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Your requisite San Jose Sharks playoff injuries post

Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley

San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton (19) and teammate Dany Heatley celebrate Thornton’s goal behind Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard (35) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Detroit, Monday, Dec. 6, 2010. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

AP

It is a huge disappointment for fans to see their favorite team get eliminated, but for the rest of us, it’s a fascinating time. That’s because, in most cases, we finally get to find out the type of injuries players were fighting through.

CSN Bay Area’s Brodie Brazil was all over the San Jose Sharks’ list of maladies today.


  • While the injury lacks the cringe-ability of Jumbo Joe’s Fun Size pinky, Jason Demers was sidelined with a high-ankle sprain suffered during Game 7 of the Detroit series. High-ankle sprains are quietly among the most problematic injuries in hockey because they inhibit movement considerably and are so difficult to heal.

  • It probably won’t keep him from being a whipping boy, but Dany Heatley was indeed playing with some injuries during the playoffs. The streaky sniper broke his hand late in the regular season and twisted his ankle in Game 3 of the Canucks series, according to Brazil. Heatley doesn’t do much more than skate fast and score goals, so decreased mobility and hand strength probably didn’t help his cause much.

  • Ryane Clowe was injured badly enough that he struggled to put on his jersey before games. That account reminds me of the days when people remarked that Mario Lemieux couldn’t bend over to tie up his skates because of a bad back yet he still managed to be a fearsome offensive force. Clowe’s impressive playoff season slowed down after he took some tough hits, but he still contributed admirably for his team.

Now, it’s important to note that injuries don’t justify defeat, especially when you consider the fact that every remaining team is banged up at this point in the playoffs. Still, for those of you who cling to all the knee-jerk “choking” talk, it might be fair to at least consider the fact the toughness of hockey players. The Sharks might have fallen short of their ultimate goal, but they deserve some admiration for fighting through injuries to try to get there.