The San Jose Sharks are back in action this morning, as the team prepares to take on the Boston Bruins in Boston. The Sharks have a lot of ties to Boston, most specifically the local colleges. Rookie Macklin Celebrini played one season for Boston University, which is just a few miles away from TD Garden, while fellow rookie Will Smith played for Boston College, just six miles away from TD Garden. This is the first return home for both players and you can bet there will be a lot of BU and BC fans in the stands today.
Both players hit the ice yesterday morning for a bit of a homecoming.
BACK IN BEANTOWN: Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini hit the ice together for #SJSharks practice in Boston. pic.twitter.com/bdVKg2yfdN
— Dan Rusanowsky (@DanRusanowsky) January 19, 2025
Meantime Smith, a Massachusetts native, had the privilege of leading the team in post-practice stretches according to San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng.
The Sharks visit Boston at a difficult time for the Bruins. The team was supposed to be firmly ensconced in a playoff spot but is struggling just to stay relevant. The loss in overtime on Saturday to fellow wild card contender, the Ottawa Senators, didn’t help. It was especially telling of Boston’s troubles that captain Brad Marchand was benched during overtime of that game.
Here was the captain’s response after practice yesterday:
Brad Marchand on Joe Sacco’s decision to sit him yesterday in overtime:
— Andrew Fantucchio (@A_Fantucchio) January 19, 2025
“He’s going to make decisions based on how he feels each guy is playing each night. I get it. Next time, I need to do better.” pic.twitter.com/tugQxqdRPf
Boston has already done the fire the head coach thing. It let Jim Montgomery go in late November and replaced him with Joe Sacco. Even with the change behind the bench, the Bruins are still 22-19-6 for the season and if the playoffs started today, the team would be on the outside looking in. Boston has 50 points and currently sits in the runner up position in the wildcard race. It is just a point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets and Columbus has the better points percentage. Behind Boston, the Montreal Canadiens are two points back with two games in hand. Both the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers are two points back and the Rangers have two games in hand on the Bruins.
David Pastrnak leads the Bruins in points, 51, and goals, 21. In the net, it looks like Jeremy Swayman is starting to find his game. Swayman has a 15-15-4 record this season, but he’s 2-2-1 in his last five starts and had a .920 save percentage. On Jan. 14 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Swayman stopped 43 of the 45 shots he faced for a .956 save percentage.
San Jose Sharks lines today
The Sharks are hoping that more of its players will be healthy at game time. Collin Graf was a late addition on Saturday when Tyler Toffoli was too sick to play. We’ll see if Toffoli is ready for today’s game.
What’s more, goaltender Alexandar Georgiev has started the last three games for the Sharks, in part because Yaroslav Askarov has been sick. We expect that Askarov will be good to go today, though the rest of the lines are going to be similar to what we saw on Saturday.
Here’s what we guess the lines will look like.
Forwards
William Eklund – Macklin Celebrini – Ty Dellandrea
Fabian Zetterlund – Mikael Granlund – Will Smith
Luke Kunin – Alex Wennberg – Carl Grundstrom
Barclay Goodrow – Nico Sturm – Collin Graf
Defense
Jake Walman – Cody Ceci
Mario Ferraro – Henry Thrun
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Jan Rutta
Goaltenders
Yaroslav Askarov
Alexandar Georgiev
Boston Bruins lines vs. San Jose Sharks
As for the Bruins, Charlie McAvoy might be missing from the lineup again with a “mystery ailment,” as some of the Boston media have called it.
Bruins beat writer Andrew Fantucchio had the following practice lines yesterday. We figure these are likely the lines for today’s game.
#NHLBruins Practice Lines:
— Andrew Fantucchio (@A_Fantucchio) January 19, 2025
Wahlstrom – Geekie – Pastrnak
Marchand – Poitras – Lettieri
Frederic – E. Lindholm – Coyle
Brazeau – Beecher – Kastelic
Zadorov – Peeke
Wotherspoon – Carlo
Lohrei – Oesterle
H. Lindholm – Callahan
Swayman
Korpisalo
Missing: McAvoy, Zacha
Forwards
Oliver Wahlstrom – Morgan Geekie – David Pastrnak
Brad Marchand – Matthew Poitras – Vinni Lettieri
Trent Frederic – Elias Lindholm – Charlie Coyle
Justin Brazeau – Johnny Beecher – Mark Kastelic
Defense
Nikita Zadorov – Andrew Peeke
Parker Wotherspoon – Brandon Carlo
Mason Lohrei – Jordan Oesterle
Goaltenders
Jeremy Swayman
Joonas Korpisalo
How to watch San Jose Sharks at Boston Bruins Jan. 20, 2024
For Sharks fans, the game can be seen on NBC Sports California or you can listen on the Sharks Audio Network.
Bruins fans can see the game on NESN.
The puck drops at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. PT at TD Garden in Boston.