Signs Pointing to Return of San Jose Sharks Captain Joe Pavelski for Game 7
The Captain Joe Pavelski will likely make his debut in Round 2 for the San Jose Sharks in Game 7 versus the Colorado Avalanche.
Game 7s are starting to become a thing of regularity for the San Jose Sharks. After surviving a thrilling 7 game gauntlet versus their rival the Vegas Golden Knights, Team Teal is staring down another do or die situation at the Tank. However they’ll be getting some help with the likely return of their Captain Joe Pavelski after a 6 game hiatus.
The Sharks never led in Game 6, but were able to counter when the Avalanche put points on the board. Timo Meier made his presence known in this series recording a goal and an assist. He was heavily involved in San Jose’s offense. The 22-year-old used his size, strength, and puck handling skills to push the puck to open ice and setting up his teammates for high danger scoring chances. Expect Pete DeBoer to use Meier against the bottom tier of the Avalanche lineup for maximum effectiveness.
On the other side of things anticipate seeing tons of Nathan MacKinnon and Co. in this Game 7. He was on the ice for a ridiculous 26 and a half minutes recording 5 shots on goal during that time. The Sharks focused a bulk of their defensive efforts against suppressing his impact and it allowed the Avalanches depth forwards to break through for the first time in this series.
It will take a total team effort defensively by the Sharks if they want to survive in this years Stanley Cup Playoffs. The coaching staff will be looking to utilize home ice and the last changed that comes along with it if they want to be successful tonight. They’ll need to get Marc-Edouard Vlasic out there to match MacKinnon, while utilizing skaters like Erik Karlsson, Joe Thornton, and Tomas Hertl in the offensive zone.
These two teams have exchanged blows the entire series, with neither team winning two games in a row. It’s been fun to watch these two coaching staffs make adjustments in order counter the others best skaters and schemes. The play on the ice has been extremely exciting, but the chess match behind the benches has also been something to tune in for.
As far as who to expect on the ice for Game 7 all signs are pointing to the return of the Captain Joe Pavelski. This will be his first appearance in this series and will be a huge boost for the San Jose Sharks facing the end of another hard-fought series. With Pavelski making his likely return to the lineup here’s who else will be on the ice in this final game of Round 2.
San Jose Sharks
Forward Combinations
Timo Meier ~ Logan Couture ~ Gus Nyquist
Evander Kane ~ Tomas Hertl ~ Joe Pavelski
Marcus Sorensen~ Joe Thornton ~ Kevin Labanc
Melker Karlsson ~ Barclay Goodrow ~ Joonas Donskoi
Defensive Pairings
Marc-Edouard Vlasic ~ Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon ~ Erik Karlsson
Joakim Ryan ~ Justin Braun
Goalie
Projected Starter ~ Martin Jones
Backup ~ Aaron Dell
Colorado Avalanche
Forward Combinations
Gabriel Landeskog~ Nathan MacKinnon ~ Mikko Rantanen
JT Compher ~ Carl Soderberg ~ Matt Nieto
Alexander Kerfoot ~ Tyson Jost ~ Colin Wilson
Patrick Nemeth ~ Derrick Brassard ~ Gabriel Bourque
Defensive Pairings
Ian Cole ~ Erik Johnson
Nikita Zadorov ~ Tyson Barrie
Cale Makar ~ Samuel Girard
Goalie
Projected Starter ~ Philipp Grubauer
Backup ~ Semyon Varlamov
Hot. Logan Couture the San Jose Sharks Playoff MVP. light
The San Jose Sharks are up against another Game 7 tonight at the Tank. Both of these teams will put it all on the line with the final spot in the Stanley Cup Conference Finals up for grabs.
Puck drop for tonight’s game at the SAP Center is at 6:10 PM PT. The game will be televised nationally on NBCSN. The audio can be streamed on the NHL and Sharks Apps courtesy of 98.5 KFOX.