SAN JOSE – Sharks defenseman Markus Nutivaara, who has battled injuries for much of the last two seasons, is hurt once again, raising questions as to whether he might be available to play in the team’s first regular-season games in the Czech Republic late next week.
Nutivaara missed practice Thursday with a lower-body injury and for now, is considered day-to-day, Sharks coach David Quinn said.
Nutivaara, who began camp as Erik Karlsson’s defense partner, was originally supposed to play in Wednesday’s preseason game in Ontario against the Los Angeles Kings but was a late removal.
“He’s done a lot in a short period of time,” Quinn said of Nutivaara, “but it’s taken its toll a little bit.”
Asked if has any concerns that Nutivaara’s injury could linger, Quinn said, “Not yet.”
Quinn said Nutivaara’s injury cropped up Monday after he had 19:09 of ice time the night before in a 3-2 Sharks win over the Kings at SAP Center.
Nutivaara, 28, signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Sharks in July. With him out, Jaycob Megna skated with Karlsson on Wednesday and Scott Harrington, in camp on a Professional Tryout, was paired with the two-time Norris Trophy winner Thursday.
“We’re not surprised he wasn’t out there today,” Quinn said of Nutivaara. “So it was kind of gradually getting him up to holding him out.”
Last season, Nutivaara missed 81 regular season games and all of the postseason with the Florida Panthers with what was reported as a lower-body injury. Nutivaara, the season before, had an upper-body injury and played just 30 of 56 games.
The Sharks are also dealing with other injuries prior to their departure Saturday for Germany, where they play an exhibition game Tuesday against Eisbären Berlin at Mercedes-Benz Arena. The Sharks open the season with games on Oct. 7 and 8 against the Nashville Predators at O2 Arena in Prague.
Forward Oskar Lindblom, who has not practiced so far this week with an upper-body injury and has yet to take part in a preseason game, nearly skated with the group Thursday, Quinn said.
It appears doubtful, though, that Lindblom, who began camp on the second line with Logan Couture and Kevin Labanc, will play in either of the Sharks’ split-squad games on Friday. One group will be in Anaheim and Quinn and a second group will be in Las Vegas.
Forward Alexander Barabanov, who hasn’t practiced since Saturday with a lower-body injury, skated briefly early Thursday but left the ice before team drills began.
Quinn said Lindblom is “very close” to practicing again and that Barabanov “felt OK” after his skate.
Asked, though, if it was possible for any of the injured players not to travel Saturday, Quinn said, “Day to day, you never know. They’re not here today and available, so nothing would surprise me.”
The Sharks’ compressed camp means each day on the ice is valuable, with players likely needing to play catch-up after they return.
“There’s really nothing you can do about it,” Quinn said. “Every team has their issues and you’ve just got to manage it. How you handle adversity certainly goes a long way to what type of success any team has, so you feel bad for them, but there’s really nothing you can do about it.”
DISCIPLINE EXPECTED: The Kings’ Jacob Doty will have a hearing Friday with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety regarding the five-minute interference penalty he took against Sharks forward Jeffrey Viel on Wednesday.
Viel remained in the game after he was checked in the head by Doty in the second period, and practiced Thursday on a line with Jonah Gadjovich and Tristen Robins. Doty received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for the hit.
Quinn on Thursday said he expected Doty to receive supplemental discipline.