SAN JOSE >> Jake Walman was scratched for the first time this season Tuesday when the Sharks faced the Columbus Blue Jackets, although coach Ryan Warsofsky’s reasons for sitting the veteran defenseman remained unclear.

Walman is dealing with a minor upper-body injury incurred in the first period of Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. However, Warsofsky said sitting Walman, who led all Sharks defensemen with nine points before Tuesday and was second among all skaters in average time on ice (22:42), was his decision.

Warsofsky said he and Walman discussed the decision but did not wish to elaborate on why he made the change.

“I’m sure he’s frustrated. I think everyone wants to play.” Warsofsky said. “That message is going to be between him and I.”

Rookie Jack Thompson took Walman’s place in the lineup as the Sharks played the fourth game of a five-game homestand. Tuesday’s game also saw the return of forwards Macklin Celebrini and Ty Dellandrea, who were activated off of injured reserve.

Walman was hurt by a body check by Canucks forward Brock Boeser late in the first period Saturday as he went shoulder-first into the boards to the left of the Sharks’ net. Walman left the ice and went to the Sharks’ dressing room but returned to the bench shortly after the start of the second period.

Walman, who finished with 20:35 in ice time on Saturday, participated in Monday’s practice.

“I’m a competitor, and I want to play, but it’s a coach’s decision,” Walman said Tuesday morning. “I’ll respect the conversation that we had. I wouldn’t say it doesn’t have anything to do with the injury ... but I wouldn’t be in this position without that, obviously.

“I was on the ice for practice (Monday) in hopes of playing. But it’s a coach’s decision. I feel good about my game, and I’m a competitor. I want to be out there.”

Warsofsky’s decision might have been influenced by Walman’s play in the third period of Saturday’s game, particularly the game-winning goal.

With the game tied 2-2 and the Sharks hemmed in their end, Walman and Canucks forward Pius Suter were battling next to the San Jose net. With the puck in the corner, Suter then backtracked a bit to give himself some space from Walman, took a centering pass from Conor Garland and one-timed a shot that beat goalie Mackenzie Blackwood high to the glove side.

The goal came with 26 seconds left and helped end the Sharks’ three-game win streak.

After the game, Walman took ownership of the mistake, saying that he needed to be closer to Suter, a point he reiterated Tuesday.

“I own up to the things that I feel I’m responsible for, and it’s always been like that,” Walman said Tuesday. “I’ve always been hard on myself and trying to be the best I can be. If it shows anything. It just shows that I want to win.

“I feel like I’m competitive enough to get through certain things, and that’s kind of why I always take ownership of things. It makes me better, makes everybody around me better and makes the team better doing that.”

Warsosfsky’s decision to sit a heavy-minute and productive player like Walman against the Blue Jackets can be construed as the biggest, and perhaps most contentious, of his short tenure as the Sharks’ head coach. But it shows that he won’t let those types of mistakes slide — if that was part of his reasoning.

In any case, Walman hopes to return to the lineup soon. The Sharks host the Minnesota Wild on Thursday and then begin a four-game road trip against Metropolitan Division teams.

“(Warsofsky) knows how bad I want to be out there, and I think the guys around the locker room know as well, speaking to them,” Walman said. “I just want to be out there, and it is what it is; just be right back out there right away.”

LABANC’S RETURN >> Tuesday’s game marked forward Kevin Labanc’s first game back in San Jose since he signed a one-year contract with the Blue Jackets in early October. Labanc attended training camp with the New Jersey Devils, near where he grew up in Staten Island, but ultimately signed with Columbus.

Labanc, 28, had 82 goals and 225 points in 478 career NHL games with the Sharks from 2016-24 before he became a free agent.

Labanc is perhaps best known for the four power-play points he had in Game 7 of the Sharks’ 2019 first-round playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights. San Jose, down by three goals in the third period, took a 4-3 lead after Cody Eakin was given a five-minute major for cross-checking Joe Pavelski.

Labanc said returning to San Jose is “a little bit emotional. I came in here as a rookie trying to fulfill my dream of playing in the NHL, and I was able to do that. It was incredible for me. I was just a kid coming in here and left as a man. I’ve got a wife, a kid, a dog, family. So it’s a pretty special place for me.”

NOTABLE >> Forwards Klim Kostin and Givani Smith were also scratched against the Blue Jackets. Forwards Ethan Cardwell and Danil Gushchin were both assigned to the Barracuda of the AHL after Celebrini and Dellandrea were activated.