San Jose Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov left the game in the second period against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday with an injury.
Askarov had just returned from a lower-body injury on Thursday. His start tonight was the first since March. 10. The San Jose Sharks’ future No. 1 goalie had played a solid game, stopping all 11 shots he faced in 29:02 of game time.
A collision in front of the Sharks’ net between Blues forward Nathan Walker and Sharks defenseman Vincent Desharnais crashed into the 23-year-old. Upon a replay, Askarov’s neck was crunched, and the goalie pointed to the back of his neck while an athletic trainer talked with him on the ice.
San Jose Sharks defenseman Dmitry Orlov immediately stood up for his goalie and went after Walker, despite the collision being friendly fire.
The team hasn’t officially ruled out Askarov from returning to Thursday’s game, but if he doesn’t, coach Ryan Warsofsky could provide a status update postgame. Alex Nedeljkovic entered the game in place of the injured Sharks goalie,
This story will be updated.