SAN JOSE – Forwards Will Smith and William Eklund will both return to the San Jose Sharks’ lineup on Sunday when they face the Colorado Avalanche, looking to end a five-game losing streak.
Eklund was a scratch for Friday’s game played in Winnipeg after he played the first two games of the road trip. He was in the lineup Tuesday against the Dallas Stars in the first game of the trip, but did not practice the following day in Chicago. He played through the injury Thursday night against the Blackhawks and had two assists in over 19 minutes of ice time.
This season, Eklund has three assists in four games and has averaged over 21 minutes in ice time, the second-most among all Sharks forwards.
Smith played against the Blackhawks and had what Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said was his best game of the season, as he played over 19 minutes. But as part of the team’s development plan for the 19-year-old center, the Sharks rested Smith for the following night’s game in Winnipeg, where the Jets cruised to an 8-3, dropping San Jose’s record to 0-3-2.
Warsofsky said Givani Smith will come out of the lineup Sunday but that Danil Gushchin will remain in after he played Friday in Winnipeg.
After their poor performances against the Blackhawks and Jets, the Sharks want to get back to how they played in their first three games. San Jose lost 5-4 in overtime to St. Louis on Oct. 10 and 2-0 to the Anaheim Ducks two days later before their 3-2 shootout loss to the Stars.
The Sharks already have forwards Logan Couture (osteitis pubis), Thomas Bordeleau (lower body) and Macklin Celebrini (lower body) on injured reserve, and it does not appear as if any of them are on the verge of a return.
