The San Jose Sharks get wrap up the road trip with a visit to the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team that’s just as bad as the Sharks this season. The Penguins have a 6-10-3 record compared to the Sharks’ 5-10-3 record. The Penguins have lost the team’s last three games and were outscored 16-5 in those games. Meantime, the Sharks have earned three of a possible six points on this road trip and could make this a successful trip with a win in Pittsburgh.
Given the horrendous start to a season that was supposed to be headed to the playoffs, Penguins General Manager Kyle Dubas has started selling off some players. The Penguins traded Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals earlier this week for a pair of draft picks. On his most recent 32 Thoughts post, Elliotte Friedman talked about all of the potential players that could follow Eller out the door.
Even though the Penguins are having a crappy season, the top players are still producing. Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby both have 18 points. Crosby is tied with Rickard Rakell and Anthony Beauvillier for the team lead in goals. Each of them have six.
One of the big problems the Penguins have is in net, where the team can’t seem to find anyone to hold down the fort. Joel Blomqvist has the best record of the goaltenders, going 3-5-0 this season. He also has a .904 save percentage and a 3.60 goals against average. Presumptive starting goaltender Tristan Jarry isn’t doing well. He’s 1-2-0 and just gave up six goals against the Columbus Blue Jackets last night.
San Jose Sharks lines tonight
Look for rookies Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith on the same lines tonight.
Celebrini says he and Will Smith are on the same line tonight
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) November 16, 2024
According to Peng, Jake Walman will be back in and Jack Thompson will sit out on defense. On the front end, it sounds like Nico Sturm is injured, so he won’t play tonight.
Here’s what we think the lines will look like based on all of that information.
Forwards
Tyler Toffoli – Mikael Granlund – Fabian Zetterlund
Will Smith – Macklin Celebrini – Barclay Goodrow
William Eklund – Alex Wennberg – Ty Dellandrea
Klim Kostin – Luke Kunin – Carl Grundstrom
Defense
Jake Walman – Cody Ceci
Mario Ferraro – Timothy Liljegren
Henry Thrun – Jan Rutta
Goaltenders
Vitek Vanecek
Mackenzie Blackwood
Pittsburgh Penguins lines vs. San Jose Sharks
Since Jarry was in net last night when the Penguins got lit up by the Blue Jackets, Alex Nedeljkovic will likely be in the net for the Penguins tonight. Here’s what the lines are expected to look like for the Penguins tonight, according to Daily Faceoff.
Forwards
Anthony Beauvillier – Sidney Crosby – Rickard Rakell
Michael Bunting – Evgeni Malkin – Bryan Rust
Jesse Puljujarvi – Drew O’Connor – Samuel Poulin
Matt Nieto – Noel Acciari – Valtteri Puustinen
Defense
Marcus Pettersson – Erik Karlsson
Matt Grzelcyk – Jack St. Ivany
Ryan Graves – Ryan Shea
Goaltenders
Alex Nedeljkovic
Tristan Jarry
How to watch San Jose Sharks at Pittsburgh Penguins Nov. 16, 2024
The puck drops at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET at PPG Paints Arena.
Sharks fans can catch the game on NBC Sports California or listen on the Sharks app.
Penguins fans can watch the game on SportsNet Pittsburgh or listen on 105.9 the X.
Out of market viewers can see the game on ESPN plus.