Sharks activate two players off injured reserve; lose defenseman to Rangers

Forward Philipp Kurashev and defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin have been activated off of injured reserve and will be in the lineup Saturday when the San Jose Sharks play the Calgary Flames to continue their five-game road trip.

Kurashev hasn’t played since Dec. 13 when he sustained an upper body injury in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The last game for Mukhamadullin, who was also out with an upper body ailment, came on Jan. 3 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

With Kurashev and Mukhamadullin back, forward Pavol Regenda and defenseman Timothy Liljegren will be scratched for Saturday’s game. Regenda has been held to one point, a goal, in his last six games and Liljegren’s costly turnover in overtime led to Zach Hyman’s winning goal in the Sharks’ 4-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.

Goalie Yaroslav Askarov started Thursday’s game and allowed four goals on 32 shots. Alex Nedeljkovic, who has won his last five starts, will start Saturday’s game against the Flames.

Kiefer Sherwood remains on injured reserve, as his debut with the Sharks will have to wait.  The Sharks acquired Sherwood, 30, from the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 19 but an upper body injury has kept out of the lineup. Sherwood last played on Jan. 10 when he was injured in the Canucks’ game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Elsewhere, defenseman Vincent Iorio, placed on waivers by the Sharks on Friday, was claimed off of waivers by the New York Rangers.

Iorio, 23, was scratched for a sixth straight game Thursday, and the Sharks needed to clear another roster spot with Kurashev, and Mukhamadullin nearing a return.

Iorio was claimed by the Sharks on Oct. 16 after he had been put on waivers by the Washington Capitals. He had three assists in 21 games with the Sharks and averaged 16:30 in ice time, mainly as a third pair defenseman. His string of healthy scratches partly coincided with the return of defenseman Vincent Desharnais, who will dress for his sixth straight game Saturday after he missed over seven weeks with an elbow injury.

With Iorio gone, the Sharks are now at 49 NHL contracts, one fewer than the maximum.

The Sharks are 1-0-1 on their five-game road trip that ends with games against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday and the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday before the start of the Olympic break.

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