The Nashville Predators (30-25-2) are heading to the golden state to face off against the San Jose Sharks (15-35-5) in a battle of the dueling apex predator matchup. The Sharks are coming into the game as underdogs, as the last time the two teams met, the Sharks got dragged out of the ocean in a 5-1 loss.
The Predators are currently on a three-game winning streak and are looking to extend the streak to four and sweep all the California teams in their road trip as their previous two games were wins against the LA Kings and the Anaheim Ducks.
The San Jose Sharks are currently on a two-game losing streak since the on-ice debut of the new Cali-Fin jerseys against the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Vegas Golden Knights. The Sharks plan to wear the Cali-Fin look until the end of March, so we’ll see if the trend continues. If you are superstitious it is no secret that the third uniforms tend to be bad luck for the Sharks.
New powerplay unit
According to Sheng Peng on X, the Sharks are attempting a new powerplay unit with Henry Thrun quarterbacking it. This is his first year jumping between the Sharks and the Barracuda, garnering the experience to be a top four defenseman pairing in both leagues.
Two out of Thrun’s three points have been on the powerplay, which, for the rookie, showcases his strong suit so far in the NHL. During his three seasons playing for Harvard, Thrun was only able to get five goals on the powerplay. However, this powerplay unit has two playmakers in William Eklund and Mikael Granlund. Potentially, we can see the young studs work with one another to tally up against Nashville.
If the playmaking doesn’t work, it looks like this matchup will have a lot of shot attempts with natural goal scorers such as Anthony Duclair and Fabian Zetterlund on the first powerplay unit and Mike Hoffman and Alexander Barabanov on the second unit.
Kahkonen needs to stand tall
According to Peng, Kaapo Kahkonen will start. Since the team’s return from the break, the Kahkonen and Mackenzie Blackwood have been alternating starts, and it looks to continue for the foreseeable future.
This will be a hard task as Kahkonen has never won against the Predators in the regular season. As the Sharks look to break the team’s current losing streak, San Jose can come to support Kahkonen to get his first against the Preds. He could use the help as the past five games he has had to face more than 30 shots in each game.
Rising opportunity
With Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture being departed from the team due to injuries, the lack of leadership needs players to answer the call and fill in the role. The main player I am expecting to have a big game is Granlund.
For starters, Granlund is no stranger to the Predators as he was part of the franchise for five seasons before joining the Pittsbugh Penguins and the Sharks. It is also no secret that Granlund has been connected to a plethora of trade rumors leading up to this year’s trade deadline, seeing as he is second on the team in points with 31 points. Now, this is my bold prediction for the game, but I can see Granlund getting three points tonight to tie with Hertl in points with 34 points.
As many of you know, Fear the Fin is an independent site run by Sharks fans for Sharks fans. Help keep Fear the Fin independent by contributing to our