San Jose Sharks running back Mikael Granlund, Mario Ferraro vs. Winnipeg

San Jose Sharks' Mikael Granlund (64) waits during the second period against the Vegas Golden Knights, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Mikael Granlund and Mario Ferraro will open a two-game road trip on Wednesday when the San Jose Sharks play the Winnipeg Jets at the Canadian Life Centre, coach David Quinn said.

Granlund last played on Jan. 16 when he suffered an upper-body injury on a check by Chicago Blackhawks winger Mackenzie Entwistle. Six days later against Los Angeles, Ferraro hit the boards awkwardly as he skated, and Kings forward Trevor Lewis got confounded while racing after a loose puck in the Sharks zone.

Through 47 games this season, Ferraro leads all Sharks skaters in average ice time (22:45), ranks fifth among all defensemen on the team with 14 points and is fifth in the NHL with 138 blocks.

Two other Sharks players on IR, forward Givani Smith and defenseman Henry Thrun, will not play against the Jets, Quinn said. Both players traveled to Canada to train earlier this week and appear to be on their way back.

Granlund's return will help ease some of the blow after the Sharks' top two centers, Thomas Hertl and Logan Couture, were unavailable with injuries.

Hertl underwent surgery Monday to remove loose cartilage in his left knee and is expected to miss several weeks, while Couture has a recurrence of a lower-body injury that cost him the first half of the season.

Granlund has played center all season and is second on the Sharks with 29 points in 38 games. He also averages 20:35 of ice time per game, second only to Hertl among all Sharks forwards.

In practice earlier this week, Granlund was sandwiched between Anthony Duclair and Fabian Zetterlund. William Eklund will center the Sharks' second line with Alexander Barabanov and Luke Kunin.

“Just having him in the lineup helps us a lot,” Quinn said of Granlund. “Obviously, he's probably a little rusty after missing so much time. But I thought he had three good practices and (Tuesday) was his best.