Sharks at Blues: Lines, gamethread, and where to watch

Tonight, the San Jose Sharks will return to Enterprise Center for the first time since being eliminated in the 2019 Western Conference Final. The St. Louis Blues have already proved once this season that the animosity from that series won’t be soon forgotten, handing the Sharks a 5-2 loss in San Jose on Dec. 21.

The Sharks may have improved since then, but goaltending continues to be their undoing. Half of the Sharks’ last six games have gone to overtime, including an embarrassing 5-4 loss to the Washington Capitals on Sunday.

The St. Louis Blues haven’t slowed down, still topping the Central Division and Western Conference, despite losing their last three games. Interestingly enough, the Blues lost to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, blowing a 3-0 first period lead on the way to a 5-4 overtime loss.

Potentially working to the Sharks’ advantage will be the loss of defender Colton Parayko, who will miss his second straight game with an upper body injury. Rookie and 2015 draft pick Niko Mikkola will crack the lineup, shuffling the defense as he skates on the team’s third pairing.

Lines

Sharks

Dell is back in net tonight for the #SJSharks. Everything else should be the same. pic.twitter.com/0V6J9fvygL

— Fear the Fin (@fearthefin) January 7, 2020

Expected Scratches: Tim Heed, Joachim Blichfeld, Antti Suomela

Injured Reserve: Dalton Prout (upper body)

Blues (via NHL.com)

Jaden Schwartz — Brayden Schenn — Jordan Kyrou
Zach Sanford — Ryan O’Reilly — David Perron
Alexander Steen — Robert Thomas — Tyler Bozak
Mackenzie MacEachern — Ivan Barbashev — Oskar Sundqvist

Vince Dunn — Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester — Justin Faulk
Niko Mikkola — Robert Bortuzzo

Jordan Binnington
Jake Allen

Expected Scratches: Troy Brouwer, Jacob de la Rose

Injured Reserve: Vladimir Tarasenko (shoulder), Sammy Blais (wrist), Carl Gunnarsson (arm), Colton Parayko (upper body)

Where to Watch

Puck drop from Enterprise Center will be at 5 PT/8 ET. Tonight’s broadcast will be available on NBC Sports California in the Bay Area and on Fox Sports Midwest for the visitors’ market. Streaming will be available for free on NHLtv, though blackout restrictions will apply. The radio call will be on 98.5 KFOX or available to stream through the Sharks + SAP Center app.