Karlsson misses opener for personal reasons
LAS VEGAS >> Defenseman Erik Karlsson missed the Sharks’ season-opening game with the Vegas Golden Knights to attend to a personal matter, the team announced early Wednesday evening. No other details were immediately available.
Tim Heed dressed in Karlsson’s place and started the game with rookie Mario Ferraro as his defense partner. Karlsson’s normal partner, Brenden Dillon, will start the game paired with Dalton Prout.
Karlsson took part in the Sharks’ morning skate Wednesday. The team announced
Karlsson would miss the game against Vegas just as pre-game warmups began.
Karlsson is starting his second full year with the Sharks. Last season, Karlsson had 45 points in 53 games as he missed 26 of the Sharks’ final 32 games after he suffered a groin injury in mid-January. Karlsson came back to play in 19 straight playoff games before he had to miss Game 6 of the Western Conference Final against the St. Louis Blues.
Karlsson, a two-time Norris Trophy winner, had groin surgery on May 31 and signed an eightyear contract extension with the Sharks on June 17. He had been practicing with the Sharks since the start of training camp and played in two preseason games, including Sunday’s 5-1 loss to the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena.
Heed was originally going to be a healthy scratch for Wednesday’s game. He played in 37 games last season, with most of those games coming in the second half of the season with Karlsson was out of the lineup. Heed finished the year with two goals and 13 points.
After Wednesday, the Sharks host the Golden Knights on Friday in the second game of the homeand-home series. The two teams split their four regular season meeting last year before they met in the first round of the playoffs, a series the Sharks won four-games-to-three after they captured Game 7 in overtime 5-4 on a goal by Barclay Goodrow, with Karlsson picking up the primary assist.