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Karlsson to miss Sharks next two games, All-Star Game status in doubt

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The NHL's best invade San Jose for 2019 NHL All-Star Weekend on January 25-26 on NBC and NBCSN.

After he was a late scratch for Saturday’s game, the San Jose Sharks have announced that defenseman Erik Karlsson will be shut down until the All-Star break, missing the team’s next two games on Monday and Tuesday due to an undisclosed lower-body injury.

While he will miss the upcoming games against the Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals, coach Pete DeBoer said on Monday that it is still possible that Karlsson could play in this weekend’s All-Star game which will be held in San Jose.

“I just want to get him healthy, so if he’s healthy enough, I would hope he’ll play,” DeBoer said via NHL.com. “And I know he would play. Let’s cross our fingers and hope that he’s healthy enough to play.”

If he can’t play you would have to think that it would open up a spot for Calgary Flames defender Mark Giordano to get a much-deserved call to the game as he one of the many defenders in the Pacific Division (including Karlsson, and fellow Sharks All-Star Brent Burns) that are playing at a Norris Trophy level this season.

Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larson would also be a possibility, but Giordano would almost certainly be the favorite given how great he has been this season.

After a slow start on the scoresheet this season Karlsson has really come on over the past couple of months and is back to playing at the high level we’re used to seeing him at. He has 43 points in 47 games this season, and has recorded at least one point in 16 of his past 18 games, a stretch that has seen him total 27 points. He is also near the top of the league for the season when it comes to shot attempt and scoring chance differentials when he is on the ice.

Burns and Joe Pavelski are the Sharks’ other two representatives at this year’s All-Star Game.

The 2019 NHL All-Star Skills Competition will take place on Friday, Jan. 25 (9 p.m. ET, NBCSN) and the 2019 NHL All-Star Game will be on Saturday, Jan. 26 (8 p.m. ET, NBC).

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.