Karlsson among 7 Sharks players in COVID-19 protocol

Seven San Jose Sharks players, along with head coach Bob Boughner, were placed in COVID-19 protocol prior to their clash against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.

Defensemen Erik Karlsson, Jake Middleton, Radim Simek, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic as well as forwards Andrew Cogliano, Jonathan Dahlen, and Matt Nieto were all sidelined.

Additionally, captain Logan Couture was "under the weather" and didn't play Saturday, but he wasn't in COVID-19 protocol, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

With Boughner unavailable behind the bench, assistant coach John MacLean took over head coaching duties.

Despite being shorthanded, the Sharks beat the Jets 2-1 in overtime to improve to 5-3-0 on the season.

"I'm proud of every single guy in the room," Sharks forward Tomas Hertl said postgame, according to San Jose Hockey Now's Sheng Peng.

Goaltender James Reimer added the Sharks weren't sure there would even be a game after warmups.

"It was just a little vague. We didn't really know what was going on and what was going to take place. We were familiar with what happened last year, and we didn't know the protocol for this year," he said, per Sharks beat writer Curtis Pashelka.

The Sharks recalled a group of players from their AHL affiliate before the game, including defensemen Nicolas Meloche, Ryan Merkley, and Jaycob Megna in addition to forwards Nick Merkley and John Leonard.

The start of the game was delayed 15 minutes to allow for the analysis of test results.

All players and staff within the Sharks organization have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.