The San Jose Sharks hold a slim lead in the Pacific Division right now, so even though their spot in the playoffs is fairly secure, tonight’s game against the St. Louis Blues is pretty important.
The team will be without the steadying presence of their head coach Tod McLellan tonight, though. He will miss the game to attend the funeral of his brother-in-law in Saskatchewan, according to the Associated Press.
McLellan won’t be the first coach to miss games this season, although Chicago Blackhawks bench boss Joel Quenneville was sidelined for health-related reasons. The good news is that McLellan will almost certainly be back behind the Sharks bench for their next game, as they won’t play again until Wednesday against the Calgary Flames.