Exactly one year ago tonight, the San Jose Sharks suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks. The Sharks lost 10-1 and immediately followed it up with a 10-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was an early rock bottom to a very long season.
This time around, the Sharks are entering the game with a three-game winning streak, while the Canucks have a two-game losing skid that the team is trying to snap. While Vancouver is fourth in the Pacific Divison with 11 points, it’s just three points up on the Sharks. (Admittedly, the Sharks have played three games more than Vancouver.)
This is the first of four meetings between the two teams this season. They will play again in Vancouver on Dec. 23 and April 14 and play once more in San Jose on Feb. 6.
Brock Boeser shares the scoring lead for the Canucks with J.T. Miller. Both have nine points in nine games. Boeser also leads the team with five goals. Defenseman Quinn Hughes is close behind with eight points in nine games.
In the net, Kevin Lankinen is the top goaltender for the Canucks in the absence of Thatcher Demko. Lankinen has a 4-0-2 record with a 2.29 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. Arturs Silovs is the backup.
It could be a big night for the man advantage. So far, the Canucks have averaged 9:26 minutes on the penalty kill per game while the Sharks have averaged 10:35. The Sharks are 14th in the league on the penalty kill with an 80.8% success rate. The Canucks are 10th with an 82.1% success rate. The Sharks are 12th in the league in scoring on the power play with 21.6%, while the Canucks are 17.2%.
One more quick note, the Canucks placed Nils Åman on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to Abbotsford. It clears the way for Dakota Joshua to rejoin the team. Joshua is on the road to recovery after he had surgery to deal with a testicular cancer diagnosis over the summer.
NHL.com’s Derek Van Diest talked to Joshua on Friday about the diagnosis and the road to recovery. You can read it here.
San Jose Sharks lines for Nov. 2, 2024
For the Sharks tonight, it looks like Danil Gushchin remains in the lineup and Mackenzie Blackwood gets another turn in net. Timothy Liljegren is in San Jose and he’s ready to suit up. He’ll be in the lineup in the place of Jack Thompson tonight. Ty Dellandrea was back on the ice skating, but we’re not sure if he’s in today.
According to San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng, Givani Smith and Klim Kostin will sit.
Here’s what we think the lines will look like based on all that information.
Forwards
William Eklund – Mikael Granlund – Tyler Toffoli
Danil Gushchin – Alex Wennberg – Fabian Zetterlund
Barclay Goodrow – Will Smith – Luke Kunin
Carl Grundstrom – Nico Sturm – Ethan Cardwell
Defense
Jake Walman – Cody Ceci
Mario Ferraro – Jan Rutta
Henry Thrun – Timothy Liljegren
Goaltenders
Mackenzie Blackwood
Vitek Vanecek
Vancouver Canucks lines tonight
According to Canucks play-by-play announcer, Brendan Batchelor, these were the Canucks practice lines on Friday.
Friday #Canucks practice lines
— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) November 1, 2024
Bains. Pettersson. Garland.
DeBrusk. Miller. Boeser.
Heinen. Blueger. Sherwood.
Höglander. Suter. Sprong.
Extras: Åman, Joshua
Hughes. Hronek.
Soucy. Myers.
Brännström. Juulsen.
Forbort. Desharnais.@Sportsnet650 pic.twitter.com/5pceSLUbXy
Here’s what we think the lines will look like tonight. Even though Joshua was reactivated, we’ll guess he’s not playing just yet.
Forwards
Arshdeep Bains – Elias Pettersson – Conor Garland
Jake DeBrusk – J.T. Miller – Brock Boeser
Danton Heinen – Teddy Blueger – Kiefer Sherwood
Nils Höglander – Pius Suter – Daniel Sprong
Defense
Quinn Hughes – Filip Hronek
Carson Soucy – Tyler Myers
Erik Brännström – Noah Juulsen
Goaltenders
Kevin Lankinen
Arturs Silovs
How to watch Vancouver Canucks at San Jose Sharks tonight
Tonight’s game starts at little earlier than usual, the puck drops at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET. For fans in the Bay Area, you can watch the game on NBC Sports California. Viewers out of the area can see the game on ESPN+.
Anyone can listen to the game on the Sharks Audio Network through the Sharks & SAP Center app.
As for fans in Canada, the game will air on Hockey Night in Canada on Sportsnet. If you want the radio broadcast, tune in to Sportsnet 650 or the Sportsnet Radio Network.
If you’re not at the tank but want to follow along with other Sharks fans. Come back here at puck drop to talk with the rest of the Fear the Fin community.
