Carolina Hurricanes at San Jose Sharks: Game Lineups, Time, Schedule, How to Watch, Discussion
Brent Burns played nearly 800 games on the ice at the SAP Center over 11 seasons with the San Jose Sharks. Tonight he returns to Northern California and will enter the visitors’ locker room for the first time since 2011.
There were, of course, two sides to the deal that brought Burns to the Carolina Hurricanes in July, and we’ll get to the other side in a moment. But Burns was the centerpiece and he will no doubt be the narration tonight.
The legendary State Fair road trip was scrapped last season, at least in part due to the delayed start to the season and the Hurricanes’ understandable desire not to play away for the first week and a half of the season. This year, however, with the NHL returning to a normal schedule for the first time since (how is that even possible?) the 2018-19 season, the Canes will take to the streets for the next ten days while Speck wraps everything it needs Middle stage opposite the PNC Arena.
Rod Brind’Amour is reluctant to change line-ups after a win and the Hurricanes didn’t practice yesterday to prepare for their cross country flight but today we learned that Ondrej Kase returned to Raleigh today with a possible concussion. As a result, Stefan Noesen will move into the lineup, and Ethan Bear (healthy) and Dylan Coghlan (lower body) will settle into the press box.
Here’s how the Hurricanes lined up for the “morning” skate:
Teuvo Teravainen-Sebastian Aho-Seth Jarvis
Andrei Svechnikov – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Martin Necas
Paul Stastny, Jordan Staal, and Jesper Fast
Jordan Martinook – Derek Stepan – Stefan Noesen
Jacob Slavin – Brent Burns
Brady Skjei – Brett Pesce
Calvin de Haan-Jalen Chatfield
Anti Ranta
Frederick Anderson
injuries and scratches: Ondrej Kase (concussion), Dylan Coghlan (lower body), Ethan Bear (healthy), Max Pacioretty (LTIR Achilles)
If you thought five years ago that Steven Lorentz would be a key component of a trade to win a best-paired defender, you’d probably squint. Then Lorentz worked his tail off day after day, and little do you know, he was rewarded with a new contract and a chance to solidify his place on an NHL roster going to a team in San Jose that Swiss desperately need needs -army knife of its type.
As if on cue, Lorentz already has an assist this season, earning an assist in Logan Couture’s go-ahead goal in Prague last week, which ultimately meant nothing – and why that’s ironic – as Lorentz’s former teammate Nino Niederreiter scored his second of counted out the night to give the Predators a come-from-behind victory.
One look at the Sharks’ CapFriendly page will give you heartburn, but if the Sharks are to make anything of this season, it’s guys like Lorentz who need to step up. So far, so good.
(Also, subplot: Tonight is the first Svechnikov Bowl of the season!)
Here’s how the Sharks will look tonight on their home debut* (yes, they were the home team for a game in Prague, but let’s not be too picky):
Timo Meier – Tomas Hertl – Lukas Kunin
Steven Lorentz – Logan Couture – Kevin Labanc
Oskar Lindblom, Nick Bonino, Matt Nieto
Noah Gregor – Nico Sturm – Evgeni Svechnikov
Mario Ferraro- Erik Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Matt Benning
Jaycob Megna Radim Simek
Jacob Reimer
Kaapo Kahkonen
injuries and scratches: Scott Harrington (healthy), Jonah Gadjovich (healthy), Alexander Barabanov (IR lower body), Markus Nutivaara (IR lower body)