Injuries ravage Sharks in Game 5 loss to Blues
It was a tough night at the office for the San Jose Sharks. Not only were they blown out 5-0 by the St. Louis Blues in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final, but they took a few bumps along the way.
The Sharks were hit hard with the injury bug during the contest; at one point in the third period, Joe Pavelski, Erik Karlsson, Joonas Donskoi, and Tomas Hertl were all in the dressing room, leaving San Jose's bench shorthanded. Donskoi was the only one to return.
Head coach Peter DeBoer did not offer updates on any of the injured players following the game.
what the hell is going on? pic.twitter.com/efM6uWR75J
- Tony - x (@soIoucity) May 19, 2019
Karlsson appeared bothered by his already injured groin and the star blue-liner's ice time diminished as the game wore on. After playing 7:29 in the opening frame, Karlsson logged just 3:03 in the second period and did not come out for the third.
Asked if he had any regret about playing his hampered star, DeBoer said he was comfortable with the protocol they followed.
"I mean hindsight is 20-20," he said postgame. "I think, you know, we make those decisions based on the reports that we get from the player and the medical and the report was that they felt that he could play and get through the game, so it's easy to sit here now and say, 'sure, you'd have regrets.'"
EK does not look comfortable. pic.twitter.com/NXIDHSfD6q
- Yahoo Sports NHL (@YahooSportsNHL) May 19, 2019
Pavelski was shaken up after taking a hard hit from Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo early in the third period. The Sharks captain headed directly to the room and did not return.
Summary of today and the entire #StanleyCup playoffs for Joe Pavelski. pic.twitter.com/cxdrS4g9B3
- Brodie Brazil (@BrodieNBCS) May 19, 2019
Blues forward Ivan Barbashev caught Hertl up high with a first-period hit. It's unclear if the hit was the cause, but like Karlsson, Hertl saw his ice time decrease throughout the game and he did not emerge from the dressing room for the third period.
Just to go back a bit, this was the Barbashev hit on Hertl from the first period. Hertl did play the rest of the period + the second. He did not returning for the third #SJSharks #STLBlues pic.twitter.com/uvz76dyrBF
- Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) May 19, 2019
Donskoi took a puck to the face in the third stanza on a clearing attempt by teammate Justin Braun but eventually returned to action.
San Jose will hope to have everyone healthy with its season on the line in Game 6 on Tuesday night in St. Louis.
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