San Jose Sharks goaltender Eetu Makiniemi, 32, stands on the ice as he waits for overtime against the Vancouver Canucks at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area Newsgroup)

SAN JOSE – Goaltender James Reimer is off the disabled list and available to play when the Sharks host the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday, seeking a winning streak for the first time in nearly a month.

Without Reimer, Sharks manager David Quinn said he would have had no problem bringing back Etu Makiniemi.

Makiniemi was reassigned to Barracuda on Monday to make room for Leimer. However, he impressed Quinn and the Sharks with a 23-save performance in his 6–1 victory over the Ducks in Anaheim on Friday.

The win made Makiniemi, 23, the youngest Sharks goalkeeper since Mikka Kiplusov scored in April 2001 at age 24.

“I loved what I saw,” Quinn said of Makiniemi. “You are what you do repeatedly.”

Reimer has been with the IR since November 27 with a lower body ailment, but was fully present at Monday’s practice with Makiniemi and Kapo Kakonen. Leimer hasn’t played since Nov. 25, but he could get called up against the Coyotes.

Makiniemi was first recalled from the AHL on December 6, and the following night replaced Karkonnen in the third period, a 6–5 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

“[Makiniemi]learned not to let a moment affect him,” Quinn said Monday against Anaheim. “I thought he played a really strong game.” “He was solid, he was confident. We met and had a really good night.”

The Sharks have not won a streak since November 11-15, winning three in a row, defeating Dallas, Minnesota and Vegas to improve to 6-9-3. Since then, San Jose has gone 3-7-2 for him, and on Monday he finished 14th out of his 16 teams in the conference, with a .383 winning percentage.

Personnel update: A matchup with Arizona is in doubt as forward Alexander Balabanov missed Monday’s practice and continues to deal with a lower body injury. Balabanov attended another practice session late last week but was not absent as he has two goals and five assists in his last nine games.

Center Nico Sturm and defenseman Marc Edouard Vlasic also did not attend Monday’s practice. Both will “definitely” play on Tuesday, according to Quinn. Quinn said Vlasic was away on personal matters.