San Jose Sharks defenseman knocked out of game vs. Avalanche

San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro was knocked out of Sunday’s game with the Colorado Avalanche in the first period after a hard open ice collision with Nathan MacKinnon. Ferraro was carrying the puck inside the Sharks zone and cut to the middle of the ice before he was checked by MacKinnon.

Although MacKinnon was the player who fell to the ice, Ferraro left the playing surface and appeared to be in serious discomfort as he headed toward the Sharks’ dressing room. A Sharks spokesman announced near the start of the second period that Ferraro would not return with an upper body injury. The severity of Ferraro’s injury was not immediately known.

The Sharks trailed the Avalanche 1 0 at the start of the second period as they continued to play with five defensemen. Ferraro, now in his fifth season with the Sharks, has been one of the Sharks’ most valuable players so far this season as he leads all skaters with an average of 22:45 in ice time per game.

He’s also second among all Sharks defensemen with nine points..