Preview/Lines #20: Wennberg Back, How Have They Missed Him Most?

The San Jose Sharks are getting some much-needed reinforcements.Center Alex Wennberg, who’s missed the last 10 games with an upper-body injury suffered on Oct. 19, is back in the line-up.Wennberg was coy about how he suffered his injury at the Toronto Maple Leafs.But there’s no doubt, the San Jose Sharks have missed him. They’re 3-7-0 without him, and the Sharks have lost seven of their last eight.How have San Jose missed Wennberg most?“Obviously, match-up based. He’s a big guy. Shuts down some top players,” head coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Plays in every situation. Power play, penalty kill, late in the game, up a goal, down a goal, whatever the situation is. He’s a guy that plays those meaningful minutes, that’s probably where we missed him the most.”And here’s what I wrote about Alex Wennberg after the Sharks’ last win, a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 29:It’s worth noting that between Oct. 8 and Oct. 19 was among the Sharks’ better 5-on-5 stretches this season. Their raw OZ possession numbers weren’t outstanding, but they weren’t an eyesore either.It’s no coincidence San Jose’s recent possession time swoon started after center Alex Wennberg went down with an upper-body injury on Oct. 19 at the Toronto Maple Leafs.Wennberg had gotten off to a slow start this season, but his game was rounding out before he got hurt. And last year, he was second among Sharks forwards in 5-on-5 OZ Possession Time Per Game, trailing only William Eklund. Speaking of killing plays, Wennberg led Sharks forwards with 8.18 5-on-5 Turnovers Forced Per 60, just ahead of Macklin Celebrini, and 10th in the NHL.San Jose Sharks (7-11-1)Yaroslav Askarov will start.These are the lines from morning skate:Misa-Celebrini-SmithMarchment-Wennberg-SherwoodStenberg-Dellandrea-ToffoliGoodrow-Ostapchuk-GrafNurse-KesselringDickinson-TroubaOrlov-PohlkampThis was how they ran the power play:PP1: Trouba-Celebrini-Stenberg-Smith-WennbergPP2: Orlov-Pohlkamp-Misa-Toffoli-MarchmentThey also did 6-on-5:New York Islanders (7-6-3)#Isles at morning skate in San JoseHolmstrom-Horvat-PalmieriHeineman-Schenn-EklundPalat-Pageau-DuclairMacLean-Cizikas-ChaffeePelech-SchaeferStanley-DeAngeloHutton-KesselApparent Extras: Pulock-MayfieldSorokin (starter's net)Varlamov— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) November 9, 2026Where To WatchTonight is our Native American Heritage Celebration! 🆚: Islanders⏰: 7 p.m.📺: @NBCSSharks🎙️: @SharksAudioNet🎟️: https://t.co/xsKMPQeknd#TurnItAllTeal | @ChukchansiGoldpic.twitter.com/T6aMxWnNHw— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) November 9, 2026Related HeadlinesSharks Insight: At Least Stenberg Is Getting BetterSharks Locker Room: Nedeljkovic on Confronting Rantanen, Smith Talks Power Play StrugglesDowned in Big D: Sharks Keep Losing, Drop 4-3 Decision to StarsRead more at San Jose Hockey Now