The San Jose Sharks are back home for a brief stay, just one game, before the team heads back out on the road before Thanksgiving. The Sharks host the Detroit Red Wings for the first time since Jake Walman was traded from Detroit.
When San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng asked Walman about the trade this morning, the response didn’t sound happy.
Walman, on if he knows why he got traded: “I think people are still wondering, and I don't think anybody really knows, except for the person that did it.”
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 18, 2024
Walman will play tonight against his old team. Nico Sturm will not play. He’s on injured reserve. Then, there’s Vitek Vanecek, who was pulled after the first period in Pittsburgh on Saturday with an injury. Vanecek is day-to-day with an upper body injury and he will not dress tonight. The Sharks have called up Yaroslav Askarov to play backup. There’s no word on how long Askarov will be up, Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky told the media he wasn’t sure if Vanecek would be available for the upcoming road trip.
Despite several years into the team’s rebuild, the Red Wings aren’t in that much of a better position than the Sharks. Detroit is 7-9-1 this season and sitting in seventh place in the Atlantic Division. It’s pretty clear that unless the Red Wings go on an extensive run, the team will miss the playoffs for a ninth consecutive year. That’s a fate the Sharks would rather avoid a few years from now.
The Red Wings have lost two in a row, falling to the Anaheim Ducks 6-4 on Friday and the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 on Saturday. The Sharks could complete the California sweep with a win tonight.
Detroit’s top scorers are Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond, who both have 16 points in 17 games. Dylan Larkin is the team’s top goal scorer. He’s already hit double digits with 10 goals. Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon are sharing duties in net with Talbot taking on most of the work load. Talbot is 5-3-1 with a 2.42 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. Lyon has a .903 save percentage and a 3.14 goals against average.
Goaltender Jack Campbell returned to the team earlier this week and was immediately placed on waivers for the purpose of reassignment to the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL. As Detroit Hockey Now reports, this isn’t the “cold-hearted move” that it looks like on paper. Campbell was signed to the Red Wings specifically for the purpose of going to the AHL to mentor Detroit’s young prospect Sebastian Cossa.
San Jose Sharks lines Nov. 18, 2024
Look for Mackenzie Blackwood in net.
Peng reports that the lines this morning during the skate were similar to the ones that took the ice against the Penguins. That means Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith will skate together again.
#TheFutureIsTeal morning skate lines look the same as in Pittsburgh:
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 18, 2024
Eklund-Granlund-Zetterlund
Goodrow-Celebrini-W. Smith
Dellandrea-Wennberg-Toffoli
Kostin-Kunin-Grundstrom
Thrun-Ceci
Ferraro-Liljegren
Walman-Rutta
Forwards
William Eklund – Mikael Granlund – Fabian Zetterlund
Will Smith – Macklin Celebrini – Barclay Goodrow
Tyler Toffoli – Alex Wennberg – Ty Dellandrea
Klim Kostin – Luke Kunin – Carl Grundstrom
Defense
Henry Thrun – Cody Ceci
Mario Ferraro – Timothy Liljegren
Jake Walman – Jan Rutta
Goaltenders
Mackenzie Blackwood
Yaroslav Askarov
Detroit Red Wings lines tonight
According to Red Wings Insider Jonathan Mills, Simon Edvinsson and Michael Rasmussen will both play even though they’re injured.
Based on that and what the Daily Faceoff says, here’s what we think the lines will look like tonight.
Forwards
Alex DeBrincat – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond
Vladimir Tarasenko – Marco Kasper – Patrick Kane
Andrew Copp – J.T. Compher – Jonatan Berggren
Michael Rasmussen- Joe Veleno – Christian Fischer
Defense
Simon Edvinsson – Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot – Jeff Petry
Erik Gustafsson – Justin Holl
Goaltenders
Cam Talbot
Alex Lyon
How to watch Detroit Red Wings at San Jose Sharks Nov. 18, 2024
Tonight’s game starts at 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET at SAP Center.
Sharks fans can catch the game on NBC Sports California or listen live on the Sharks & SAP Center app.
Detroit fans can watch on FDSN Detroit.
If you’re out of market, you can also catch the game on ESPN+.
