The San Jose Sharks finally got their first road win of the season on Friday night when they defeated the New Jersey Devils by the score of 6-3. They're hoping to ride that momentum into Madison Square Garden tonight when they take on the New York Rangers.
The San Jose Sharks might have the NHL's worst record at the moment, but this team has been playing much better hockey as of late. In their last 10 games, they have gone 4-5-1, while also winning three out of their last four.
Entering tonight's contest, they are skating to a 1-10-0 record as the road team. That said, the group earned its first road win on Friday night with a big win over the New Jersey Devils after being outshot 47-18.
Since November 16th, the Sharks have gone 4-3-1 and have been much better in the special teams department. Believe it or not, in this time span the Sharks power play has statistically been better than the New York Rangers man-advantage.
The Sharks might not have the best team on paper, but they're taking on a Rangers team that had a very hard fought game in Nashville yesterday.
New York will be playing the second leg of a back-to-back, including travel. The Sharks had a day off yesterday, so the rest factor will be in their favor.
Rest or no rest, this Rangers team has answered every challenged they've faced this season, including yesterday as they erased a 3-1 deficit on the road.
Here is the Sharks expected lineup tonight, per Max Miller.
Mackenzie Blackwood doesn't have an impressive record at 3-10-2, but in his defense, the team hasn't necessarily bailed him out. Despite the poor record, Blackwood's numbers have actually been solid. He's skating to a .903 save percentage and he's boasting a +2.2 goals saved above expected.
Since November 16th, Blackwood is 1-2-1 with a .917 save percentage and a 2.54 goals against average.
Essentially, the Sharks are not a team to sleep on.
Jonathan Quick is expected to start for the Rangers and we will chat with Peter Laviolette at 3:40 this afternoon to hear about any potential lineup changes.
Laviolette shook up the forward lines after the first period yesterday, they looked this:
Panarin-Zibanejad-Lafrenière
Kreider-Trocheck-Brodzinski
Vesey-Goodrow-Wheeler
Cuylle-Bonino-Pitlick
It will be interesting to see if Laviolette sticks with these combinations. We'll find out more later today.