Sharks vs. Oilers Lines: Joel Ward in, David Schlemko out

Joel Ward finds his way back into the Sharks lineup today while David Schlemko remains a healthy scratch according to Friend of the Blog Kevin Kurz. Head coach Pete DeBoer opted for Micheal Haley at center instead of Tommy Wingels, another strange decision in a series of odd moves by DeBoer.

This gives young defender Dylan DeMelo another look, whether that’s due to what he’s shown on the ice or to show him off for a potential trade. The same goes for Ward, who has been scratched in two of the Sharks’ last three games. The winner of tonight’s game takes over sole possession of first place of the Pacific. You can see the lines below.

Projected Sharks Lines

Patrick Marleau – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski

Kevin Labanc – Logan Couture – Mikkel Boedker

Timo Meier – Chris Tierney – Joonas Donskoi

Melker Karlsson – Micheal Haley – Joel Ward

Paul Martin – Brent Burns

Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun

Brenden Dillon – Dylan DeMelo

Martin Jones

Aaron Dell

Projected Oilers Lines

Milan Lucic – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle

Patrick Maroon – Leon Draisaitl – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Benoit Pouliot – Drake Caggiula – Jesse Puljujarvi

Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Zack Kassian

Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson

Andrej Sekera – Kris Russell

Brandon Davidson – Eric Gryba

Cam Talbot

Jonas Gustavsson