Thoughts: Fleury’s mysterious injury could be the playoff gift the Sharks need

SAN JOSE — Sharks fans are all too familiar with the emotions that Vegas Golden Knights followers must be experiencing right now. They’ve been caught in their own bubble of worry since Erik Karlsson hobbled down the tunnel in Boston on Feb. 26.

As the Sharks anxiously await Karlsson and Joe Pavelski’s return from injury, their likely opponent in the first round of the playoffs is also facing uncertainty regarding the health of a key cog in their machine. Marc-André Fleury will miss his seventh straight game with a lower-body injury when the Golden Knights square off against the Minnesota Wild in Sin City on Friday. The three-time Stanley Cup champion is also being labeled as “doubtful” for the Sharks clash with the Knights at SAP Center on Saturday.

The mysterious injury might just be the break that the Sharks need riding a seven-game losing streak on the eve of the playoffs.

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Barring inside information on the nature of Fleury’s injury, conventional wisdom would suggest that a lower-body ailment is particularly worrisome for a goalie. Given the demands of the position, the injury is quite possibly groin or knee related, suggesting it could hinder Fleury even if he does manage to suit up for Game 1 of a playoff series with the Sharks in less than two weeks.

According to Jesse Granger of the Athletic, Knights head coach Gerard Gallant is calling Fleury a “possibility” to return next week, saying he isn’t concerned that the injury will be a long-term affair that stretches into the playoffs.

This will undoubtedly sound familiar to Sharks fans.

When Karlsson left a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third period on Jan. 15, head coach Pete DeBoer called it “precautionary”, saying the two-time Norris Trophy winner wasn’t dealing with anything serious. Karlsson then skated for 25:48 in Arizona the next night, posting a minus-4 rating. After that, he missed nine straight games, returned for four, re-tweaked the injury on Feb. 23, skipped a game the next day and then made the ill-advised decision to play in Boston two nights later.

Karlsson could barely skate by the end of the second period. He hasn’t received a whiff of game action since the debacle in Beantown.

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This isn’t to suggest that Gallant is being deliberately misleading regarding the severity of Fleury’s injury. It’s just pointing out that lower-body ailments, especially muscle tweaks, can be deceptive and difficult to predict. It’s possible that the Knights are being extra cautious or maybe it’s the type of injury that could nag Fleury for weeks.

Despite their season-high losing streak, the Sharks are clearly among the best in the west when fully heathy. After things finally clicked with Karlsson, the Sharks went 15-3-1 with him in the lineup from Dec. 2 to Jan. 15, earning wins over the Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas and the Penguins. Even without Karlsson, the Sharks reeled off two six-game winning streaks, beating the Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets before Pavelski, Evander Kane and Radim Simek all went down with injuries and a flu bug started hindering both Brent Burns and Logan Couture.

The questions now are whether the Sharks can regain that form on short notice before the playoffs and how healthy Karlsson will be when he finally rejoins the lineup. With that in mind, the Sharks will certainly welcome similar concerns regarding Fleury’s health.

The Knights are in a similar spot right now. They went 9-1 after they made the biggest-deadline splash by acquiring Mark Stone from the Ottawa Senators, triggering flashbacks of last year’s run to the Stanley Cup Final. Then, they hit a wall this week, losing three straight games with backup Malcolm Subban serving as the substitute teacher.

Though Subban has performed well in his three appearances against the Sharks (.942 save percentage), the Knights dam is leaking now that he’s being asked to carry a heavier workload in Fleury’s absence. Subban has posted a .900 save percentage in his six starts as the No. 1 goalie, which is closer to Martin Jones’ arena (.896) than that of Fleury (.914).

The concern surrounding a potential series with Vegas has always centered on the goaltending matchup and any hindrance to Fleury could negate the biggest flaw in the Sharks’ Death Star. The Sharks rank 31st in save percentage (88.94), a glitch that could be exposed in a playoff series if Vegas were to receive a vintage goaltending performance from Fleury, who posted a .935 save percentage in last year’s Pacific Division final.

If Fleury’s injury ends up being a prolonged saga like Karlsson’s groin issues, it could end up being the great equalizer that the Sharks need right now. That said, the only certainly heading toward the playoffs is that the Knights won’t be getting any sympathy from Sharks fans.

— DeBoer said he isn’t optimistic about Pavelski’s chances of rejoining the lineup on Saturday, but he declined to rule him out. The Sharks captain has missed five straight games with a lower-body injury.

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Home sweet home? Giants, visitors at Oracle Park, tie franchise record in win — The Sharks will be approaching Saturday’s showdown at the Tank as though it’s a playoff game. Holding a five-point lead over the Knights for second place in the Pacific Division, the Sharks can come close to locking down home-ice advantage in the opening round with a win.

“We’ve worked our (butts) off for six months. For me, if we win a game, that pretty much solidifies home ice or should,” DeBoer said. “That’s what we’re going to try to focus on.”

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