Sharks’ William Eklund out day-to-day with upper-body injury

It has been reported that San Jose Sharks forward William Eklund is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The team has announced that he will not be in the lineup for the team’s game on Friday night against the Vegas Golden Knights as well.

The Sharks haven’t revealed what exactly is ailing Eklund. The 22-year-old played in the team’s final game before the holiday break, scoring a goal in a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks this past Monday.

This isn’t the first time an upper-body injury will force Eklund to view a game as a fan this season. He missed a game on Oct. 18 against the Winnipeg Jets and was a game-time decision for a number of contests during the opening month of the season due to being banged up.

Eklund’s absence comes as he has been one of the team’s consistent scorers in December. He had notched a point in four of the past seven games leading into the break, scoring three goals and five points so far this month.

In playing 36 of San Jose’s 37 games, Eklund has scored seven goals and 20 assists for 27 points, placing him second on the team in scoring, only trailing Mikael Granlund.

Across four seasons in the NHL, appearing in 133 games, the Stockholm native has scored 25 goals and 54 assists for 79 points.

Friday night’s clash with the Golden Knights is the first of a six-game homestand for the Sharks, which also sees them host the Calgary Flames on Saturday night.

The Sharks (11-20-6) are last in the Pacific Division, two points ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks for the worst record in the NHL. San Jose is also 12 points back of the Dallas Stars for the last Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.