Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic always draws a crowd of reporters inside the visiting locker room at Bell Centre whenever the San Jose Sharks make their annual visit to Montreal to play the Canadiens, and this year was no different.
The topic cette fois? Vlasic’s numerous healthy scratches.
Since missing the first 40 games of the season for injury and conditioning reasons, Vlasic has played in just eight of the Sharks’ last 19 games and is averaging 15:05 in ice time. Now in his 19th NHL season, and with 1,304 games to his credit, Vlasic’s role with the Sharks — at the moment — is as their sixth or seventh defenseman.
Asked by reporters about being in and out of the lineup, Vlasic said, “It’s not up to me to decide, but when I played, I did well. Obviously, we’re rebuilding, but it’s not my decision. You’d have to ask the coach.”
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said Vlasic will play in his second consecutive game Thursday in Montreal. San Jose is looking to snap a six-game road losing streak.
“We’re a younger team; we’ve got some younger defensemen that we want to see what they can do,” Warsofsky said when asked about Vlasic, a Montreal native. “I thought (Vlasic) came in (Monday) and gave us some really good minutes.”
Entering the lineup for an injured Timothy Liljegren, Vlasic had over 17 minutes of ice time and was credited with four blocks in the Sharks’ 2-1 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
The game was Vlasic’s first since Jan. 30, as he was scratched for three straight games in early February and again on Sunday in Calgary, which became a 3-2 Sharks loss in their first game following the completion of the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Vlasic missed training camp and the first half of the regular season with an upper-body injury. As he worked his way back, and with Warsofsky saying the veteran needed time to improve his conditioning, Vlasic was considered a non-roster player.
Vlasic’s first two games came on Jan. 2 and 4 at home against Tampa Bay and New Jersey. Vlasic averaged 12:20 in ice time as the Sharks won both games, but he was taken out in favor of Shakir Mukhamadullin for ensuing games against Vegas and Utah. Mukhamadullin and Vlasic were scratched on Jan. 11 when Jake Walman returned to the lineup after missing eight games with an injury.
Vlasic is encouraged by how the Sharks played to start their road trip.
“Against the Jets and the Flames, we had two good games,” Vlasic said. “In addition, against the Jets, we arrived at 3 a.m. and it was our second game in two days while they were rested. It’s positive not to get down 8-2 or 8-3 in every game. We have to continue in this direction for the last few games.”