Vancouver captain Mark Messier writhes in pain after being pulled to the ice by San Jose's Andy Sutton, left.

Swearing and throwing his helmet down in frustration, Messier -- unable to put any weight on his right knee -- required help off the ice and went straight to the Canucks' dressing room.

After the game, Canucks coach Marc Crawford said Messier's right knee was "pretty sore" and will be re-examined Wednesday. The Canucks didn't reveal any other details about the injury.

Messier, who left GM Place in the middle of the third period, was not available for comment.

"He's pretty sore right now. He continued to ice it for most of the game," Crawford said. "Now he's gone home. ... We'll know more tomorrow, especially once they get a chance to see him and see how the swelling was."

The injury occurred when Messier, on his first shift of the game, was going to the front of the Sharks' net as teammate Peter Schaefer was attempting a wraparound play.

Sharks defenseman Andy Sutton grabbed Messier from behind and pulled him down. The two fell to the ice with Messier's right leg tangled between Sutton's.

Saying he was only doing his job by blocking out the front of the net, Sutton called it an "ordinary play" in which he and Messier went down.

"We kind of got twisted up and he must have fell down funny on my stick," said Sutton, who wasn't penalized on the play. "He was in a lot of pain."

Messier, 38, stayed on the ice, on hands and knees, for a couple minutes before he was helped off the ice, able to skate only on his left foot.

"We all knew when he didn't come back right away that obviously something was seriously wrong," said Andrew Cassels, who figures to take Messier's spot on the Canucks' top line. "I think everybody knew when Mark went down that we all had to pick up our game, especially because he plays a lot for us, and he's our leader."