ST. LOUIS — Ryan Warsofsky said not to make too much of Wednesday’s practice lines.
But the San Jose Sharks bench boss is certainly considering changes for Thursday’s tilt against the St. Louis Blues.
Here’s how the Sharks lined up at practice, courtesy of Hall of Famer Dan Rusanowsky:
Kovalenko-Celebrini-Toffoli
Kostin-Granlund-Zetterlund
Goodrow-Wennberg-Kunin
Eklund-Sturm-Dellandrea
Smith (orange)
Walman-Liljegren
Ferraro-Liljegren
Mukhamadullin-Rutta
Thrun-Vlasic
No, Timothy Liljegren did not clone himself.
Cody Ceci and Carl Grundstrom are sick; both are game-time decisions.
Warsofsky said Will Smith, day-to-day upper-body injury, is progressing. Smith, on IR, is not eligible to play tomorrow.
Again, Warsofsky cautioned that these lines could change tomorrow.
He did confirm that Shakir Mukhamadullin will make his San Jose Sharks’ season debut against the Blues.
What’s he looking for from the 6-foot-3 top prospect?
“Simple puck-moving, hard to play against,” Warsofsky said. “A big guy that has some length and some range, take away time and space, keep his game extremely simple.”
Mukhamadullin missed all of San Jose Sharks training camp with a lower-body injury, making his season debut on Oct. 30 with the Barracuda.
After a slow start, according to Warsofsky’s reports, Mukhamadullin’s play has been improving, culminating with his best game of the season in the Cuda’s most recent outing, a 2-1 victory over the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Dec. 8.
“He was being more assertive, I think he was defending with a purpose. He was more confident with the puck, he was defending with physicality, taking away time and space,” Warsofsky said. “That’s what he’s all about.”