ST. LOUIS — Nikolai Kovalenko is moving up and William Eklund is moving down.
Kovalenko, who made his San Jose Sharks’ debut on Tuesday in Raleigh, will skate with Macklin Celebrini and Tyler Toffoli tonight, head coach Ryan Warsofsky confirmed.
“Obviously, with the travel he had, to judge him on one game is not fair. So give him an opportunity up there. He’s a guy that gets to the inside of the ice. That’s what I’ll say, is he’s a competitive guy. He finishes checks, plays a 200-foot game,” Warsofsky said. “He can be good on the walls. He’s a guy that can get to the inside and help Mack, support Mack there.”
On the other hand, Eklund, second on the Sharks with 24 points in 30 games, will be starting on the fourth line with Nico Sturm and Ty Dellandrea.
“Have some competitiveness and we’ll see how it goes,” Warsofsky said, “I’m assuming we’ll change things as the game goes on.”
San Jose Sharks (10-16-5)
Alexandar Georgiev will start, making his Sharks debut.
“He’s a guy that’s obviously played in the league for a long time, and I think starting to find his game as of late when he was with Colorado and try to keep this thing going and get his confidence back,” Warsofsky said.
Cody Ceci is a game-time decision (sickness), but he participated in morning skate today. Warsofsky says that Henry Thrun will slide in if Ceci can’t play.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic continues to practice regularly, but the Sharks still haven’t activated him.
These are San Jose Hockey Now’s projected lines, based on Warsofsky’s comments and Wednesday’s practice:
Kovalenko-Celebrini-Toffoli
Kostin-Granlund-Zetterlund
Goodrow-Wennberg-Kunin
Eklund-Sturm-Dellandrea
Walman-Ceci
Ferraro-Liljegren
Mukhamadullin-Rutta
Warsofsky confirmed that Shakir Mukhamadullin will be paired with Jan Rutta.
Find out more about the injury that Shakir Mukhamadullin dealt with earlier this season.
Carl Grundstrom was also sick yesterday, missing practice, but like Ceci, he was on the ice today.
Will Smith was out of an orange no-contact jersey today, and took contact, appearing no worse for the wear. Warsofsky called it progress, and Smith (upper-body injury) is eligible to come off IR before the Dec. 14 game versus Utah Hockey Club.
St. Louis Blues (14-13-2)
The Blues are surging with points in six of their last seven, 5-1-1 since hiring head coach Jim Montgomery.
Warsofsky said that they’re a devastating team off the rush, so the Sharks will have to manage the puck carefully, especially through the neutral zone and on entry.
Jordan Binnington is the first goaltender off the ice for the Blues.
— Matthew DeFranks (@MDeFranks) December 12, 2024
Where To Watch
Puck drop between the San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues is 4 PM PT at Enterprise Center. Watch it live on NBC Sports California. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.