San Jose Sharks head home to the Tank as they prepare to take on the New York Rangers
By Conor Power
Back to back wins with the captain playing a key role in both since his return from injury have the San Jose Sharks enjoying the heights of success. This is an enjoyable spell in a season that has been extremely difficult for team teal. So, moving into the second half of this back to back after beating both the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings is a cause for celebration. The Sharks are winning.
Underneath that success, you see that a goaltender stole a game against Los Angeles and the Anaheim Ducks are dreadful, but that shouldn't stop us from enjoying the results. It should taper the expectations though. This winning streak will not last until the end of the season, as much as we would like it to. There will still be hard times ahead for this team, and it's what happens for a rebuilder.
However, tonight, there is a chance to make it three straight wins against a New York Rangers team that has struggled recently. This is a bad 5-on-5 team, so the Sharks might have a chance. The trick is going to be keeping the special teams to a minimum, and avoiding that vaunted Ranger powerplay that sits at the top of the league. It's going to be difficult, but that is where the fun is.
Projected Lineups
New York Rangers
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Kaapo Kakko
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniere
Will Cuylle - Jonny Brodzinski - Blake Wheeler
Barclay Goodrow - Nick Bonino - Jimmy Vesey
Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller - Jacob Trouba
Matthew Robertson - Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
San Jose Sharks
Filip Zadina - Tomas Hertl - Fabian Zetterlund
Alexander Barbanov - Logan Couture - Anthony Duclair
Luke Kunin - Nico Sturm - William Eklund
Justin Bailey - Ryan Carpenter - Mike Hoffman
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Calen Addison
Henry Thrun - Jan Rutta
Nikita Okhotiuk - Kyle Burroughs
Mackenzie Blackwood
Kaapo Kahkonen
Puck Drop
This is a 7:30 puck drop from the Tank. With a win, the team in teal will get three straight and start to build momentum. It'll build a winning culture for the young kids and get them used to the pressures of winning every week. It's good, despite the damage this will do to the efforts of the tank and collecting one of the best prospects in the upcoming draft to better the future of the organization.