The San Jose Sharks named Luke Kunin and Mikael Granlund as alternate captains ahead of Wednesday’s game against Winnipeg.
The injured
Alternate captain Tomas Hertl and captain Logan Couture are both sidelined by injuries, expected to be out for multiple weeks.
On Monday, Hertl had surgery to clean out knee cartilage.
“I have been experiencing soreness in my left knee on and off this season,” Hertl said in a statement Monday. Hertl is expected to be out on IR for several weeks as he gets back to 100 percent.
Meanwhile, Couture is out again dealing with the resurfacing osteitis pubis injury that kept him away earlier this season. Couture did not return to practice after the Sharks’ bye-week break.
Adding to the injured was Nico Sturm, who left Wednesday’s game after a possible head injury. Sturm is expected to return on Thursday against the Calgary Flames.
In the leadership absence, forwards Kunin and Granlund can fill the void.
The alts
The centers played alongside each other twice in the past with the Nashville Predators and the Minnesota Wild.
“We got a good leadership group here,” Kunin said on Wednesday, “It’s pretty special. Something you don’t take for granted or lightly.”
Speaking of his three-time teammate’s leadership, Kunin said, “I think it’s pretty easy to see when you’re watching. [Granlund] Just gives it his all every night. He’s a leader, works hard, not only with the talent he has but just does everything right.”
Granlund and Kunin had their first feat in their leadership roles following Wednesday’s 1-0 shutout loss to the Jets.
The L
The Sharks were outshot 39-17, with Team Teal’s Kaapo Kahkonen named first star in their own loss.
Defenseman Mario Ferraro skated in his 300th career game, blocking two shots and logging 25:17 minutes on the ice.
Winnipeg’s Morgan Barron scored late in the first period assisted by Neal Pionk and Dylan Samberg. After that, both teams went forty minutes without another goal.
San Jose won just 38.5 percent of the faceoffs, and the Jets maintained puck possession for most of the game.
“They defend really good,” Granlund said following the loss, “You think you kind of got them but they backcheck hard. They defend really hard and that’s how they kill some plays. Like they have shown throughout the season it’s not easy to score against them.”
In 36 of 51 games, the Jets have two goals or fewer against them.
Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck stopped 17 shots to earn his third shutout of the season.
On the other side, this was the Sharks eighth scoreless game this season. While it’s the first game back after the break, the team has to find a way to get offensive chances.
“Obviously it’s a good team we played against,” said Kunin, “Definitely trying to find a way to get more looks. Find a way to get pucks to the net.”
Another Sharks’ loss is another game where the goalie kept them in it.
Sharks’ Kahkonen said postgame, “I think they’re a pretty high shot volume team. But overall I think what we did well was…I think we boxed them out and kinda kept them outside. So that was good for me.”
Next up
Team Teal returns to the Tank against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. San Jose will debut their third jerseys, the “Cali Fin” against Columbus. The Cali Fin uniforms will be worn at home games through February and March.
San Jose will play at home for five games before hitting the road again in March against the Dallas Stars.
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Featured image courtesy of San Jose Sharks on NHL.com
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