San Jose Sharks recall leading scorer from AHL affiliate
SAN JOSE — In a bid to jumpstart their sagging offense, the San Jose Sharks on Monday recalled their AHL affiliate’s leading scorer, forward Danil Gushchin.
Gushchin, 21, was leading the San Jose Barracuda with nine assists and 13 points in 11 games this season.
The Sharks lost 4-1 to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday, marking the 11th time in 15 games this season that they’ve scored one goal or less. San Jose also lost 5-0 to the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.
The Sharks are without injured top-six forwards Logan Couture and Alexander Barabanov. Anthony Duclair, one of the team’s leading wingers, has missed the last two games with an unspecified illness. It is not immediately known whether Duclair will be available for Tuesday’s game between the Sharks and Florida Panthers at SAP Center.
The Sharks are averaging an NHL-worst 1.20 goals per game. Gushchin, a third-round draft pick by San Jose in 2020, had two points in two games for the Sharks last season. His 13 points are tied for 11th most in the AHL.
Gushchin also figures to help with the Sharks’ power play, which ranked 25th in the NHL at 15.2 percent as of Monday.
Sharks coach David Quinn lamented his special teams play after the loss in Anaheim, as San Jose went 0-for-2 with the man advantage and allowed two power-play goals to the Ducks.
“Our power play has to be better,” Quinn said. “The difference in the game in my mind was the two power plays. In the first period, we had some great chances, it was an even game, and for a stretch, we were kind of playing at the tempo and the pace we wanted.
“Then they get the power play goal late in the first, make it 2-1, and then we get our power plays and it just really deflated us. Not a lot of pace and not a lot of urgency to our power play right now. If you’re gonna score, we need to get some momentum off our power play. That’s not happening right now.”
The Sharks also announced that they’ve returned forward Oskar Lindblom to the Barracuda. Lindblom was originally recalled on Nov. 8.