On April 23, 2019, during the 2019 playoffs, Pavelski suffered a major head injury after a cross check from Vegas Golden Knights center Cody Eakin, followed immediately by an incidental collision with Vegas' Paul Stastny which knocked Pavelski awkwardly to the ice. Pavelski was helped off of the ice and did not return to the game. Eakin was charged with a five-minute major penalty and a ten-minute game misconduct, which enabled the Sharks to score four goals in five minutes and send the game to overtime. The Sharks later won the game 5–4 in overtime and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.