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San Jose Sharks

Preview/Lines #48: Askarov Sick, Smith Promoted, Ferraro’s Fro

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Credit: Dean Tait/Sport Shots

ELMONT, N.Y. — It looks like Will Smith has worked his way from getting benched to the first line.



Smith skated with center Mikael Granlund and winger Fabian Zetterlund this morning at UBS Arena, before the San Jose Sharks take on the New York Islanders tonight.

Last Saturday, Will Smith was benched for part of the second and all of the third period in a 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild.

But Smith has picked up his game since then, notching a primary assist in a 6-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings and being a bright spot in an otherwise mostly dismal 4-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

“I think he’s playing with a little bit more confidence. He’s playing with the puck a little bit more,” head coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “I thought he was one of our better players against Columbus. So he’s earned the right to go up there and play back with Granny.”

San Jose Sharks (14-27-6)

Alexandar Georgiev will start.

Yaroslav Askarov is sick; Warsofsky reports that there’s an illness going through the room, so there’s a few game-time decisions.

Warsofsky shared that Askarov had lost too much weight because of his illness to start tonight. So Askarov is not a game-time decision, he’ll back up.

Because of this illness, Sharks morning skate lines may not reflect lines tonight, though Warsofsky confirmed that Smith will play up:

Zetterlund-Granlund-Smith
Eklund-Celebrini-Toffoli
Grundstrom-Wennberg-Kunin
Goodrow-Sturm-Dellandrea

Walman-Ceci
Ferraro-Thrun
Vlasic-Rutta

Collin Graf did not participate in line rushes, but he was on the ice, and Warsofsky didn’t rule him out from playing tonight.

Timothy Liljegren was not on the ice for morning skate, but he’s considered a game-time decision.

Nikolai Kovalenko has joined the trip; Klim Kostin has not, at least on the ice.

Kovalenko participated in morning skate, but Warsofsky says he needs to practice before getting into the line-up.

Mario Ferraro stood out during warm-ups in Columbus with his fro, which I thought could be a wig at first.

Nope, that’s his real hair, just dry.

“I just brushed my hair. It was the only difference,” Ferraro said.

Ferraro says the Mike Commodore shout-out was cool.

We’ll see if Ferraro will continue sporting the fro — it would’ve helped if the Sharks had beat the Blue Jackets, then it would’ve been a good luck charm.

But there’s no doubt the fro looked good on Ferraro, a throwback hair style for a throwback player.

New York Islanders (17-20-7)

Marcus Hogberg will start.

Check out NYI Hockey Now for all your New York Islanders lines and updates!

Where To Watch

Puck drop between the San Jose Sharks and New York Islanders is 4:30 PM PT at UBS Arena. Watch it live on NBC Sports California. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.

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