SAN JOSE - Injured defenseman Matt Irwin (upper body) remained off the ice on Sunday. He will attempt to skate again on Monday, but is likely to miss his second straight game against the Penguins at SAP Center.
“We’re still going day-to-day, and hoping he gets back quickly,” coach Todd McLellan said.
Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski were both given the day off for Sunday’s skate.
[RELATED: McLellan sends message to Marleau, Sharks after loss to Canucks]
* * *
McLellan didn’t like the non-call on Henrik Sedin in the second period of Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Vancouver. You didn’t have to be a master lip-reader to figure that out if you happened to be watching the game broadcast.
On Sunday, it was still irking him.
“The call was made. A face-off occurred, Sedin put his hand on the puck, which in my opinion can be a face-off violation or putting your hand on the puck. It could be potentially two penalties. The whistle went, it was overruled by somebody in the pile, saying he just fell on it, but it’s pretty obvious that he reached on it. It was an error on behalf of the officials. We’re not getting that one back.”
San Jose’s penalty kill has struggled lately, giving up at least one goal in 10 of its last 13 games (26-for-37, 70.2 percent), including one to the Canucks. It’s fallen to 25th in the NHL (79.6 percent).
“We have to clean that area up,” said McLellan, who worked on that with his team on Sunday.
* * *
Sidney Crosby’s last visit to SAP Center was a nightmare.
On March 7, 2014, Crosby finished with zero points, one shot on goal and a -5 rating in the Sharks’ 5-3 win over Pittsburgh.
Suffice it to say, McLellan doesn’t expect a repeat performance.
“We’re preparing for the Sid that can get the two or three points a night, because he’s that good,” McLellan said. “There’s nobody in our room that doesn’t understand that. But, they also have a guy named [Evgeni] Malkin that’s in the two-hole that can do the same thing.
“You can’t just focus on one individual, and we’re going to have to check our way through tomorrow’s game. If we’re only worried about 87, they’re going to have some other guys that will do some damage.”
The Penguins have won six of their last seven, including a 1-0 shutout of Los Angeles on Saturday, courtesy of an overtime goal by Patric Hornqvist and 31 saves by Marc-Andre Fleury.