For the first two weeks of April, the San Jose Sharks will be exclusively facing off against their Southern California rivals, alternating between the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks for the next seven games.
The Kings are getting closer to the end of their rebuild, and though they sit in sixth in the West Division right now, they’re just four points behind St. Louis for the final playoff spot, with a game in hand. They haven’t been playing at a dominating pace, but they might sneak their way in.
Or it might be the Sharks doing the sneaking, tied with the Kings at 34 points. If this series of seven games sees them go on a run, suddenly that spot isn’t so far off.
It’s unlikely, but it’s possible.
Here’s everything you need to know to tune in tonight:
Lines
SAN JOSE SHARKS
Evander Kane — Logan Couture — Kevin Labanc
Rudolfs Balcers — Tomas Hertl — Timo Meier
Ryan Donato — Dylan Gambrell — John Leonard
Jeffrey Viel — Patrick Marleau — Marcus Sorensen
Mario Ferraro — Brent Burns
Nikolai Knyzhov — Erik Karlsson
Radim Simek — Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Martin Jones
Devan Dubnyk
Expected Scratches: Antti Suomela, Kurtis Gabriel, Christian Jaros
Injured Reserve: Matt Nieto (lower body)
LOS ANGELES KINGS
Alex Iafallo — Anze Kopitar — Dustin Brown
Trevor Moore — Gabriel Vilardi — Jeff Carter
Andreas Athanasiou — Jaret Anderson-Dolan — Adrian Kempe
Lias Andersson — Blake Lizotte — Austin Wagner
Mikey Anderson — Drew Doughty
Kurtis MacDermid — Matt Roy
Sean Walker — Austin Strand
Calvin Petersen
Jonathan Quick
Expected Scratches: Matt Luff, Carl Grundstrom
Injured Reserve: Tobias Bjornfot (upper body), Olli Maatta (upper body), Martin Frk (lower body)
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 KCOP-13 and NBC Sports California Plus, as well as available to stream through NHL.tv (blackout restrictions apply).
Follow along in the comments for live updates and reactions throughout the game!
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