The San Jose Sharks will be without Nico Sturm and Luke Kunin today, as the team prepares for the final game of the road trip, this one against the Colorado Avalanche. Sturm was traded earlier today to the Florida Panthers, while Kunin is being kept out for “roster management” reasons, according to multiple sources.
The #SJSharks are holding Luke Kunin out of tonight's game in Denver for roster management purposes.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 6, 2025
Luckily for the Sharks, it sounds like Nikolai Kovalenko will be reactivated from the injured reserve list, just in time to face his old team. It’s a much-needed addition to the forward group, considering the recent trades. While Alexandar Georgiev is expected to start for the Sharks again tonight, it will be Georgi Romanov playing in the backup role. Romanov was called up after the trade of Vitek Vanecek.
The Avalanche are also dealing with some changes as the trade deadline approaches. On March 1, Colorado traded Juuso Parssinen, Calvin de Haan, a 2025 second-round pick and a 2025 fourth-round pick to the New York Rangers for Ryan Lindgren, Jimmy Vesey and Hank Kempf. In January, you may remember that the Avs acquired Martin Necas, Jack Drury and a pair of picks from the Carolina Hurricanes for Nils Juntorp and Mikko Rantanen.
In other words, the lineup is much different than it was when the two teams last played in November. That said, there are some things that are still the same. For example, Nathan MacKinnon still leads the team. He has 93 points, including 23 goals. He’s one of four players with 20-plus goals this season. Both Cale Makar and Necas are playing at more than a point-per-game pace as well. They each have 68 points in 62 games. Then there’s Artturi Lehkonen who has 26 goals to lead the Avs.
In the net, it looks like Mackenzie Blackwood gets a shot at facing his old team. Blackwood is 16-7-2 since joining the Avalanche with a 2.12 goals against average and .921 save percentage. His work was enough to get him a new five-year deal worth $5.25 million per year.
This is the last meeting between these teams this season. The last time they played was on Dec. 19, 2024 when the Avalanche won 4-2. That game happened just after the two teams swapped goaltenders. They also played on Oct. 20, 2024, when the Avs won 4-1.
San Jose Sharks lines tonight
We’re going to drop our best guess at the lines below, but it sounds like everything is in flux.
Sharks have another trade in the works. Earlier they were engaged in talks in separate moves involving Jake Walman, Mario Ferraro & Luke Kunin. We’ll see where this goes, doesn’t sound like Kunin right now.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) March 6, 2025
According to The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, Jake Walman and Mario Ferraro are also up for grabs. Honestly, fans might be happy if the return is immense. If they are in play, then we don’t expect they’ll play tonight.
Forwards
William Eklund – Macklin Celebrini – Tyler Toffoli
Fabian Zetterlund – Alex Wennberg – Will Smith
Nikolai Kovalenko – Barclay Goodrow – Carl Grundstrom
Collin Graf – Ty Dellandrea– Klim Kostin
Defense
Jake Walman – Timothy Liljegren
Mario Ferraro – Shakir Mukhamadullin
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Jack Thompson
Goaltenders
Alexandar Georgiev
Georgi Romanov
Colorado Avalanche lines vs. San Jose Sharks
As for the Avalanche, this is what the lines are expected to look like, according to NHL.com. Vesey will play for the first time since he was traded from New York. Also, Josh Manson returns from injury.
Forwards
Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Jonathan Drouin — Casey Mittelstadt — Valeri Nichushkin
Joel Kiviranta — Jack Drury — Ross Colton
Jimmy Vesey — Parker Kelly — Logan O’Connor
Defense
Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Josh Manson — Samuel Girard
Ryan Lindgren — Keaton Middleton
Goaltenders
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood
How to watch San Jose Sharks at Colorado Avalanche March 6, 2025
This is a nationally televised game so Sharks and Avs fans can both watch the game on ESPN. Sharks fans can listen on the Sharks Audio Network. While Avalanche fans can listen on Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM).
The puck drops at 6:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. MT.
