SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks put center Nico Sturm on injured reserve on Monday morning and replaced him on their on their 23-man roster with top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov, who was recalled from the San Jose Barracuda.
Askarov will be available Monday night when the Sharks host the Detroit Red Wings at SAP Center. It was not immediately clear which goalie would start the game, the first of four the Sharks have this week.
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Sturm sustained an upper-body injury midway through the Sharks’ game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday and did not play Saturday in Pittsburgh on the final game of the team’s trip.
The Sharks lost 4-3 to the Penguins in a shootout and finished the trip with a 1-1-2 record.
Askarov, acquired from the Nashville Predators in August, has been among the AHL’s best goalies this season with a 6-3-0 record and a .939 save percentage in nine games. He has played in three career NHL games, including two last season,
Askarov was named AHL Goaltender of the Month for October after he went 5-0-0 with a 1.20 goals against average, a 959 percentage, and two shutouts.
Askarov joins goalie Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek on the Sharks’ active roster. Vanecek, though, started Saturday’s game in Pittsburgh but left after the first period for undisclosed reasons. He was replaced by Blackwood, who finished with 25 saves in the shootout loss.
Vanecek’s status might become better known later Monday after the Sharks finish their morning skate at Sharks Ice in San Jose.
So far this season, Sturm, while averaging less than 10 minutes of ice time per game, was the team’s best player in the faceoff circle and one of the leading penalty-killing forwards. In addition to Monday, Sturm will also have to miss San Jose’s upcoming road games against Dallas on Wednesday and St. Louis on Thursday.
Please check back for updates to this story.