Here we go.
It’s the final game of a weird and bad season, in the midst of a weird and bad year. For the first time since 1997 and just the third time in team history, the San Jose Sharks are missing playoffs in consecutive seasons.
We’ve watched a lot of bad hockey over the last two seasons and in that tradition, the Sharks will close out the year against the Vegas Golden Knights — two teams who bring out the worst in each other.
The Golden Knights are heading into the postseason, but they’ve yet to lock down the West Division title. This is their last opportunity to stay ahead of the Colorado Avalanche, who start their final two-game series against the Los Angeles Kings tonight.
Below, you’ll find everything you need to know to tune in, but let me set the mood for the comment section:
Fuck Vegas!
Lines
SAN JOSE SHARKS
Alexander Barbanov — Tomas Hertl — Evander Kane
Rudolfs Balckers — Patrick Marleau — Timo Meier
Lean Bergmann — Dylan Gambrell — Kevin Labanc
Ivan Chekhovich — Noah Gregor — Alexander Chmelevski
Mario Ferraro — Brent Burns
Nikolai Knyzhov — Erik Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic — Brinson Pasichnuk
Alexei Melnichuk
Martin Jones
Expected Scratches: Ryan Donato, Kurtis Gabriel, Christian Jaros, Josef Korenar, Greg Pateryn, Marcus Sorensen, Alexander True, Jeffrey Viel
Injured Reserve: Logan Couture (lower body), John Leonard (upper body), Matt Nieto (lower body), Radim Simek (upper body), Joachim Blichfeld (upper body)
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Mattias Janmark — Chandler Stephenson — Mark Stone
Jonathan Marchessault — William Karlsson — Reilly Smith
Dylan Sikura — Nicolas Roy — Alex Tuch
William Carrier — Keegan Kolesar — Brayden Pachal
Shea Theodore — Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb — Zach Whitecloud
Nicolas Hague
Marc-Andre Fleury
Robin Lehner
Expected Scratches: None
Injured Reserve: Max Pacioretty (undisclosed), Tomas Nosek (undisclosed), Alec Martinez (lower body), Peyton Krebs (fractured jaw)
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 California+ and ATTSN-RM, as well as available to stream through NHL.tv (blackout restrictions apply) or ESPN+.
Follow along in the comments for live updates and reactions throughout the game!
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