Off the back of three straight wins for the San Jose Sharks, the optimism in the Bay Area is high. Will Smith netted his first two career NHL goals, Macklin Celebrini is back on the ice, and the Sharks have a new defenseman just to drive home the reasons for hope with this team. They're off the bottom of the NHL standings and make a challenging trip up to Vancouver to face the Canucks.
Vancouver has unusually started this season. A 4-2-3 record is unique, but it shows they are vulnerable. San Jose can get at this roster and expose it. With no Thatcher Demko, this Canucks team isn't solid at the back. If San Jose can start well offensively and force this game into a shootout, they will give themselves a chance against this Canucks roster. Their traditional firepower is missing a touch, so a few points on offer here are achievable.
Timothy Liljegren is set to make his Sharks debut as the club moves from strength to strength. There's no Macklin Celebrini, but Liljegren is expected to jump onto the third pair instead of Jack Thompson. Thompson needs time to develop, and Liljegren will provide cover until he is ready. This is a significant improvement in terms of adding a top-four right-handed defenseman from a cup contender for almost nothing. Let's see what he does in teal tonight.
Projected Lineups
San Jose Sharks
William Eklund - Mikael Granlund - Tyler Toffoli
Danil Gushchin - Alex Wennberg - Fabian Zetterlund
Barclay Goodrow - Will Smith - Luke Kunin
Carl Grundstrom - Nico Sturm - Ty Dellandrea
Jake Walman - Cody Ceci
Mario Ferraro - Jan Rutta
Henry Thrun - Timothy Liljegren
Mackenzie Blackwood
Vitek Vanecek
Vancouver Canucks
Jake DeBrusk - J.T. Miller - Brock Boeser
Arshdeep Bains - Elias Pettersson - Conor Garland
Danton Heinen - Teddy Blueger - Kiefer Sherwood
Nils Hoglander - Pius Suter - Daniel Sprong
Quinn Hughes - Filip Hronek
Carson Soucy - Tyler Myers
Erik Brannstrom - Noah Juulsen
Arturs Silovs
Kevin Lankinen
Puck Drop
Tonight's 7 p.m. puck drop will pit these Pacific Division rivals against each other. San Jose is looking to make it four wins in a row and make it two straight losses for the Canucks. With a debut tonight, the Sharks will have an extra defensive presence. Can they use that to grab a couple of points against a playoff team from last season?