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.
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.”
