Erik Karlsson slighted the St Louis Blues over their physical play in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Saturday night.
The Blues tried to get physical with Karlsson and wear him out throughout the game, but the strategy didn’t pay off. Karlsson had an assist and two blocked shots in San Jose’s 6-3 Game 1 win.
He addressed that after the game, saying the Blues were playing games while the Sharks worried about winning.
Erik Karlsson on the physicality: “I think that we played hockey tonight. They worried about a few other things, and we won the game.” #SJSharks
— Kevin Kurz (@KKurzNHL) May 12, 2019
St Louis’ seeming efforts to bait him into a penalty didn’t work. They may also be trying to pressure him into aggravating his groin injury, which caused him to miss about six weeks of action towards the end of the regular season.
From yesterday's game. Why'd they do #65 like this? pic.twitter.com/Tiaqpg3zLP
— 69 (@ftbeard_17) May 12, 2019
Karlsson has the second-most points of any defenseman in the playoffs this year behind teammate Brent Burns. He’s experiencing the playoff run he was seeking when he was traded to San Jose from Ottawa in September.
