It's gameday for Team Teal. Disappointing performances in Florida left the San Jose Sharks looking for answers, and the task at hand won't get any easier as the Carolina Hurricanes are the next team the Sharks visit. The rampaging Canes are looking for answers themselves, and the Sharks will need to find a better effort against Carolina than they had in Florida, or they'll be looking down consecutive disappointments on this road trip across both states.
San Jose will be without Mackenzie Blackwood and Givani Smith, who were traded to the Colorado Avalanche for Alexandar Georgiev and Nikolai Kovalenko. It's San Jose's second in-season trade to address concerns with the roster and the first subtractions. San Jose will be making more as we approach the trade deadline, but for now, we're getting to see the best of the Sharks and enjoying the team surpassing all expectations. It's been fun so far; let's see if that continues.
As for the lineup, Will Smith was listed as day-to-day in Florida, and we're not expecting to see the young man return today. Smith has needed a little more time off to help his development, and if he is dealing with an injury, there's no need to rush him back. Like Macklin Celebrini, Smith is expected to be one of the franchise's cornerstones for a decade, so ruining his health now makes no sense.
Projected Lineups
San Jose Sharks
William Eklund - Macklin Celebrini - Fabian Zetterlund
Luke Kunin - Alex Wennberg - Tyler Toffoli
Klim Kostin - Mikael Granlund - Ethan Cardwell
Carl Grundstrom - Nico Sturm - Ty Dellandrea
Jake Walman - Timothy Liljegren
Mario Ferraro - Cody Ceci
Henry Thrun - Jan Rutta
Vitek Vanecek
Alexandar Georgiev
Carolina Hurricanes
Martin Necas - Sebastian Aho - Seth Jarvis
Eric Robinson - Jack Drury - Jackson Blake
Jordan Martinook - Jordan Staal - Andrei Svechnikov
William Carrier - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Jack Roslovic
Jaccob Slavin - Brent Burns
Dmitry Orlov - Jalen Chatfield
Shayne Gostisbehere - Sean Walker
Pyotr Kochetkov
Dustin Tokarski
Puck Drop
It's a 4 p.m. puck drop from Raleigh as the Sharks look to end this trip with a win. It'll be a challenging game against one of the best teams in the NHL over the last six years, but the Sharks cannot afford to throw in the towel. Carolina can be beaten if you push their system and put them under pressure. It'll be a long night if the Sharks let the Hurricanes dictate the pace of the game.