The San Jose Sharks expect to have Fabian Zetterlund available to play Friday when they face the Utah Hockey Club at the Delta Center.
Zetterlund, dealing with a lower-body ailment, did not practice Wednesday or Thursday and was considered questionable to play against Utah. But Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said Friday morning that Zetterlund, tied for third on the team with 11 goals this season, should be healthy enough to dress for the game.
Zetterlund led the Sharks last season with 24 goals and has played in 147 consecutive games with San Jose. That streak, the longest active one among all Sharks players, will remain intact for at least one more day.
Zetterlund will again line up with Mikael Granlund and William Eklund as the Sharks (13-24-6) look to bounce back from a 4-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.
“The first five minutes are crucial,” Warsofsky said. “Make sure we put pucks behind them, we make sure we defend with a purpose. … Breakouts are going to be crucial so we can get into the offensive zone and make their (defensemen) turn and break out pucks.”
Defenseman Cody Ceci, who practiced Thursday, will also be in Friday’s lineup and is expected to be paired with Henry Thrun.
In their first game of a back-to-back, the Sharks plan to start goalie Alexandar Georgiev against Utah (17-16-7) and have Yaroslav Askarov play against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night at SAP Center.
Georgiev started Tuesday’s game against the Golden Knights and made a season-high 38 saves. Georgiev has lost five straight starts with the Sharks, but his appearance against the Golden Knights was his best with the team since he was acquired from Colorado on Dec. 9 as part of a deal that sent Mackenzie Blackwood to the Avalanche.
Askarov, recalled from the San Jose Barracuda on Dec. 18 following the facial injury to fellow goalie Vitek Vanecek, led the Sharks to wins over Tampa Bay and New Jersey earlier this month, stopping 52 of a combined 55 shots as he improved his record this season to 3-2-2 with a .923 save percentage.
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Ty Dellandrea, a healthy scratch the previous three games, will re-enter the Sharks lineup and start the game as the team’s fourth-line center with Barclay Goodrow and Klim Kostin on the wings.
Forward Nikolai Kovalenko (upper-body injury) did not travel with the team to Utah. He is considered day-to-day.
