The San Jose Sharks are looking to fight off elimination in the Western Conference final and will have to do so shorthanded.
Not only did Tomas Hertl and Erik Karlsson not travel to St. Louis for Game 6 of the series on Tuesday night due to injuries, but Joe Pavelski’s status was up in the air. He was described as a game-time decision and was not on the ice for warmups ahead of the game. He was later ruled out for the contest.
Pavelski, 34, is the Sharks’ captain and led the team with 38 goals in the regular season. Hertl was second on the team with 35, so that leaves San Jose without two of their best weapons.
“We don’t want to use excuses,” defenseman Brenden Dillon said in a pregame interview with NBC Sports Network. “We believe in the guys in here. We got guys that have been skating and been ready since Game 1 of the playoffs.”
Ever since taking a 2-1 lead in the series thanks to a missed call, San Jose has let things slip away and lost two straight. They are facing elimination down 3-2 in the series against the Blues.
