Sharks vs. Kings: Lines, gamethread and where to watch

The Sharks can make it five wins in a row against the Kings tonight, but they face some adversity to make it happen. Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who took a puck to the face against the Philadelphia Flyers last night, did not travel with the team to Los Angeles and will miss the game.

This is where the Sharks’ defensive depth comes in handy. Dylan DeMelo will get back into the lineup after being a healthy scratch in Friday’s 2-0 win over the Flyers. The Sharks can extend their Pacific lead if the Edmonton Oilers lose on New Year’s Eve.

Martin Jones gets back into the crease after getting a rare night off against the Flyers. Aaron Dell put together a shutout in relief, but there was never a doubt as to who would see the Kings tonight. Jones is 5-1-1 against the Kings in his seven matches against his former team and boasts a .924 save percentage.

I’m not quite superstitious enough to say there’s a relationship there, but Jones probably enjoys getting the best of his former teammates. What competitor doesn’t? Let’s get to it. Go Sharks!

Lines are courtesy of Friend of the Blog Kevin Kurz

Where to watch / listen in San Jose

CSN-California / KFOX 98.5

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

Brenden Dillon – Justin Braun

David Schlemko – Dylan DeMelo

Martin Jones

Aaron Dell

Projected Kings Lines

Marian Gaborik – Anze Kopitar – Dustin Brown

Tanner Pearson – Jeff Carter – Devin Setoguchi

Kyle Clifford – Nic Dowd – Trevor Lewis

Dwight King – Nick Shore – Jordan Nolan

Derek Forbort – Drew Doughty

Jake Muzzin – Alec Martinez

Brayden McNabb – Kevin Gravel

Peter Budaj

Jeff Zatkoff