Sharks could get key players back against sliding Ducks

The injury bug continues to bite the San Jose Sharks, yet reinforcements are expected to come Saturday when the team hosts the Anaheim Ducks.

Logan Couture and Nico Sturm could return to San Jose's active roster after lengthy absences. Sturm has missed the past 16 games due to a hand/wrist injury, while Couture hasn't played this season while recovering from a lower-body injury.

Just when it seemed as though the Sharks were approaching something close to full strength, Mikael Granlund is now sidelined. Granlund is week-to-week after sustaining an upper-body injury that forced an early exit from San Jose's 2-1 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.

"If we're all healthy, we've got four very good centermen, but that's part of our problem, right? We haven't been healthy," Couture told the San Jose Mercury News.

"They're not excuses. Every team gets injuries. ... But it'll be nice when guys start to get healthy and hopefully at some point here we can get the whole lineup in together."

The undermanned roster has contributed to San Jose's NHL-worst record. The Sharks are 1-14-1 in their past 16 games, including a current three-game drought (0-2-1).

Tuesday's shootout went to nine rounds before Chicago triumphed, leaving San Jose frustratingly short of the extra point. The Sharks matched their highest total of the season with 38 shots while posting their third-lowest total of shots allowed (25).

Anaheim also took a narrow defeat on Tuesday, falling 2-0 to the Washington Capitals. It was the 18th time this season that the Ducks lost by two or fewer goals, the most of any team in the NHL.

"We stayed, I thought, pretty sound defensively," Anaheim coach Greg Cronin said. "Didn't give them too much, even though we weren't really sharp with our passing and our execution. ... We weathered a little bit of the surge they had in the third period and then we came on, (but) we just couldn't score."

The Ducks began the season 9-6-0, including a 4-1 home win over the Sharks on Nov. 12. Since that solid start, Anaheim has stumbled to a 6-22-1 record and now sits ahead of only the Sharks and Blackhawks in the league standings.

Saturday marks the final stop of the Ducks' six-game road trip before Anaheim hosts the New York Rangers on Sunday. Because consecutive games usually result in split goaltending starts, backup goalie Lukas Dostal (.901 save percentage, 3.55 goals-against average) could face San Jose while No. 1 goalie John Gibson (.901 save percentage, 3.06 GAA) is saved for the tougher competition of the Metropolitan Division-leading Rangers.

Mackenzie Blackwood is San Jose's probable starter in net. Blackwood has struggled to an .894 save percentage and a 3.72 GAA over 29 games.

By a wide margin, the Ducks have the most penalty minutes (625) and penalties taken (247) of any NHL team. Capitalizing on power plays is hardly a given for the Sharks, as San Jose is only 2-for-27 with the extra attacker over its past 13 games.

Frank Vatrano leads Anaheim with 33 points (21 goals, 12 assists). Tomas Hertl is San Jose's leading scorer with 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists).

The Ducks are 10-2-0 in their past 12 games against the Sharks, dating back to the 2020-21 season.