SAN JOSE – Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer is classifying Joe Pavelski as day-to-day after the captain sustained a scary injury during San Jose's Game 7 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.
Pavelski left Game 7 at the 9:13 mark of the third period after getting cross-checked off a faceoff by Cody Eakin and falling to the ice and hitting his head. No. 8 was bleeding profusely and had to be helped off the ice by a few of his teammates with a towel being held to his head. DeBoer wouldn't specify exactly what Pavelski's ailment was, but said the top-line forward was "feeling the effects" of the injury and likely won't be in the lineup for Game 1 of the Sharks' second-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche.
"It could've been worse, you could've been dealing with a fractured skull," DeBoer told the media after Thursday's morning skate. "Thankfully, we weren't."
Pavelski did not take the ice for practice Thursday, although the press was told he was in the building.
Teammates Melker Karlsson and Tim Heed were also missing from practice Thursday morning. Joonas Donskoi, who missed Game 7 against the Knights with an unspecified injury, skated in a non-contact orange sweater early Thursday morning but left the ice before practice got underway. Micheal Haley returned to practice for the first time since sustaining an injury during Game 3 against the Knights.
When questioned about the status of players missing from practice, DeBoer chalked it up to the team being banged-up just like every other team still in the hunt for the Stanley Cup.
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"Like anybody this time of year, we have a lot of game-time decisions," DeBoer said.
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The Sharks will open up their second-round series against the Avalanche at SAP Center on Friday.
