The San Jose Sharks play host to fellow sea dwellers the Seattle Kraken this evening for some rare Monday night hockey. The season series is split at one game apiece, with two more left to play. The Kraken won the first meeting on Nov. 22 by a 7-1 score. The Sharks got their revenge on Jan. 30 with a 2-0 shutout. Tonight is game three of the series, with game four set for April 11.
The big news for the Kraken is that the team has called up 2022 first-round draft pick Shane Wright. Wright is expected to join the Kraken in San Jose today. This is second call up this season. He played three games with Seattle in November. Wright has 43 points in 56 games with the Kraken’s AHL affiliate the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
The Sharks did some work with a 2022 first-rounder themselves, bringing Filip Bystedt over from Sweden to play with the San Jose Barracuda. Bystedt’s season in the SHL is done. His team was eliminated from the playoffs. The 20-year-old appeared in 47 games for Linkoping HC and had 17 points. He also played for Team Sweden in the World Junior Championship this past January. No word yet on what Bystedt’s first game with the Barracuda will be.
Much like San Jose, the Kraken are out of the playoff hunt. While not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, the Kraken are 14 points behind the Los Angeles Kings, which currently hold the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. With nine games left in the season, Seattle would have to virtually win out and the other teams (LA, St. Louis, Minnesota and Calgary) would all have to lose for the Kraken to even have a shot at making the post season. In other words, welcome to the lottery Seattle.
Jared McCann is the Kraken’s top scorer. He has 58 points in 72 games. He also leads the team with 27 goals.
San Jose Sharks lines April 1, 2024
According to San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng, Mackenzie Blackwood will start tonight, but Devin Cooley will get some starts before the season comes to an end. Alexander Barabanov may be out for the rest of the season with an injury, so Jack Studnicka has been recalled from the Barracuda. There’s no word yet if Studnicka will be in the lineup tonight.
The Daily Faceoff reports that this will be the starting lineup for tonight.
Forwards
Klim Kostin – Mikael Grandlund – FabianZetterlund
William Eklund – Luke Kunin – Justin Bailey
Filip Zadina – Nico Sturm – Thomas Bordeleau
Kevin Labanc – Ryan Carpenter – Mike Hoffman
Defensemen
Mario Ferraro – Kyle Burroughs
Henry Thrun – Calen Addison
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Jan Rutta
Goaltenders
Mackenzie Blackwood
Devin Cooley
Seattle Kraken lines vs. San Jose Sharks
For the Kraken, these are the projected lines according to The Daily Faceoff. Look for Philipp Grubauer to get the start in net. Wright looks like he will center the second line and be flanked by Jaden Schwartz and Jordan Eberle.
Forwards
Jared McCann – Matty Beniers – Oliver Bjorkstrand
Jaden Schwartz – Shane Wright – Jordan Eberle
Eeli Tolvanen – Yanni Gourde – Andre Burakovsky
Brandon Tanev – Logan Morrison – Ryan Winterton
Defenseman
Vince Dunn – Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak – Will Borgen
Brian Dumoulin – Justin Schultz
Goaltenders
Philipp Grubauer
Joey Daccord
How to watch Kraken at Sharks April 1, 2024
You can watch the game on NBCSCA tonight or listen on the Sharks Audio Network. You can also listen through the Sharks & SAP Center App Presented by Western Digital.
Seattle fans can find the game on ROOT SPORTS where they’ll catch John Forslund, JT Brown and Eddie Olczyk with the call. They can also listen on 93.3 FM and 1090 AM.
The game is televised nationally on ESPN+ and Hulu, though you may run into blackout restrictions.
The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET at SAP Center.
Be sure to jump back here at game time to chat with other Sharks fans about everything affecting the team.
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