SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro’s lower-body injury will force him to miss Tuesday’s game with the New York Rangers and beyond, although his absence isn’t expected to be long-term, coach David Quinn said.
“He’s going to be out for a little bit. Don’t have a timeline yet,” Quinn said Tuesday morning. “Not as bad as we thought, so it’s not going to be an extended period of time.”
Ferraro exited Monday night’s game with the Los Angeles Kings early in the second period.
He was chasing after a loose puck in the offensive zone to the left of the Kings net when it appeared Los Angeles forward Trevor Lewis made contact with him from behind. The two players’ skates then appeared to get tangled up, sending Ferraro awkwardly into the boards.
Ferraro remained on the ice for a few moments before he was able to get up and make his way toward the Sharks’ bench. He was helped off the ice by teammates, then hobbled as he walked gingerly back toward the team’s dressing room.
Ferraro came back out on the ice and skated briefly near the end of the second intermission — presumably to test out the injury — before he returned to the Sharks’ dressing room for the rest of the game, which the Sharks won 4-3 in a shootout.
Quinn mentioned after the game that he believed Ferraro would have to miss “a couple games” at least.
The Sharks officially ruled Ferraro out for the remainder of the game after the start of the third period.
Ferraro leads all Sharks skaters in average time on ice (22:56) and hasn’t missed a game this season, despite entering Monday second in the NHL with 135 blocks. He also leads all Sharks defensemen with 14 points, including 13 assists.
After Tuesday, the Sharks have a small break between games before they host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
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The Sharks are already without three other injured defensemen right now in Matt Benning, Jacob MacDonald, and Ty Emberson. Benning is out for the season after he had hip surgery in December, and MacDonald and Emberson are both considered week-to-week with their respective maladies.
With Ferraro unavailable, Calen Addison, a healthy scratch Monday, will return to the lineup. Addison has been a scratch for four straight games and in 28 games with the Sharks this season, has seven points and is averaging 17:45 in ice time.
NOTE: Sharks center Mikael Granlund, on injured reserve with an upper-body ailment, was among a small group of players who skated Tuesday morning and did some light shooting.
Granlund was injured in the third period of last Tuesday’s game in Chicago when he was hit by Blackhawks forward MacKenzie Entwistle. It’s unclear when Granlund might be able to return but the Sharks
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