San Jose Sharks’ injured winger Tyler Toffoli out vs. Philadelphia Flyers
SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks have been hit with one other damage to a key participant ace forward Tyler Toffoli will likely be out for Saturday’s sport against the Philadelphia Flyers — and certain longer — with a lower-body ailment.
Toffoli left the Sharks’ sport against the Buffalo Sabers on Thursday after the primary interval and didn’t return, whereas San Jose went on to lose 5-0 earlier than an introduced sellout crowd of 17,435 at SAP Center.
Toffoli, now in his second season with the Sharks, is the crew’s third-leading scorer with 44 factors, together with 18 targets, in 67 video games. He performs on the Sharks’ prime energy play unit and is eighth amongst all San Jose forwards in common time on ice (15:17).
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky stated Friday that Toffoli, 33, was being evaluated and that he might need some clarification on the winger’s outlook on Saturday.
“Veteran guy, right? He’s been around a long time, seen a lot of playoff hockey, and in these kinds of moments, he can really help your group move forward,” Warsofsky stated of Toffoli, a veteran of 957 NHL video games who gained the Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings in 2014. “So we’re going to miss him for a little bit here. But I think we have some guys that can fill in and help out, and he’ll still be around.”
For Friday’s observe at SAP Center, Warsofsky had Philipp Kurashev be a part of the Sharks’ prime line alongside Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. Kurashev, with 20 factors in 41 video games this season, was a wholesome scratch for the Sharks’ final two video games, including their 5-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
“We’ve got to get (Kurashev) going and kind of give him a clean slate, get him up there with (Celebrini),” Warsofsky stated.
Toffoli, who led the Sharks with 30 targets final season, has performed a key management function on a crew that options a number of gamers underneath 23.
“A veteran presence,” Sharks heart Macklin Celebrini stated of Toffoli. “Especially over the last two years, how close we’ve gotten with him. His leadership, just the way he talks. He’s always there for you if you want to ask him questions. Even on the ice. He plays hard. He can score from anywhere, and he’s really dangerous.”
The Sharks proper now are additionally coping with accidents to No. 1 goalie Yaroslav Askarov (decrease physique), winger Igor Chernyshov (higher physique), and heart Ty Dellandrea (decrease physique).
Askarov and Chernyshov each skated aside from the Sharks on Friday, but it surely stays unclear when both participant may start practising with the crew. For the second straight day, Dellandrea skated with the Sharks whereas sporting an orange non-contact jersey. He stays week-to-week, Warsofsky stated.
Vincent Desharnais, who performed on the Sharks’ prime protection pair alongside Dmitry Orlov in opposition to the Sabres, additionally missed Friday’s observe with an upper-body damage, and his availability for Saturday will likely be decided nearer to sport time.
The accidents come at a fragile time for the Sharks, who’ve misplaced three straight video games and entered Friday in eleventh place within the Western Conference with 70 factors, two factors behind the Kings for the second wild-card spot. The Sharks are additionally one level behind each the Seattle Kraken and the Nashville Predators.
The Sharks, feeling extra strain than normal, have collected simply six of a potential 16 factors over their final eight video games. In that point, they’ve averaged 4 targets allowed per sport, fourth-most within the NHL, and have scored simply 2.63 per sport, Twenty fifth-best within the league.
After Saturday, the Sharks could have 14 video games remaining, beginning with a three-game highway journey subsequent week with stops in Nashville, St. Louis, and Columbus.
“I think we just need to regroup a little bit,” stated Celebrini, who leads the Sharks with 95 factors however has been held off the scoresheet the final two video games. “Try less, stop gripping the stick a little too tight. It’s tough with where we are. There’s (four) teams within (two points) of one another, so it’s tough to take that mindset. But we’ve got to grip the stick a little less and just play.”
SHERWOOD ON TOCCHET
Sharks winger Kiefer Sherwood has cited Rick Tocchet as a significant affect on his profession whereas the 2 have been each with the Vancouver Canucks throughout the 2024-25 season. Sherwood was in his first season with the Canucks after signing a two-year take care of the crew, and Tocchet, now in his first yr because the Flyers’ head coach, was in what can be his third and closing season in Vancouver.
Tocchet stepped down because the Canucks’ coach on April 29, 2025, after he reportedly turned down a profitable contract extension supply from the crew. He was employed by the Flyers on May 14.
Sherwood flourished underneath Tocchet, establishing new profession highs with 78 video games performed, 19 targets, and 40 factors.
“Players, coaches, everyone, they’ve got to do what’s best for them,” Sherwood stated, when requested about Tocchet’s departure from Vancouver. “It’s such a enterprise generally, and also you by no means know what goes on by way of folks’s desires and desires and sort of private ambitions.
“He obviously wanted to continue to grow his Philly legacy or whatever, so you can’t really fault a guy… if you have, I don’t want to say leverage, but just in time that you can kind of control a little bit of your future to do that, it’s a business, obviously, and he’s earned the right to be where he wants.”
