SAN JOSE – Logan Couture skated with the puck directly into the Anaheim Ducks’ zone on a 2-on-1. Then, at the exact right moment, the San Jose Sharks captain backhanded a saucer pass to defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who chipped it past goalie John Gibson for the game’s first goal.
Vlasic appeared to be happier for Couture than he was for himself, jumping into the centerman and knocking him down behind the Ducks’ net.
Without question, though, for someone who less than four months ago questioned whether he would even be able to play hockey again, the play had to feel pretty good for Couture, too.
Vlasic’s goal started an eventful second period for the Sharks, who added two more goals and held onto a 5-3 win over the Ducks before an announced sellout crowd of 17,435 at SAP Center.
Kyle Burroughs, Fabian Zetterlund, and Jan Rutta also scored and goalie Mackenzie Blackwood made 32 saves as the Sharks ended a three-game losing streak and improved to 7-12-2 at home this season.
Tomas Hertl had two points, scoring an empty-net goal with 6.0 seconds left to seal the victory.
Couture, 34, has been injured and unavailable since before the start of training camp, and revealed Saturday morning that he was dealing with a hip/groin condition called osteitis pubis, which, per the National Library of Medicine is a “noninfectious, chronic inflammatory state of the pubic symphysis and surrounding soft tissues … all resulting in groin or lower abdominal pain.”
“When I was driving to the rink this morning, I was thinking about how the last four months had gone,” Couture told reporters Saturday morning. “I was dealing with osteitis pubis, that’s what I had. Some days were terrible. Some days I couldn’t get out of bed. Thinking of those days to where I am right now, it’s been a long, long journey. So I’m just excited to get back to playing here.”
During his often-frustrating recovery, Couture said before there were times he doubted whether he could return to the NHL. He’d skate for a day or two days before he had to stop after the pain came. He’d rest, only for the condition to seemingly worsen. He took a shot of cortisone, but it didn’t have the desired effect.
All while the Sharks were experiencing their slowest start to a season since 1995-96 when they went 8-29-4 in the first half. San Jose entered Saturday with the worst record in the NHL at 10-31-4.
“It was tough, seeing the guys lose and knowing there was nothing I could do to help,” Couture said before Saturday’s game. “I was kind of on my own. I’m on my own, basically trying to get back out there. I think the losing wears on these guys so much. There’s not much you can say to cheer guys when you’re on a 10-11 game losing streak.”
But Couture said he made significant progress with his injury earlier this month after the Sharks left for a six-game road trip in late November. Based on the suggestion of Sharks head athletic trainer Ray Tufts, Couture visited with San Francisco-based physiotherapist Lisa Giannone four or five times a week.
“That’s kind of when I started to turn the corner with my rehab,” Couture said last month. “I’ve been going up to just San Francisco and putting a lot of work in there with the rehab and just something clicked. Started to feel a lot better, started to skate more often, felt way better on the ice, and didn’t aggravate my injury.
“That was kind of the point where I was hopeful that I was going to get over the hump. Because before that I really didn’t know. I would feel good. I would skate, then I would feel terrible and have to take weeks off.”
In his first shift Saturday, Couture took the faceoff, followed the puck into the offensive zone, and laid a hit on Ducks defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin.
Couture’s last game was on April 13, 2023, when the Sharks played Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. Things have changed a bit since for the Sharks as only five players who were in that game who also dressed for Saturday’s game were Hertl, Zetterlund, Mario Ferraro, Nico Sturm, and Henry Thrun.