from Kevin Kurz of CSNBayArea,

The Sharks practiced at home on Monday for the final time before leaving on a seven-game, 14-day road trip that will determine whether they are a playoff or a lottery team.

The first four stops will be in Canadian cities, including Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. Considering the recent off-ice events surrounding the club, and some of the media hotbeds they’ll be visiting, it’s safe to say that former captain Joe Thornton will get at least one question or 20 about the rift that has surfaced between him and general manager Doug Wilson.

Put another way, there will be many more reporters and cameras in the dressing room than there were on Monday at Sharks Ice, when a grand total of two – the San Jose Mercury News, and yours truly – were there chatting with players in the dressing room.

“It’s a little bit more attention, but nothing big,” Thornton said. “It’s just a couple more cameras. That’s all I can say. A couple more cameras, a couple more people in the locker room. We’re there to play hockey, and that’s the bottom line.”

Marc-Edouard Vlasic said: “The guys are focused on winning. I don’t think they’re focused on anything else but winning.”

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