Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic and forward Matt Nieto will not play Thursday night against the Winnipeg Jets, but Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said both players are getting close and might be available to play Saturday in the regular season finale.
DeBoer added, though, that he's keeping the big picture in mind with the playoffs beginning next week. "I'm not going to (play them) at risking their availability for the start of the playoffs," DeBoer said. "For me, that's not a necessity they play Saturday. In a perfect world, it would be nice. But that's not going to be the deciding factor.