Edmonton evened up the first round series at a game apiece on Friday not, but don’t look to San Jose head coach Pete DeBoer to make any drastic changes to the Sharks’ lineup as a result. Joe Thornton skated again today and may draw in to the lineup for the first time, but remains a gametime decision.
Thornton says it’s the coach’s decision. When told that PDB said it’s his decision, 19 responded by saying, “it’s the trainer’s” then
— Paul Gackle (@GackleReport) April 16, 2017
You won’t hear any complaining from me. Thornton shouldn’t play until he’s 100 percent — his long-term health is vastly more important than the outcome of this series. If he does play, I expect either Timo Meier or Marcus Sorensen falls out of the lineup.
Other than Thornton – who looks like a strong possibility – Sharks lineup appears unchanged. No Haley
— Kevin Kurz (@KKurzNBCS) April 16, 2017
That seems to be the only change coming, if it comes at all, after San Jose lost on Friday. The big question is where Thornton will play, if he does. DeBoer will probably want to ease him back into things, so perhaps we’ll see him center the third line, pushing Patrick Marleau to the wing and putting together a bottom six that looks like this:
Marleau – Thornton – Ward
Donskoi – Tierney – Sorensen/Meier
As has been the case for the first two games, we won’t know what the lineup looks like until the game begins.
As many of you know, Fear the Fin is an independent site run by Sharks fans for Sharks fans. Help keep Fear the Fin independent by contributing to our