The San Jose Sharks will be without another of its stars tonight as the team hosts the Washington Capitals in the second of two meetings between the teams. For the Capitals, this is the first stop on the team’s five-game road trip. The last time the two teams met was on Oct. 29 in Washington, where the Capitals won 3-1. On the Sharks side of things, it’s all about dealing with injuries. Earlier today, Sharks’ Head Coach David Quinn informed the media that Tomas Hertl would not play in tonight’s game.
Injury is not considered serious. It happened at home. Quinn won’t say how, though https://t.co/cRUCdUq0jd
— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) November 27, 2023
As The Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka reports, the injury is not considered serious and it happened at home, not on the ice.
Hertl has been the Sharks’ most dynamic player this season and has helped improve the play of his linemates, most specifically finding chemistry with William Eklund. His presence will be missed in the lineup. The Sharks will also be without Filip Zadina who was injured midway through Saturday’s game. He was placed on injured reserve.
In a separate move, the Sharks signed Justin Bailey to a one-year, two-way deal. Bailey is expected to play tonight.
Justin Bailey #SJSharks
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) November 27, 2023
1 year / 2 way
$775k / $300k
Represented by @CAAHockey https://t.co/biIrUdIqLN
Bailey had a strong showing in training camp and has played well for the Barracuda. He has played 82 career NHL games for teams like the Philadelphia Flyers, Buffalo Sabres and most recently the Vancouver Canucks. Bailey has nine points (5 G, 4 A) in that time.
San Jose Sharks lines
Daily Faceoff has some interesting lines rolling tonight, we’ll see if there’s not a line blender if things aren’t going well midway through the game.
Forwards
William Eklund – Luke Kunin – Mike Hoffman
Anthony Duclair – Mikael Granlund – Fabian Zetterlund
Jacob MacDonald – Nico Sturm – Justin Bailey
Givani Smith – Ryan Carpenter – Kevin Labanc
Defensemen
Mario Ferraro – Ty Emberson
Calen Addison – Matt Benning
Nikita Okhotiuk – Kyle Burroughs
Goaltenders
Mackenzie Blackwood
Kaapo Kahkonen
Washington Capitals lines
The Capitals enter SAP Center with considerably less firepower than the team had when they played the Sharks in October. Since then Nicklas Backstrom has temporarily stepped away from hockey to focus on his health. Backstrom is still dealing with hip issues despite undergoing hip resurfacing surgery in June 2022.
The Capitals are also without T.J. Oshie, who was injured during the team’s last game against the Edmonton Oilers. Oshie collided with Mattias Ekholm at the blueline and crumbled to the ice. He’s expected to stay home for this road trip and recover.
Here’s how the Capitals lines stack up according to Daily Faceoff.
Forwards
Alex Ovechkin – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Tom Wilson
Connor McMichael – Dylan Strome – Matthew Phillips
Sonny Milano – Hendrix Lapierre – Aliaksei Protas
Beck Malenstyn – Nic Dowd – Anthony Mantha
Defensemen
Martin Fehervary – John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin – Nick Jensen
Joel Edmundson – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goaltenders
Darcy Kuemper
Charlie Lindgren
How to watch Washington Capitals 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. Capitals fans can watch the game on MNMT2.
The game starts at 7:30 p.m. PT/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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