Rookie O’Regan quickly assisting struggling offense
SAN JOSE >> Center Danny O’Regan has only played two games for the Sharks this season and has already seen his responsibilities start to increase.
Perhaps it’s not too surprising considering the Sharks, mired in a nearly seasonlong offensive quagmire, have been searching for any added difference-maker they can find.
O’Regan, 23, has two assists in two NHL games since his recall from the Barracuda
over the weekend. He’s seen some time on the Sharks’ power play, a rarity for a San Jose rookie, and his ice time went from 10:24 in Saturday’s game against Boston to 14:43 against Anaheim on Monday.
“I definitely felt more comfortable,” O’Regan said of Monday’s game. “Was a little less tense, tried to skate with the puck a bit more.”
Right now the Sharks, who begin a two-game road trip Wednesday in Arizona, are looking for any type of offensive spark. Entering Tuesday they were last in the Western Conference and 29th in the NHL with a 2.42 goals per game average.
The Sharks were tied for third in the Pacific Division prior to their game against the Panthers. After Monday’s loss, they slipped into a tie for fifth.
“He’s a solid player,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said of O’Regan. “He’s got good hockey sense, he’s got good compete for a small guy. He’s not afraid, he gets inside.
“That’s the biggest thing if you’re going to play at that stature. You’ve got to be a little fearless, and he’s got that. He’s an interesting prospect.”
O’Regan was called up from the AHL after Barclay Goodrow suffered an upper body injury last Thursday against Florida and was placed on injured reserve. At the time, O’Regan, last season’s AHL Rookie of the Year, led the Barracuda with 12 points in 12 games.
O’Regan’s been noticeable with the big club, and was moved from the fourth line to the third line for the Sharks’ brief practice Tuesday before they left for Arizona.
“If you can bring your game and make an impact,” Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said, “you’re going to have an opportunity.”
O’Regan might be generously listed at 5-foot-10 but he’s already shown he can protect the puck.
On Saturday, when he recorded his first NHL assist, O’Regan dug the puck out of a scrum behind the Bruins net, shielded it from defenseman Rob O’Gara and made a nifty backhand pass to an open Timo Meier, who scored his second goal of the season.
“The thing I’ve liked about him is he’s competed,” Pavelski said. “He’s been first on pucks, he’s been in the corners, he doesn’t shy away from anything.
“That’s how his first assist
on Timo’s goal came. It was just a battle he was able to help win.”
O’Regan also helped the Sharks score their first power-play goal in over two weeks Monday, as he assisted on Joonas Donskoi’s goal that tied the game 2-2 in the third period. The Sharks lost to the Ducks 3-2 after a shootout.
O’Regan has been able to feel comfortable in a power-play role right away thanks in part to the similarities between the system the Sharks run and the one employed by Barracuda coaches Roy Sommer and Ryan Mougenel.
“It’s a five-man unit. Everyone’s got to support each other and try to use the middle guy for help, know where he’s going to be,” O’Regan said. “They want to get pucks to the net and crash the net to try and get some ugly ones.”
• DeBoer said defenseman Paul Martin suffered another setback recently in his recovery from an ankle injury, and there’s no timetable for a return. DeBoer said Martin’s latest malady is not a recurrence of the ankle injury that has kept him out of the lineup for the past six weeks, adding that he doesn’t foresee Martin needing another surgery.
Martin had been skating regularly for roughly two weeks earlier this month but was not on the ice for Sunday’s optional practice or for Monday’s morning skate prior to the Sharks game against the Anaheim Ducks.
“A little setback,” DeBoer said of Martin. “We’re going through the process of seeing exactly what it is, making sure we know what it is and we’ll have kind of a update.”
Joakim Ryan has played in Martin’s place alongside Brent Burns since Oct. 12 and has played in 17 straight games. Ryan has two assists and has averaged 17:44 of ice time per game.
• Forward Melker Karlsson, who missed Monday’s game with an upper body injury, skated Tuesday in a non-contact jersey. Karlsson made the trip to Arizona but it is not known if he’ll play either Wednesday or Friday when the Sharks play the Vegas Golden Knights.