Karlsson looks likely to miss entire road trip
SAN JOSE >> Defenseman Erik Karlsson’s upper-body injury will likely force him to miss the Sharks’ upcoming road trip against some of the Eastern Conference’s top teams, coach Bob Boughner said Monday.
Boughner said Karlsson was going to see a doctor later Monday to help decide the next course of action, adding that it was too soon to say whether surgery would be needed. Indications were, though, that Karlsson would not be available for the challenging string of four games that starts Wednesday in Washington against the Capitals.
“I would say you’re probably not going to see him on this road trip,” Boughner said. “We’ll see how this appointment goes.
“We’re trying to figure out the right thing to do here and we need, obviously, the
medical advice and see what the right thing to do is.”
Karlsson did not play in Saturday’s game with the Tampa Bay Lightning, a 7-1 Sharks loss. Boughner said Karlsson’s upper-body injury is unrelated to the oblique strain he had earlier this month.
After Wednesday, the Sharks have games Saturday and Sunday against the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes, respectively. The trip concludes next Tuesday against the Lightning. All four teams entered Monday in the top eight in the NHL’s overall standings.
After the game in Tampa, the Sharks do not play again until Feb. 14 at home against the Edmonton Oilers, potentially giving Karlsson more time to heal without missing any more games.
The Sharks (21-19-2) entered Monday clinging to fourth place in the Pacific Division and the Western Conference’s second wildcard spot. Calgary, Dallas, Edmonton, and Winnipeg, each with multiple games in hand, were all within four points of the Sharks entering Monday’s games.
The Sharks are 1-3-1 in their last five games, and their loss Saturday was their most lopsided of the season.
“It’s a wake-up call for everybody that we need to step up,” Boughner said. “There hasn’t been many flat performances from this team all year. But number one, against the best teams, if you don’t have that as your foundation, (and) match (their) work ethic, then you don’t give yourself a chance and you can throw the X’s and O’s and the systems out the door.”