If the San Jose Sharks are to continue their winning ways into November, they’ll have to do so without one of their best players.
Centre Logan Couture broke a bone in his right leg during a five-on-five drill at practice Thursday at the Prudential Center.
He is scheduled for surgery this weekend and is expected to miss four to six weeks.
“Logan was injured in practice on Thursday in New Jersey and suffered a fractured right fibula at the ankle,” Sharks GM Doug Wilson said Friday morning in a statement.
“He will be returning to San Jose to undergo surgery under the direction of Kaiser Permanente’s medical team.”
CSN recorded this video of Couture’s injury:
Couture finished second to Joe Pavelski in club scoring last season, notching 27 goals and a career-best 40 assists.
The 26-year-old forward has one assist through three games this year, all San Jose wins.
San Jose plays the New Jersey Devils Friday night.
With Couture out, the Sharks recalled 20-year-old Nikolay Goldobin from the AHL Barracuda.
In nine games with the Worcester Sharks last season, Goldobin scored five points. The Moscow native started the 2014-15 season with HIFK in Finland, posting 21 points in 38 games.
Goldobin was selected by San Jose in the first round (27th overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft.