Blues at Sharks: Lines, how to watch and open thread

Plus the latest trade chatter

San Jose Sharks Head Coach David Quinn wasn’t happy with Mikey Eyssimont’s play during Tuesday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, so much so that he benched the young forward for a good portion of the second period. We’=ll, Quinn won’t have to worry about the Eyssimont’s game anymore.

Last night, the Sharks traded Eyssimont to the Tampa Bay Lightning. San Jose exchanged the 26-year-old Eyssimont for 30-year-old Vladislav Namestnikov. Tampa Bay retained 50% of Namestnikov’s $2.5 million salary.

We’re going to wait to see what becomes of this trade. Several NHL insiders report that General Manager Mike Grier is already looking to flip Namestnikov. We can’t really judge the trade until we see what happens next.

Namestnikov is a free agent after this season so the only way to get value for him is right now. Grier has just a few days to turn a guy he pulled off the waiver wire for free (Eyssimont) into something that can help the Sharks by way of draft picks or a prospect.

The trade of Eyssimont is a loss for the Sharks. He brought energy to the team that will be missed especially now that Timo Meier is gone.

Most Sharks fans will tell you they liked Eyssimont’s game. J Fresh hockey took a deeper dive into Eyssimont’s numbers after the trade and it looks like the Lightning got precisely what the team was looking for.

As for game day, Kevin Labanc is expected to be back after welcoming his son into the world.

We’ll also see what the Sharks do with Derrick Pouliot. Earlier today, the Sharks signed the defenseman to a one-way NHL contract and then promptly put him on waivers to send him back to the San Jose Barracuda. That’s where Pouliot has played for the entirety of this season to date.

Pouliot has 213 career NHL games spread out between Pittsburgh, Vancouver, St. Louis and Las Vegas.

Tonight’s opponent, the St. Louis Blues, appear to have called it a season. St. Louis is rebuilding on the fly and spent the last few weeks selling off assets. Ivan Barbashev, Ryan O’Reilly, Noel Acciari, Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola are out. While Mikhail Abramov, Adam Gaudette, Sammy Blais and Hunter Skinner are in.

Thanks to all the trades, the Blues also have three 1st round picks in 2023.

San Jose Sharks

STATS

Record: 18-31-12
Streak: L3
Goals Leader: Logan Couture (20 G, 29 A)
Assists Leader: Erik Karlsson (19 G, 58 A)
Power Play: 18.4%
Penalty Kill: 83.9%
Goals For/60: 2.93
Goals Against/60: 3.61

LINES

Nick Bonino – Logan Couture – Alexander Barabanov
Fabian Zetterlund – Tomas Hertl – Andreas Johnsson
Evgeny Svechnikov – Nico Sturm – Kevin Labanc
Oskar Lindblom – Steven Lorentz – Noah Gregor

Mario Ferraro – Erik Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Matt Benning
Radim Simek – Jacob MacDonald

James Reimer
Kaapo Kahkonen

Expected Scratches: Vladislav Namestnikov

Injured Reserve: Luke Kunin (knee), Markus Nutivaara (lower body), Jonah Gadjovich

St. Louis Blues

STATS

Record: 26-29-5
Streak: L6
Goals Leader: Jordan Kyrou (25 G, 29 A)
Assists Leader: Robert Thomas (14 G, 37 A)
Power Play: 19.9%
Penalty Kill: 76.5%
Goals For/60: 3.00
Goals Against/60: 3.65

Brayden Saad – Brayden Schenn – Jordan Kyrou
Pavel Buchnevich – Robert Thomas – Kasperi Kapanen
Alexei Toropchenko – Logan Brown – Sammy Blais
Nathan Walker – Nikita Alexandrov – Tyler Pitlick

Nick Leddy – Colton Parayko
Marco Scandella – Justin Faulk
Torey Krug – Robert Bortuzzo

Jordan Binnington
Thomas Greiss

Expected Scratches: Tyler Tucker, Calle Rosen, Josh Leivo

Injured Reserve: Jake Neighbours

How to watch

Tonight’s game will be broadcast regionally on NBCSCA. Streaming is available with a subscription to ESPN+ (blackout restrictions may apply). The radio call will be streamed through the Sharks Audio Network. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET at SAP Center in San Jose.

In St. Louis, you can watch on BSMW.

Check back then to follow along with all of the play-by-play action in the comment section below!