San Jose Sharks Prepare to Face New York Islanders at Elmont

Mar 18, 2023; San Jose, California, USA; New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) defends against San Jose Sharks left wing Alexander Barabanov (94) during the second period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports /

Coming off the back of a win over the New Jersey Devils and a close-run defeat at the hands of the league-leading New York Rangers, the San Jose Sharks can march into UBS Arena with their heads held high as we all prepare for the Sharks to take on the New York Islanders. This tour around the Big Apple has seen the Sharks score 11 goals in two games, almost tripling their away goals number for the season.

This is a machine-like roster, so it won’t do the Sharks any favors playing with ill-discipline and no control. This Islanders team exists to grind you down, and the Sharks want to play a much more attacking and fun style of hockey. This is going to be a good test to see where the Sharks are at in terms of their ability to compete with the playoff hopefully of the league. Can they beat teams they want to be in and around at the conclusion of the season?

In the last game we saw the Sharks play, Alexander Barabnov and Jan Rutta returned to the lineup. But as the team gets healthier, the hockey gods demand payment. Ryan Carpenter and Ty Emberson have both been placed on the injured reserve, meaning they are out at least a week each. Neither player is irreplaceable in the Sharks lineup, but Emberson, in particular, is the kind of guy you want to succeed.

Projected Lineups

San Jose Sharks

Fabian Zetterlund – Mikael Granlund – Anthony Duclair
William Eklund – Tomas Hertl – Alexander Barabanov
Justin Bailey – Nico Sturm – Kevin Labanc
Mike Hoffman – Jacob MacDonald – Filip Zadina

Mario Ferraro – Kyle Burroughs
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Calen Addison
Nikita Okhotyuk – Jan Rutta

Kaapo Kahkonen
Mackenzie Blackwood

New York Islanders

Anders Lee – Bo Horvat – Mathew Barzal
Pierre Engvall – Brock Nelson – Kyle Palmieri
Simon Holmstrom – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Julien Gauthier
Hudson Fasching – Casey Cizikas – Cal Clutterbuck

Alexander Romanov – Noah Dobson
Samuel Bolduc- Ryan Pulock
Mike Reilly – Scott Mayfield

Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov

Puck Drop Time

This will be a 4:30 p.m. Pacific puck drop from UBS Arena as the Sharks visit the newest arena in the NHL. Completing the New York City sweep with a win would be a good sign of the direction of these kids. Showing progress is all that is needed for a game like tonight. Two points and some positives. Whether that’s a great William Eklund performance or some of the trade bait getting hotter and upping their trade value, does anyone mind?

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