Alexander Wennberg returns, then sits out Sharks practice

Monday started with a hint. Filip Bystedt got sent down to the Barracuda before morning skate, and Wennberg took line rushes like a guy who was playing.

Curtis Pashelka

@CurtisPashelka

#SJSharks lines, d-pairs this AM. Wennberg in. Misa-Celebrini-Smith Marchment-Wennberg-Sherwood Stenberg-Dellandrea-Toffoli Goodrow-Ostapchuk-Graf Nurse-Kesselrung Dickinson-Trouba Orlov-Pohlkamp

That was the plan. Wennberg confirmed he was in, San Jose activated him off injured reserve that afternoon, and he went straight back to the 2nd line between Mason Marchment and Kiefer Sherwood. He had missed 10 games with an upper-body injury, and the Sharks had felt every one of them. The forward group was so thin that Macklin Celebrini played a career-high 28:05 the game before, and Ryan Warsofsky was not hiding that it was a problem.

Sheng Peng

@Sheng_Peng

Warsofsky, on Celebrini playing career-high 28:05 last game: "Not ideal, right? We're chasing games a little bit to score. Now we get Wenny back, I think we'll get him down a little bit." Does Celebrini communicate how fresh he is (and can Warsofsky trust that self-assessment)? "There's a lot of communication from him and through all the players. Sometimes it's a look, and I can read that."

The stakes were simple. San Jose walked into SAP Center on a 5-game losing streak, outscored 22-8 over that run, with Yaroslav Askarov in net against Ilya Sorokin.

Andrew Gross

@AGrossNewsday

#Isles Ilya Sorokin (6-4-1, 2.64 GAA, .910 save pct.) and #SJSharks Yaroslav Askarov (4-8-0, 3.35, .885) lead the teams out for warmups here in San Jose. Sharks have lost five straight and have been outscored 22-8 in that span.

The Islanders scored first when Ben Hutton was left alone on the doorstep for his first goal as an Islander. Ivar Stenberg tied it later in the 1st, redirecting a Tyler Toffoli shot for his 6th of the year, which pulled him into a tie for the NHL lead in rookie scoring. Wennberg's night had a rough patch early in the 2nd: he went to the box for tripping Holmstrom, and Victor Eklund scored on the power play to make it 2-1. Toffoli answered with a shot that went in off Alexander Pelech's mask, ending his own 8-game goal drought.

Then the game got nasty. Kyle MacLean hit Stenberg right after he moved the puck into the Isles zone, and the Sharks responded with 3 fights in quick succession.

Curtis Pashelka

@CurtisPashelka

Tyler Toffoli mixes it up with Mitchell Chaffee. He's got a goal and an assist tonight. Add a fight for a Gordie Howe hat trick? Goodrow then drops the gloves with Chaffee; and Dellandrea fights Kyle MacLean. All came after MacLean hit Stenberg after he sent a pass into the Isles zone. As 'ol JR would say, business is picking up

Midway through the 3rd, Eklund laid a hit on Sherwood that the officials reviewed for a 5-minute major. They called nothing on Eklund. Marchment had already gone after him in the scrum that followed, landing a series of shots to the body, and he was the only player penalized: a double minor for roughing with 11:08 left.

Spittin' Chiclets

@spittinchiclets

Mason Marchment received a double minor for throwing body shots during a scrum.

The Sharks killed it, and the game went to overtime and then to a shootout that lasted 8 rounds. Askarov stopped all 8 Islanders attempts. Stenberg, whom Warsofsky had saved for the 8th spot, scored the only goal of the shootout to end the losing streak.

Eric Stephens

@IcemanAthletic

Sharks stop a five-game losing streak with a sorely needed 3-2 win as Yaroslav Askarov and Ilya Sorokin carry their duel into the eighth round of the shootout. Ivar Stenberg wins it with only SO goal. Great game. Sorokin stopped 37 of 39 in 65 minutes. Askarov stopped 30 of 32.

In his first game back, Wennberg led all Sharks forwards in regulation ice time at 21:41. That is the kind of workload that takes minutes off Celebrini, which is exactly what Warsofsky said he was hoping for before the game.

Tuesday brought 2 pieces of news. First, the Department of Player Safety fined Marchment $5,000 for roughing Eklund. That is the max, and a cheap price for sticking up for a teammate on a hit the refs let go.

Daily Faceoff

@DailyFaceoff

Sharks’ Marchment fined for roughing Islanders’ Eklund t.co/bDtRz28qog

The bigger one came at practice: Wennberg wasn't on the ice. The lines were the same as Monday's except for one change, with Gaudette centering Marchment and Sherwood in Wennberg's spot.

Sheng Peng

@Sheng_Peng

Looks like same lines as yesterday, except Gaudette (I'm guessing) filling in for Wennberg: Misa-Celebrini-Smith Marchment-Gaudette-Sherwood Stenberg-Dellandrea-Toffoli Goodrow-Ostapchuk-Graf Nurse-Kesselring Dickinson-Trouba Orlov-Pohlkamp

The team hasn't said why yet. It could be a maintenance day for a guy who just played 21-plus minutes after 10 games out, or it could be something worse. If it's the second one, Warsofsky's plan to lighten Celebrini's load is in trouble again right away. Watch for an update on Wennberg at the next morning skate before San Jose's next game.