The San Jose Sharks are making at least two changes to their lineup for Saturday’s road game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
One is required. The other is an intriguing choice.
Center Nico Sturm, who sustained an upper-body injury during the Sharks’ 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday, will come out of the lineup and be replaced by winger Klim Kostin, who will dress for the first time since Oct. 28 after eight consecutive healthy scratches.
It was not immediately clear how much time Sturm, who has six points in 18 games this season, will have to miss. Ryan Warsofsky told reporters in Pittsburgh that Sturm is day-to-day.
The Sharks play the Detroit Red Wings at home on Monday, followed by road games against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday and the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
Sturm is averaging just 9:50 in ice time per game but is one of the Sharks’ leaders in faceoffs – most of which come in the defensive zone — and is one of their top penalty-killing forwards.
Sturm’s injury has given Kostin a chance to resurrect his season, as he’s played in just seven of 18 games and averaged 8:18 in ice time. He will play on a line Saturday with Luke Kunin at center and Carl Grundstrom on the other wing.
Defenseman Jake Walman is also returning to the Sharks’ lineup after missing the last five games. He will play alongside Jan Rutta, and Jack Thompson will come out of the lineup. Goalie Vitek Vanecek will start for the Sharks, who are looking to finish their four-game road trip with an above .500 record.
The Sharks started the trip with a 1-0 win over New Jersey, followed by a 4-3 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers and a regulation-time loss to the Rangers.
Also, for Saturday, the Sharks are putting Will Smith on the same line as Macklin Celebrini and Barclay Goodrow.
Up until this point, Tyler Toffoli and Celebrini have been linemates whenever they’ve been in the lineup together. It was not immediately clear where Toffoli, who has just one point, an assist, in his last five games, would play Saturday.
The left-wing spot on the Sharks’ top line with Celebrini has been a revolving door of late. The Sharks have had William Eklund, Ty Dellandrea, Mikael Granlund, and Goodrow as left-wingers alongside Celebrini with varying degrees of success.
While drafted by the Sharks in 2023 as a centerman, Smith played on the wing in games against the Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers earlier on this road trip. Smith has one assist and is a -6 in his last five games, averaging 14:27 in ice time.
Saturday’s game marks the first time Smith and Celebrini will compete against the Penguins and Sidney Crosby, who is two goals shy of 600 for his career.
The Penguins are 1-3-2 in their last six games and are in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division with 15 points. The Sharks have a 5-3-1 record since a 7-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 26, but are in eighth place in the Pacific Division.
It’s also San Jose’s first game this season against former coach David Quinn, who joined the Penguins coaching staff in June, less than two months after the Sharks organization fired him. Quinn went 41-98-25 in two years as the Sharks head coach, with the team bottoming out last season with a 19-54-9 record.
