Will Smith scores in return, but turnovers haunt Sharks in loss to Red Wings

The San Jose Sharks have to be excited about what’s ahead now that forward Will Smith is back in the lineup after a five-week absence.

Still, there’s going to be hiccups along the way.

Smith scored in his first game in over a month, but the Sharks, perhaps showing some fatigue, allowed a go-ahead goal to Dylan Larkin at the 4:41 mark of the third period in a 4-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Friday at Little Caesars Arena.

The Sharks held a 2-1 lead early in the second period on a goal by Collin Graf, but were largely outplayed the rest of the way as the Red Wings capitalized on a pair of turnovers by defenseman John Klingberg.

In the second period, Klingberg’s clearing attempt from inside the Sharks’ zone went off the boards in the neutral zone and right to Marco Kasper, who carried it back into San Jose’s end and found J.T. Compher for a tap-in goal at the 6:55 mark.

Early in the third, Klingberg had the puck below the goal line to the right of the Sharks’ net but lost it on a Red Wings forecheck. The puck went to Lucas Raymond on the other side of the Sharks’ net, and his backhand went past Yaroslav Askarov and right to Larkin, who, with a second effort, got it past the San Jose goalie for his 24th goal of the season.

The Sharks (24-20-3) made a push in the final minutes, including after Askarov was pulled for an extra attacker, but lost for just the third time in their last 10 games.

“I think the second period change is big, and they definitely were beating us on that,” Smith said. “If you can play fast and catch the other (team) changing, you definitely get more offensive zone time.”

Askarov finished with 21 saves for the Sharks, who, after Graf’s goal at the 1:58 mark of the second, were outshot 9-1 for the remainder of the period, including Compher’s game-tying goal.

The Sharks were coming off a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Thursday to start a four-game road trip that resumes on Monday against the Florida Panthers. The Sharks finish their road trip on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“Maybe it’s something where we’ve got to play a little bit differently on a back-to-back,” Graf said, “and just know that they’re a fast team, and try not to play into what they’re good at.”

The Sharks now have a 3-5-1 record this season in the second game of a back-to-back situation.

“Everyone’s dealing with the schedule and back-to-backs,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We’ve got to find ways to be better on back-to-back nights. I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that. But tonight our legs wouldn’t follow our brains, so hopefully it’s a learning moment.”

The Sharks and Wings traded goals in the first period. Alex DeBrincat scored a power play goal at the 6:18 mark before Smith tied the game 3:36 later.

Macklin Celebrini carried the puck across the Red Wings’ blue line and fired a wrist shot on goalie John Gibson, who was unable to trap it with his glove. The puck then popped over Gibson and landed just shy of the goal line before Smith crashed the net and poked it in for his 13th goal of the season and his first since Dec. 2.

Later in the first, Celebrini sent a long pass through the neutral zone to set up a breakaway for Smith, whose shot from close range was stopped by Gibson.

Smith missed 13 games after he sustained an upper-body injury in the Sharks’ Dec. 13 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Smith was San Jose’s second-leading scorer at the time with 29 points in 33 games, but the Sharks were able to withstand his absence – and that of forward Philipp Kurashev – by going 8-5-0 and remaining in a playoff position.

“Whenever you get hurt, you worry a little bit about the timeframe right when it happens. But after that, you have to let your body heal, and you can’t rush it back,” Smith said. “I did great work with the (training) staff, and they were awesome the whole time.”

Smith and Kurashev were placed on injured reserve on Dec. 15. As of last week, Kurashev was thought to be five or six days behind Smith in terms of a return.

SPOT CLEARED FOR MISA

Clearing a spot for Michael Misa’s contract, the Sharks traded minor league defenseman Kyle Masters and their own 2026 fourth-round pick to the Carolina Hurricanes for a 2027 fifth-rounder originally owned by the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Sharks were at the maximum of 50 NHL contracts, so trading Masters for only a draft pick created an opening for the team to add Misa’s deal to their ledger. The Sharks told Misa last week that he would be staying in the NHL for the rest of the season.

Misa, 18, played his ninth NHL game of the season on Thursday in the Sharks’ win over the Capitals. Misa played his 10th NHL game on Friday against the Red Wings, burning the first year of his entry-level deal and becoming the Sharks’ 50th contract.

Misa now has three points in 10 NHL games and is averaging just under 12 minutes per game in ice time. Against the Capitals, Misa had a season-low 9:58 in ice time, had one shot on net, and won one of five faceoffs.

The Sharks now have eight picks in the 2026 draft, including four in the first two rounds and a fourth-rounder they acquired from the Florida Panthers for center Nico Sturm. They also have five picks in the 2027 draft.