William Eklund missed his first game of the season on Sunday during the San Jose Sharks’ 3-2 shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky told reporters before the game that the winger is dealing with a lower-body injury.
“He’s been dealing with it. Just got a little bit worse,” Warsofsky said during his pregame availability on Sunday.
Warsofsky clarified that the injury has been nagging Eklund for approximately a week.
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The San Jose Sharks winger has been hot offensively lately, with nine points (4 goals, 5 assists). He’s moved to the right wing with Philipp Kurashev, who was just named the NHL’s 3rd Star of the Week, and Alexander Wennberg at center.
Kurashev was moved to Eklund’s line against the Minnesota Wild and has created magic since.
As for Eklund’s timeline for a potential return to the San Jose Sharks lineup?
“That’s part of the reason why we’re holding him out tonight. We don’t want it to linger much longer,” Warsofsky said about Eklund. “We’re hopeful that he will play Wednesday.”
Eklund’s uptick in play has arguably been the best of his NHL career. Warsofsky doesn’t think this minor injury will prevent the San Jose Sharks forward from continuing his stellar play.
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“We don’t think it’s long-term, but he’s been playing his most consistent hockey of his career,” Warsofsky said. “It’s frustrating, but a little speed bump here. I don’t think it is gonna wear him down.”
The Sharks have found their second line, and Eklund is a big part of it
The Sharks’ second line has continually been matched up against opposing teams’ top players. As a result, Eklund has been forced to play heavy minutes on some nights.
“[Eklund] plays with the puck. He protects it down low, holds on to it. He’s comfortable with it on his stick. That’s step number one,” the Sharks head coach said. “He plays with pace. That line has been our most consistent line as far as both sides of the puck.”
Eklund set a career high for ice time in a single game against the Wild, playing 25:29. The Sharks started Eklund for overtime, and he was stuck defensively for 3:35 of OT before changing for Macklin Celebrini. That change led directly to the game-winning goal.
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He followed that game up with his second-highest time on ice for a game. Against the Los Angeles Kings, Eklund played 24:46. Warsofsky would give Eklund a day off from practice on Oct. 29 before playing against the New Jersey Devils the next day.
Eklund only played 18:17 against the Devils and 20:45 against the Colorado Avalanche. For the season, the Sharks winger is averaging 19:50 per game.
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