San Jose Sharks coach David Quinn said winger Evgeny Svechnikov didn't have any lingering effects from the knee-on-knee collision he had with Minnesota Wild forward Mason Shaw last week.
Following the hit at the 12:10 mark of the second period of last Thursday's game at SAP Center, Svechnikov had to leave the game but was able to return for the third period as the Sharks went on to a 5-2 win.
For the hit, Shaw was assessed a major penalty for kneeing and given a game misconduct and the next day, was suspended by the NHL for two games.
Shaw, who had to forfeit $8,108.10 of his salary, said after the game that he did not intend to injure Svechnikov.
Quinn said Svechnikov, who had his right knee wrapped in ice after Thursday's game, was re-examined Friday and was expected to be in the lineup Tuesday for the Sharks' game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena.
Shaw, though, was involved in another incident with the Sharks in a Nov. 13 meeting in Minnesota, as his high hit on Radim Simek caused the San Jose defenseman to miss the next four games with a mild concussion.
"I don't think my opinion matters, so I'd rather hold off on it," Quinn said Tuesday morning when asked about the Shaw suspension. "Obviously, we thought he got his knee up high and the referees reviewed it, so it was a pretty fair call and the league had plenty of time to look at it and they did what they thought was right to protect the players."
Svechnikov entered Tuesday with seven points in 27 games, as he had been playing on the third line with center Nico Sturm.
The Sharks returned forward C.J. Suess to the Barracuda last Thursday but did not recall anyone to take his spot on the roster, which remained at 22 players with 13 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goalies.
The Sharks next host the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
UNUSUAL SCHEDULE: The Sharks normally fly into a city the night before for a road game but had to leave San Jose early Tuesday morning because of a provision in the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and NHL Players' Association.
Per the CBA, Dec. 24-26 shall be off days for players for all purposes, including travel. So the Sharks left San Jose at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday morning and arrived in Vancouver two hours later. They then held a morning skate at Rogers Arena and planned to return to the Bay Area immediately after the game.
Normally teams, if their schedule allows, fly into a city the day before for road games. The last time the Sharks had to fly out for Dec. 27 for a game that night was in 2016 when they played the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center. The Sharks won that game 3-2 in overtime.
Quinn downplayed the significance of the unusual itinerary.
"Listen, we're going to have a great meal, we're going to sleep in a beautiful bed in a beautiful hotel, so nobody's going to feel sorry for us that we're going to play an NHL hockey game at (7 p.m.)," Quinn said.
"So, nobody cares that you had to get on a flight at 7:30 this morning. That's part of the National Hockey League and teams that are successful don't use stuff like this as a crutch or an excuse. so we're certainly not going to use it as a crutch or excuse."
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