SAN JOSE — Bumps and bruises are something the Sharks are quite accustomed to dealing with, whether in the regular season or a tough playoff series. Heck, San Jose captain Joe Pavelski scored a goal off his face in Game 1 against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday, and was ready to go for Game 2 on Friday after spending a few hours in the dentist’s chair in between.
Now, just as the series shifts to Las Vegas for Games 3 and 4, the injury bug has bitten the Sharks' blue line. While they have the bodies to fill that void, it’s still a mystery as to how exactly they will make up for that absence.
The status of defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic remains a mystery after he left the ice during the second period of Game 2, a 5-3 loss to the Golden Knights. The exact nature of his injury hasn’t been disclosed, although Vlasic did block a Shea Theodore shot that appeared to hit him in the arm. With Vlasic out of the lineup for the better part of Friday’s game, Sharks coach Peter DeBoer relied heavily on blue-liners Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson to pick up the slack.
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SIGN UP HERE DeBoer relied on the strategy during the regular season when San Jose’s lineup sustained its fair share of injuries, and the playoffs are no exception.
“Guys go down in the playoffs,” DeBoer said after Game 2. “We had to have some guys take some extra minute because of that. But you’ve got to be prepared to play short this time of year.”
San Jose’s best blue-liners are used to playing extra minutes to fill in for injured teammates. In a season in which Karlsson, Vlasic, Justin Braun and Radim Simek missed time with various injuries, Burns played 25:06 per game. By the end of the game Friday evening, Burns had registered 28:36 of ice time while Karlsson – in just his third game back from his own injury woes – tallied a whopping 29:08. Keep in mind that San Jose did have eight power-play opportunities, and both players saw plenty of time on the man advantage.
The question now isn’t so much whether DeBoer will use this same method in Game 3. If Vlasic isn’t able to play in Game 3 and Tim Heed is penciled into the lineup, Burns and Karlsson likely are going to play the bulk of the game.
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But, it's worth pondering whether the Sharks would be better off if other defenesmen also played more. Since Joakim Ryan only skated 7:34 in Game 2, it’s unlikely he’ll skate too much more in Game 3 -- even if Vlasic can't suit up. If the Sharks spend less time on special teams in Game 3, however, giving Braun and Brenden Dillon more playing time could prevent Burns and Karlsson from wearing down.
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No matter how the lineup shakes out in Game 3 at T-Mobile Arena, San Jose’s blue line has to start the game off tight in order to make their own job easier. After a strong Game 1 performance, Game 2 on Friday was rife with turnovers and loose play through the neutral zone. A solid start from whoever has those first shifts of the game could make every other Sharks defenseman's job easier.
Of course, we won’t know how the lineup will look until before Game 3 on Sunday. But should Vlasic be out of the lineup on Sunday in Las Vegas, all eyes will be on the defense's ice time.