The slumping Sharks needed a win as badly as they have all season. They got it in Vancouver on Sunday night, 3-1, skating past a Canucks team that is not only in a rebuild but is down a number of players due to injury.
But even that win, just the Sharks’ second in their last 10 games, took a back seat to what happened in the first period.
With the Sharks holding a 2-0 lead, Joe Thornton shuffled over to Vancouver’s Michael Chaput along the wall. When Chaput pivoted to protect the puck, Thornton’s left knee came into contact with the Vancouver forward and appeared to bend in an unnatural direction.