Coming off the back of that loss to the Vancouver Canucks, the San Jose Sharks are looking to get back in the win column tonight when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Columbus has become the second team of every NHL fan after the summer they've endured with the passing of Johnny Gaudreau. It's not easy for an organization to lose anyone, but a player of such quality and a person with such a kind heart is even more tragic.
As the Jackets continue to fight for their number 13, the San Jose Sharks will be making improvements to their roster. We saw defenseman Timothy Liljegren make his debut against the Vancouver Canucks, and tonight will mark the return of Macklin Celebrini to the San Jose Sharks lineup. Celebrini has been sidelined with a hip injury he sustained in the preseason, but he'll be again entering the fold for the Sharks tonight.
Columbus' trip to the SAP Center will mark the return of Kevin Labanc. He spent several years in San Jose and will return to the Tank tonight on the Blue Jackets' bottom line. He was a player who had to suffer through the issues of the rebuild for many years, and now we're on the other side of the worst of it. He's forced out of the organization to find a new home in Ohio. Given his dedication to the organization, he'll likely receive a video tribute tonight.
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
Yegor Chinakhov - Sean Monahan - Kirill Marchenko
Cole Sillinger - Adam Fantilli - Mikael Pyyhtia
Dmitri Voronkov - Justin Danforth - Mathieu Olivier
Zach Aston-Reese - Sean Kuraly - Kevin Labanc
Zack Werenski - Ivan Provorov
Jake Christiansen - Damon Severson
Jack Johnson - David Jiricek
Daniil Tarasov
Elvis Merzlikins
San Jose Sharks
Mikael Granlund - Mackin Celebrini - Tyler Toffoli
William Eklund - 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
Vitek Vanecek
Mackenzie Blackwood
Puck Drop
A 7:30 puck drop at home to the Blue Jackets will see Macklin Celebrini return to the ice. San Jose gets its promising young star back, and the distraction from the political nonsense of the world is back. We see if the Sharks can get their fourth win of the season and move off the bottom of the NHL standings. San Jose has been good in the last four games. Can they continue that tonight?