There might come a time when the Sharks start to give rookie goalie Yaroslav Askarov the lion’s share of starts in net.

The Sharks are not at that point yet, as Askarov, their top goalie prospect, has split starts with veteran and pending unrestricted free agent Alexandar Georgiev since the Christmas break.

Georgiev started Friday’s game against the Utah Hockey Club, and Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said the 22-year-old Askarov will start today when San Jose hosts the Minnesota Wild.

Askarov was sensational to begin this month, stopping a combined 52 of 55 shots to help lead the Sharks to victories over the Tampa Bay Lightning and New Jersey Devils, two playoff-caliber opponents.

But the Sharks went back to Georgiev for Tuesday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights. The move, per Warsofsky, gave Georgiev a chance to stay sharp after not starting for a week and the still-developing Askarov a chance to work a bit more on the ice with goalie coach Thomas Speer.

“He’s worked with (Speer), staying sharp with his techniques and his puck play and his timing with that,” Warsofsky said of Askarov. “He’s worked extremely hard, and I don’t think that will ever change.”

Giving Georgiev more consistent work also serves another purpose. With the 28-year-old Georgiev in a contract year, the Sharks might want to showcase him more often to help try and move him to a playoff-contending team before the March 7 trade deadline.

“We’re very collaborative in everything we do and every decision that we make,” Warsofsky said when asked about his goalie deployment. “It goes back to the development plans with (Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith).”

The Sharks kept the 19-year-old Smith out of a handful of games during the first half of the season, which the team termed ‘development days’, to help him adjust to the NHL. Smith told Bay Area News Group recently that his development days are over.

The Sharks had a different plan for Celebrini, although Warsofsky and the Sharks never discussed specifics. But it appears the same thing is happening with Askarov, who has a 3-2-2 record this season and a .923 save percentage.

“It’s a very collaborative effort, and I’m not going to go into detail what the plan is for every single player on our team,” Warsofsky said. “But I will say every decision we make as a coaching staff and an organization, there’s a reason behind it. Not going to go into the details of it, but we’re very collaborative.”

Georgiev, acquired from Colorado on Dec. 9 as part of a deal that sent Mackenzie Blackwood to the Avalanche, entered Friday with a less-than-stellar 9-12-0 record and a .876 save percentage in 24 games this season. But he appears he’s benefitted from working with Speer as he made a season-high 38 saves in the Sharks’ 4-2 loss to the Golden Knights.

“A little bit more technical right now,” Georgiev said Tuesday of his work with Speer. “I think we’re focusing on some basic stuff. A lot of movement, just being square to the puck, a little taller stance, a more narrow stance, just small things. He is a great goalie coach. I enjoy it a lot so far.”

ZETTERLUND PLAYS >> Winger Fabian Zetterlund, who has been dealing with a lower-body injury, was in the Sharks’ lineup Friday night after being kept out of practice on Wednesday and Thursday.

Zetterlund, who entered Friday fourth on the team with 27 points, has now played in 148 consecutive games, the longest active one among all Sharks players. Zetterlund’s streak began on Feb. 28, 2023, two days after he was acquired from New Jersey as part of a massive trade that sent Timo Meier to the Devils.

Zetterlund began the game on a line with Mikael Granlund and William Eklund as the Sharks looked to bounce back from a 4-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.

DELLANDREA RETURNS >> With winger Nikolai Kovalenko out with an upper-body injury, Ty Dellandrea, a healthy scratch the previous three games, re-entered the Sharks lineup Friday and started the game as the team’s fourth-line center with Barclay Goodrow and Klim Kostin on the wings.

Kovalenko, who has six points in 12 games since joining the Sharks from the Avalanche last month, did not travel with the team to Utah. He is considered day-to-day.

VLASIC SITS AGAIN >> For the second straight game, the Sharks dressed defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin and scratched veteran Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who remained two games shy of 1,300 for his NHL career. The earliest Vlasic can now reach the milestone is Tuesday, when the Sharks play the Red Wings to begin a five-game road trip.