Logan Couture Nearly Willed Sharks To Stanley Cup

After battling through a regular season riddled with injuries, Logan Couture more than made up for it with his outstanding play during the playoffs.

When taking a look back at the 2015-16 season for San Jose Sharks forward Logan Couture, you have to separate the regular and postseasons for the 27-year-old former first-round pick for team teal.

After being named as one of the alternate captains by head coach Peter DeBoer before the season, Couture would then fracture his ankle after featuring in only three games.

Following two months of rehab, he would return to the lineup in early December only to play just one-and-a-half games before leaving after blocking a shot against the Oilers which would keep him out for another couple of weeks.

In all, Couture would miss 30 games due to injury this year and his numbers took a huge hit as he struggled to work his way back into form.

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Despite his lack of scoring prowess, the Sharks were a different team with Couture in the lineup. In the 52 games he appeared in, San Jose posted a 32-15-5 record as Couture manned the second-line center role for team teal.

Couture would deposit 15 goals and add 21 assists during the regular season, but once the playoffs began, Sharks fans everywhere would get a chance to see his talents on full display.

In the first round against the Kings, Couture would record points in four of the five contests, including three assists in the series-clincher as he was just getting started in these playoffs. He had one goal and five helpers against L.A. which helped catapult him into a dominating performance against Nashville.

Against the Predators, Couture would explode for 11 points (six goals, five assists) during the Sharks seven-game series win. He scored in six of the seven games, including three goals in the first two games before finding the back of the net in each of the final three games.

Then, in the Western Conference Final against St. Louis, Couture would continue his scoring ways with one goal and six assists as San Jose would advance to their first Stanley Cup Final.

In the Cup Finals, Couture was one of the few dangerous skaters in teal as he would lead the Sharks with two goals and four assists, including this beautiful feed to Melker Karlsson for the game-winner in Game 5:

He almost single-handedly kept San Jose’s Stanley Cup hopes alive, scoring their lone goal in Game 6 to tie things up, before ultimately falling short:

The biggest compliment for Couture is he showed up when his teammates needed him the most. In their six potential close out games during the postseason, he recorded 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in those six games.

Even more impressive, he recorded four three-point games during that span, including all three closeout games during their fun through the Western Conference.

Along the way, Couture would lead the playoffs in scoring with 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists), becoming just the fourth player in the last 20 years to reach the 30-point plateau and the 29th player in Stanley Cup history to do so (per Darin Stephens).

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After everything Couture endured throughout this year, it was great to see him burst on to the scene again during the postseason.

Hopefully, his playoff run was only a sign of things to come for Couture who will continued to be relied upon in a large capacity for this Sharks team moving forward.