Players to Watch: New York Islanders vs San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks and New York Islanders both enter tonight's game on losing streaks. The Islanders have lost three straight heading into their California road trip, while the Sharks have lost their last five games and seven of their last eight.

Something will have to give tonight though, as someone has to walk out victorious. So let's take a look at players to watch on both sides of the ice.

Macklin Celebrini

Macklin Celebrini's ability is undeniable and he's been getting an absurd amount of usage as of late. Ryan Warsofsky played him over 28 minutes for the first time in his career in the Sharks' lasting outing against the Dallas Stars, which is a bit concerning but seemingly necessary. Celebrini is in the middle of a three-game point streak and had three assists in the aforementioned game against Dallas.

Bo Horvat

Whether it was when he was a member of the Vancouver Canucks or with his current team, the Islanders, Bo Horvat has always loved playing against the Sharks it seems. The 31-year-old center has 33 points in 39 career games against the Sharks. He had two points in the Islanders' last game against the New Jersey Devils and is currently playing at a point-per-game pace to start the season.

Kiefer Sherwood

Although Kiefer Sherwood has gone four games without recording a point, he's always had quite a bit of success against the Islanders. In his six games against the team from Long Island, he has scored five goals and is at a point-per-game pace with six points. It's certainly a small sample size, but it's certainly worth keeping an eye on. Of course, there's also the face that he's the NHL's hit leader with 100 hits in his first 19 games. 

Victor Eklund

In an alternative timeline, this game would be circled on the Sharks' calendar for a much different reason. The brother of former Sharks forward William Eklund, Victor Eklund, is making his first trip to the SAP Center tonight. The 20-year-old winger has had a strong start to his rookie season, as he's scored five goals and totaled eight points in his first 16 games. Notably, he's on a two-game goal-scoring streak entering tonight.

Yaroslav Askarov

It's been a truly difficult season to judge Yaroslav Askarov's performance this season. Sometimes, he's the Sharks' best player on the ice. Other times, he struggles mightily. Consistency continues to be an issue for the 24-year-old netminder and his last two outings haven't been great. With that being said, when he's at his best, he's phenomenal and can help keep the Sharks in games. At this point, you never truly know what you're going to get with Askarov between the pipes and that's why he's an important player to keep an eye on.