings while the Canucks were riding a four game losing streak, coming off a 7-1 loss to the Nashville Predators. But DeBoer gave Dell the start against the tougher opponent, expressing his confidence in both goalies.
But with just 12 games left, DeBoer isn’t taking any chances this time around. He’s giving the net to Jones, who’s posted a .928 save percentage in 19 starts since his return from injury on Jan. 30.
“He’s playing well, and obviously, it’s a critical point,” the Sharks coach said. “We’re at a different point of the season than the last time we were here.”
