SAN JOSE — Ethan Cardwell will play Friday, but Mikael Granlund’s availability remains a game-time decision as the San Jose Sharks get set to face the Seattle Kraken to close a four-game homestand.
Granlund will participate in pregame warmups before a decision is finalized on whether he’ll play against Seattle in the season’s first meeting between the two teams. The Kraken (11-11-1) have won six of its last nine games and enter Friday two points out of a playoff spot.
Granlund has missed the Sharks’ last two games because of an upper-body injury. San Jose beat Los Angeles 7-2 on Monday but lost 4-3 to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday.
Granlund, who leads the Sharks (7-13-5) with 24 points in 23 games, participated fully in Thursday’s practice, skating on a line with Tyler Toffoli and Will Smith.
Cardwell, who was recalled from the San Jose Barracuda on Thursday after Barclay Goodrow was placed on injured reserve with an upper-body ailment, will play against the Kraken in what will be his fourth career NHL game.
In Thursday’s practice, Cardwell skated on a line with Nico Sturm and Klim Kostin, but Warsofsky couldn’t say who Cardwell’s linemates would be Friday, likely because Granlund’s status remained in question.
The Sharks are 1-2-0 on this homestand and have won just two of their last nine games. They enter Friday in 14th place in the Western Conference standings, just one point ahead of Chicago and Anaheim.
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