San Jose Sharks look to go into Christmas break on a high note as they visit the Vancouver Canucks
As the San Jose Sharks look to rebound from their four straight losses, they will be facing quite the difficult opponent as they are in British Columbia for the final game of the season against the Vancouver Canucks. One of the nine teams the Sharks have beaten this season, San Jose will be looking to make it their second time defeating the orca from Canada in this battle of marine life. Well, a Canuck is a Canadian, but the logo is an orca.
In their previous three meetings, the games have been memorable for the most part. On November 2nd, the Canucks came into San Jose and hung 10 on the Sharks. On the 20th, the Canucks hosted the Sharks and won 3-1 in Vancouver. On the 25th, San Jose got a win over their divisional rivals when they beat the Canucks 4-3. San Jose will be looking to even the season series up. Going into Christmas on a high would be nice for what has been a really rough season.
For San Jose tonight, they will be seeing the newest Shark go up against the team that traded him to the Sharks. Jack Studnicka will be looking to make the Canucks regret giving him up. His teammates will be trying to help him ensure that he finds some form of success on the Sharks fourth line tonight. A win on his return to Vancouver would be something for this group of players to bond over.
Projected lineups
San Jose Sharks
William Eklund - Tomas Hertl - Filip Zadina
Anthony Duclair - Mikael Granlund - Fabian Zetterlund
Kevin Labanc - Luke Kunin - Mike Hoffman
Justin Bailey - Jack Studnicka - Givani Smith
Mario Ferraro - Kyle Burroughs
Arvid Henrikson - Jan Rutta
Nikita Okhotyuk - Jacob MacDonald
Mackenzie Blackwood
Kaapo Kahkonen
Vancouver Canucks
Ilya Mikheyev - Elias Pettersson - Andrei Kuzmenko
Nils Hoglander - J.T. Miller - Brock Boeser
Dakota Joshua - Teddy Blueger - Conor Garland
Nilas Aman - Pius Suter - Sam Lafferty
Quinn Hughes - Filip Hronek
Nikita Zadorov - Tyler Myers
Ian Cole - Noah Juulsen
Thatcher Demko
Casey Desmith
Puck Drop
This is a 7 p.m. Pacific puck drop from Rogers Arena in Vancouver. This will be the final game of the season between these two hockey clubs, and it will be the final game before the Christmas break for both teams. Going into the break with two points in the bank would make a tough season feel better. It wouldn't make everything better, but it would certainly help numb the pain of the season so far.