Battered and outnumbered, the Sharks are inching closer to the bottom of the food chain. San Joselost four key playersdefenseman Erik Karl son, forwards Tomas Hertl and Joonas Donskoi, and captain Joe Pavelskito apparent injury during Sunday's 5-0 lo s to St. Louis in Game 5 on Sunday, leaving the Sharks bench looking bare. bench is looking empty. Karl son, Pavelski, Hertl and Donskoi mi sing. Bay Area Sports HQ (@BayAreaSportsHQ) The sight also offered little optimism for the Sharks entering Tuesday's decisive Game 6 at St. Louis, with the Blues in position to close out the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Final, where the Bruinsawait theiropponent after sweeping the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals. Still, Sharksdefenseman Brenden Dillon isoptimistic about keeping the Western Conference finals going to an all-or-nothing Game 7 showdown Thursday. "Weve got enough guys in here that have played do-or-die games,"Dillon said, . "I feel like this year we want Matthew Phillips Jersey to push it to a Game 7, weve had to do that in the past two rounds. We feel comfortable having to do that. "Were going to go into a tough building, but we feel confident going in there. Were going to have to bring our best and ramp it up and I think well be ready for that." Sharks coach Pete DeBoer didnt have a health update on any of his injured players Sunday night, though their availability will be closely monitored in the coming days. When asked if it was a mistake to play Karl son, whowas questionable before Game 5 but played beforesittingout the entire third period Sunday,DeBoer discu sed the difficulty in having to make those calls. "Hindsight is 20/20, you know?"DeBoer said."We make those decisions based on the reports we get from the player and the medical (staff). "The report was that he felt he could play and get through the game. Its easy to sit here and say now, 'Yeah, sure you have regrets.'" The Blues are slated to host the Sharks at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday. Zakhar Bardakov Jersey