The St. Louis Blues are in San Jose tonight for the team’s first of two visits to the Shark Tank this season. The Blues have won three straight, most recently shutting out the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-0 on Tuesday. The team has scored in bunches during this win streak, outscoring opponents 15-3 in the span. The big win was on Saturday, when the Blues dominated the Colorado Avalanche. The final score was 8-2. Brayden Schenn and Pavel Buchnevich each had a hat trick in the win.
Amazingly, it’s not Schenn or Buchnevich that’s leading the scoring for St. Louis. That honor goes to Robert Thomas, who has 16 points in 14 games. Thomas also leads the team in goals with six. Meanwhile, Jordan Binnington is a middling 5-4-1 to start the season, but he’s put up impressive numbers. Despite the losses, he still sports a 2.27 goals against average and a .930 save percentage.
As for the Sharks, the players are looking to snap a three game losing streak. While the performance against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday was a very good effort, two minutes of play doomed the team. San Jose is now 2-13-1, firmly in the basement of the NHL.
San Jose Sharks lines
Health has been part of the problem for San Jose, but some of that could be rectified tonight. Anthony Duclair skated with the team yesterday after missing a few games due to illness. Duclair told the Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka that he was dealing with strep throat and lost weight while battling the illness but he’s feeling better.
Anthony Duclair says he’ll be in the lineup tomorrow. Came down with strep throat. Lost about 10 pounds but has gained 5-6 back. #SJSharks
— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) November 15, 2023
Matt Benning and Jacob MacDonald are still out. Oskar Lindblom was placed on injured reserve instead of being sent back to the Barracuda. According to San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng, it looks like Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Nikolai Knyzhov and Kevin Labanc are the healthy scratches.
Vlasic, Knyzhov, Labanc may be scratches, based on who’s left out here. Benning, MacDonald, Barabanov skating after practice too
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 16, 2023
So how do the Sharks line up?
Forwards
William Eklund – Tomas Hertl – Fabian Zetterlund
Danil Gushchin – Mikael Granlund – Anthony Duclair
Filip Zadina – Nico Sturm – Luke Kunin
Givani Smith – Ryan Carpenter – Mike Hoffman
Defensemen
Mario Ferraro – Ty Emberson
Calen Addison – Jan Rutta
Nikita Okhotiuk – Kyle Burroughs
Goaltenders
Kaapo Kahkonen
Mackenzie Blackwood
St. Louis Blues lines
On the Blues side of things, don’t expect to see Binnington tonight. The Sharks are likely to get a steady helping of backup goaltenders this season and Joel Hofer is expected to start tonight. Hofer isn’t a pushover. He’s 3-1-0 this season with a 2.50 goals against average and a .918 save percentage.
Here’s how the rest of the Blues line up courtesy of Daily Faceoff.
Forwards
Pavel Buchnevich – Robert Thomas – Kasperi Kapanen
Brandon Saad – Brayden Schenn – Jordan Kyrou
Jakub Vrana – Kevin Hayes – Alexei Toropchenko
Sammy Blais – Oskar Sundqvist – Jake Neighbours
Defensemen
Nick Leddy – Colton Parayko
Torey Krug – Justin Faulk
Marco Scandella – Scott Perunovich
Goaltenders
Joel Hofer
Jordan Binnington
How to watch St. Louis Blues at San Jose Sharks
Tonight’s game will be broadcast regionally on NBCSCA. Streaming is available with a subscription to ESPN+ (blackout restrictions may apply). The radio call will be streamed through the Sharks Audio Network. Blues fans can watch the game on Bally Sports.
The game starts at 7:30 p.m. PT/9:30 p.m. CT/10:30 p.m. ET at SAP Center.
Check back then to follow along with all of the play-by-play action in the comment section below!
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