Couture Escapes Serious Injury

March 21, 2011, 12:18 PM

Couture Escapes Serious Injury

Andy Strickland | TrueHockey.com | Archive | Contact

Mar 21

The last thing the San Jose Sharks, or any contending team for that matter, needs are injuries down the stretch.

The Sharks currently sit atop the Pacific division with 92 points and are primed for another crack at a Stanley Cup. Seeing Calder trophy candidate Logan Couture need to be helped off the ice Saturday night after crashing hard into the boards set off panic buttons throughout out Northern California.

Sources tell me there isn’t timetable for a Couture return but there is a chance he misses the remainder of the regular season. Not all the reports are bad as sources tell me he doesn’t appear to have suffered any fractures or ligament tears in his “lower body injury”. It doesn’t take a genius to realize Couture looks to be dealing with a right ankle/foot injury after falling awkwardly behind the St. Louis goal. The referees told Couture to stay down after he initially tried to get up on his own power.

As for now the Sharks rookie will continue to be evaluated on a daily basis and a timetable for a return should be clearer later this week. It basically comes down to how much pain he can tolerate and when he’s able to handle the pressure that comes with not only skating but also battling with 230 pound NHL D-men.

More to come,
Andy Strickland
strickland.andy@gmail.com

Andy Strickland is based out of St. Louis and has more than 10 years of experience covering the NHL. He is also a full time radio personality in St. Louis and can frequently be heard and seen throughout the United States and Canada on radio and television. He can be contacted via Twitter (@AndyStrickland) or on the Ask Andy page.

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BlueManGuru Said:

March 21, 2011 at 3:33 PM

And Joe Thorton stayed away from the fray most of the night. I was at least hoping for some accidental revenge. By the way, the SHarks broadcasters called what Thorton did to Perron a collision. The Sharks will make the play offs while we won't in good part thanks to Joe Thorton who continues to help his team lead the way. Talk about BS suspensions. That's not fair to the fans of our team. I don't understand when you have Reaves, Crombeen and the worthless one Janssen all out there and you don't put them against Thorton's line especially after getting your butt handed to you early.

Hensick is a bust. He's an AHLer all the way. His skating kills him at this level. I was so over hopeful on that guy. Note to Payne fix your top two lines or put Oshie out there with Cracknell and Reaves instead of the creative-less Crombeen.

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lonewolf Said:

March 21, 2011 at 10:49 PM

Matt Cooke should be banned for life from the NHL. The players should be held more accountable instead of blaming the referees.
Also Davis Payne should utilize the younger players more instead of the current players. Also when will Anthony Peluso or a defensemane like Brennan Evans be brought up for the last 8 games. Also Nathan Oystrick played with a steadiness that
the blues have lacked whole year.
Also when will the Blues be sold by next year? Does Quebec have any interest in getting the Blues. Viva the Quebec Blues.

the lone wolf.

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carcus replied to lonewolf:

March 21, 2011 at 11:05 PM

Nice try there lone wolf.
Also there is no way the Blues are leaving town.
Also not a chance.
Also how could Payne utilize younger players? He can not call up high schoolers.
Also Viva the St Louis Blues.

the not lonely carcus. flag this comment

bumps93 replied to lonewolf:

March 21, 2011 at 11:49 PM

Matt Cooke got suspended for rest of the season and first round of the playoffs. Not GOOD ENOUGH but at least he got something. Joe Thornton lives on. He got two games but just think what he would have gotten it he had hit Crosby. flag this comment

bcallaway replied to lonewolf:

March 22, 2011 at 10:41 AM

If the Blues got any younger they wouldn't be allowed to play games on school nights. flag this comment

kiper15 Said:

March 22, 2011 at 9:13 AM

Joe is a superstar. If he had hit Crosby, the suspension would have been the same. He has a squeaky clean record which helps also.

Even though Matt Cooke is human scum, you have to wonder about coaches that put that type of player out there. That says a lot about them. Janssen, as an energy guy, does a fair job of going out and hitting people without all the cheap stuff, to my knowledge at least. He can't skate and he's always outsized in fights but at least he plays the position right. Cooke is just a piece of ****

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BlueManGuru replied to kiper15:

March 22, 2011 at 2:32 PM

Actually Janssen often times leaves his feet for a hit and gets his elbows up. Lately I haven't seen it as much as before. Maybe he's learned a lesson. As far as playing the position right....he leaves much to be desired as an ECHL player. flag this comment

BlueManGuru replied to kiper15:

March 22, 2011 at 2:35 PM

Again how the Sharks' announcers referred to the Perron incident says a lot as to how Thorton and the SHarks viewed it--as an accidental collision. That's more evidence of the problem in the sport right now. flag this comment

DemonD61 Said:

March 22, 2011 at 12:46 PM

Ok Mario, Here's your chance. You spoke up about headshots after Crosby went down. Do the right thing and suspend Cooke for the rest of the season, no matter how far you go, period. Then waive him. Make the point, you don't want those kinds of players on your team.

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