San Jose Sharks Start Brutal East Coast Road Trip in Boston
By Conor Power
We’ve all seen the slow start the San Jose Sharks have gotten off to this season. We can debate whether it was due to the strong schedule to start the season or if the team’s flaws just overwhelmed the coaching staff at the beginning of the season, but we know for sure that the team is not performing up to the level we expect. It’ll only get more difficult tonight.
Leaving the safety of the SAP Center where all five wins on the season have occurred so far, the Sharks prepare to do battle on the East Coast at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. With the Boston Bruins among the elite of the Eastern Conference, there is very little expectation on the team tonight to get a win. It would be nice to make it a few wins in a row, but that is unlikely, given the injuries and weakness of this roster.
Kaapo Kahkonen is expected to rotate out with MacKenzie Blackwood once again, meaning that the Canadian will start this game tonight in Beantown. With Tomas Hertl, Alexander Barabanov, Jan Rutta, Filip Zadina, and Oskar Lindblom all out with injury, this is a very depleted Sharks roster walking into a powerhouse in the Bruins and hoping for the best. If we get a William Eklund goal, that’s enough celebration for me.
Projected Lineups
Boston Bruins
Jake DeBrusk – Pavel Zacha – David Pastrnak
Brad Marchand – Matthew Poitras – Danton Heinen
James van Riemsdyk – Charlie Coyle – Trent Frederic
Jakub Lauko – John Beecher – Morgan Geekie
Hampus Lindholm – Charlie McAvoy
Matt Grzelcyk – Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort – Kevin Shattenkirk
Jeremy Swayman
Linus Ullmark
San Jose Sharks
Fabian Zetterlund – Mikael Granlund – Anthony Duclair
William Eklund – Luke Kunin – Mike Hoffman
Jacob MacDonald – Nico Sturm – Justin Bailey
Givani Smith – Ryan Carpenter – Kevin Labanc
Mario Ferraro – Ty Emberson
Calen Addison – Matt Benning
Nikita Okhotiuk – Kyle Burroughs
Mackenzie Blackwood
Kaapo Kahkonen