‘s Ryan Suter
On Tuesday night, San Jose Sharks forward Joe Pavelski was on the receiving end of a hard hit from Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter. The hit left Pavelski on the ice for several minutes and he was unable to return to the game. The severity of the injury is still unknown, leaving the status of Pavelski uncertain.
The hit occurred in the second period of the Sharks’ game against the Wild. Pavelski was skating with the puck when Suter came in from behind and delivered a hard check to the Sharks’ forward. Pavelski immediately went down and stayed on the ice for several minutes before being helped off by medical personnel.
The Sharks have yet to provide an update on Pavelski’s condition, but it is likely that he will miss some time. The team has already been without center Logan Couture for the past two games due to an upper-body injury, so the loss of Pavelski would be a major blow to the team.
Pavelski is one of the Sharks’ most important players, as he leads the team in goals (37) and points (79). He is also a key contributor on the power play and penalty kill, making his absence even more difficult to overcome.
The Sharks will have to wait and see how Pavelski responds to treatment before determining his status. In the meantime, they will have to rely on their depth players to step up and fill the void left by Pavelski. It remains to be seen if they can do enough to keep their playoff hopes alive without their star forward.
