The San Jose Sharks have added another Hobey Baker Top-10 finalist to the prospect pool. Earlier today, the team signed coveted, undrafted free agent Collin Graf out of Quinnipiac University. Graf is en route to San Jose but is unlikely to play tonight. It’s a lot to expect him to sign his ELC, fly across the country and then get geared up in time for the game. It’s likely we’ll see him take his solo lap on Saturday.
That means that the Sharks ice much the same lineup as it did on Monday. Look for San Jose to put a little pressure on division rival the Los Angeles Kings tonight. The Kings have dropped to the second wild card spot and could face some competition if the players are not careful. With seven games to play in the season, the Kings only lead the St. Louis Blues by five points. Mathematically, the Blues can still catch them and the Sharks could help St. Louis out in that endeavor tonight.
The Kings haven’t done themselves any favors recently. The team is 6-4-0 in it’s last 10 games, allowing the Vegas Golden Knights to sneak into the third spot in the Pacific Division.
LA beat the Seattle Kraken 5-2 at home last night, so this is the second night of back-to-back games. This is the final meeting between the two teams. The Sharks lost 4-1 on Dec. 19 and 5-1 on Dec. 27. The team won 4-3 in the shootout on Jan. 22.
Kevin Fiala leads the Kings with 68 points. Adrian Kempe is close behind with 67 and Anze Kopitar has 66. Trevor Moore needs one more goal to reach 30 for the season. He leads the Kings in goals scored.
San Jose Sharks lines April 4, 2024
According to San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng, Jack Studnicka should get a shot in the lineup tonight. Peng reports that Ryan Carpenter, Givani Smith and Jacob MacDonald were the last ones on the ice this morning.
Carpenter, Smith & MacDonald still out there, so guess they’re not playing tonight
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) April 4, 2024
Here’s what The Daily Faceoff reports the lines will look like tonight:
Forwards
Klim Kostin – Mikael Granlund – Fabian Zetterlund
William Eklund – Luke Kunin – Justin Bailey
Filip Zadina – Jack Studnicka – Thomas Bordeleau
Kevin Labanc – Nico Sturm – Mike Hoffman
Defensemen
Mario Ferraro – Kyle Burroughs
Henry Thrun – Calen Addison
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Jan Rutta
Goaltenders
Mackenzie Blackwood
Devin Cooley
LA Kings lines vs. San Jose Sharks
For the Los Angeles Kings, look for the same lines as the team used last night, according to The Daily Faceoff. Since Cam Talbot was in the net for the win last night, expect to see David Rittich tonight. Phillip Danault did not travel with the team and will not play tonight.
Forwards
Quinton Byfield – Anze Kopitar – Adrian Kempe
Trevor Moore – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Viktor Arvidsson
Kevin Fiala – Blake Lizotte – Trevor Lewis
Jacob Moverare – Arthur Kaliyev – Alex Laferriere
Defensemen
Mikey Anderson – Drew Doughty
Vladislav Gavrikov – Matt Roy
Andreas Englund – Jordan Spence
Goaltenders
David Rittich
Cam Talbot
How to watch Kings at Sharks April 4, 2024
The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET at SAP Center.
San Jose Sharks fans can watch the game on NBCSCA. You can also listen on the Sharks Audio Network.
Kings fans can watch on Bally Sports West or listen on the Kings Audio Network on iHeart Radio.
Be sure to come back here at game time to talk with other Sharks fans about everything happening in the game.
