Karlsson practices, could play tonight
SAN JOSE >> Defenseman Erik Karlsson is moving closer to a return to the Sharks’ lineup.
Karlsson, out for the last eight games with a lower body injury, was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice and wasn’t ruled out for tonight’s game at SAP Center against the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals. Sharks coach Pete DeBoer told KNBR on Wednesday morning that Karlsson was suffering from a groin strain.
“Just been doing stuff off the ice to try to fix the problem that I’ve had,” Karlsson said. “I feel like it’s time to push it forward a bit and test the waters a bit. It’s still dayto-day and it felt decently good out there.”
Karlsson stayed off of his skates for the duration of the Sharks’ four-game road trip through Western Canada, which San Jose swept as it combined to outscore Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver 20-8.
The Sharks will see how Karlsson feels this morning before they determine whether he’s available to play against the Capitals. The Sharks next play Saturday at home against Vancouver.
“It’s kind of a weird thing. It’s something that I haven’t dealt with before, that’s why I didn’t really know how to approach it,” Karlsson said. “Luckily I have a great team around here, great physio and people who know how to deal with it in the best possible way. I think that’s what we’re doing and that’s why I was able to skate today fairly normal.”
Like at the start of the regular season, Karlsson was paired with Marc-Edouard Vlasic on Wednesday. Brenden Dillon was paired with Justin Braun and Brent Burns skated with Radim Simek.
Karlsson and Vlasic remained
together for just the first eight-plus games of the season, as Karlsson attempted to find a comfort zone in his new environment and Vlasic experienced one of the few extended dips in his game in his 13-year career. Vlasic last month was also sidelined for 10 games with an upper body injury. The Sharks went 6-3-3 in October and entered December with a 12-9-5 record.
Both Vlasic and Karlsson — and their teammates — are in a better place now, though.
In five games since his return to the Sharks’ lineup on Feb. 2, Vlasic has an assist, a plus-two rating and six blocked shots as he’s averaged 21 minutes and 15 seconds of ice time.
In 20 games from Dec. 2 to Jan. 16, playing alongside Dillon for the most part, Karlsson had 28 points and was a plus-16.
“They played together early in the year, and our whole team was still trying to find its way,” DeBoer said. “It wasn’t just that that pair wasn’t working, our lines weren’t working and we weren’t in a good place as a team. We were still trying to find our footing.
“I don’t put a lot of stock in that. You’ve got two worldclass players that should be able to complement each other. If they can’t, we’ve got lots of other options.”
“We’re trying to find a way to be successful for the time being and as right now, if it’s going to be me and (Vlasic) and the other four together, that’s how it’s going to be,” Karlsson said. “Hopefully we can find some chemistry there and make that work.”
The Sharks lost their first two of their eight games without Karlsson, but will carry a six-game win streak into today as they’ve moved into first place in the Pacific Division.
“It’s getting better every day and it’s nice to be able to finally practice with the guys,” Karlsson said. “It’s been a long couple of weeks, and at the same time, the team was doing so well that it’s made it a little bit easier for me.”
Asked if his appearance in the NHL All-Star Game led to a setback of any sorts, Karlsson said, “By no means would I have played in it if it could have risked anything. It didn’t so it all worked out for the best.”
• The Sharks’ six-game win streak started against the Capitals on Jan. 22, as they erased a two-goal deficit in the third period and later earned a 7-6 win on Tomas Hertl’s overtime goal.
The wide-open result not only ended a three-game losing streak but gave the Sharks a chance to feel good going into the NHL All-Star break.
“We needed that one for our confidence,” Sharks center Logan Couture said. “We didn’t want that slide to continue. We were able to salvage a couple of points from that road trip that wasn’t a great trip. But it definitely helped us.”
Since then the Sharks have allowed two goals in five straight games. The Capitals are 4-2-1 since the All-Star break.
• Center Dylan Gambrell practiced Wednesday after he missed Monday’s game in Vancouver with a flu bug. He said he’ll be available to play against the Capitals if DeBoer decides he wants him in the lineup.