The San Jose Sharks round out their five-game road trip against the Chicago Blackhawks, who will be without No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard.
The San Jose Sharks (10-31-3) round out their five-game road trip against the Chicago Blackhawks (12-29-2), who will be without No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard.
The Blackhawks have lost 14 of their last 17 games, and the Sharks come in losers of 13 out of their previous 14 games. These two teams are the odds-on favorites to win the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery,
Head coach David Quinn talked about Bedard and what he's been able to do for the Blackhawks this season.
"I think he's an incredible talent. He's everything everybody thought he was going to be and probably a little bit more," Quinn said. "You hate to see anybody get hurt. I know how much he means to their franchise, and I know how much he means to the league, and it would have been a great challenge for us."
Bedard had surgery on his broken jaw eight days ago and was expected to miss 4-6 weeks. He will blow that timeline out of the water as he has jumped on the ice to skate.
Bedard has 15 goals and 33 points in 39 games played during his rookie season. He's made headline after headline.
As for the Sharks lineup, Quinn alluded to some possible injuries, so the San Jose lineup isn't set. He did confirm that Mackenzie Blackwood will start tonight. This was expected as the team is playing in the second game of a back-to-back situation.
Sharks lineup from the last game: *updated for Blackwood*
Zetterlund-Hertl-Zadina
Eklund-Granlund-Duclair
Barabanov-Kunin-Bailey
Sabourin-Carpenter-Labanc
Ferraro-Vlasic
Thrun-Rutta
Okhotiuk-Burroughs
Blackwood
Puck drop is at 5:30 p.m. PST and can be seen on NBC Sports California or the Sharks Audio Network.
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The Hockey News