Karlsson’s Game 2 status uncertain

SAN JOSE >> Sharks coach Pete DeBoer did not have a health update on Melker Karlsson on Sunday morning after the forward was blasted by Anaheim’s Corey Perry with an illegal hit in the late stages of Game 2 at Honda Center.

Perry was given an interference penalty with 3:43 to go in the third period. Just as big for the Sharks, though, was that Perry wasn’t able to take anyone to the penalty box with him, as San Jose held on for a 3-2 win to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven first round series.

The Sharks have been preaching playing “whistle-to-whistle” against the Ducks since the playoffs began, trying to avoid costly retaliatory penalties.

So far, the Sharks are mostly sticking to the game plan. The only infraction of that sort for San Jose through two games during timed play was a penalty to Evander Kane in the first period on Saturday, when he and Jakob Silfverberg each received twominute minors for roughing.

“I think it’s been critical,” DeBoer said Sunday on a conference call. “Anaheim’s got some guys over there that are very good at dragging you into that stuff and have made a career out of it. So far we’ve done a real good job of refusing to get into that type of game and sticking to what we do which is hard, physical, fast, whistle-to-whistle.”

Karlsson was standing a few feet away from Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon and Silfverberg, trying to dig the puck free, as Dillon and Silfverberg were battling along the boards. Perry, perhaps trying to time the moment when Karlsson would retrieve the puck, then came in with a hard shoulder check on Karlsson’s left side, sending him to the ice and his helmet flying. Karlsson did not return to the game after the hit.

The Ducks killed the penalty, but it cost them valuable time in their effort to tie the score. The Sharks then survived a furious final 90 seconds from the Ducks after Perry’s penalty expired.

Perry also took a roughing penalty in Game 1, getting into it with Marcus Sorensen and Eric Fehr around the Sharks’ net after a second period shot of his was stopped by Martin Jones. So far in this series, the Sharks are 2-for-9 on the power play and the Ducks are 2-for-5.

The Sharks have depth forward options in case Karlsson can’t play in Game 3 on Monday at SAP Center, with Jannik Hansen, Joel Ward and Barclay Goodrow all available.

There was also no update on defenseman Justin Braun, who blocked a Hampus Lindholm shot with under a minute to go in the third period and did not play the final 44 seconds.

• Sorensen figured to have a short leash on him for the start of the playoffs, especially with so many other forwards waiting to get into the Sharks lineup.

So far, the speedy Sorensen has responded with some solid minutes on what’s been an effective fourth line. Sorensen, 26, scored his second career playoff goal in Game 2, banging in a loose puck from the side of the Ducks’ net in the first period to tie the game 1-1 after Anaheim took an early lead.

“Always nice to chip in,” Fehr said Saturday when asked about Sorensen’s goal. “We had a couple chances tonight. We would have liked a few more, but we don’t want to get greedy.”

Sorensen has put up impressive possession numbers in both games so far, but particularly in Game 2, when he and linemates Fehr and Karlsson were on the ice for more than double the amount of shot attempts of whoever they were skating against.

Sorensen also held his own in a fourth-line role for the Sharks in last season’s playoff series against Edmonton when he skated mostly with Chris Tierney and Timo Meier.

The key for him, as DeBoer reiterated Sunday, was being consistent. Sorensen did not make the Sharks’ roster out of training camp and was recalled three times from the AHL this year before he finally stuck. He played the final five games of the regular season for the Sharks after Goodrow went out with a broken finger.

“I really felt that when he was on his game and using his speed and playing inside and playing a little reckless that he could be an effective playoff player for us,” DeBoer said. “It was just finding that game consistently and I thought the last five-six games of the season he started to do that every night and has carried that into the playoffs.”