Couture Leaves Game After Butt-End High Stick

The San Jose Sharks were coasting to a 4-2 victory over the Kings when disaster struck.

Logan Couture left the game in the final minutes after colliding with Jeff Carter pic.twitter.com/c7Dz9YHT9e

— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) March 25, 2021

An already-quiet SAP Center got even more quiet as Logan Couture lay there on the ice for over a minute. Erik Karlsson was the first Shark to get over, and he kneeled down to check on the captain. It wasn’t looking good.

Good news for the San Jose Sharks, Couture eventually managed to get up mostly under his own power. Carter was assessed a two-minute minor for high sticking, and San Jose finished off their 4-2 victory over Los Angeles.

Rudolfs Balcers, who was on the ice when Couture and Jeff Carter collided, reported after the game, “I heard him say he’s good.”

Regardless, Bob Boughner was unable to give much of an update during his press availability, saying Couture was still being looked at. However, Boughner did note that Couture himself indicated that the butt-end of Carter’s stick struck him.

“He looked okay in the room,” Evander Kane added, “which was a good sign.”

So it seems like Couture is fairly lucid — the hit certainly looked more damaging at first glance.

Hopefully, it’s disaster averted for the San Jose Sharks. We’re not likely, however, to get an update until Friday. The Sharks will not practice tomorrow, instead, they’re going straight to Phoenix. Their next game is against the Arizona Coyotes on Mar. 26.