A quick turnaround and plane ride to Nashville has the San Jose Sharks playing the second night of back-to-back games. The Sharks had a little extra time on this back-to-back stretch, considering the team played an afternoon bout with the Boston Bruins on Martin Luther King Jr. day. The good news is this will give San Jose a chance to quickly forget the third period collapse last night. The bad news is, the Sharks are an already banged up team, what with recent illnesses, and the tired team will not get a respite tonight.
This is the first of three meetings between the Sharks and the Preds and the start of a home-and-home series between the two teams. Nashville and San Jose will play again on Thursday in San Jose and then again on March 11 in San Jose.
As with many of the teams on this Sharks’ road trip, the Predators have not had the season it had hoped to have. A dismal start left Nashville fighting it out for the best of the NHL’s basement instead of contending for a playoff spot as the team had hoped. With 39 points in 45 games, Nashville is now looking to retool on the fly.
The sad part for the Predators is that summer additions made it look as though the team was a contender. The additions of Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei among others was supposed to give the Predators a boost in the Central Division. However, none of those players seem to be playing up to the standard the Predators had been hoping for.
It’s actually Filip Forsberg who leads the team with 42 points in 45 games. After that, it’s a steep drop off to Marchessault, who has 34 points in 45 games and is second on the team in scoring. Stamkos has only put up 30 points in 45 games, though he leads the team with 16 goals.
The Predators have hit a bit of a streak in the past week. The team has won three in a row and is a middling 5-5-0 in its last ten games. Not bad considering the Sharks are 3-7-0 in the team’s last ten games and have lost three in a row.
In the net for the Predators is Juuse Saros, who has an 11-18-6 record with a .905 save percentage and 2.72 goals against average. That’s not ideal for a player who just signed a brand-spanking new contract. Backup Justus Annunen is 4-2-0 with a 2.39 goals against average and .923 save percentage.
No matter how hard Nashville begs, they can’t have Yaroslav Askarov back.
And speaking of Askarov, while this is his return to Nashville, it’s hard to see the goaltender starting tonight’s game. He played last night and is still getting over an illness that kept him out of the lineup for almost a week. Unless Alexandar Georgiev caught the bug that’s been making its way through the Sharks’ lockerroom, it’s hard to see Askarov playing back-to-back games.
In terms of injuries, Brooks Bratten reports that the Predators will be without Mark Jankowski, who is week-to-week after leaving Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Wild.
#Preds forward Mark Jankowski is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Andrew Brunette calls Cole Smith day-to-day – if he can’t return tomorrow, shouldn’t be too much farther off.
— Brooks Bratten (@brooksbratten) January 20, 2025
Cole Smith is also dealing with an injury and may or may not play today.
San Jose Sharks lines tonight
There was no morning skate today because it’s the second night of back to backs.
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
Timothy Liljegren – Jan Rutta
Goaltenders
Alexandar Georgiev
Yaroslav Askarov
Nashville Predators lines vs. San Jose Sharks
With the injury to Jankowski, there will be some changes in the Nashville lineup. Since Cole Smith is a game time decision, we’ll assume he’s playing and put him in Jankowski’s slot.
Forwards
Filip Forsberg – Steven Stamkos – Jonathan Marchessault
Gustav Nyquist – Ryan O’Reilly – Vinnie Hinostroza
Tommy Novak – Fedor Svechkov – Zachary L’Heureux
Cole Smith- Michael McCarron – Colton Sissons
Defense
Roman Josi – Justin Barron
Brady Skjei – Nick Blankenburg
Adam Wilsby – Luke Schenn
Goaltenders
Juuse Saros
Justus Annunen
How to watch San Jose Sharks at Nashville Predators
Sharks fans can watch the Sharks play in Nashville on NBC Sports California or listen on the Sharks Audio Network.
Predators fans can watch the game on FDSNSO.
It will also air nationally for out of market viewers on ESPN+.
The puck drops at 5 p.m. PT/7 p.m. CT at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.