All eyes are on Evgeni Nabokov's lower body

The photo above is from Jon Swenson from Sharkspage, and it shows goalie Evgeni Nabokov in a rather injurious pose during the Sharks' shootout win over the St. Louis Blues last night. Yahoo! Sports NHL editor Ross McKeon was on the scene last night for what could be a significant moment in the San Jose Sharks' season:

Evgeni Nabokov appeared to sustain a left knee injury on the final play of Thursday night's shootout, a 5-4 win over the very game St. Louis Blues. After remaining face down on the ice as teammates started to celebrate around him, the goalie eventually got to his feet with assistance and hobbled off the ice, finally walking alone down the narrow hallway to the locker room with a noticeable limp.

Minutes later, all that remained where Nabokov usually conducts his postgame interview was a trail of gear spread over a 10-foot swatch of the carpet, not assembled in its usual organized manner. No, this looked more like the act of someone tossing aside the gear as quickly as possible.

David Pollock of the San Jose Mercury News' Working the Corners blog has the latest information on the injury:

Day-to-day, lower body injury. That's it -- and under the new NHL policy, that's all it really has to be. Will try, of course, to find out more. I'm advised Nabokov is here at the practice rink, getting treatments, and I've asked to talk with him. Let's see what happens. Coaches and others should be available within the hour. Beyond that, Sharks have called up Thomas Greiss to serve as Brian Boucher's backup.

Nice of the Sharks to at least disclose a lower-body injury, lest anyone look at the image above or video of the shootout and mistakenly think it's an inner-ear infection ...

Godspeed, Evgeni. The first-place Sharks need you. For your Vezina-like work in the net. For your leadership. And for your playful glove-to-the-testicles whimsy while leaving the ice. Was that stick side?

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