Sharks forward Tomas Hertl will not return at any point in the Sharks’ Stanley Cup Final series with the Penguins.
According to a tweet from Czech reporter Roman Jedlicka of Nova Sport: “Tomas Hertl is done for the season. Knee injury. Very good source.”
Hertl came out of the Sharks lineup after Game 2. He scored a power play goal in Game 1, and hit three posts in Game 2, both Sharks losses.
“He’s arguably been maybe our best player through the first two games,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said on Saturday, before Game 3.
Hertl, 22, had 21 goals and 46 points in 81 games in the regular season. In the playoffs, he posted six goals and 11 points in 20 games while playing on the top line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski.
Melker Karlsson took Hertl’s place on that line for most of Game 3, and is expected to start there in Game 4 at SAP Center on Monday night.
Hertl suffered a serious right knee injury in his rookie year, suffering damage to his MCL and PCL ligaments, when he collided with the Kings’ Dustin Brown on Dec. 19, 2013. He returned approximately four months later.
