Sharks vs. Hurricanes preview: Rookie-filled lineup stays intact against Carolina
San Jose begins a three-game homestand against the Hurricanes.
All six rookies who were a big part of the Sharks' 5-1 win in Vancouver on Thursday will remain in the lineup tonight as San Jose returns home to host the Carolina Hurricanes. Fresh off scoring his first NHL goal, Chris Tierney will once again play on the fourth line alongside fellow rookie Daniil Tarasov while Melker Karlsson, Barclay Goodrow, Mirco Mueller and Matt Tennyson will also draw into one of the most rookie-laden lineups in the league.
Tale Of The Tape
 | @ |  |
| 18-26-7, 43 points | Record | 28-18-7, 63 points |
| 8th in Metropolitan | Rank | 2nd in Pacific |
| 50.0% | Score-Adj. Fenwick | 50.9% |
| 97.5 | PDO | 99.2 |
| 16.3 | PP% | 21.0 |
| 87.1 | PK% | 81.9 |
7:30PM PST | SAP Center | San Jose, California
TV: CSNCA-HD | Radio: SJSharks.com, 98.5 KFOX
Know Your Enemy: Canes Country
Projected Sharks Lineup
Joe Pavelski - Joe Thornton - Melker Karlsson
Patrick Marleau - Logan Couture - Matt Nieto
Tomas Hertl - James Sheppard - Barclay Goodrow
Chris Tierney - Andrew Desjardins - Daniil Tarasov
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Brent Burns
Mirco Mueller - Brenden Dillon
Matt Irwin - Matt Tennyson
Antti Niemi
Alex Stalock
Projected Hurricanes Lineup
Eric Staal - Jordan Staal - Elias Lindholm
Jeff Skinner - Victor Rask - Alexander Semin
Nathan Gerbe - Andrej Nestrasil - Jiri Tlusty
Brad Malone - Jay McClement - Patrick Dwyer
Andrej Sekera - Justin Faulk
Tim Gleason - Ryan Murphy
Ron Hainsey - John-Michael Liles
Cam Ward
Anton Khudobin
Last Meeting
In his NHL debut, Troy Grosenick had a ridiculous 45-save shutout as the Sharks escaped North Carolina with a 2-0 win on November 16th. Tomas Hertl scored late in the first period and Joe Thornton added an empty-netter as the Sharks spent the majority of the game in their own zone but were repeatedly bailed out by Grosenick's outstanding play.
Storylines
- Despite ranking dead last in the Metropolitan division, the Hurricanes haven't been quite as awful as their place in the standings indicates. They're an average even-strength possession team with a great penalty kill that's received decent goaltending from Cam Ward in what's been a bounce-back season for him. Their biggest issue has been goal scoring, both at even-strength and on the power play, as several of their key players have undergone horrendous dry spells for much of the year.
- With Calgary's 4-0 loss to Pittsburgh last night, the Sharks have a chance to gain a four-point cushion on the Flames and a six-point edge over the Canucks with a win tonight./