Defenseman injured in San Jose Sharks’ shootout loss to Anaheim Ducks
Defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin was injured by Anaheim Ducks forward Frank Vatrano early in the third period of Tuesday’s game at Honda Center.
Mukhamadullin ran into Troy Terry in the neutral zone, a play that knocked down the Ducks forward. Vatrano then went after Mukhamadullin, dropping his stick and throwing his gloves on the ice before he grabbed the Sharks blueliner and dragged him to the ice.
Mukhamadullin tried to brace his fall by putting his left arm down before Vatrano moved over top of him. Vatrano skated away as Mukhamadullin sat up and winced in pain as he reached for his upper body. Mukhamadullin then stumbled to the Sharks’ dressing room, assisted by a team trainer.
Mukhamadullin, who did not return to the game, received a cross-checking penalty, and Vatrano received a minor for roughing.
The Sharks trailed by two goals at the time of the injury, but responded to the play, as Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Alexander Wennberg scored goals later in the third period to tie the game.
Forward Mason McTavish, though, scored the only goal in the shootout as the Ducks handed the Sharks a 4-3 loss.
Mukhamadullin’s injury came just 35 seconds into the third. But Vlasic scored at the 4:08 mark of the third period to draw the Sharks within one, and Wennberg scored with 3:14 left in regulation time off an assist from William Eklund, to tie the game.
Sharks goalie Alexandar Georgiev made 35 saves in a solid performance for San Jose, who next play on Thursday at home against the Edmonton Oilers.
Trevor Zegras, Jackson LaCombe, and Sam Colangelo all scored for Anaheim, and goalie Lukas Dostal made 28 saves.
Mukhamadullin had one of his best games of the season before the injury.
His first-period goal came on a one-timer after he took a pass from Mario Ferraro and let a slap shot go that got past Dostal. Mukhamadullin also had a career-high four shots on net in the first two periods, when he had 13:41 in ice time. He had played a bigger role with the Sharks, moving to the top pair after Jake Walman was traded to the Oilers on March 5.
In the 10 games immediately after the trade, Mukhamadulin was averaging over 22 minutes in ice time per game.
After Vlasic’s goal, the Sharks killed a 5-on-3 for 1:36 to keep it a one-goal game. Georgiev made five saves during the Ducks’s two-man advantage.