SAN JOSE — Tomas Hertl’s move to injured reserve left the Sharks’ lineup with a hole down the middle. With that in mind, San Jose officially called up center Daniel O’Regan from the San Jose Barracuda this morning.

“You talk to [Barracuda head coach] Roy Sommer, he’s been one of their most consistent [and] one of their best players,” Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said.

O’Regan, the Sharks’ fifth round draft choice in 2012, will make his NHL debut in just the 12th game of his professional career. He’s tied for the Barracuda lead in points (11), tied for second in goals (5), and tied for third in assists (6).

“I just try to play hard and play smart in all three zones, and try to make guys around me better,” O’Regan said. “Working hard every shift, whether that’s making plays or scoring goals, I just try to play a responsible game in all three zones.”

O’Regan said that DeBoer does not want the rookie to do anything differently than what’s made him successful with the Barracuda to start the season. DeBoer said that he hopes that O’Regan’s entry into the lineup will bring some energy to the Sharks’ lineup after a two-week road trip.

“He’s deserved the opportunity and I’m excited to see him tonight.”

Projected Lineup

Martin Jones was the first goaltender off of the ice this morning, and will make his third consecutive start in the Sharks’ crease. Kevin Labanc and Dylan DeMelo were the last skaters off for San Jose, and DeBoer confirmed that Labanc will be scratched tonight, as the Sharks’ lines looked like this this morning:

Patrick Marleau-Joe Thornton-Joe Pavelski

Joonas Donskoi-Logan Couture-Joel Ward

Mikkel Boedker-Chris Tierney-Matt Nieto

Micheal Haley-Daniel O’Regan-Tommy Wingels

Marc-Edouard Vlasic-Justin Braun

Paul Martin-Brent Burns

Brenden Dillon-David Schlemko

Martin Jones

Aaron Dell

The top line, which reunited during the Sharks’ overtime loss in Arizona on Saturday, is San Jose’s fourth-most common line combination since 2007. In just under 800 minutes together, Marleau, Thornton, and Pavelski have posted a 58.18 CF%, and a 59.24 FF%, according to Corsica.

But Marleau and Thornton have combined to score two points in their last five games. DeBoer said he thought the pair played well with Pavelski on Saturday, but is still taking a wait-and-see approach to see if they are kept together beyond the immediate future.

“That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily going to work long term,” DeBoer said. “That’s on those guys to make it work and we’ll see.”

Quote of the Day

DeBoer was asked where he thought the Sharks stood through the season’s first seventeen games.

There’s been good signs. I think our record could be better, but it’s not and we have to find a way. I think the biggest thing is we’re a goal short a night. Where do we find that? A little more traffic, a little more finish 5-on-5, but we’re getting enough chances. Obviously our power play has to get us one. We’ve always been a good power play team, and that’s usually been good for almost a goal a night over the course of the season. That’s a critical part of our game, too. The good news is we’ve been here before. We went through times like this last year, and always found a way to come out the other end of it, and I’m real confident we’re close to stringing together a good streak here.