The good news is that tonight’s matchup against the Anaheim Ducks can’t be much worse than the showdown with the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night. Not only are the Ducks a less skilled team than the Devils, but one would guess that the Sharks feel a little embarrassed by the poor performance on the night of Timo Meier’s return. The bad news is that this is one of those games that could tank the tank.
With 57 games played in the season, the Sharks have 35 points, tied with the Chicago Blackhawks. Now the Ducks aren’t doing much better with 43 points. San Jose has lost four in a row. Anaheim has lost three in a row. Sadly, someone’s losing streak is coming to an end.
This is the final meeting of the season between these two teams. The Ducks have won twice — 4-1 on Nov. 12 and 3-2 in overtime on Jan. 31. The Sharks won the Jan. 20 game by a score of 5-3. It’s worth noting that on Jan. 20, the Sharks had both Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl in the lineup, two players that the team will not have tonight.
Anaheim has a little rest coming into this matchup. It last played on Saturday, when the Ducks lost to the Nashville Predators 4-2. Frank Vatrano leads the Ducks in goals (26) and points (45). Troy Terry also has 45 points. I’m not sure this should be celebrated, but Radko Gudas has hit the century mark in penalty minutes.
Fun Leap Day stats
This is the 21st Leap Day in NHL history according to the NHL and a few familiar faces appear on the crazy Leap Day facts sheet.
The NHL says former Sharks’ defenseman Brent Burns has the most career points in Leap Day points among active players with five in four games played. He needs three points to tie Wayne Gretzky, who has eight points in four games played.
Patrick Marleau has played the most Leap Day games in NHL history with five, though Burns could tie him tonight when the Carolina Hurricanes play the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Former Shark Joe Pavelski is one of just a handful of players who have three goals or more on Leap Day. His Dallas Stars play the Winnipeg Jets tonight.
The Sharks are 4-1-0 in Leap Day games.
The Ducks are 3-1-0.
For more Leap Day stats, check out this fact sheet from the NHL.
San Jose Sharks lines Feb. 29, 2024
For the Sharks, it looks like Marc-Edouard Vlasic will be a game time decision. He missed the last game with an injury. Here’s what Daily Faceoff reports the lines will likely look like.
Forwards
Anthony Duclair – Mikael Granlund – Fabian Zetterlund
Filip Zadina – William Eklund – Luke Kunin
Alexander Barabanov – Nico Sturm – Kevin Labanc
Mike Hoffman – Ryan Carpenter – Justin Bailey
Defensemen
Mario Ferraro – Ty Emberson
Henry Thrun – Jan Rutta
Nikita Okhotiuk – Kyle Burroughs
Goaltenders
Kaapo Kahkonen
Magnus Chrona
Anaheim Ducks lines against the San Jose Sharks
Troy Terry is questionable for the Ducks tonight. The forward missed Saturday’s game with an injury. The good news for the Ducks is that Brett Leason is more than up to the task if Terry is out. The forward filled in for Terry on the second line on Saturday and had a good night, contributing on both of Anaheim’s goals.
“I feel like I fit in,” Leason told NHL.com of skating with Frank Vatrano and Mason McTavish. “I think we played fast together, knew where each other were going to be and had some good looks.”
Here are what the lines look like courtesy of the Daily Faceoff.
Forwards
Adam Henrique – Leo Carlsson – Alex Killorn
Frank Vatrano – Mason McTavish – Brett Leason
Isac Lundestrom – Ryan Strome – Jakob Silfverberg
Ross Johnston – Sam Carrick – Max Jones
Defensemen
Gustav Lundstrom – Cam Fowler
Urho Vaakanainen – Radko Gudas
Pavel Mintyukov – Ilya Lyubushkin
Goaltenders
John Gibson
Lukas Dostal
How to watch Ducks at Sharks Feb. 29, 2024
Sharks fans can watch the game on NBCSCA or listen on the Sharks Audio Network. You can find it at the following link: sjsharks.com/listen.
Ducks fans can watch the game on Bally Sports SoCal or listen via the Ducks Stream.
The game is also on ESPN+ and Hulu, though blackout restrictions can apply.
Puck drop at 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET at SAP Center.
You can also come back here and get an update on all of the action by joining in the discussion with the rest of the Sharks fans.
