MONTREAL — Igor Chernyshov will play tonight.
The San Jose Sharks recalled the star prospect on Thursday, adding to the glut of NHL-caliber forwards up front.
Chernyshov did not look out of place in his first recall to the NHL with three goals and 11 points in 15 games.
At morning skate, Chernyshov skated with Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, which has the looks of a line of the future for Team Teal. Between Smith’s finesse and Chernyshov’s power and Celebrini’s, well, everything, it’s a truly enviable blend of skills.
And none of them are older than 20 right now, though Smith will turn 21 on St. Patrick’s Day.
Head coach Ryan Warsofsky confirmed that Chernyshov will play, though he cautioned that morning skate lines might not hold tonight.
So Chernyshov-Celebrini-Smith might have to wait.
But there’s no doubt, the future is now for the Sharks.
They didn’t need to recall Chernyshov. At the moment, they’ve got 15 NHL-caliber forwards, all who participated in morning skate, not an easy problem for Warsofsky to handle. But Chernyshov was likely just too good to leave in the AHL.
San Jose Sharks (31-26-6)
Alex Nedeljkovic will start.
Yaroslav Askarov’s lower-body injury is considered day-to-day, and he’s still with the team on this road trip.
Notably, Warsofsky did say that Askarov would not be available to play at the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, suggesting that recently-recalled Laurent Brossoit should start in the back-to-back.
Here’s how the Sharks skated in morning skate:
Cherynshov-Celebrini-Smith
Graf-Wennberg-Sherwood
Eklund-Misa-Toffoli
Goodrow-Ostapchuk-Gaudette
Orlov-Klingberg
Ferraro-Mukhamadullin
Dickinson-Desharnais
Nedeljkovic
Here’s how they lined up on the power play.
PP1: Orlov-Celebrini-Smith-Toffoli-Wennberg
PP2: Klingberg-Chernyshov-Eklund-Sherwood-Misa
Montreal Canadiens (36-18-10)
If this were just about performance, it wouldn’t be a difficult decision.
But it’s about much more than just performance.
On Brendan Gallagher: https://t.co/iuWwh0kruq
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) March 13, 2026
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Where To Watch
Puck drop between the San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens is at 4 PM PT at Bell Centre. Watch it live on NBC Sports California. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.