Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic doesn't know if he's doing anything differently but his offense has improved, one of the reasons his coaches think the San Jose Sharks are off to such a hot start. In 10 games, Vlasic has two goals and six assists for eight points. Last season, the 26-year-old had seven points in 48 games. His best numbers came in 2008-09 when he scored 36 points in 82 games. He is well ahead of that pace. In other words, he may not be a bad fantasy acquisition if he's available in your league.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic had been playing with a hairline fracture in his right foot since Game 4. He told ESPN and TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun that his foot required freezing so that he could continue playing. "But lots of guys in this room were playing hurt, just like the Kings," Vlasic said after Tuesday night's Game 7 loss to Los Angeles. "It's no excuse."

Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun have done an excellent job shutting down Los Angeles' top line in the Sharks' second-round series. Anze Kopitar has managed to produce only one power-play assist in the first four games of the series. In the opening round of the postseason, the duo of Vlasic and Braun held Daniel and Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks to just one assist each at even strength. "They feel very comfortable playing with each other and they complement each other well," coach Todd McLellan said. "They're both very good skaters with tremendous stamina so when they get caught out there long, they're able to maintain their composure and get the job done." The Kings may shuffle their lines going into Game 5 to avoid the match-up.

The San Jose Sharks disputed Marc-Edouard Vlasic's costly delay of game penalty. The argument is that the puck hit Kings forward Jeff Carter before going into the stands, but the referees disagreed. That gave Los Angeles a 5-on-3 advantage, which they used to score two power-play goals late in the third period of their 4-3 victory. "You go back and look at it, it looks like it changed direction," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. But he also added, "The one thing that I've learned, certainly through this playoffs, is it's not going to do me any good to whine and moan and bitch about the referees. It's not going to get us anywhere. We took some penalties, we needed to kill them, and we move on." It's worth noting that Vlasic's third-period goal might have been the game winner if not for his penalty.

Mark-Edouard Vlasic went from hero to possible goat in the Sharks 4-3 loss on Thursday. Vlasic scored the go-ahead goal at the 8:56 mark of the third period and it looked like it would hold up to be the winner. But things went bad for Vlasic and the Sharks as he took a delay of game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass with the Sharks already down a man with 2:19 left in the third. The Kings scored twice on the power play to win and take a 2-0 series lead. Brad Stuart scored and added an assist while Patrick Marleau also finding the back of the net.

Updating an earlier item, Mark-Edouard Vlasic has returned to the ice for the third period. Just an FYI.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic was forced to leave the game in the second period when Jeff Carter slammed him into the boards. The incident happened with 4:35 left in the middle stanza. Vlasic was hit dangerously into the boards as Carter received a two minute penalty for charging and Vlasic went to the dressing room. Stay tuned as the Sharks will have trouble on the blueline if Vlasic is unable to return.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic has been fined $8,378.38 for slashing Minnesota's Dany Heatley Wednesday night. The San Jose defenseman was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for slashing at 20:00 of the third period. The league ruled that Heatley was not injured as a direct result of the slash, so he avoided suspension. "It was bad, it got nasty at the end," Vlasic said Thursday. "I never want to injure a guy or see a guy injured even if it was in the tussle at the end. Heater's a great player. It's very unfortunate."

Marc-Edouard Vlasic has agreed to a five-year/$21 million contract extension with the San Jose Sharks. Vlasic's new deal with begin in 2013-14. "Marc-Edouard has grown into an important part of our organization over the last six seasons," said Sharks GM Doug Wilson. "He can play in all situations and has blossomed into a very trusted player on both sides of the puck. We are very happy to have him on our team for the next six seasons." He had four goals and 23 points in 82 games last season.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic's knee injury is a sprained MCL, but it will not require surgery. He is projected to be fine for the start of training camp. Vlasic sustained the injury while playing for Canada at the World Championships and won't play for the remainder of the tournament.