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

Plus, a recap of yesterday’s win and your latest Tank for Bedard standings

The San Jose Sharks are in Denver today for the second side of back-to-back games. Yesterday’s 3-2 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets made for a nice flight to Colorado.

The Sharks tied the game up with less than a dozen seconds remaining in the third period. Tomas Hertl took advantage of a lucky ricochet and put the puck in the net to tie the game at two.

Then in overtime, it was Logan Couture who put the game away.

The Sharks would not have made it to overtime if it weren’t for good goaltending by James Reimer. In front of a boatload of family and friends, Reimer made 36 saves with a .947 save percentage to secure his tenth win of the season.

“It’s just good to battle back and just, you know, play with that compete and that willingness to do whatever it takes,” said Reimer. “You know, the boys, they left it all out there.”

One of Reimer’s best saves came against Morgan Barron on a breakaway.

Meanwhile, Nikolai Knyzhov has his first game under his belt after 663 days away from the team because of an injury.

“It’s just a lot of excitement. There’s no other emotion, no other words to describe, and obviously, it’s so nice to get a win,” said Knyzhov after the game. “So, it feels great. It felt great, it felt good.”

Reimer was happy for the young defenseman.

“To go that long without playing in a game and to go through the adversity that he did, it was just a huge boost for our club,” said Reimer. “I’ve never even played with him until tonight, right? I don’t even know what he’s capable of, but I know the kind of guy he is and how hard he works.”

And Head Coach David Quinn was happy with Knyzhov’s work in his first game back.

“He was really good. He looked like a pro; looks like an NHLer,” said Quinn. “He’s got the size; he’s fluid. He’s got pretty good poise with the puck. I really liked what I saw tonight.”

Other news of note, Kevin Labanc once again found himself in the doghouse. He did not play for a good portion of the third period. When asked about it after the game, Quinn simply said, “Just the way the game was evolving with the penalties and whatnot,” in explanation.

It also looks like Jacob MacDonald will not play after an injury during yesterday’s game. The Athletic’s Corey Masisak says Derrick Pouliot is in today for MacDonald.

Tank for Bedard

Before we jump into today’s game, let’s take a look at the Tank for Bedard race.

The Sharks still sit 30th in the league, tied with the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks have a game in hand. San Jose is also a point up on the Chicago Blackhawks and four points up on the Columbus Blue Jackets, both of whom have a game in hand on the Sharks.

San Jose has 18 games left in the regular season.

San Jose Sharks

Here’s what you need to know for today’s game.

Side note, Nico Sturm will receive his Stanley Cup ring today. It’s the first time he will play in Colorado since the Avs won the Cup last season.

STATS

Record: 19-33-12
Streak: W1
Goals Leader: Logan Couture (22 G, 31 A)
Assists Leader: Erik Karlsson (19 G, 63 A)
Power Play: 18.2%
Penalty Kill: 83.3%
Goals For/60: 2.94
Goals Against/60: 3.69

LINES
(Per NHL.com)

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

Nikolai Knyzhov – Erik Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Matt Benning
Mario Ferraro – Derrick Pouliot

Kaapo Kahkonen
James Reimer

Expected Scratches: None

Injured Reserve: Luke Kunin (knee), Markus Nutivaara (lower body), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), Radim Simek (upper body), Jacob MacDonald (undisclosed)

Colorado Avalanche

STATS

Record: 34-21-6
Streak: L3
Goals Leader: Mikko Rantanen (41 G, 31 A)
Assists Leader: Nathan MacKinnon (25 G, 49 A)
Power Play: 22.9%
Penalty Kill: 78.4%
Goals For/60: 3.13
Goals Against/60: 2.80

LINES

Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Valeri Nichushkin
Evan Rodrigues — J.T. Compher — Mikko Rantanen
Andrew Cogliano — Lars Eller — Logan O’Connor
Matt Nieto — Alex Newhook — Denis Malgin

Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Samuel Girard — Bowen Byram
Jack Johnson — Kurtis MacDermid

Alexander Georgiev
Jonas Johansson

Expected Scratches: Brad Hunt

Injured Reserve: Gabriel Landeskog (knee), Darren Helm (lower body), Erik Johnson (lower body), Pavel Francouz (lower body, head), Josh Manson (lower body)

How to watch

Today’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 6:00 p.m. PT/9:00 p.m. ET at Ball Arena in Denver.

In Denver, you can watch on ALT. The game will also be aired on SN1 and SN NOW.

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