Logan Couture returned to Sharks' practice Wednesday as Team Teal gears up to host the Buffalo Sabres Thursday at SAP Center. The 29-year-old center collided with teammate Rourke Chartier in practice on Tuesday, but didn't look any worse for wear as he participated in full practice Wednesday.
But he wasn't the only Shark to return to action at morning skate. Here are a few tidbits from practice.
-Couture's linemate Tomas Hertl, who was reportedly absent from Tuesday's skate taking a maintanence day, returned to practice. He left after half an hour, but coach Peter DeBoer told the media afterwards he expects the 24-year-old forward to be ready to go for Thursday's game.
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Kevin Labanc, who also took a maintenance day Tuesday, was not present at the following practice. DeBoer told the media the winger is fighting off a virus, and that he expects Labanc to be in th lineup against Buffalo as well.
-Team Teal spent a fair amount of time working on their power play during Wednesday's skate, no doubt looking to turn things around after going 2-for-21 on the man advantage in their first six games. But they aren't the only team at the Tank on Thursday evening who've experienced a power outage.
The Sabres experienced their own woes on the man advantage in their Tuesday evening 4-1 loss to the Las Vegas Golden Knights. In that bout, Buffalo went 0-for-6 on the power play and gave up a short-handed goal to Cody Eakin in the second stanza. This could potentially be good news for the Sharks, who have been more successful on the penalty kill through the six games they've played so far this season.
It will be imperative for the Sharks to not get into penalty trouble like they did against the New Jersey Devils and go to the box eight times. Conor Sheary and Jack Eichel make Buffalo's top power play unit primed to find the back of the net.
