Sharks at Kings, Feb. 9: Lines, gamethread & how to watch
It’s our favorite time of year, as the San Jose Sharks look to #BeatLA in their visit to Staples Center for the next two games.
If you thought being a Sharks fan has been difficult, let me introduce you to the 2021 Los Angeles Kings, who are in no rush to get their incredible prospect pool to the big leagues. It’s probably a good strategy to not expose them to this weird and risky season, but it does mean the team is still struggling to be competitive. Aiding in this is an issue the Sharks share: a bad goaltender tied up for several years and no viable depth to get them through a season where teams are utilizing three goaltenders.
Make no mistake, LA is going to be scary again, especially after several contracts fall off the books in 2022. But right now, this is still very much a team in transition. They’re sitting on a four-game losing streak, dropping their series against the Vegas Golden Knights, as well as games against the Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild.
Here’s everything you need to know to tune in tonight:
Lines
SAN JOSE SHARKS
Evander Kane — Logan Couture — Kevin Labanc
Ryan Donato — Tomas Hertl — Timo Meier
Rudolfs Balcers — Patrick Marleau — Noah Gregor
Marcus Sorensen — Dylan Gambrell — Matt Nieto
Mario Ferraro — Brent Burns
Radim Simek — Erik Karlsson
Nikolai Knyzhov — Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Martin Jones
Devan Dubnyk
Expected Scratches: Kurtis Gabriel, Fredrik Claesson, Nicolas Meloche, Alexander Chmelevski, Maxim Letunov, Josef Korenar
Injured Reserve: None
LOS ANGELES KINGS
Alex Iafallo — Anze Kopitar — Dustin Brown
Austin Wagner — Michael Amadio — Jeff Carter
Lias Andersson — Gabriel Vilardi — Adrian Kempe
Carl Grundstrom — Jaret Anderson-Dolan — Trevor Moore
Mikey Anderson — Drew Doughty
Kurtis MacDermid — Kale Clague
Olli Maatta — Austin Strand
Jonathan Quick
Calvin Petersen
Expected Scratches: Tobias Bjornfot
Injured Reserve: Martin Frk (lower body), Matt Roy (upper body), Sean Walker (upper body), Matt Luff (undisclosed)
COVID-19 Protocol: Andreas Athanasiou, Blake Lizotte
How to Watch
Puck drop is at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Tonight’s game will be broadcast regionally on Fox Sports West and NBC Sports Bay Area, as well as available to stream through NHL.tv.
Follow along in the comments for live updates and reactions throughout the game!