San Jose Sharks’ Erik Karlsson (65) waits for a face-off against the Calgary Flames in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Erik Karlsson had just completed a four-point game last month — after an all-too-rare Sharks victory on home ice — when coach David Quinn was asked if he could imagine this team without the two-time Norris Trophy winner.
“I don’t want to imagine this team without him,” Quinn said before asking, “Why do you have to do that to me?”
Karlsson, healthy again from a physical