SAN JOSE >> The Sharks’ list of injuries is similar to the number in the team’s loss column: it just keeps growing.

Two days after the Sharks placed center Nico Sturm on injured reserve with a lower-body ailment, forward Ty Dellandrea was added to the list on Friday with an upper-body injury he sustained in San Jose’s 6-5 loss to the Nashville Predators.

With the Sharks trailing 5-4 in the second period Thursday, Dellandrea was hit by Predators forward Cole Smith in the shoulder, head, and neck area near the blue line in front of the Nashville bench. Dellandrea was knocked out of the game, and after a scrum, Smith was assessed a match penalty at the 14:13 mark of the second period, giving the Sharks a five-minute man advantage.

The Sharks (14-31-6) tied the score on Macklin Celebrini’s 15th goal of the season but allowed a third-period power-play goal to Fedor Svechkov, as the Predators handed the Sharks their fifth straight loss and swept the home-and-home series. Nashville also beat San Jose 7-5 on Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena.

Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said Friday the team would probably know more about the severity of Dellandrea’s injury today before San Jose plays the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. Dellandrea will also have to miss games against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday and the Seattle Kraken on Jan. 30 — at the minimum.

“Tough one,” Warsofsky said of the hit. “I don’t think Cole Smith goes through with a flying chicken wing or an elbow that’s directly to the head. I think he kind of leaned with his shoulder and just catches (Dellandrea) right in the head.”

There was no indication Friday that Smith would face supplemental discipline from the NHL.

“I think players have done a pretty good job here in the last couple of years of not having the flying elbows as much as (they did) years ago. But that’s what we’re seeing now: shoulders are getting driven into heads,” Warsofsky said.

The Sharks have five players on IR, tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the most in the NHL. Along with Dellandrea and Sturm, Klim Kostin (lower body), Vitek Vanecek (face), and Logan Couture (osteitis pubis) are all out. Vanecek is getting closer to a return, Kostin is considered week-to-week, and Couture is out indefinitely.

“Next man up,” Warsofsky said. “It’s an opportunity for someone else.”

Smith’s hit was part of a testy game Thursday. After the Predators grabbed a 3-0 lead at the 6:53 mark of the first period, Sharks alternate captain Luke Kunin quickly dropped the gloves with Smith at the 6:54 mark. Right after the ensuing faceoff, Barclay Goodrow fought Nashville winger Michael McCarron at the 6:56 mark. Two seconds later, Dellandrea had a quick scrap with Zachaery L’Heureux.

“We showed some fight and character,” Warsofsky said. “Unfortunately, we come up with a loss.”

TIME TO REST >> Kunin, Mikael Granlund and defensemen Jan Rutta and Cody Ceci were all given maintenance days Friday.

OTHER MOVES >> The Sharks on Friday returned rookie forward Collin Graf to San Jose Barracuda, and recalled winger Scott Sabourin. Colin White, who signed an AHL deal with the Barracuda last summer, practiced with the Sharks on Friday as he and the team were converting his deal into an NHL contract.

White had 10 points in 20 games with the Barracuda this season. Whether he or Sabourin play against the Panthers is unclear.