Sharks winger’s lower body injury leaves status for next game in question

SAN JOSE – Winger Tyler Toffoli missed Wednesday’s practice with a lower-body injury, leaving his availability for the San Jose Sharks’ next regular-season game somewhat in question.

Toffoli was injured in the Sharks’ game against the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 4, with coach Ryan Warsofsky saying Toffoli absorbed a hit, possibly in the second period. Toffoli finished the game and was listed as having three shots on net and two giveaways in 14:59 of ice time as the Sharks lost 4-2 at Ball Arena.

Toffoli, who is considered day to day, skated on his own early Wednesday morning, with Warsofsky saying he’ll have a better idea in the next few days whether the veteran will have to miss any games. The Sharks (27-24-4), five points out of a playoff spot, begin the post-Olympic schedule with a crucial six-game homestand, starting with a Feb. 26 game against the Calgary Flames.

Playing mostly in San Jose’s top six forward group this season, Toffoli is tied for third on the Sharks’ roster with 15 goals and is fourth with 36 points.

Veteran defenseman Dmitry Orlov was also absent from Wednesday’s practice as he had trouble returning from the Lake Tahoe area due to recent snowstorms. He is expected back with the team in the next day or two.

OTHER INJURY NOTES

The Sharks have two roster players on injured reserve in forwards Ryan Reaves and Ty Dellandrea. Reaves (upper body) practiced  Wednesday and is on track to be activated next week, while Dellandrea (lower body) remains week-to-week.

Warsofsky said the team is optimistic Dellandrea can return before the end of the regular season in April. The Sharks have 27 regular-season games remaining. Before his injury in a Jan. 6 home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Dellandrea had 11 points in 42 games and had become one of the Sharks’ top penalty killers and faceoff specialists.

BYSTEDT, LEDDY RECALLED

Center Filip Bystedt and defenseman Nick Leddy both practiced with the Sharks on Wednesday morning after they were recalled from the Barracuda. The Sharks needed bodies at practice with forwards Macklin Celebrini, Philipp Kurashev, Alex Wennberg, and Pavol Regenda still with their respective teams at the Olympic Games in Italy.

Bystedt leads the Barracuda with 36 points in 40 games but is still recovering from a head injury he sustained in a Feb. 6 game against Abbotsford. The injury cost him a chance to play in the AHL All-Star Classic after he was selected to be the Barracuda’s representative for the event last month. Forward Cam Lund was chosen as a replacement. It’s unclear when Bystedt might play again.

“It was disappointing,” Bystedt said. “It’s an honor to be chosen, and to not be able to go, it would have been a cool experience to see all the other good guys there, and take in the whole experience.”

Leddy was placed on waivers by the Sharks on Jan. 17 and was assigned to the AHL after he cleared waivers the next day. He has practiced but not played in any of the Barracuda’s last nine games since the transaction, with Warsofsky saying, “there are things behind the scenes that (Leddy and the Sharks organization are) working through.”

WARSOFSKY ON SKINNER

Warsofsky credited Jeff Skinner for his professionalism in recent weeks, noting that the veteran winger was a healthy scratch for 10 straight games before the Olympic break began earlier this month. Skinner and the Sharks mutually agreed to terminate the remainder of his one-year contract on Monday, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent and sign with another team.

“He wasn’t playing there for a while, and he worked hard, did everything we asked, showed up with a good attitude,” Warsofsky said of Skinner. “Unfortunately, just the circumstances that we’re in with our roster and where we are in our transition period as an organization, he was kind of the odd man out.”