The San Jose Sharks take on the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center tonight. Here are the projected/expected lineups sourced from NHL.com staff writers, independent correspondents, and others.
SHARKS (0-1-2) at BLACKHAWKS (1-2-1)
8:30 p.m. ET; CHSN, NBCSCA
Sharks projected lineup
William Eklund — Mikael Granlund — Tyler Toffoli
Alexander Wennberg — Klim Kostin — Fabian Zetterlund
Luke Kunin — Will Smith — Barclay Goodrow
Carl Grundstrom — Nico Sturm — Ty Dellandrea
Jake Walman — Cody Ceci
Mario Ferraro — Jan Rutta
Henry Thrun — Matt Benning
Vitek Vanecek
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scratched: Danil Gushchin, Givani Smith, Jack Thompson
Injured: Macklin Celebrini (lower body) Shakir Mukhamadullin (lower body), Thomas Bordeleau (lower body), Logan Couture (lower body), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (upper body)
Status report
- The Sharks held an optional morning skate Thursday.
- Eklund will be a game-time decision because of an upper-body injury; he did not practice on Wednesday but took part in the morning skate. If he cannot play, Gushchin, a forward, will enter the lineup.
- Vanecek will start in goal after Blackwood made 36 saves in a 3-2 shootout loss at the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.
- Celebrini is eligible to come off the injured list when San Jose plays at the Winnipeg Jets, but the center will not play and remains week to week; is is not traveling with the Sharks on their three-game road trip
Latest for THW:
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Blackhawks projected lineup
Nick Foligno — Connor Bedard — Teuvo Teravainen
Taylor Hall — Philipp Kurashev — Tyler Bertuzzi
Ilya Mikheyev — Jason Dickinson — Joey Anderson
Patrick Maroon — Lukas Reichel — Craig Smith
Alex Vlasic — Seth Jones
Wyatt Kaiser — T.J. Brodie
Nolan Allan — Connor Murphy
Petr Mrazek
Arvid Soderblom
Scratched: Ryan Donato, Andreas Athanasiou, Isaak Phillips
Injured: Alec Martinez (lower body)
Status report
- Reichel will play for the first time this season after being a healthy scratch the first four games.
- Martinez, a defenseman, was placed on injured reserve Thursday.
- Phillips, a defenseman, was recalled from Rockford of the American Hockey League on Thursday but is not expected to play.
Latest for THW:
- Blackhawks Look Much Better Through 4 Games
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