Blues at Sharks, 3/8: Lines, gamethread & how to watch

The St. Louis Blues are back in town, wrapping up a six-game stretch in California after losing twice to the Anaheim Ducks and splitting a two-game series with the Los Angeles Kings, where both games went into overtime. To say the Blues are struggling is a bit of an understatement, but early successes have kept the team in the top of the West Division.

A bright spot for the team is that Valdimir Tarasenko has returned to the lineup, after starting the season on injured reserve. The bad news is that the roster is still thin due to several injuries to key players, including Colton Parayko and Ivan Barbashev.

As for the San Jose Sharks, Timo Meier will be a game-time decision after missing Saturday’s shutout loss against the Vegas Golden Knights. Kurtis Gabriel will stay in the lineup and Joachim Blichfeld is expected to return after serving his two-game suspension for a high hit on Nathan MacKinnon.

Here’s everything you need to know to tune in tonight:

Lines

SAN JOSE SHARKS

Evander Kane — Logan Couture — Kevin Labanc
Ryan Donato — Patrick Marleau — Joachim Blichfeld
Rudolfs Balcers — Dylan Gambrell — John Leonard
Matt Nieto — Joel Kellman — Kurtis Gabriel

Mario Ferraro — Brent Burns
Nikolai Knyzhov — Erik Karlsson
Radim Simek — Marc-Edouard Vlasic

Devan Dubnyk
Martin Jones

Expected Scratches: Alexander True, Fredrik Claesson, Noah Gregor

Injured Reserve: Timo Meier (lower body)

COVID-19 Protocol: Tomas Hertl, Marcus Sorensen

ST. LOUIS BLUES

Jordan Kyrou — Ryan O’Reilly — Vladimir Tarasenko
Mike Hoffman — Brayden Schenn — David Perron
Nathan Walker — Zach Sanford — Sammy Blais
Kyle Clifford — Dakota Joshua — Mackenzie MacEachern

Torey Krug — Justin Faulk
Vince Dunn — Marco Scandella
Niko Mikkola — Robert Bortuzzo

Ville Husso
Jordan Binnington

Expected Scratches: None

Injured Reserve: Colton Parayko (upper body), Jaden Schwartz (upper body), Robert Thomas (thumb), Tyler Bozak (upper body), Oskar Sundqvist (undisclosed), Ivan Barbashev (ankle), Carl Gunnarsson (knee), Jacob de la Rose (lower body)

How to Watch

Puck drop is at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET at SAP Center in San Jose California. Tonight’s game will be broadcast regionally on NBC Sports Bay Area and Fox Sports Midwest, as well as available to stream through NHL.tv (blackout restrictions apply).

Follow along in the comments for live updates and reactions throughout the game!