San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro was knocked out of Sunday’s game with the Colorado Avalanche in the first period after a hard open-ice collision with Nathan MacKinnon.
Ferraro was carrying the puck inside the Sharks zone and cutting toward the middle of the ice where he was met by MacKinnon with a shoulder-to-shoulder hit. Although MacKinnon was the player who fell, Ferraro left the ice and appeared to be in serious discomfort as he headed toward the Sharks’ dressing room.
A Sharks spokesman announced near the start of the second period that Ferraro had an upper-body injury and would not return. The Sharks lost 3-1. marking their eighth-straight defeat.
Sharks coach David Quinn didn’t have an update on Ferraro after the game. Asked how the Sharks might have to adjust if Ferraro misses some time, Quinn said, “I don’t want to think about that just yet. Let’s find out where he is from an injury standpoint. I’ve got enough bad news injury-wise.”
MacKinnon hits Ferraro and falls down. However, Mario got the brunt of this collision and went off in considerable pain. #SJsharks #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/MMenwm6N9I
— TEAL TOWN USA – A San Jose Sharks Podcast (@TEALTOWNUSA) January 1, 2024
The Sharks trailed the Avalanche 1-0 at the start of the second period as they continued to play with five defensemen. Tomas Hertl, playing in his 700th career NHL game, scored on the power play at the 16:53 mark of the second period to tie the game 1-1.
The goal was Hertl’s ninth in December and 13th of the season and it came on what was San Jose’s eighth shot of the game. Mikael Granlund and Calen Addison had the assists.
The Sharks allowed a third-period goal with 3:29 left in regulation time to Valeri Nichushkin on a delayed penalty call. An empty-net goal by Josh Manson with 1:07 to go sealed the win for Colorado, which has now beaten San Jose nine straight times.
Ferraro, now in his fifth season with the Sharks, has been one of the Sharks’ most valuable players so far this season as he leads all skaters with an average of 22:45 in ice time per game. He’s also second among all Sharks defensemen with nine points.
Going into Sunday, Ferraro was third in the NHL in blocked shots with 101, trailing only the Rangers’ Jacob Trouba (113) and Vegas’ Brayden McNabb (105). He also leads all Sharks in shorthanded time on ice with an average of 3:32 per game.
“I’d say he’s probably the heartbeat of the team,” said Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun, who led all defensemen with a career-high 25:07 in ice time. “So it’s really tough to make up for what he brings to the table, both on and off the ice. We’ve got a lot of good defensemen on our roster and for us, it’s just got to be sort of a next-man-up mentality.”
The Sharks have been hampered by injuries all season, notably to center and team captain Logan Couture, who has been bothered by a lower-body injury since before training camp and has yet to play this season.
The Sharks just got defenseman Ty Emberson back after a four-week absence with a lower-body ailment, as he played his first game Sunday since Dec. 1, But San Jose still has four players — Nico Sturm, Jacob MacDonald, Matt Benning, and Givani Smith — on injured reserve.
Couture is getting closer to a return. Still, after the games on Dec. 28, the Sharks had the most man-games lost due to injury in the NHL at 190, 52 more than the next-closest team, the Vegas Golden Knights.
After Sunday, the Sharks begin a three-game homestand on Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings.