Lightning at Sharks: Lines, gamethread, and where to watch

Be honest: does anyone actually want to watch this game?

The Sharks have some of the worst luck in the league — on top of having actual problems, like a stymied offense and league-worst goaltending — and now look like a team compromised entirely of third-liners at best (ironically similar to the 2018-19 Ottawa Senators (sorry, sorry, trying to delete it)).

Cruelly, the season must go on, whether the Sharks have a top-line center or not, and we must watch something tangentially related to hockey happen at SAP Center tonight.

The visiting Tampa Bay Lightning have won 14 of their last 17 games, sitting second in the Atlantic Division. They are fifth in the league in offense, averaging 3.59 goals per game. Aaron Dell will have a rough night ahead, so send in your prayers now.

Lines

SHARKS

Expected lines for tonight’s game without Hertl. 😭😭😭 Nothing matters, Eat Arby’s. pic.twitter.com/rSblcOLGpo

— Fear the Fin (@fearthefin) February 1, 2020

Expected Scratches: Tim Heed, Maxim Letunov

Injured Reserve: Logan Couture (fractured ankle), Tomas Hertl (knee), Dalton Prout (upper body)

LIGHTNING (via NHL.com)

Steven Stamkos — Brayden Point — Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat — Anthony Cirelli — Tyler Johnson
Alex Killorn — Cedric Paquette — Pat Maroon
Carter Verhaeghe — Mitchell Stephens — Yanni Gourde

Victor Hedman — Jan Rutta
Ryan McDonagh — Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev — Kevin Shattenkirk

Curtis McElhinney
Andrei Vasilevskiy

Expected Scratches: Luke Schenn, Braydon Coburn

Injured Reserve: None

Where to Watch

Puck drop from SAP Center is at 7:30 PT/10:30 ET. Tonight’s broadcast will be available on NBC Sports California in the Bay Area and on SUN in the visitors’ market. Streaming will be available on NHLtv. The radio call will be on 98.5 KFOX or available to stream through the Sharks + SAP Center app.