Mikael Granlund and Mario Ferraro will both be activated Wednesday when the San Jose Sharks play the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre to open a two-game road trip, coach David Quinn said.
Granlund last played on Jan. 16 when he suffered an upper-body injury from a check by Chicago Blackhawks winger MacKenzie Entwistle. Six days later in a game against Los Angeles, Ferraro crashed awkwardly into the boards as his skate, and that of Kings forward Trevor Lewis, got tangled up as they raced after a loose puck in the Sharks’ zone.
In 47 games this season, Ferraro leads all Sharks skaters in average time on ice (22:45), all of the team’s defensemen with 14 points, and is fifth in the NHL with 138 blocks.
Two other Sharks players on IR, forward Givani Smith and defenseman Henry Thrun, will not play against the Jets, Quinn said. Both players practiced earlier this week, made the trip to Canada, and appear to be nearing a return. The Sharks also play in Calgary on Thursday.
Granlund’s return helps cushion some of the blow for the Sharks after their top two centermen, Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture, became unavailable with injuries.
Hertl had surgery Monday to remove loose cartilage in his left knee and is expected to miss several weeks, and Couture has had a recurrence of a lower-body injury that already cost him the first half of the season.
Granlund has played center all season and is second on the Sharks with 29 points in 38 games. He is also second among all Sharks forwards behind Hertl with an average of 20:35 in ice time per game.
Earlier this week in practice, Granlund centered a line with Anthony Duclair and Fabian Zetterlund. William Eklund will center the Sharks’ second line with Alexander Barabanov and Luke Kunin.
“Just having him in the lineup is going to help us a lot,” Quinn said of Granlund. “Obviously he might be a little bit rusty after missing as much time as he has. But I thought he had three good practices and (Tuesday) was his best practice.
“One thing about (Granlund) is you’re going to get an honest effort physically and mentally every night and that’s what we’re expecting tonight.”
Quinn said that both forward Kevin Labanc and defenseman Nikita Okhotiuk will not play against the Jets. Labanc has now been scratched in seven consecutive games. Okhotiuk played in 10 straight games before the NHL All-Star break.
The Sharks’ last game was on Jan. 31, a 3-2 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center to complete a 4-1-1 stretch before the break. The Jets are 1-2-0 since they acquired center Sean Monahan from the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 2 for a 2024 first-round draft pick and a 2027 conditional third-round pick.
Related Articles
NHL trade deadline: Sharks winger, in Quinn’s doghouse, knows change is coming
San Jose Sharks’ Couture suffers another injury setback
San Jose Sharks center Hertl to have knee surgery. Why now?
San Jose Sharks’ top two centers unable to practice
San Jose Sharks set to terminate AHL defenseman’s contract
Winnipeg is in third place in the Central Division with a 31-14-5 record, and is 17-7-2 at home.
“No matter what building they’re in, I’ve been impressed with them probably more so than any team in this league,” Quinn said. “They play an honest game, they don’t beat themselves. They may not be great in one area, but they’re really good in a lot of areas.
From their goaltending to their D-zone coverage, to the way they track, their offensive play, I think they’re a very complete team. They’re very well-coached. I’ve been very impressed with them.”
+ There are no comments
Add yours