San Jose Sharks play final game before All-Star break at the Anaheim Ducks
By Conor Power
The final game before the all-star break and some well-earned time off for the organization. It'll be another battle of the Californian teams as the San Jose Sharks will travel to Orange County to take on the Anaheim Ducks. This is a team the Sharks just rampaged through a few days ago, and a win would move them just two points back of their upstate rivals in the standings. This hot streak is destroying the Sharks tank, but it's enjoyable for the fans in the moment.
After Mackenzie Blackwood had yet another sparkling performance in net against the Seattle Kraken last night, it'll be Kaapo Kahkonen getting the nod tonight. He's been spectacular for the Sharks this season to help this team get into the win column, tonight will be another game where the Sharks will need their netminder if they are going to grab the two points from this one and go into the break on a true high.
There will be no Tomas Hertl tonight, as he will continue to miss time dealing with his injury. Ty Emberson will come out of the lineup tonight dealing with an upper-body injury and a little bit of an illness, and it's aided a little by the coach's decision. He could go if absolutely needed, but Kyle Burroughs is likely to replace him in the lineup instead tonight. It'll be an interesting game for Burroughs as he tries to prove he should be a regular in this league.
Projected Lineups
San Jose Sharks
Mike Hoffman - Logan Couture - Fabian Zetterlund
Alexander Barabanov - William Eklund - Anthony Duclair
Jacob MacDonald - Nico Sturm - Luke Kunin
Filip Zadina - Ryan Carpenter - Justin Bailey
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Kyle Burroughs
Jan Rutta - Shakir Mukhamadullin
Nikita Okhotiuk - Calen Addison
Kaapo Kahkonen
Mackenzie Blackwood
Anaheim Ducks
Adam Henrique - Leo Carlsson - Ryan Strome
Frank Vatrano - Benoit-Olivier Groulx - Troy Terru
Isac Lindestrom - Mason McTavish - Jakob Silfverberg
Ross Johnston - Sam Carrick - Brett Leason
Olen Zellweger - Cam Fowler
Jackson LaCombe - Radko Gudas
Urho Vaakanainen - Ilya Lybushkin
John Gibson
Lucas Dostal
Puck Drop
This will start at 7:30 from the Honda Center in Anaheim. The Sharks have not had a good time at the pond this season to this point. Trying to overcome the Ducks is not easy, but this Sharks roster has already done it once. To make it five wins from six heading into the break, and try to get away from the conversations of historically bad teams, the Sharks will be looking to try and move into the win column again tonight.