SAN JOSE – Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson’s season seems to be over, bringing to an finish one other irritating 12 months for himself and the crew.
Karlsson, 31, will miss his seventh straight sport Tuesday when the Sharks play the Anaheim Geese of their ultimate sport of the season at SAP Heart, and coach Bob Boughner isn’t holding out a lot hope that the two-time Norris Trophy winner will be capable of play in San Jose’s ultimate two video games later this week.
Karlsson has handled an unspecified lower-body damage for no less than two weeks and has not performed since April 14 when the Sharks misplaced in a shootout to the Chicago Blackhawks, a sport that formally eradicated San Jose from playoff competition.
Karlsson returned to San Jose after the Chicago sport for additional analysis, as he missed the ultimate two dates of that five-game highway journey.
The Sharks’ 82-game schedule wraps up with highway video games with the Edmonton Oilers and Seattle Kraken on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
“He’s not skating. So, that doesn’t level to an actual optimistic signal that he’s going to be dressing for the final couple of video games,” Boughner stated of Karlsson on Tuesday morning, “He hasn’t been on the ice in per week.”
If Karlsson is finished, he’ll have completed with 10 targets and 35 factors in 50 video games, an enchancment over the 22 factors he had in 52 video games final season. The Sharks in each years dressed a handful of less-experienced gamers, doubtless affecting Karlsson’s offensive output.
Nonetheless, this marks the sixth straight 12 months that Karlsson hasn’t been capable of play a full schedule and the third straight season that the Sharks have missed the NHL playoffs. Karlsson is ending the third 12 months of an eight-year, $92 million deal he was given by the Sharks in June 2019.
Karlsson missed six video games from Oct. 30 to Nov. 11 for COVID-19-related causes, then missed 15 video games from late January 22 to March 6, as he had surgical procedure to restore a small tear in his left forearm.
Karlsson’s six-plus week absence earlier this 12 months had a devastating impact on the Sharks’ offense and their playoff aspirations.
In that point, the Sharks went 3-7-5 and averaged an NHL-worst 2.00 targets per sport. By the point Karlsson returned for the March 10 sport in Los Angeles, the Sharks in 15 video games had fallen from a .524 factors proportion to .491.
The Sharks, previous to Tuesday, have been 3-2-1 of their final six video games, together with a dramatic 5-4 shootout win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.
San Jose erased a 4-2 Vegas lead within the ultimate three minutes of regulation time, with Timo Meier scoring with 0.9 seconds left within the third interval to ship the sport into time beyond regulation. Within the shootout, rookie heart Thomas Bordeleau was the one participant for both crew to attain because the Sharks snapped an 11-game dropping streak to the Golden Knights.
LEONARD UPDATE: Boughner stated ahead John Leonard, bothered by a deep bone bruise in his leg since he blocked a shot in an April 5 sport with Edmonton, can be unlikely to play in both of the Sharks’ ultimate two video games. Boughner stated Leonard skated Monday however was nonetheless unable to place a lot weight on his leg.
MEGNA’S STATUS: Sharks defenseman Jaycob Megna was blissful to listen to the vote of confidence that Boughner gave him after the Sharks’ victory over the Golden Knights.
Requested if the Sharks ought to re-sign Megna, a pending unrestricted free agent, Boughner gave a full-throated endorsement saying, “he’s come up and he seems like he’s performed on this league for 10 years, and that’s not simply due to tonight’s sport. He has simply been a rock for us again there.
“Folks don’t understand how onerous he’s fought via accidents, enjoying damage, enjoying injured nearly for the entire second half of the season. For me, a man that completely 1,000%, he must be again right here and he must be a part of this.”
Previous to Tuesday, Megna had averaged 19:02 of ice time in 41 video games with the Sharks this season. He had performed 43 NHL video games from 2016 to 2019 with the Geese.
“I’ve made no secret that I’d like to come back again right here,” Megna stated Tuesday. “To listen to it from a man that I work with day-after-day and he’s within the room and on the ice, it means quite a bit to have the belief of your teammates and your coaches. It’s undoubtedly good to listen to.”