San Jose Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov has a lower-body injury and will miss Thursday’s game with the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
Askarov “tweaked something” early Thursday, Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said, as he was warming up prior to the team’s morning skate at TD Garden.
It was not immediately clear how much more time Askarov would have to miss, although Warsofsky said he did not believe Askarov’s injury was serious.
With Askarov’s injury, the Sharks signed goalie Kyle Chauvette to an amateur tryout contract. He will back up starter Alex Nedeljkovic. Chauvette, 24, played three years at Union College from 2022-2025, and in his senior season at New Hampshire, went 13-19-1 with a .902 save percentage.
Chauvette, a New Hampshire native, started for UNH in its season-ending 7-3 loss to Northeastern in the quarterfinals of the Hockey East playoffs on Wednesday night.
Askarov started Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres and stopped 20 of 25 shots in a 6-3 Sharks loss. In 40 games this season, Askarov is 19-17-3 with an .886 save percentage.
Nedeljkovic, in 27 games, is 11-9-3 with a .900 save percentage. The Sharks signed him to a two-year, $6 million contract extension last week.
This isn’t the first time this season that the Sharks employed an emergency backup goalie.
In December, with Askarov battling an illness on a road trip, the Sharks signed former Colgate University goalie Justin Kowalkoski to an ATO to back up Nedeljkovic in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Kowalkoski did not play in what became a 4-1 Sharks loss.
The Sharks’ road trip continues with games against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, and the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
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