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Only injuries can slow the San Jose Sharks down

January 14, 2019, 4:57 PM ET [7 Comments]
Steve Palumbo
San Jose Sharks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The San Jose Sharks have won six games in a row for the first time this season. Their latest triumph came in the form of a 4-1 home win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. The result was a stark contrast to the lopsided beat down they sustained in Canada's capital back in mid December.

Since then the Sharks are 15-3-2 and sitting pretty in the standings. Most will agree the loss in Erik Karlsson's return to Ottawa was a turning point for both EK and the team. The only thing that could slow the Sharks down now is a shaky Martin Jones or another bout with the injury bug.

Jones looks like he's back to his old reliable self. So the injury bug it is.

Joonas Donskoi sustained an apparent upper body injury on a hit from Mark Borowiecki in the first period of the Ottawa game. He was unable to finish the game. What would happen if he missed some time? How would it affect the line-up? Would San Jose start to falter again?  We saw what happened when Timo Meier missed time.

San Jose failed to find a line-up that worked without Meier in it. Would the same thing happen sans Donskoi?

Luckily the injury doesn't appear to be much of anything, Donskoi was skating today and should be fine. But had he missed any time,  it would definitely tested the Sharks depth.

Doug Wilson is never one to shy away from making a deal. He has to be out in front of this and bring in some forward depth - just in case and in preparation for a possible long playoff run.

I imagine somebody like a Travis Zajac or Marcus Johansson would look good in teal. Pete Deboer is familiar with Zajac from his time in New Jersey. Johansson has been slowed by injuries and has not really fit in with the Devils. The Devils are sellers and should be willing to listen. There will be plenty of similar options up and down the league leading up to the trade deadline. The Sharks should be prepared to go all in. This may be the last hurrah for this group as constructed. 

What do you think? Will the Sharks make a deal? Do you think they should make a deal?

Thanks for reading,
Steve
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