Sharks captain Joe Pavelski was able to make an impact on his team Saturday despite missing a fifth straight game because of an injury. Pavelski, who had remained mostly unseen to the public since suffering a serious head injury in Game 7 of San Jose's first-round series with Vegas, was shown standing outside the tunnel waving a towel to excite the home crowd late in the third period of the Sharks' 2-1 victory over the Avalanche in Game 5 of their second-round series. CAP IS HERE AND THE FANS ARE GOING CRAZY. #ForPavs | #PlayoffMode pic.twitter.com/cEbiADRUzZ — x - San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) May 5, 2019 Pavelski made his appearance shortly after Tomas Hertl scored the eventual game-winning goal. San Jose is now one win away from advancing to the Western Conference finals. The 3-2 series lead should allow the Sharks to continue to rest Pavelski, whom head coach Peter DeBoer described as "getting better every day."<doc-sep>Joe Pavelski surprised his teammates when he came out during Game 5 of the San Jose Sharks’ series against the Colorado Avalanche Saturday night and fired up the SAP Center crowd during a stoppage in play. It was a great sight not just for Sharks fans, but hockey fans when the Sharks captain donned a smile and waved a towel around. It was 11 days earlier that Pavelski suffered a frightening injury when his head hit the ice during a play in Game 7 of their Round 1 series against the Vegas Golden Knights. He’s not played since, but is getting closer to returning to the lineup. “You’d like to think you could play tomorrow,” Pavelski said on Sunday when meeting with reporters. “But we’re going to be smart, obviously. Definitely getting closer. Feel like I’m getting closer. Feel like I want it.” As the Sharks look to close out the Avalanche Monday night in Game 6 (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN; live stream), Pavelski talked about the medical attention he required following the head injury as San Jose their comeback against the Golden Knights. “Getting the first staple in the head was probably when the first goal horn went off,” he said. “And [I was] just kind of being like, ‘What was that? Did we score?’ But I think by the time the fourth or fifth staple was going in, it was going off again. It was just kind of like, ‘All right, cool. '” Pavelski said he didn’t have an issue with Golden Knights forward Cody Eakin on the play. He also added he did not believe the play was worthy of a five-minute major and game misconduct, a power play that resulted in four game-changing goals for the Sharks during a 5-4 overtime victory. “Am I glad they called it that way? Heck, yeah,” Pavelski said. “The refs have a very tough job with how plays happen. It was a scary play, and it gets twisted and everything. Was it malicious or anything like that? I don’t believe so. It’s part of the game. I got twisted up, got bumped on the way down, hit the head. “Again, glad it was called that way. But then, from that moment on, what the guys did after it, to actually go and do that and score four goals, is … It was a special night. It was one of the tougher nights and one of the better nights at the same time to see and be a part of.” Pavelski, who scored off his jaw and lost teeth during their first playoff game, said there were about eight staples in his head due to the pressure cut. He was able to celebrate with his teammates after the Game 7 win, despite dealing with some dizziness and headaches. He also said he didn’t have much sensitivity to light as continued dealing with headaches. The last few days have been encouraging for Pavelski, who traveled with the Sharks to Colorado for Game 6 and is a possibility should there be a Game 7. He’s felt better of late and is getting back to skating and training a little bit. Should the Sharks finish off the Avalanche Monday night, they’ll have a few days off before the start of the Western Conference Final later this week, which would allow plenty of time to heal up for all, including Pavelski. “The biggest thing is just to see what the guys have been doing,” Pavelski said. “It’s encouraging to see them really dig in and play just how I know they can play and how we as a group want to play. It’s fun to see that. So we’re always just looking for that consistency and keep going. But they’ve done a tremendous job.” ———— Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.<doc-sep>(CLICK HERE, if you are unable to view this photo gallery on your mobile device.) SAN JOSE — Coach Pete DeBoer didn’t have a medical update on Joe Pavelski late Tuesday night, as the Sharks captain was knocked out of Game 7 and bloodied after the back of his head hit the ice surface at SAP Center. Sharks players, though, said they saw Pavelski after their incredible 5-4, overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights and he appeared to be OK. “I saw, I think he’s now better for sure,” Sharks center Tomas Hertl said. “Scary moment. It’s always scary to see one guy on the ice with blood. But, he’s strong, I believe he’ll soon be back and help us again next round.” One of the most exhilarating periods in the history of the Sharks franchise was preceded by one of scariest scenes anyone could remember. After a faceoff in the Golden Knights’ end, it appeared Cody Eakin cross-checked Pavelski in the upper chest, enough to get Pavelski off-balance, as he fell backwards with Paul Stastny right there as well. Pavelski was cut, as Sharks head athletic trainer Ray Tufts came out, got Pavelski’s helmet off and held a towel to the back of his head. Slowly, Thornton, Brent Burns and Evander Kane all helped Pavelski off the ice at the 9:13 mark of the third period. Talking about the incident, Thornton’s emotions began to show. “It almost made you cry,” Thornton said. “We love him so much. You never want to see a teammate get hurt like that. It’s a tough break for him. So you hold him as hard you can, get him off the ice and get him better.” The Sharks response? We’re winning this for our captain. Eakin was given a five-minute major for cross checking and a 10-minute game misconduct. The Sharks scored four goals in a team-record span of 4 minutes and one second. Logan Couture scored twice, Hertl added one and Kevin Labanc scored the go-ahead goal with 6:39 left in the third period to give the Sharks a 4-3 lead. “It’s real tough to see, but you’ve got give credit to Jumbo,” Couture said. “As soon as we got to the bench, he said, ‘You guys go out and get f’n three goals right now.’ When a man who’s played 20 years orders you around like that, bosses you around, you’ve got to go do it. So we got four.” “Scary situation. You see your captain down motionless on the ice,” DeBoer said. “Yeah, I don’t know. The group rallied. Joe Thornton spoke up. Logan Couture. They saw a guy that they love and respect in some distress and wanted to do what they could to help the situation. Try and get some goals and get us back in the game, and they did that. “It’s a special group that way. We’ve rallied like that all year at different points, even early in the series here when we were down 3-0. People have written them off, we’re down and out, down 3-0 in games, down 3-1 in the series. There’s a lot of belief in there.” Related Articles San Jose Sharks reach last-minute settlement over Google’s downtown development NHL Draft Lottery: San Jose Sharks now know their chances of winning San Jose Sharks final grades: Too many key players fell short of expectations Items from Patrick Marleau’s historic night to be on display Bob Boughner believes associate coach will be an NHL bench boss soon Thornton and Pavelski have played with each other since Pavelski came into the league near the start of the 2006-07 season. It was ‘Big Joe’ and ‘Little Joe’ back then, but the two were linemates and close friends for years. They also became synonymous with the Sharks organization, as Thornton became the most-prolific passer in team history and Pavelski one of its most reliable goal-scorers. “The boys, they got together and said, this is for Pavs,” Thornton said. “We love him and it was just a matter of will, and we willed that one for him.” DeBoer praised the way his team responded. “The leadership’s the best I’ve every been around. Joe goes down, Joe Thornton immediately is talking to the guys, ‘Let’s get three goals here on this power play.’ He actually said that. We got four,” DeBoer said. “Very fortunate as a coach to be around people like that. You don’t have to say a lot. They’re driving the bus.”<doc-sep>
SAN JOSE -- San Jose Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said he'll accompany the team to Denver for Game 6 against the Colorado Avalanche, but there's no timetable for his return to the lineup after a horrific head injury in Game 7 against the Vegas Golden Knights on April 23. Pavelski made a surprise appearance during the Sharks' Game 5 win on Saturday night, waving to the crowd in the third period to thunderous applause as San Jose skated to a 3-2 series lead. "It was exciting to be out there. Once you're out there and you experience that, you realize how much you miss it," Pavelski said Sunday. 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs Miss a game from the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs? Want to experience a game again? Every playoff matchup is available for replay on ESPN+. Watch now » Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said it was a "give-you-a-chill type moment" before quipping, "I think our coaching staff will give him the same kind of ovation when we find out he's back." The Sharks have been careful with Pavelski. He's skated on his own for the past few days, including a vigorous training session after practice on Saturday. His line with Logan Couture has played well in his absence, with Gustav Nyquist moving up to help the line take on Colorado's top unit with Nathan MacKinnon. But given that Pavelski had 38 goals and 26 assists in 75 regular-season games and is one of the Sharks' most effective playoff performers, they would love nothing more than to have him back on the ice. In fact, they've made his return a rallying cry in the playoffs. "We're trying to win as many games as we can so we can see him back out on the ice again," Joe Thornton said earlier this round. Pavelski's comments on Sunday were the first he made since his Game 7 injury. Midway through the third period against Vegas, Pavelski's head hit the ice following a cross-check to the chest by Knights center Cody Eakin and a collision with Vegas forward Paul Stastny. Pavelski was motionless for a moment, bleeding profusely through the top of his helmet. Pavelski said that the injury was a "pressure cut" from his head hitting the ice and that his helmet did its job to protect him. Brent Burns and other Sharks players surrounded their captain, calling for the training staff to come out. Pavelski eventually sat up and gingerly skated to the bench, with Thornton pressing a towel against his head. "I remember taking the faceoff, and I don't really remember a whole lot after," Pavelski said. "Getting pushed, and all that stuff. The first thing that kind of came back was being helped off. Jumbo [Thornton] was right there, just calming me down. He just was saying, 'We got you, we got you. You're going to be all right.'" Pavelski said he wasn't panicked, although Thornton's reaction signaled the severity of the situation. He was still coming to his senses as he left the ice. "Then getting into the training room," he said. "Getting the first staple in my head was probably when the first goal horn went off. I was kinda like, 'What was that?' And they told me we scored." The Sharks received a five-minute major power play after Pavelski's injury, scoring four goals to take a 4-3 lead. They later won the game in overtime to eliminate the Knights. The NHL subsequently apologized to Vegas for the officiating mistake, which Pavelski acknowledged on Sunday. "For me ... I've played with some of those guys [on Vegas] for a lot of years. I have no issues with that play. Was it a five-minute major? No. Was I happy they called it that way? Heck yeah," he said. "But from that moment on, what the guys did after that in scoring four goals, it was a special night. One of the tougher nights. But one of the better nights." Pavelski said that night was difficult, as he felt the impact from what the Sharks inferred was a concussion. He had headaches that continued to the next day. His light sensitivity was decent, but Pavelski said looking at his phone for too long would adversely affect him. As the Sharks look to close out the Avalanche, he's skating again with regularity. The team has said he's close to returning. Pavelski agrees. "You'd like to think you can play tomorrow. But we're going to be smart. Definitely getting closer," he said.