The good news is that the San Jose Sharks can quickly put last night’s game against the Utah Hockey Club behind them. The Sharks managed just 17 shots on goal and went a long, long stretch that spanned the second period and the third period without a single shot. Amazingly, the team only lost 2-1 to Utah. Natural Stat Trick’s game flow chart in all situations shows just how bad the game was from San Jose’s standpoint.
But tonight is a new night and a new opportunity to gain two points. The Sharks, comfortably locked back in the basement of the NHL, can afford a win without having to worry about climbing up the standings too far. And, when facing the banged-up Minnesota Wild tonight, it’s a good opportunity for the Sharks to boost their confidence.
The Wild are second in the Central Division and have a 6-4-0 record in the team’s last ten games. That said, the Wild lost 6-1 to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday and are missing key players on defense like Jonas Brodin, Brock Faber and Jared Spurgeon. Jakub Lauko also did not play against the Avalanche. Top scorer Kirill Kaprizov, who has 50 points in 34 games, is also injured and is not on the road trip with the team.
Kaprizov had three points in the Wild’s 5-2 win over the Sharks on Nov. 7. The two teams will play one more time on April 9.
Pride Night at the Shark Tank
It’s also Pride Night at the Tank. While the Sharks won’t be wearing pride jerseys because of the short-standing NHL rule, the Sharks still have a Pride Jersey that will be auctioned off. The jersey was made by local artist Melissa Marzan (@thelettermermaid on Instagram).
According to the Sharks’ website, “She sees her work as a starting point to conversations about emotional vulnerability, cultivating community, ocean conservation, and her experience as a Queer/Bisexual Filipino American woman. Heavily inspired by her upbringing on the central coast, she primarily works with a blue color palette which symbolizes honesty and radiates friendly and calming energies.”
Leading into the game, the jersey designed by Marzan will be up for auction. The puck will be dropped by Kieran Flaherty, President of San Francisco Earthquakes LGBTQ+ Ice Hockey Club. There will be a performance on the concourse by DJ Cisco and Santa Clara County Office of LGBTQ Affairs and PFLAG will have informational tables on the concourse as well. The Silicon Valley Gay Men’s Chorus will sing the National Anthem.
There will be Pride Night merchandise available at the pro shops.
San Jose Sharks lines tonight
According to San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng, Nico Sturm and Jake Walman are game-time decisions while Nikolai Kovalenko, Klim Kostin and Alex Wennberg are out. Wennberg is ill, so this has nothing to do with his performance. It’s a bit surprising that Kovalenko is out and Will Smith is in given the Sharks penchant for sitting Smith on one of the back-to-back games.
Sturm and Walman are game-time decisions, Kovalenko and Kostin and Wennberg are out
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) January 11, 2025
I’m guess that with Wennberg out, Nico Sturm will be healthy enough to play.
Forwards
William Eklund – Mikael Granlund – Fabian Zetterlund
Luke Kunin – Macklin Celebrini – Will Smith
Collin Graf – Nico Sturm – Tyler Toffoli
Barclay Goodrow – Ty Dellandrea – Carl Grundstrom
Defense
Henry Thrun – Cody Ceci
Mario Ferraro – Timothy Liljegren
Shakir Mukhamadullin – Jan Rutta
Goaltenders
Yaroslav Askarov
Alexandar Georgiev
Minnesota Wild lines vs. San Jose Sharks
According to Joe Smith, Minnesota Wild writer for The Athletic, the lines are the same as the last game and Marc-Andre Fleury gets the first start.
#mnwild d-pairs
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) January 11, 2025
Middleton-Bogosian
Chisholm -Dermott
Merrill-Jiricek
Lines the same.
Zuccarello-Rossi-Boldy
Johansson-Eriksson Ek-Hartman
Foligno -Gaudreau -Trenin
Shore-Khusnutdinov-Jones
Forwards
Matt Boldy – Marco Rossi – Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Johansson – Joel Eriksson Ek – Ryan Hartman
Marcus Foligno – Frederick Gaudreau – Yakov Trenin
Devin Shore – Marat Khusnutdinov – Ben Jones
Defense
Jacob Middleton – Zach Bogosian
Declan Chisholm – Travis Dermott
Jon Merrill – David Jiricek
Goaltenders
Marc-Andre Fleury
Filip Gustavsson
How to watch Wild at Sharks Jan. 11, 2025
The puck drops at 7 p.m. PT/9 p.m. CT at SAP Center in San Jose.
Sharks fans can watch the game on NBC Sports California or listen on the Sharks Audio Network.
As for Wild fans, they can watch the game on FanDuel Sports North or listen on KFAN 100.3 FM.
