Radim Simek is considered questionable to play Saturday when the Sharks look to split their two-game series with the Arizona Coyotes.
Simek was injured midway through the third period of Friday’s game as he was pushed from behind into the end boards by Coyotes forward Nick Schmaltz. Simek left the ice and did not return in what turned into a 5-2 Sharks loss at Gila River Arena.
For the hit, Schmaltz was given a two-minute minor for boarding and on Saturday, fined $5,000 by the NHL.
“I didn’t like the hit,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said Saturday. “I’m glad the league stepped up there. I think that it was more of a hit but a push, and when a guy is in a vulnerable position. Now we have a player today who may not play tonight, who’s pretty stiff after that. I think that’s a dangerous, dangerous play.”
Boughner said Simek was going to take part in the team’s optional skate Saturday morning to see how he felt.
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“He’s going to try it, and then I’ll talk to the trainers,” Boughner said. “But I know he’s sore this morning.”
If Simek can’t play, either Christian Jaros or Fredrik Claesson will dress in his place.
Simek to the dressing room after this hit by Schmaltz, who gets called for boarding. #SJSharks | #Yotes pic.twitter.com/HaI59c0Sba
— TEAL TOWN USA – A San Jose Sharks Podcast (@TEALTOWNUSA) March 27, 2021
Simek might not be the only Sharks skater unable to play tonight as Boughner said he was still waiting to hear about the health of a few players.
Boughner said Friday there was an outside chance Matt Nieto could available to play Saturday. Nieto has missed four straight games with a lower-body injury. Logan Couture played Friday with a sore neck after he was injured earlier in the week by a hit from Los Angeles forward Jeff Carter.
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“Felt good enough to play,” Couture said after Friday’s game, “so if you’re good enough to play, you better bring 100%. I just wasn’t good.”
Goalie Devan Dubnyk will start Saturday for the Sharks (13-15-4), who are 1-2-0 against the Coyotes this season and enter Saturday in seventh place in West Division with 30 points, seven points back of the fourth-place St. Louis Blues (16-13-5). Arizona (15-14-5) is two points back of the Blues.