The Sharks will be honoring Hockey Hall of famer Joe Thornton tonight at SAP Center before their game against the Kings tonight.
Thornton was officially inducted on November 11th. The Sharks legend put up 1539 points in 1714 games throughout his 24-year career. Thornton is one of 2 players to have their number retired for the Sharks, along with Patrick Marleau. He is currently a development coach for the Sharks.
Thornton is not the only player being honored tonight; the Sharks will also present Anze Kopitar with a gift before the game as he prepares for his last game at SAP Center during his farewell tour. Kopitar had 75 points in 98 games vs the Sharks throughout his career, along with 17 points in 19 playoff games, and has been a massive thorn in the side of the Sharks throughout his career. An incredible career, and I'm sure Sharks fans are glad they won’t have to deal with Kopitar after this season.
The Sharks' lines vs the Kings are as follows.
Kurashev - Celebrini - Smith
Eklund - Wennberg - Toffoli
Gaudette - Dellandrea - Graf
Goodrow - Ostapchuk - Reaves
Orlov - Liljegren
Ferraro - Klingberg
Dickinson - Desharnais
Askarov
Scratches: Mukhamadullin, Leddy, Iorio
Looking at the forwards, the only change is swapping Toffoli and Graf. Toffoli has had trouble finding a fit on a line this season, but he has familiarity playing with Eklund and Wennberg at different points. While Graf has played well, he hasn’t scored enough to justify many looks in the top 6.
The big changes, as has been a trend, come on defense with Klingberg and Liljegren coming in for Mukhamadullin and Leddy. The Sharks seemingly change their blueline every game. Some of that comes from managing nine defenders on the roster and getting players games. Mukhamadullin struggled last time out, and Leddy has not played up to par this season. Liljegren has sat out the last two, while Klingberg is coming off his first scratch this season. Both defenders add some offense to the backend at the expense of defensive play.
In net, the Sharks are rolling with Yaroslav Askarov, who has seemingly won the number 1 job due to his strong play in November, and has been one of the biggest reasons for the Sharks' improvement this season.
It should be a fun night tonight, with the Sharks not only honoring a franchise icon in Joe Thornton but also taking on one of their most storied rivals in the LA Kings.