The San Jose Sharks host the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight looking for a little revenge. The Sharks are in the midst of the team’s worst losing streak of the season and have a chance to snap it against a team that humilated them in early December. You might remember that the Sharks skated into Tampa Bay on Dec. 5 and lost by the brutal score of 8-1. The lone goal for the Sharks was scored by Alex Wennberg.
Briefly, the Lightning lost the team’s most recent game against the Montreal Canadiens 5-2. However, Tampa Bay is 7-3-0 in the team’s last ten games. The team will need to continue runs like that if it wants to stay in the playoff picture. The Lightning are fourth in the Atlantic Division with 42 points, trailing the Boston Bruins by two points (Boston has played five more games than Tampa). The Bolts have the first wild card spot at the moment, two up on the Ottawa Senators.
On the flip side of the coin, the Sharks have lost eight in a row and have just one overtime point in those eight games. The team is back in the tank standings, with the second lowest points percentage in the NHL, ahead of only the Chicago Blackhawks.
After the New Year’s Eve loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky called it one of the team’s worst games of the season. Postgame, Warsofsky was pretty clear that the Sharks are a long, long way from being competitive with the top teams of the league.
Warsofsky on what he wants needs the #SJSharks to realize: "It's very disappointing. Just no desperation, and now you're seeing teams that are finding their identity in the league. Earlier on, I think we were probably catching teams by surprise. Now teams are full go. We're into…
— Max Miller (@Real_Max_Miller) January 1, 2025
“It’s very disappointing. Just no desperation, and now you’re seeing teams that are finding their identity in the league. Earlier on, I think we were probably catching teams by surprise. Now teams are full go. We’re into almost January. Every night, it’s going to be a dog fight. We’re going to get every team’s best because they’re fighting for playoff spots. They’re fighting for spots in their division standings, wherever it might be. And we have to realize that.”
If the Sharks have any pride, and we expect that there’s a lot of it in the room, they’ll come out on fire tonight.
One of the more interesting aspects of today’s game is who is playing and who’s not. According to San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng, Marc-Edouard Vlasic will return to the lineup for the first time this season. It sounds like he’ll be paired with Jan Rutta.
“I still enjoy it. I put myself through a grind the last four months, but it’s all worth it. I love playing the game. I love practicing, and it’s worth it. I’m starting my 19th year on the ice tonight. I’m still having as much fun as I did my first year,” Vlasic told the Hockey News’ Max Miller. “I feel I [belong]. I’m in the lineup. I’m still playing in this league after 19 years. Gonna try to bring what I can bring, and what I worry about is what I can bring to the team and help them win. The rest is out of my control.”
It will be an interesting test for the 37-year-old defenseman. He wasn’t the worst defenseman on the ice last season in his limted playing time, which is saying something on the Sharks. If he gets the chance to get rest between games, he might be a passable seventh defenseman option that can offer some stability to the younger players.
San Jose Sharks lines tonight
So here’s what the Sharks lines look like for tonight’s game. Yaroslav Askarov was the first off the ice so he gets the start. Meantime, we’ll see what the young guns can do together, with Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and Collin Graf can do as a trio.
Forwards
Klim Kostin – Mikael Granlund – Fabian Zetterlund
Collin Graf – Macklin Celebrini – Will Smith
Nikolai Kovalenko – Alexander Wennberg – Tyler Toffoli
Barclay Goodrow – Nico Sturm – Luke Kunin
Defense
Henry Thrun – Cody Ceci
Mario Ferraro – Timothy Liljegren
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -Jan Rutta
Goaltenders
Yaroslav Askarov
Alexandar Georgiev
Tampa Bay Lightning lines vs. San Jose Sharks
According to the Tampa Bay website, here are the projected lines for tonight.
Forwards
Jake Guentzel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Conor Geekie
Gage Goncalves – Nick Paul – Mitchell Chaffee
Zemgus Girgensons – Luke Glendening – Mikey Eyssimont
Defensemen
Victor Hedman – Darren Raddysh
Ryan McDonagh – Erik Cernak
Emil Lilleberg – Nick Perbix
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Jonas Johansson
How to watch Tampa Bay Lightning at San Jose Sharks Jan. 2, 2025
The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET at SAP Center in San Jose.
Sharks fans can watch the game on NBC Sports California or listen on the Sharks Audio Network.
Lightning fans can watch on FanDuel Sports Network or listen on 102.5 FM or Lightning Radio 24/7.
You can also come back here at puck drop to talk about what’s happening on the ice and around the rest of the league.
