SAN JOSE — A Sharks homestand that started with some encouraging results ended in disappointment and with another injury after Logan Couture had to leave Sunday’s game with the Colorado Avalanche midway through the first period.
Couture was struck in the side of the head by a puck and did not return in what became an 4-3 loss to the Avalanche at SAP Center.
Joe Thornton, Melker Karlsson and Noah Gregor all scored for the Sharks. Karlsson’s goal came on a breakaway at the 3:41 mark of the second and tied the game 2-2.
But Vladislav Namestnikov gave the Avalanche back the lead at the 8:41 mark of the second, as the Sharks wrapped up their six-game homestand with a 3-2-1 record. The Sharks beat New Jersey, Pittsburgh and Toronto to start before one-goal losses to Minnesota and Ottawa. The Sharks lost 2-1 to the Senators on Saturday.
Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Joonas Donskoi also scored for the Avalanche, as Sharks goalie Martin Jones finished with 20 saves. Gregor scored with 43.6 seconds left in the third period to cut the Avalanche lead to one, but the Sharks could get no closer.
The Sharks’ announced that 14,694 tickets had been distributed for the game, the second-lowest total of the season after 14,517 tickets were distributed for Thursday’s game with the Wild.
The Sharks start a four-game road trip Wednesday in Chicago against the Blackhawks.
The Sharks were on a power play when a deflected puck struck Couture, who was standing to the left of the Avalanche net. Timo Meier was inside the Avalanche blue line when he shot the puck, which changed direction as it went off the stick of J.T. Compher before it hit Couture.
Couture went off the ice with 9:20 left in the first period. The Sharks announced early in the second period Sunday that Couture was being evaluated and that he would not return.
“I think it was just precautionary that we didn’t want to throw him back in there and I don’t think it’s anything serious,” Sharks interim coach Bob Boughner said about Couture. “I think he’s going to be fine. But definitely left a hole in our lineup, an already thin lineup up front. I think that MacKinnon line, tough to handle as it is without (Couture). They were the best line on the ice.”
While the Sharks were still on the power play, Thornton scored his seventh goal of the season and his third in the last five games to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead with 8:44 to go in the first period.
After the injury, Joel Kellman took Couture’s spot on the Sharks’ top line with Evander Kane and Gregor.
Kellman’s giveaway early in the second period led to Landeskog’s goal, which gave Colorado a 2-1 lead. Kellman finished with 14:50 of ice time.
“Tough start in the second period, but we got better,” Kellman said. “They’ve got a good first line with a lot of skill.”
Couture was in his seventh game back with the Sharks after he missed 17 games from Jan. 9 to Feb. 23. Couture suffered a small fracture in his ankle in a Jan. 7 game against the St. Louis Blues.
Couture had two goals and an assist in his last six games, in which the Sharks have gone 3-2-1. When Couture was out with his ankle injury, the Sharks went 7-10-0.
Coming into Sunday, Couture had 16 goals and 23 assists in 51 games.
The Sharks, who were 29-34-5 coming into Sunday, already have several other injured players.
Defenseman Mario Ferraro did not play Saturday against the Ottawa Senators and also missed Sunday’s game with a lower body injury. He is considered day-to-day. Fellow defenseman Jacob Middleton also has a lower body injury but is considered week-to-week and may not return for the rest of the season.
Center Tomas Hertl (knee) and defenseman Erik Karlsson (thumb) are both out for the season with their injuries, and Dalton Prout has only played two games as he has dealt with concussion symptoms for most of the season.
“It definitely is tough. We’ve been battling through a lot of injuries this year,” Sharks winger Kevin Labanc said. “But, it’s hockey. It’s going to happen this year, it’s going to happen next year, it’s going to happen the year after that. So, we’ve got to find to find ways to bring the next guy up and be ready to take on that responsibility to do (Couture’s) job, or (Hertl’s) job, or Erik Karlsson’s job.”
