Sharks’ Igor Chernyshov leaves game against Canadiens with injury

The San Jose Sharks announced on social media that forward Igor Chernyshov left Saturday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens with an injury and would not return.

Chernyshov suffered the injury early in the first period, taking a hit from Canadiens’ defenseman Mike Matheson and appearing to hit his head on the ice. He struggled to get up and needed help off the ice, heading straight to the dressing room.

He left the game after just one shift, playing 28 seconds.

Chernyshov, playing in his first full professional season, has three goals and eight assists for 11 points in 16 games. He’s spent the majority of the 2025-26 campaign in the American Hockey League with the Sharks’ minor-league affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. In 41 AHL games, he has 13 goals and 20 assists for 33 points.

Last season, the 20-year-old Chernyshov spent the 2024-25 season with the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit, where in just 23 regular-season games he recorded 19 goals and 36 assists for 55 points. He also had two goals and four assists for six points in five OHL playoff games.

Before that, Chernyshov split the 2023-24 season with Moscow Dynamo in the KHL, as well as the team’s junior group in the MHL. In 22 games with the junior squad, the Penza, Russia, native had 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points in 22 games.

Going into the night, the Sharks were 31-26-6 with 68 points through 63 games in 2025-26, fifth in the Pacific Division and one point back of the Los Angeles Kings for the second Wildcard spot in the Western Conference.