The Sharks aim to extend their win streak tonight on the 2nd game of a brief 3 game road trip against the struggling Calgary Flames. The Sharks extended their win streak to 4 games after beating the Wild 2-1 in overtime Tuesday night. A 5th straight victory would be their longest since the 2019 season, the last time they made the playoffs.
Their lineup is as follows.
Toffoli - Celebrini - Smith
Eklund - Wennberg - Kurashev
Skinner - Dellandrea - Graf
Goodrow - Gaudette - Reaves
Ferraro - Klingberg
Orlov - Liljegren
Dickinson - Desharnais
Askarov
Skarek
Scratches: Mukhamadullin, Leddy, Iorio
The lineup is mainly similar to the last game; Toffoli returns to the top line after being demoted to the 3rd line midway through the Minnesota game. Toffoli is a good player, but he does struggle to keep up with Celebrini and Smith at times. That line has been solid for the Sharks despite struggling mightily for most of the Wild game.
On defense, Liljegren draws in for Mukhamadullin. It’s a shame for Mukhamadullin, but it is hard to find room on the Sharks' blueline right now. Desharnais has been excellent for the Sharks on the PK over the course of the Sharks' winning streak, while Mukhamadullin has struggled at times playing his offside. He shouldn't be scratched regularly, however. With four of the Sharks' blueliners on their last year of their deal, it wouldn't be surprising to see one moved at some point to make more playing time for Mukhamadullin and Dickinson.
In the net, the Sharks will go back to Askarov. Nedeljkovic was supposed to get the nod against Minnesota but was pulled at the last minute to attend to a personal matter. He is back in San Jose, but isn’t expected to be away long. In the meantime, the Sharks have recalled Jakub Skarek from the Cuda to back up Askarov. Given the Sharks have no back-to-backs coming up this week, I'd expect Askarov to get the net for the rest of the road trip. Askarov has been excellent in November, posting a 1.25 GAA and a 4-0 record.
The Sharks are in the midst of their best stretch of hockey in years, and will find themselves as favorites heading into a struggling Flames squad. This will be a unique test for the Sharks, who have found themselves on the other side of a trap game in recent seasons. If the Sharks can come out and impose their will on the Flames, it would be an indication that the team is starting to show some maturity.