San Jose Sharks defenseman John Klingberg believes he could be a healthy scratch against the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday.
Klingberg doesn’t think he’s playing tomorrow. Not confirmed, but definitely a blow for a proud vet like that— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 17, 2025
Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky didn’t confirm if the veteran d-man would be out of the lineup after practice.
“That comes with the business and being a coach. You’re going to make tough decisions and lineups. It’s up to myself to get him going again and play better, and we have to work together and do that,” Warsofksy said. “We have a lot of defensemen that we want to keep in the mix a little bit, not let guys sit out for a while.
We’ll see what tomorrow brings. But I know Klingy knows he can play better, as do we.”
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Before Klingberg told reporters that he believes he might be a healthy scratch, the San Jose Sharks displayed new power play units. Klingberg wasn’t just moved to the second unit; he was removed entirely from either power play.
PP2: Dickinson-Graf-Kurashev-Toffoli-Gaudette— Max Miller (@Real_Max_Miller) November 17, 2025
Dmitry Orlov returns to the top unit for the first time since Klingberg missed time due to an injury.
“It’s always good when you [play on the] power play, it’s big minutes. With our team, I think to start the season, [the power play] was a little better than now. The coaches [want] to try to find some different things,” Orlov said about the promotion. “We worked today in practice, and hope, if we get a chance tomorrow, we’re gonna score. Just execute some plays.”
While it is a vote of confidence for Orlov, Warsofsky wasn’t shy about saying he still needs more from the Sharks defenseman.
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“With Orly, he’s pretty solid on a power play. He can help shoot the puck a little bit more,” Warsofsky said. “I think 5-on-5, he also has to pick up his game a little bit. I think the last two [games] weren’t great.”
The last two games for the San Jose Sharks haven’t been great for anyone. Following a four-game winning streak, the Sharks were dominated by the Calgary Flames 2-0 and lost to the Seattle Kraken 4-1.
Orlov is also a left-handed defenseman, whereas Klingberg is a righty. William Eklund, who is on the top power play, says it will take a quick adjustment to get used to a lefty on the point.
“It’s a little different when [a lefty] has [the puck] and where you can find them,” Ekund said. “Orly is going to do a great job up there.”
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