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His teammates called a lot of Logan Couture after the Sharks' 4-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 of their Stanley Cup playoff second round series on Tuesday.
The linemate Timo Meier called him "pre-game guy". Goaltender Martin Jones has called him a teammate "on whom one can rely."
But coach Peter DeBoer probably said the best thing after his first-row center scored a hat trick and led San Jose to a win in the third game: he is a "big game player".
"We made a lot of efforts tonight and he was at the top of the list," DeBoer told reporters in Denver after the San Jose victory. "You take it for granted, he does it all the time, during my stay here, he did it regularly at this time of year."
DeBoer is not wrong – Couture is already an elite hockey player, but he really turns it on as early as the second season of the NHL.
In DeBoer's first season behind the Sharks, Couture ended the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, leading all skaters with 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists) in 24 games. Do not forget that it was after Couture had missed nearly two months early in the season after breaking the fibula during a practice in October. He must return to training and then to the match sheet on a regular basis. In the playoffs, the Ontario native has the gift of playing hard for his team.
His nine goals in 10 games lead all players to the current Stanley Cup Playoffs and place him in a tie for most goals scored in the first 10 games of a playoff series. The Couture hat trick was the sixth in the history of the Sharks playoffs, the first since Devin Setoguchi against the Detroit Red Wings eight years ago. The winning goal, which Couture barely scored at 1:05 after Avalanche forward Matt Nieto tied the game, was Couture's third goal in the third period of a playoff playoff match. his career. Only Joe Thornton (four), Joe Pavelski (four) and Patrick Marleau (eight) scored more while wearing a Sharks pullover, statistician of NBC Sports in California Darin Stephens found.
More impressive is the arrival of Couture on the list of other great goal scorers in the playoffs. He now has 43 goals in the playoffs since his playoff debut in 2010. The only player with more goals in the playoffs this decade? Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin, who has 50.
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These achievements are remarkable, but Couture is not the type of player that lives in them. As a veteran of San Jose, Couture has built a reputation of being an incredibly hard worker and an even harder critic, especially for his own game. After the Sharks lost the second game on Sunday, he blamed himself a lot.
But when it was necessary to speak about his big performance in the match 3, Couture simply wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to play in series.
"That's why you play hockey, that's why you play 82 games," said Couture. "I've been lucky enough to be a part of very good teams, and these games are so much fun that you play for the ultimate price."
As the Sharks' quest for the Cup continues, who knows how many more important moments will be reserved for Couture.
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