The Sharks continue to succeed for now despite a knee injury to rookie sensation Tomas Hertl which has him sidelined for an indefinite period of time.
Tuesday, General manager Doug Wilson released the following statement on center Logan Couture.
"For the past several weeks, Logan has been dealing and playing with an upper body injury. Despite his efforts to play through it, the injury has not responded as we had hoped and Logan has made the decision to undergo a surgical procedure to repair the problem. "While the timing of the procedure is not ideal, Logan feels it is in his and the team's best interest to get the problem rectified now. Logan will undergo surgery on Wed., Jan. 8 and we will have a better update on the recovery time following the procedure."
In the meantime, the Sharks have confirmed four players have been selected to participate in the upcoming Winter Olympics.
Center Patrick Marleau and defenseman Marc-Eduoard Vlasic will represent team Canada, goalie Antti Niemi (Finland) and center Joe Pavelski will play for Team USA.
Marleau helped Canada win gold in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games recording two goals and three assists.
Vlasic has previously represented Canada in two World Championships in 2009 and 2012 but this will be his first Olympics experience. Vlasic is 3rd amongst Sharks defensemen in points (16) and second in his 2005 draft class in games played (562).
Niemi is competing for the first time in a major international tournament. He is tied for 2nd in the League in wins (22) and 1st in minutes played (2,158). Since joining San Jose in 2010-11, Niemi ranks 2nd in the NHL in wins (115) and has recorded 20 or more wins in five straight seasons.
Pavelski is making his second appearance in the Olympics for Team USA. In 2010 he helped the United States earn a silver medal with three assists in six games.
Overall the Sharks are near perfect at home at 15-1-3 but on the road a more vulnerable 12-9-3. Still, the team is 7-3-0 in their last 10 games in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. They are seven points back of Anaheim for the best record in the Pacific Division.