San Jose Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer didn’t have an update on the status of Joe Thornton following Sunday’s win over the Vancouver Canucks.
Thornton was injured on a collision with Michael Chaput in the first period and didn’t return. The way he exited the ice -- hobbling to the bench favoring his left knee and then struggling down the tunnel to the dressing room -- was particularly concerning.
At the age of 37, Thornton had been enjoying a 50-point season with the Sharks, who are once again in the race for top spot in the Pacific Division, having already clinched a playoff berth.
“You can’t roll over and just quit,” said DeBoer.
“It’s a great challenge for us. Hopefully he’s only out short-term here. I think we’re confident as a group that we’re a team that’s a sum of our parts, not about one or two guys anyway. I think if anyone can handle it, we can.”
DeBoer said Thornton will be reassessed Monday.
The Sharks also played this game without Logan Couture, who suffered a gruesome injury after being hit in the face with a puck versus Nashville last weekend. (The latest update on Couture from a few days ago was a report that he can speak and eat.)
The win puts the Sharks, at least temporarily, within two points of Anaheim and Edmonton for first in the Pacific.