SAN JOSE — There was a perception — rightly or wrongly — that the Sharks had received the benefit of the doubt at various times during their playoff run last season.
There’s not much argument, though, about when that perceived luck ran out.
In the last meeting at SAP Center between the Sharks and St. Louis before Saturday, in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final on May 19, Tomas Hertl and Joe Pavelski suffered injuries and had to leave early after high hits by Ivan Barbashev and Alex Pietrangelo, respectively.
Pavelski had to leave the game right after he was hit.