San Jose Sharks head coach Bob Boughner decided to send a message to two of his key young players Saturday against the Minnesota Wild.
Wingers Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc were both demoted to the fourth line after the opening frame.
"They were both horrible in the first period," Boughner said, according to The Athletic's Kevin Kurz. "They didn't deserve to play in the top six or the top nine for that matter. I just made the decision after the first period, if you're not ready to play, put both those guys on the same line and let them try to figured it out down there."
The Sharks trailed 3-1 after the first period and ended up losing 5-2.
Labanc actually ended up playing 17:34 in the contest - second among Sharks forwards. He also notched an assist in the third period and his five-on-five expected goals share of 76.7% was third-best on the team, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Meier logged 13:29 in the game - nearly three minutes below his season average. He finished with a minus-1 rating, a 44% expected goals share, and no points.
Labanc, 25, and Meier, 24, are tied for fifth on the Sharks with 25 points each this season.
Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.