Yaroslav Askarov will start on Monday as the San Jose Sharks take on the St. Louis Blues after he missed one game due to an upper-body injury.
Askarov, 23, had missed six games before being the backup goalie for Alex Nedeljkovic against the Nashville Predators on March 24th. He would return to the crease against the Blues on March 26th, but after a friendly fire collision, he was forced to leave the game.
“The St. Louis game, he looked like he was playing a good game,” Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “It’s unfortunate [that he] kind of got nicked up there. Gotta move on, and he’s ready to go.”
The San Jose Sharks recalled Laurent Brossoit to be Nedeljkovic’s backup during the 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
Although Brossoit jumped on the ice towards the end of the Sharks’ morning skate, the veteran goalie is likely to head back to the San Jose Barracuda. Brossoit is the starting netminder for a team fighting for home-ice advantage in the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs.
The San Jose Sharks’ power play is slowly improving. Over the past five games, San Jose has a 23.1% power-play, going 3-for-13. Macklin Celebrini’s goal against CBJ came just three seconds into the team’s second PP chance.
“The attack mindset. You can see some chemistry brewing there a little bit as well,” Warsofsky said. “Know where you are and where guys are when they’re in trouble. I thought that even today was the best it’s looked all year in practice, that’s a positive.”
For the projected lineup for both teams tonight, visit SHD’s Line Combinations page.