Vlasic will sit for the second time this season, but his first as a healthy scratch. The 18-year veteran defenseman has zero points, four blocks and a -1 plus/minus rating through four games this season. His absence will allow Thomas Bordeleau to return to the lineup.
Bordeleau was a healthy scratch for the Sharks' previous contest but will draw back into the lineup as San Jose goes back to the standard 12 forwards/6 defensemen line combos. The 21-year-old centre has a goal, five SOG, two PIMs, and a -2 plus/minus in four games with the Sharks so far in 2022-23. Bordeleau will take Marc-Edouard Vlasic's spot in the Sharks' lineup.
Blackwood seems to be the early-season coaching favourite as he will start for the Sharks for the fourth time in their last five outings. After a remarkable season debut where he saved 51 of 52 shots in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche, Blackwood has fallen back to earth with an ugly 5.50 GAA and .855 SV%. The Sharks have yet to win a game this year (0-4-1) and are being outscored by a lopsided 19-7 margin. Expectations will be low for Blackwood and the Sharks tonight as they are +225 road underdogs against the Florida Panthers.
Blackwood allowed six goals on 42 shots (.857 SV%) for his second straight loss as he was downed by Carolina in his previous start. The 26-year-old has played well dispite facing a tremendous amount of rubber in his two starts, posting a 0-2-0 record with a 3.36 GAA and .926 SV%. He will look to get San Jose in the win column Saturday as they take on Nashville, who won their last game 4-1 over NYR and are 23rd in the NHL in goals for per game (2.6).
Dellandrea will sit in favour of Sam Steel tonight after playing in each of the Stars' first two games. The 23-year-old scored nine goals and added 18 assists in 82 games with the Stars last season. Through two games in 2023-24 he's registered no goals and one assist with an ATOI of 12:29.
Vlasic missed the Sharks' previous game due to an undisclosed injury but will return to San Jose's lineup Thursday vs. Boston. The 36-year-old stay-at-home defensemen is in his 18th NHL season (all with San Jose) and had one SOG, a +1 plus/minus and zero points in two games so far in 2023-24.
Thrun has two assists, one SOG, and a -1 plus/minus through two games with San Jose in 2023-24 but finds himself the odd man out on their roster as he was reassigned to the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) Wednesday. The 22-year-old will endure his first taste of AHL action after he made the jump to the NHL straight from Harvard (NCAA) in 2022-23.
The New Jersey Devils seem committed to continuing their goalie rotation early in the season as it appears Vanecek will return to the crease on Monday night. In his only game of the season thus far, Vanecek allowed three goals on 35 shots en route to securing a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. The Devils are listed as -169 home favourites against a Florida Panthers team that has struggled immensely so far this season, scoring only four times in their first two games (0-2-0).
Blackwood will get his second consecutive start for the Sharks after coming up short in a heroic 51-save, 2-1 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Blackwood is coming off a frustrating, injury-riddled campaign with the New Jersey Devils in which he posted a 3.20 GAA and .893 SV% in 22 games (10-6-2). It is unlikely that Blackwood will replicate his first-game performance but if he can consistently put forth valiant efforts, he will likely be in line to become the go-to guy in between the pipes for the Sharks. That said, things won't get any easier for Blackwood and the Sharks Tuesday night as they are +269 home underdogs against a Carolina Hurricanes team that has scored 13 goals in their first three games of the season (2-1-0).
Thrun was a healthy scratch for the Sharks' previous game vs. Colorado but will draw back into San Jose's lineup as they take on Carolina Tuesday. The 22-year-old had an assist, one SOG, and a -1 plus/minus across 19:29 TOI in his only game played this season. He will replace Marc-Edouard Vlasic in the Sharks' lineup Tuesday.
Vlasic missed the Sharks' morning practice Monday after leaving their previous game vs. Colorado after just five shifts and 3:15 TOI and is expected to be out Tuesday as San Jose takes on Carolina due to an undisclosed injury. The 36-year-old veteran is in his 18th NHL season and has played in 70+ games in every full NHL season since 2015-16.
The New Jersey Devils seem committed to continuing their goalie rotation early in the season as it appears Vanecek will return to the crease on Monday night. In his only game of the season thus far, Vanecek allowed three goals on 35 shots en route to securing a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. The Devils are listed as -169 home favourites against a Florida Panthers team that has struggled immensely so far this season, scoring only four times in their first two games (0-2-0).
Thrun had one assist and one shot in 19:29 TOI in the Sharks season-opening loss to the Golden Knights. However, he will come out of the lineup on Saturday to make room for Nikolai Knyzhov to make his season debut.
Knyzhov was a healthy scratch for the Sharks' season-opening loss to the Golden Knights but he will replace Henry Thrun in the lineup vs. Colorado. Knyzhov had one goal and no assists in 12 games with the Sharks last season.
Granlund suffered a lower-body injury in the Sharks' season opener on Thursday and landed on IR on Saturday. The move to IR opened up a roster spot for the Sharks to recall Jacob Peterson, who will make his season debut Saturday vs. the Avalanche.
Blackwood will see his first action between the pipes as a member of the San Jose Sharks after signing with them in the offseason. Blackwood struggled in his last three seasons with the New Jersey Devils, recording a cumulative 3.19 GAA and .897 SV% across 82 games. He will be hard-pressed to improve those numbers on a Sharks team that seems destined to be at the bottom end of the NHL standings this season. To make matters worse, Blackwood will be facing the high-powered offence of the Colorado Avalanche, who are coming off a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
