Overview
- San Jose Sharks goalie Vitek Vanecek suffered a facial injury when a redirected puck struck him on the bench during the second period of Tuesday's game against the Winnipeg Jets.
- The incident occurred after Winnipeg's Logan Stanley attempted to knock down a deflected puck, which inadvertently hit Vanecek in the face.
- Vanecek, in his first full season with the Sharks, is out indefinitely and undergoing further medical evaluation; he was previously sidelined in November with an upper-body injury.
- Yaroslav Askarov, a 22-year-old considered the Sharks' goalie of the future, has been recalled from the AHL to join Alexandar Georgiev as the team's goaltending duo.
- The Sharks, who recently acquired Georgiev in a trade, face the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday, followed by two road games before the holiday break.