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SAN JOSE – As a general rule, before the start of the pre-match festivities, the scratch players of both teams appear on the jumbotron and the announcer of the PA reads the name of each skater who will not play that night .
But before the match 7 against the Avalanche, the list of players remained silent, because the fans could see for themselves that the name of Joe Pavelski was not on the list of players scratched. Six games after suffering a horrendous head injury mid-game and having to get out of the ice, the captain would return to training.
"This morning he skated, and I asked him at the rink when I was there, and he kind of laughed and said" yes "with a smile on his face and I thought that He was joking, "admitted Logan Couture. "And then he said," No, seriously, I'm playing. "And I said," ok, we do it. "And he went out and did it."
By "it", of course, Couture meant scoring the opening goal of the match and scoring a pass in San Jose's 3-2 win against the Avs who formally cleared the way for the Conference Finals. l & # 39; West.
For a player who has suffered a head injury and has not played for two weeks, Pavelski's performance is nothing short of fantastic.
"He played incredible for a guy who missed the playoffs for two weeks," Couture said. "To have your wounds, come back and set a goal, score a goal. I would like to be able to tell you what he has experienced seeing him. You would not believe he's playing for the moment. "
The health of Pavelski after the scary scene of match 7 of the first round against the Golden Knights was largely kept secret. Although his head coach, Peter DeBoer, told the press that No. 8 was still in the team, he was kept out of the public eye. Even after Pavelski restarted skating with the team, there was no guarantee that he would be able to return to training in the second round, let alone having a two-point night.
"You're almost speechless," said DeBoer after Pavelski helped to win in the seventh game. "People in the building, many have seen the injury. I do not think you attended the resumption and what he went through, and how dubious he was that tonight. It was really a draw. He obviously made the final decision – and what impact. "
Pavelski not only appeared early on the scoreboard, but he obviously had a positive impact on an offensive line with Evander Kane and Tomas Hertl, including scoring Hertl's goal in the first period. N ° 48 admitted later that he did not even know that Pavelski and he would skate together until the day before the match.
"I had just discovered here before the match that Pav was playing with me," said smiling to smile, Hertl, who played on a line with Pavelski and Joe Thornton a few seasons ago. "So we just talked. We played with Jumbo a few years ago.
Hertl confessed to being impressed by Pavelski's immediate impact. "I was even a little surprised that he came so strong after two weeks," he complimented. "He comes, scores a goal, makes me a good game and has been huge for us. I'm really happy that he can be part of it too. "
Pavelski told the media that he was starting to feel better around the fifth game, although he did not know exactly when he could play again. Typically, the captain did not want to take credit for San Jose's big win, but rather congratulated his teammates.
"It was good to be there and play well, just to start well as a group," Pavelski said. "Great credit to the guys for their work."
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The Sharks playoff run will continue until the Western Conference finals, and Joe Pavelski will likely continue to play an important role for San Jose. But his return to match 7 against the Avalanche will probably not be forgotten any time soon.
"What do you say?" Said DeBoer. "He's a special player. A special guy. "
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