Light lineup shuts out Kraken - Enterprise-Record

SHARKS

Light lineup shuts out Kraken

No Meier or Hertl, but Sharks put together matinee win against Seattle

San Jose Sharks’ goalie James Reimer protects the net against Seattle Kraken’s Daniel Sprong in the second period on Monday at SAP Center in San Jose. KARL MONDON — BAY AREA NEWS GROUP

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By Curtis Pashelka

Bay Area News Group

SAN JOSE >> The San Jose Sharks got a peek at what their lineup looks like without Timo Meier — and Tomas Hertl, for that matter — on Monday as they continued a season-long homestand.

It wasn’t the prettiest endeavor, at least for the first 30 minutes, as the Sharks managed just six shots and a couple of high-danger chances.

But Logan Couture, Evgeny Svechnikov, and Noah Gregor all scored in the final 9:15 of the second, and goalie James Reimer earned his second shutout this season in a 4-0 win over the Seattle Kraken before an announced matinee crowd of 13,445 at SAP Center.

Mikey Eyssimont scored an empty net goal to round out the scoring for San Jose.

Reimer, making his first start since Jan. 27, finished with 26 saves as the Sharks snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 6-14-7 on home ice this season.

Seattle is actually the only team the Sharks face on the rest of the homestand that is actually in a playoff position. San Jose also hosts Nashville, Chicago, Montreal, St. Louis and Washington over the next 12 days.

Monday, the Sharks silenced a Kraken team that had only been shutout two other times this season and entered the game as the fourth-highest-scoring group in the NHL.

Monday’s game marked the first time since March 8, 2021, that the Sharks had played without both Meier and Hertl. Meier had played in all 57 Sharks games this season.

Meier is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury but should be available when the Sharks host the Predators on Thursday, coach David Quinn said before the game. Hertl missed the game for personal reasons, Quinn said, but was not expected to be out past Monday.

Meier has obviously been a focal point around the NHL, as he’s widely considered the best player available prior to the March 3 trade deadline. Teams that appear to be the most interested in Meier, a pending restricted free agent, include the New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes.

“We haven’t bubble-wrapped anybody,” Quinn said. “Not to this point.”

Quinn said Meier was injured in the second period of the Sharks’ game with the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. Meier was able to finish the game, but started to feel worse overnight and did not practice Sunday.

Meier was at SAP Center on Monday but left the arena roughly two hours before the game’s 1 p.m. start.

Meier and Hertl lead the Sharks’ forward group with 52 and 47 points, respectively. Without them, Hertl, specifically, the Sharks on Monday recalled winger Martin Kaut from the San Jose Barracuda.

Kaut has one goal and five assists with the Barracuda, the Sharks’ AHL affiliate, since he and defenseman Jacob MacDonald was acquired from Colorado on Jan. 25 as part of a trade that sent Matt Nieto and Ryan Merkley to the Avalanche.

Kaut had a goal and an assist in 27 games with the Avalanche this season. He has six points and three goals in 47 career NHL contests.

“He’s played well down there. We were excited to get him when we acquired him,” Quinn said of Kaut. “He’s got a lot of talent. Sometimes in situations — Colorado’s got a good, deep forward group and it’s a tough lineup to crack. The path to the NHL is difficult for some players because of the situations they’re in — to the fault of nobody — and certainly he’s going to have an opportunity here.”