SAN JOSE –- The Sharks could be getting a few bodies back in time for Saturday night, when they will attempt to end a three-game losing streak at home against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The most notable of those is defenseman Paul Martin, who has missed the last three games with a lower body injury. Martin hit a rut in the Prudential Center ice in the second period one week ago, and although he finished that game with more than 30 minutes of ice time, has been relegated to the press box ever since.

Friday marked the second straight day that Martin was on the ice with his teammates, and first full practice. He’s encouraged by how he’s felt.

“Two days of skating, and no real issues yet,” Martin said. “I’m sure we’ll wait and see how it feels tomorrow after the first actual practice with the guys. My plan would be to play tomorrow.”

[KURZ: Rewind: Sharks special teams, defense remain sloppy in loss]

The Sharks gave up just two goals combined over their first four games while Martin was paired with Brent Burns. Since Martin went out, San Jose has been outscored 14-4 in three straight regulation defeats, at one point giving up 11 straight goals over that span.

The penalty kill has also suffered without Martin, who was leading the team in shorthanded time on ice when he got hurt. The Sharks have gone 9-for-14 on the PK in their last four games, allowing at least one power play goal in each.

Coach Pete DeBoer pointed out some minor adjustments that need to be made in that area, referring to the Kings’ late first period power play goal on Thursday that gave them a 2-0 lead on their way to a 4-1 win over the Sharks.

“The first one we got a little aggressive on the entry. A week ago, that was what was shutting down most power plays,” DeBoer said. “We don’t want to back off that. They exposed it and found a way to stick one in the net.”

Martin Jones said: “You look at the goals we’ve given up on the penalty kill, it’s not glaring mistakes that are being made. It’s a save here, a bounce there.”

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Also on the ice Friday were rookie forward Joonas Donskoi, who expects to play on Saturday and will likely return to the Joe Thornton line, and Ben Smith, who was hurt in Brooklyn last Saturday when he was struck in the head by an errant Marc-Edouard Vlasic shot.

Smith isn’t sure when he’ll return, and indicated he’s dealing with a head injury to go along with the 15 stitches he needed to close a gash in his right ear.

“Definitely just feeling a little off,” Smith said. “When you take any blow to the head, that’s kind of how you feel. Unfortunately, I’ve had that a couple times in my career. Just trying to be smart, be safe, and when I’m ready to come back just hit the ground running.”

[KURZ: Thornton re-enters game vs Kings after head injury]

Thornton, on the other hand, made no reference to any sort of head issue after his helmet slammed to the ice with two minutes left in the first period against the Kings. The alternate captain went through the league’s concussion protocol before returning four minutes into the second period.

According to the 36-year-old center he was dealing with a skate blade issue, although it was evident he was trying to hold back a wide grin when speaking about it. He made reference to Mike Brown also having a skate issue recently, quipping: “Something’s going on with the steel around here.”

As for the concussion tests, “as far as I know, I aced them,” said Thornton.

Regardless of what happened, Thornton took part in the entire hour-long practice on Friday and seems A-OK. That’s a relief to the Sharks, who probably can’t afford to lose any more key pieces as they try to right the ship.

“Everybody deals with this,” DeBoer said. “We’ve got to find a way with the guys we roll out there tomorrow night to get a win.”