The San Jose Sharks showed off a new identity on Thursday night, going toe to toe with one of the nastier teams in the league and matching them jab for jab. The surprise wasn’t that Mason Marchment and Darnell Nurse went up against the Florida Panthers, but that Will Smith, Macklin Celebrini and Collin Graf were right there with them, bringing some of that dirty play that, while frowned upon by opponents, is often necessary to get a team far in the playoffs. It paid off with a 4-3 overtime win that Sharks fans will not forget.
Which leads to the next question: what team will show up tonight? The Sharks were fast in the season opener, but the Panthers were able to keep up. The heavy play was a way to slow the Sharks down. Tonight, against one of the league’s oldest teams, the Los Angeles Kings, the Sharks may be able to skate away with a win without all the fisticuffs.
The Kings added Erik Haula (35), Mats Zuccarello (39), Erik Gustafsson (34) and Scott Laughton (32) in the offseason. There was also the addition of forward Artemi Panarin (34) before the trade deadline last season. While all of that might have made the Kings better, it also made the team much older than the rest of the league. The average age of the Kings is 31.13, almost a year older than the Florida Panthers, the second-oldest team in the league.
The Sharks might be able to use the team’s speed to its advantage.
The other news of note for the Kings is that, for the first time in a very, very long time, LA is without Anze Kopitar, who retired at the end of last season. Taking Kopitar’s place as captain is defenseman Drew Doughty.
San Jose Sharks lines
After an impressive showing on opening night, Yaroslav Askarov looks like he’ll get the nod again tonight. Meantime, Sam Dickinson might get the chance to play tonight. The Bay Area News Group’s Curtis Pashelka reports that Jacob Trouba is ill and is a gametime decision.
Ryan Warsofsky said Jacob Trouba is a game time decision (illness) #SJSharks— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) October 3, 2026
If Trouba is out, Sharks Hockey Digest’s Max Miller reports these are the lines out of the morning skate.
#SJSharks lines at morning skate:
Marchment-Celebrini-Smith
Stenberg-Wennberg-Graf
Chernyshov-Misa-Toffoli
Goodrow-Ostapchuk-Sherwood
Ex: Gaudette-Dellandrea-Leason
Nurse-Kesselring
Dickinson-Allan
Orlov-Cagnoni— Max Miller (@Real_Max_Miller) October 3, 2026
Forwards
Mason Marchment – Macklin Celebrini – Will Smith
Ivar Stenberg – Alex Wennberg – Collin Graf
Igor Chernyshov – Michael Misa – Tyler Toffoli
Barclay Goodrow – Zach Ostapchuk – Kiefer Sherwood
Defense
Darnell Nurse – Michael Kesselring
Sam Dickinson – Nolan Allan
Dmitry Orlov – Luca Cagnoni
Goaltenders
Yaroslav Askarov
Alex Nedeljkovic
Los Angeles Kings lines tonight
Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider has all the details of the Kings’ lines tonight. It sounds like Anton Forsberg will start in the net tonight, making his season debut for the Kings. As for the lines, fan favorite Corey Perry is expected to join the lineup, adding to that aforementioned league’s oldest lineup. Gustafsson is also expected to play.
Expect to see 11 forwards and 7 defensemen tonight for the @LAKings.
Corey Perry and Erik Gustafsson will both make their season debuts in San Jose.— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) October 3, 2026
Moreover, Dooley reports the Kings will likely run with a 11-7 formation.
Forwards
Artemi Panarin – Quentin Byfield – Adrian Kempe
Mats Zuccarello – Alex Turcotte – Alex Laferriere
Trevor Moore – Erik Haula – Scott Laughton
Joel Armia – Corey Perry
Defense
Brian Dumoulin – Drew Doughty
Joel Edmundson – Brandt Clarke
Mikey Anderson – Cody Ceci
Erik Gustafsson
Goaltenders
Anton Forsberg
Darcy Kuemper
How to watch Los Angeles Kings vs. San Jose Sharks Oct. 3, 2026
The puck drops at 7 p.m. at SAP Center in San Jose.
Sharks fans can watch the game on NBC Sports California or listen on the Sharks + SAP Center app.
Kings fans can watch on ABTV or DAZN or listen through the LA Kings app.
As always, be sure to come back here at game time and talk with other Sharks fans about what’s happening on the ice and around the league. It feels like there’s going to be a lot to talk about this season.
