Vancouver Canucks forward Nikolay Goldobin watched Sunday's 2-0 loss to the San Jose Sharks from the press box as a healthy scratch.

The 21-year-old owns one goal in eight games since being acquired by the Canucks in February in the trade which sent Jannik Hansen to the Sharks.

Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins said after Sunday's loss the 2014 first-round pick has to work harder to stay in the team's lineup.

"I'm not sending a huge message," Desjardins told the Vancouver Province of scratching Goldobin. "He's a skilled player and you've got to get your skill working hard. I didn't think he worked hard enough last game and he'll be back in (Tuesday against the Sharks). He needs to prove that he can go hard at this level, but he's got to go hard.

"It's a two-way street. It's not that I don't play young guys like (Brock) Boeser. If they come in and they're going, they play. We just have to get him (Goldobin) more engaged."

Goldobin is pointless in his past seven games since scoring in his debut, though he does own a plus-1 rating over that span.

The Canucks (30-39-9) have lost their previous four games and eight of their previous 10. The team has four games remaining in their season.