The San Jose Sharks begin a home-and-home series with the Seattle Kraken after that disappointing defeat at the hands of the Ottawa Senators. It's not a situation where Team Teal should be concerned, but sweeping this home-and-home with the Kraken could leave the Sharks in a good position to do something incredible like push for the postseason. It's unlikely, but to have aspirations of the playoffs rather than being content with defeat after defeat is a massive change for the Sharks.
There's been some roster news for the Sharks, as Barclay Goodrow has been placed on IR after taking a high hit in the Senators game. Ethan Cardwell was recalled in his absence, and the Sharks will be looking to get him back into the lineup. He was a bright spot when he came up the first time, and the Sharks will be hoping he can continue to build his confidence in the absence of one of their leaders.
Vitek Vanecek is expected to get his first start tonight as he returns from an injury. In his absence, Yaroslav Askarov was called up and starred in a couple of games, and now the Sharks will be looking to get a good performance out of their Czech netminder. Blackwood was the netminder of record in the Sens loss, so the Sharks will hope to respond in a big way tonight.
Projected Lineups
San Jose Sharks
William Eklund - Macklin Celebrini - Fabian Zetterlund
Luke Kunin - Alex Wennberg - Tyler Toffoli
Klim Kostin - Nico Sturm - Will Smith
Carl Grundstrom - Ty Dellandrea - Ethan Cardwell
Jake Walman - Cody Ceci
Mario Ferraro - Timothy Liljegren
Henry Thrun - Jan Rutta
Vitek Vanecek
Mackenzie Blackwood
Seattle Kraken
Jared McCann - Matty Berniers - Andre Burakovsky
Jaden Schwartz - Chandler Stephenson - Daniel Sprong
Eeli Tolvanen - Shane Wright - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Ty Kartye - Yanni Gourde - Brandon Tanev
Ryker Evans - Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak - Brandon Montour
Josh Mahura - Will Borgen
Joey Daccord
Philipp Grubauer
Puck Drop
Tomorrow is a matinee on the West Coast from midday. Mikael Granlund remains a game-time decision for the Sharks, while Alex Wennberg and Luke Kunin both enjoyed maintenance days yesterday to rest up ahead of this difficult home-and-home. Seattle can score for fun, but the Sharks have recently shown an ability to dominate against teams. Can Team Teal do it against the NHL's newest expansion franchise again tonight?