Sharks coach Peter DeBoer throws Erik Karlsson and his medical staff under the bus.

It is not very often that you will hear a National Hockey League head coach openly criticize one of his players in the middle of a playoff series, but it was clear after a brutal Game 5 in the Western Conference Final that San Jose Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer was well past being concerned about anyone's personal feelings.

DeBoer and his Sharks were completely dominated by the Blues in Game 5, in every facet of the game, and even though the score was 5 - 0 by the end of the game even that margin does not accurately portray just how bad of a game this was for the Sharks. There were many points in the game where it felt like the series was already over and, when you consider the massive number of injuries the Sharks suffered in the game's 3rd period, we may look back on this game in the future as the point at which this series truly ended. 

That being said although the Blues were clearly the better team on the night there is no question that injuries contributed massively to the outcome of this game. The first goal of the game completely deflated the Sharks and it came off the back of a huge, and uncharacteristic, mistake from star defenseman Erik Karlsson. This had to be especially frustrating for DeBoer who had only made the decision to put Karlsson in just a few hours earlier and was then left without him for all of the 3rd period and most of the 2nd as well. 

Following the game ESPN's Greg Wyshynski tossed a tough question at DeBoer regarding his decision to play Karlsson in Game 5, and the Sharks head coach likely surprised many by giving an extremely honest answer. A frustrated DeBoer threw both Erik Karlsson and the Sharks medical staff under the bus for giving him some bad advice.

"Hindsight is 20/20, you know? We make those decisions based on the reports we get from the player and the medical [staff]," he said as per ESPN. "The report was that he felt he could play and get through the game. It's easy to sit here and say now, ‘Yeah, sure you have regrets.'"

Something tells me we might not see Karlsson for Game 6.