Less than two weeks after the Colorado Avalanche and the San Jose Sharks engaged in a mid-season goalie swap, the two teams meet in what appears to be a chance for both goaltenders to show their former teams, what they missed out on. Mackenzie Blackwood is expected to start for the Avalanche tonight and, after the unfortunate injury to Vitek Vanecek on Tuesday, it looks like Alexandar Georgiev will get his second start in a row. That means the two goaltenders will represent their new teams as they faceoff against their old teams.
Before we get to that, a quick update on Vanecek. The goaltender will be out week-to-week because of that errant puck. While Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky did not elaborate on the injury, the puck appeared to strike Vanecek in the head. Here’s to hoping he’s okay.
In his place, the Sharks have called up Yaroslav Askarov. Askarov will serve as backup to Georgiev tonight but could get a start on the upcoming road trip. The Sharks play in Edmonton and Vancouver before Christmas and then take a short break before hosting Vegas and Calgary in back-to-back games on Dec. 27 and 28.
The secondary storyline is Givani Smith and Nikolai Kovalenko facing their old teams. Smith and Kovalenko were secondary pieces in the goalie trade. Smith has played three games for the Avalanche this season and averaged 7:35 of ice time in those games. He has zero points. In the meantime, Kovalenko played four games for the Sharks and scored five points.
If tonight is a best-on-best battle, then Macklin Celebrini has a tough task ahead of him. Nathan MacKinnon leads the NHL with 50 points. He has nine points in his last five games. Close on his heels is Mikko Rantanen, who has 47 points in 33 games. Rantanen leads the Avalanche with 18 goals.
Colorado also touts one of the top defensemen in the game. Cale Makar has 38 points this season and helps lead Colorado’s potent power play. He’s first in points among NHL defensemen and tied for second in goals among blueliners.
The Avalanche are 5-5-0 in the team’s last ten games. The Avs lost on Monday 3-1 to the Vancouver Canucks. This is the second of three meetings between the Sharks and Avalanche. The last time these two teams met, Colorado won 4-1.
San Jose Sharks lines tonight
According to San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng, Timothy Liljegren might be the odd man out on defense tonight. That means the bottom pairing is likely Henry Thrun and Shakir Mukhamadullin.
#SJSharks lines at morning skate, Liljegren might be scratched:
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 19, 2024
Goodrow-Granlund-Zetterlund
Kovalenko-Celebrini-Toffoli
Eklund-Wennberg-Smith
Grundstrom-Sturm-Kunin
Walman-Ceci
Ferraro-Rutta
Thrun-Mukhamadullin
Forwards
Barclay Goodrow – Mikael Granlund – Fabian Zetterlund
Nikolai Kovalenko – Macklin Celebrini – Tyler Toffoli
William Eklund – Alex Wennberg – Will Smith
Carl Grundstrom – Nico Sturm – Luke Kunin
Defense
Jake Walman – Cody Ceci
Mario Ferraro – Jan Rutta
Henry Thrun – Shakir Mukhamadullin
Goaltenders
Alexandar Georgiev
Yaroslav Askarov
Colorado Avalanche lines vs. San Jose Sharks
According to The Daily Faceoff, these are the potential lines for tonight’s game. These are the same lines that the Avalanche used on Monday in Vancouver.
Forwards
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen
Ross Colton – Casey Mittelstadt – Valeri Nichushkin
Joel Kiviranta – Parker Kelly – Logan O’Connor
Givani Smith – Ivan Ivan – Chris Wagner
Defense
Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Samuel Girard – Sam Malinski
Keaton Middleton – Calvin de Haan
Goaltenders
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood
How to watch Colorado Avalanche at San Jose Sharks Dec. 19, 2024
Sharks fans can catch the game on NBC Sports California or listen on the Sharks Audio Network.
Avalanche fans can watch the game on Altitude or Altitude+. They can also listen on Altitude Sports Radio (950 AM).
The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. PT/8 :30 p.m. MT at SAP Center in San Jose.
