The San Jose Sharks close out pre-4 Nations play tonight by hosting the Dallas Stars. This is game 57 on the Sharks’ schedule which means once the teams return from the break, it will be a sprint to the finish. There are just 25 games left on the schedule after the break.
This is a welcome home game for Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci. Exactly one week ago, the duo was traded from the Sharks to the Stars in a deal that sent draft picks back to San Jose. Granlund seems to be settling in okay with the Stars. He’s played three games and has two points. Ceci has averaged more than 20 minutes per game since joining the Stars.
Part of the reason the Stars made the trade is because the team is dealing with a slew of serious injuries. A few days after the Feb. 1 trade, the Stars announced that the injury to defenseman Miro Heiskanen was worse than expected. The top defenseman underwent knee surgery on Feb. 4 and is considered month-to-month. Add to that the injury to Tyler Seguin and defenseman Nils Lundkvist’s shoulder surgery on Feb. 1, and you can see why the Stars had to make a move.
Things haven’t gotten better since then. On Feb. 7, the team announced that defenseman Ilya Lybushkin would not be available for tonight’s game.
This is the second night of back-to-back games for the Stars. Dallas lost to the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 in the shootout. Dallas is 6-3-1 in its last ten games and currently sits in second place in the Central Division.
Matt Duchene is Dallas’ leading scorer with 52 points in 54 games. Roope Hintz has 22 goals to lead the team. That said, the Stars are getting balanced scoring. There are eight Stars players with double digits in goal.
The Sharks and Stars have played against one another two other times this season. The Stars won 5-2 on Nov. 20, 2024 and 3-2 in the shootout on Oct. 15, 2024.
San Jose Sharks lines tonight
As for the Sharks, Klim Kostin is a game time decision for tonight’s game and Vitek Vanecek gets the start in net. We’re guessing the same lines as last time, but we’ll see as we get closer to the start of the game.
Forwards
William Eklund – Macklin Celebrini – Tyler Toffoli
Fabian Zetterlund – Andrew Poturalski – Will Smith
Barclay Goodrow – Luke Kunin – Collin Graf
Carl Grundstrom – Ty Dellandrea – Walker Duehr
Defense
Jake Walman – Henry Thrun
Mario Ferraro – Jack Thompson
Shakir Mukhamadullin – Timothy Liljegren
Goaltenders
Vitek Vanecek
Alexandar Georgiev
Dallas Stars lines vs. San Jose Sharks
Meantime, this is how Stars’ beat writer Sam Nestler reports the Stars lined up against the Kings. We expect there won’t be much deviation from this lineup, though we’re guessing that Casey DeSmith gets the start since Jake Oettinger played against the Kings last night.
Stars lines vs Los Angeles:
— Sam Nestler (@samnestler) February 8, 2025
Robertson – Hintz – Dadonov
Marchment – Duchene – Granlund
Benn – Johnston – Bourque
Bäck – Steel – Stankoven
Harley – Ceci
Bichsel – Lindell
Smith – Dumba
Oettinger
DeSmith
** No Blackwell, Lyubushkin, Heiskanen (IR)
Forwards
Jason Robertson – Roope Hintz – Evgenii Dadonov
Mason Marchment – Matt Duchene – Mikael Granlund
Jamie Benn – Wyatt Johnston – Mavrik Bourque
Oskar Back – Sam Steel – Logan Stankoven
Defense
Thomas Harley – Cody Ceci
Lian Bichsel – Esa Lindell
Brendan Smith – Matt Dumba
Goaltenders
Casey DeSmith
Jake Oettinger
How to watch Dallas Stars at San Jose Sharks Feb. 8, 2025
Sharks fans can watch the game on NBC Sports California or listen on the Sharks Audio Network.
Stars fans can watch the game on Victory+ or listen on The Ticket 96.7 FM, 1310 AM.
The puck drops at 7 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET at SAP Center.
