The San Jose Sharks might have to continue to try to chase down a playoff spot in the still-tightly contested Western Conference without one of their most impactful forwards.
Sharks center Alex Wennberg missed Sunday’s game against the Ottawa Senators with an upper-body injury, and it was unknown whether he would be available to play in Tuesday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place.
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said after his team’s 7-4 loss on Sunday that he didn’t have a timeline for the veteran forward’s return. Wennberg’s injury came during the Sharks’ 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, Warsofsky said.
The 31-year-old Wennberg, who represented his native Sweden during last month’s Winter Olympics in Milan, is fourth on the Sharks in scoring with 43 points in 64 games. But he also plays a sizeable role on the Sharks’ penalty kill, leads the team in faceoffs, and regularly matches up against the opposing team’s top line.
Against the Oilers, for instance, Wennberg, if healthy, would likely be matched up against Connor McDavid, the NHL’s leading scorer with 114 points in 68 games.
If Wennberg is unavailable, that assignment would likely fall to either Philipp Kurashev or Macklin Celebrini as the Sharks close out an up-and-down five-game road trip.
Kurashev took over the third-line center role for the Sharks against the Senators and won five of seven faceoffs. But his line, with Pavol Regenda and Kiefer Sherwood, per Natural Stat Trick, also created just one high-danger scoring chance and allowed five during 5-on-5 play.
Warsofsky liked the way Kurashev, now in his sixth NHL season, played against the Senators. But there is little doubt that the Sharks will miss Wennberg, who signed a three-year, $18 million contract extension in January, if he’s out for any length of time.
Wennberg, who hadn’t missed a game this season before Sunday, plays on the Sharks’ top power play unit and leads the team’s forwards in total shorthanded time on ice (140:10). Wennberg’s not elite on faceoffs, but no player takes more draws while the Sharks are shorthanded or in the defensive zone. Of his zone starts, 52.3% come in the defensive end.
On Sunday, the Sharks were a dismal 6-for-17 on defensive-zone draws – and 22-for-51 overall. The Sharks’ penalty kill, which had been 11-for-11 in the previous four games, was 1-for-3 on Sunday.
“He does it all for us,” Sharks winger Collin Graf said of Wennberg on Sunday. “He plays a ton of minutes, power play, penalty kill. He helps us all over the ice, wins draws, that sort of thing. So he’s obviously a really good player, and we didn’t step up enough in his absence.”
The Sharks are 5-3-2 since the end of the Olympic break last month, and with 17 games left to play in the regular season, can still finish just about anywhere in the Western Conference standings.
Just inside of a playoff spot? Just outside? Third place in the mediocre Pacific Division? First place with a bit (a lot?) of luck?
The Sharks entered Monday one point back of the Seattle Kraken for the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot, with one game in hand. San Jose is also five points back of the Oilers for third place in the Pacific with three games in hand.
With the loss to the Senators, the Sharks’ playoff chances, per MoneyPuck.com, dipped from 55% on Sunday to 39.1% on Monday.
Whatever happens, it beats where the Sharks were last season after 65 games: dead last in the NHL and 27 points out of a playoff spot.
“It’s way more fun than not being in (the playoff race),” Celebrini told Sportsnet on Saturday after his three-point night against the Canadiens. “We’re having a blast. It’s fun winning games, fun playing with this group, and it’s fun having something to play for.”
The Sharks, who were off on Monday, are also dealing with injuries to goalie Yaroslav Askarov (lower body) and winger Igor Chernyshov (upper body).
It remained unclear if one or both would be available to play against the Oilers, although it would be a surprise to see either player dress for Tuesday’s game without getting to practice first. Sharks goalie Alex Nedeljkovic will likely start Tuesday after Laurent Brossoit allowed six goals on 23 shots against the Senators.
The Sharks are also scheduled to have a day off on Wednesday before home games against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday and the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.