Logan Couture watch will continue for at least a few more days.
Couture, out since the start of training camp with a lower-body injury, won’t play against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday or the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday when the San Jose Sharks finish their five-game road trip, coach David Quinn said.
Quinn said before the road trip, which started on Jan. 9 in Toronto, that he was hopeful Couture would be able to make his season debut at some point during these five games. But without the benefit of having a practice before they play the Blackhawks, Couture will remain off the Sharks’ 23-man roster for now.
San Jose’s next game after Tuesday is Saturday at home against the Anaheim Ducks. The Sharks will have the opportunity to practice at least twice this week before that game against their Pacific Division rival.
“It’s been tough for him all year,” Quinn said of Couture. “He’s really anxious to get going here. He’s eager for sure. But as we’ve all said, we want it to be when he does come back, that there’s no looking back.”
Quinn is making other changes to his lineup for Monday’s game, inserting winger Scott Sabourin and defenseman Kyle Burroughs and scratching Mike Hoffman and Calen Addison.
Asked about Addison, who has just one assist in his last 12 games, Quinn said, “There’s been a little bit of a drop in his play. So sometimes this is the best way to kind of reset yourself.
“We’ve got a bunch of defensemen that are in similar situations. I think you’re going to see a lot of in and out here moving forward because we know a lot of these guys are in the same boat,” Quinn added. “A lot of guys do a good job when they’re in there, and sometimes there’s a little drop off in their play, and we’re fortunate to have the luxury to move guys in and out.”
#HockeyWeather pic.twitter.com/mZJibJRTeh
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) January 15, 2024
BUFFALO ENVIRONMENT: With a massive snowstorm hitting Western New York, the Sharks waited for close to 24 hours in Ottawa before they were able to fly into Buffalo on Sunday evening. The Sharks landed in Buffalo at around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday and were at their hotel roughly an hour later.
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“It actually was better than I anticipated,” Quinn said of the plane landing at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. “It was windy, for sure. But the pilots did a great job managing the situation and, the minute we landed, they were all kind of talking about how that wasn’t that bad. A lot easier than we anticipated.”
The city was still digging out from the storm on Monday morning as the Sharks took a side street on their bus to get to KeyBank Center. In some parts of Buffalo, snow was falling at rates of 3-5 inches per hour before the storm finally let up Sunday night. Some towns in the region saw over three feet of snow.
“It was obviously slow moving on our bus under those circumstances and conditions,” Quinn said. “There’s an awful lot of snow or not a lot of activity going on.”
Please check back for updates to this story.
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