Sharks at Blues: Lines, how to watch and open thread

Quick business to get out of the way first. Sharks Head Coach David Quinn owes the NHL $25,000.

Sharks coach David Quinn fined $25,000.https://t.co/yDXlZqhA4K pic.twitter.com/22Qb7a5Y8C

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 9, 2023

What was most interesting was the timing of the fine. It happened yesterday, March 8, four days after Quinn cursed out an NHL referee and was ejected from a game. Quinn apologized the same day. Two days later, in a separate postgame interview, he said he and the referee had worked things out.

Interestingly, that same referee was working the game in Colorado, where Erik Karlsson was high sticked. The stick drew blood but there was no call on the play. Karlsson tossed his helmet on the ice in frustration. Following the game, Karlsson said he felt disrespected.

All of this, and then suddenly Quinn is ordered to pay a $25,000 fine. Just saying.

Sharks at Blues

The San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues are in the same boat…sort of. Both teams know they’re not headed to the playoffs. Both know that winning this game is relatively meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

The difference is the Sharks have a shot at the bottom of the league, while the Blues are floating in no man’s land. Too bad to make the playoffs and too good to fight it out for last.

The Blues and Sharks last played on Thursday in San Jose, when the Blues beat up on the Sharks with a 6-3 final score. Pavel Buchnevich had four assists in the game and 10 players registered at least one point.

San Jose Sharks

Here’s what you need to know for today’s game.

STATS

Record: 19-34-12
Streak: L1
Goals Leader: Logan Couture (22 G, 31 A)
Assists Leader: Erik Karlsson (19 G, 63 A)
Power Play: 17.9%
Penalty Kill: 83.2%
Goals For/60: 2.89
Goals Against/60: 3.72

LINES
(Per NHL.com)

Fabian Zetterlund – Tomas Hertl – William Eklund
Andreas Johnsson – Logan Couture – Alexander Barabanov
Noah Gregor – Nico Sturm – Evgeny Svechnikov
Kevin Labanc – Steven Lorentz – Oskar Lindblom

Nikolai Knyzhov – Erik Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Matt Benning
Mario Ferraro – Derrick Pouliot

Kaapo Kahkonen
James Reimer

Expected Scratches: None

Injured Reserve: Luke Kunin (knee), Markus Nutivaara (lower body), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), Radim Simek (upper body), Jacob MacDonald (undisclosed)

St. Louis Blues

STATS

Record: 27-31-5
Streak: L2
Goals Leader: Jordan Kyrou (26 G, 31 A)
Assists Leader: Robert Thomas (15 G, 38 A)
Power Play: 19.7%
Penalty Kill: 76.1%
Goals For/60: 3.02
Goals Against/60: 3.68

Alexey Toropchenko — Robert Thomas — Jordan Kyrou
Jakub Vrana — Pavel Buchnevich — Kasperi Kapanen
Brayden Saad — Brayden Schenn — Sammy Blais
Nathan Walker — Nikita Alexandrov — Josh Leivo

Nick Leddy — Colton Parayko
Marco Scandella — Justin Faulk
Torey Krug — Calle Rosen

Jordan Binnington
Thomas Greiss

Expected Scratches: Logan Brown, Tyler Pitlick, Robert Bortuzzo, Tyler Tucker

Injured Reserve: Jake Neighbours (upper body)

How to watch

Today’s game will be broadcast regionally on NBCSCA. Streaming is available with a subscription to ESPN+ (blackout restrictions may apply). The radio call will be streamed through the Sharks Audio Network. Puck drop is 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET at Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

In St. Louis, you can watch on BSMW. The game will also be aired on SN NOW.

Check back then to follow along with all of the play-by-play action in the comment section below!