{"id":456325,"date":"2024-11-18T09:27:45","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T14:27:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=456325"},"modified":"2024-11-18T09:27:45","modified_gmt":"2024-11-18T14:27:45","slug":"san-jose-sharks-vitek-vanecek-left-game-early-for-potential-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/11\/18\/san-jose-sharks-vitek-vanecek-left-game-early-for-potential-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"San Jose Sharks Goalies Maybe Forced Into Carousel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/11\/16\/pittsburgh-penguins-san-jose-sharks\/\" target=\"_self\">San Jose Sharks <\/a>ended their road trip in an overtime loss against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/11\/16\/pittsburgh-penguins-san-jose-sharks\/\" target=\"_self\">Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a>. The Sharks are also returning to San Jose unknown of the situation with their goalies following an unknown injury status. <\/span>The Sharks staff pulled <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/07\/01\/former-devils-goalie-signs-new-contract\/\" target=\"_self\">Vitek Vanecek<\/a> before the second period started in the game against Pittsburgh. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/11\/10\/nhl-predictions-nov-10-san-jose-sharks-vs-new-jersey-devils\/\" target=\"_self\">Mackenzie Blackwood<\/a> was given a five-minute warning before he found himself on the ice.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Vitek Vanecek is questionable to return to tonight\u2019s game.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 San Jose Sharks PR (@SanJoseSharksPR) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SanJoseSharksPR\/status\/1857953617770152233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 17, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vanecek allowed two goals during the first period on ten shots on net. He was scored on by Pittsburgh&#8217;s players <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2021\/02\/23\/bryan-rust-pittsburgh-penguins\/\" target=\"_self\">Bryan Rust<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2023\/06\/25\/carolina-hurricanes-offseason-grades-jesse-puljujarvi\/\" target=\"_self\">Jesse Puljujarvi<\/a> within the first ten minutes of the first period.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Mackenzie Blackwood Plays Strong and Holds the Penguins at Bay in Relief<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Within the first four minutes of the second period, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/09\/26\/sidney-crosby-penguins\/\" target=\"_self\">Sidney Crosby<\/a> scored his 599th goal on Blackwood. This would be the last goal the Penguins would score until the shootout.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blackwood remained consistent during the second and third periods, only allowing a single goal in. He made 25 saves during the two periods. Essentially, Blackwood played big in preventing Crosby from hitting his 600th goal of his career.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/06\/13\/gm-mike-grier-has-named-san-jose-sharks-head-coach\/\" target=\"_self\">Ryan Warsofsky<\/a> was happy with Blackwood\u2019s performance. \u201cOutstanding by Blackwood. Outstanding. Had some of the best saves you\u2019ll see in the league, I\u2019m assuming. Kept us in the game, especially there in the third.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Mackenzie Blackwood keeps this game tied! \ud83e\udd2f <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6SM8hGJ376\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/6SM8hGJ376<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NHL (@NHL) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NHL\/status\/1857975105546064189?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 17, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The San Jose Sharks played like a new team during the second and third periods against the Penguins. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/10\/30\/san-jose-sharks-veteran-centre\/\" target=\"_self\">Mikael Granlund<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/07\/01\/sharks-sign-goalscoring-winger-to-contract\/\" target=\"_self\">Tyler Toffoli<\/a> scored for the Sharks, bringing the game to a tie. Blackwood had impeccable saves that helped his team remain resilient.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Sharks and Penguins battled for five minutes in overtime, where Blackwood continued to be a wall in the net. Helping his forwards stay in the game and sending them into the shootout.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Goaltending Remains Strong Amid Losing<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vanecek has played in ten games this season for the Sharks. He has a substandard record of 2-5-1. He has a career SV% of .905. During his last game against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/11\/12\/nhl-rumours-philadelphia-flyers-defender-possible-trade-bait-2\/\" target=\"_self\">Philadelphia Flyers<\/a>, he had 43 shots against him with three goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Undoubtedly, Vanecek has been a key player for the Sharks. His game against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/11\/10\/columbus-blue-jackets-claim-veteran-blueliner\/\" target=\"_self\">Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a> resulted in a 49 saves. It is clear to see the impact that goaltending has had in the Sharks success within their last few games.<\/p>\n<h3>Vitek Vanecek Potential Absence Brings Uncertainty for San Jose Sharks Goalies<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the post-game interview, head coach Ryan Warsofsky mentioned that he had no update on Vanecek at that time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, with Vanecek\u2019s injury undisclosed it is questionable if he will be ready for Monday&#8217;s game. If Vanecek is to remain out, the Sharks will more than likely call up <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/08\/29\/what-the-yaroslav-askarov-trade-means-for-the-sharks\/\" target=\"_self\">Yaroslav Askarov<\/a>. Askarov has been the star goalie for the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/10\/05\/san-jose-sharks-prospect-goalie-reports-to-san-jose-barracuda\/\" target=\"_self\">San Jose Barracuda<\/a> AHL team this season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Askarov is the First Choice to Fill-In<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If Vanecek\u2019s injury lingers, it seems Askarov will get the call-up. In the nine games Askarov has played this season with the Barracuda, he has a .939 SV% and only 17 goals given up. In addition, he has had two shutout games amidst his six wins.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Askarov had been injured during training camp and was sent down to the Barracuda to work on getting healthy. Sending him down has also helped him with working on his development. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Askarov was traded to the Sharks in late August by the Nashville Predators.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">San Jose faces the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/07\/11\/red-wings-pick-contract\/\" target=\"_self\">Detroit Red Wings<\/a> on Monday, November 18th. It is likely that the Sharks will be releasing more details on Vanecek&#8217;s injury prior to the game. It will then be determined if he will be replaced by Askarov until he is healthy and ready to be back on the ice.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The San Jose Sharks ended their road trip in an overtime loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Sharks are also returning to San Jose unknown of the situation with their goalies following an unknown injury status. The Sharks staff pulled Vitek Vanecek before the second period started in the game against Pittsburgh. Mackenzie Blackwood was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5328,"featured_media":456346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25,2,6671,34,4548,3462],"tags":[2152,1157,44,548,6905,391,4302,4239],"class_list":["post-456325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sharks","category-featured","category-injuries","category-news","category-nhl","category-nhl-prospects","tag-mackenzie-blackwood","tag-mikael-granlund","tag-pittsburgh-penguins","tag-san-jose-barracuda","tag-san-jose-sharks-news","tag-tyler-toffoli","tag-vitek-vanecek","tag-yaroslav-askarov"],"modified_by":"Levi Pike, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5328"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}