SAN JOSE –- In the last 106 games that Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski have concurrently been in the lineup since the start of the 2014-15 season, they’ve started together on the same line in 101 of those – including all 28 games this season.
Not on Saturday against Minnesota, though.
With his club mired in a five-game losing streak Sharks coach Pete DeBoer has changed up his team’s look, as Tomas Hertl will serve as Pavelski’s center, and Thornton will skate with Melker Karlsson and Tommy Wingels. It's the first time Thornton and Pavelski will start on different lines since Feb. 21, when the Sharks lost to the Kings outdoors at Levi's Stadium.
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On Friday, DeBoer said he was hoping to spark the club’s five-on-five production.
Thornton didn’t seem to mind getting split up from the Sharks’ leading scorer.
[KURZ: Morning Skate: Sharks shuffle all their lines for Wild]
“I've played with so many players over the years, it doesn't matter,” said Thornton, who will remain with left wing Melker Karlsson. “Wingels is a good player. Looking forward to that."
San Jose Sharks
“It's good to see different players, see how different players play. I'm familiar with Wingels. I've seen him play a ton. I'm excited to play with him."
DeBoer said the shakeup wasn’t an indictment of Thornton, despite the 36-year-old’s declining production with 16 points in 28 games, and just two points in his last 10.
On Saturday morning, speaking about Thornton and Pavelski, the coach said: “The one thing about those two guys is they’re both capable of making people around them better. With [Logan] Couture out of the lineup, I think we want to try and spread those guys out a little bit and see if they can get a couple lines going, which is always the goal.”
Thornton admitted on Saturday that “he’s not the offensive juggernaut he was 10 years ago,” but he still feels good.
“I feel like I'm creating offense, I'm getting chances for my linemates, and that's what I'm supposed to do,” he said.
The advanced stats suggest that Thornton is still having a mostly positive effect on the game. He’s the Sharks’ leader in shot attempt percentage (54.0 percent), as well as goals-for percentage at even strength (69.2 percent).
“For whatever reason, sometimes the puck just doesn't go in," he said. "It's game 28, but I feel like I'm playing in their zone a lot more than I'm playing in mine. I think eventually the chances will go in."