The Sharks look to end 2018 in the win column as they fight for first place on New Year's Eve with the Calgary Flames.
San Jose is coming off an explosive 7-4 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. In that game, Logan Couture and Melker Karlsson scored two goals apiece, Tomas Hertl's line led the offensive charge, and Erik Karlsson found the back of the net in his return to the ice after serving a two-game suspension.
The victory gave them a big two points in the standings, where they currently sit one point behind the Vegas Golden Knights and the Flames.
Calgary previously had a cushioned lead in the Pacific Division, but the gap has closed as the rest of the division has gotten better. They're 5-3-2 in their last ten contests after dropping their last game to the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in overtime.
This is the second time this season the Sharks have squared off against the Flames. In their first meeting, in San Jose, the Sharks won 3-1. In 122 total meetings, the Sharks have a 52-54-8-7 record.
Sharks projected lines and pairs
Lukas Radil – Logan Couture – Timo Meier
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Marcus Sorensen – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Evander Kane – Tomas Hertl – Joonas Donskoi
Kevin Labanc – Barclay Goodrow – Melker Karlsson
Radim Simek – Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon – Erik Karlsson
Aaron Dell – projected starter
Martin Jones
Flames projected lines and pairs
Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Elias Lindholm
Matthew Tkachuk – Mikael Backlund – Michael Frolik
Sam Bennett – Mark Jankowski – James Neal
Dylan Dube – Derek Ryan – Garnet Hathaway
Mark Giordano – T.J. Brodie
Noah Hanifin – Travis Hamonic
Oliver Kylington – Rasmus Andersson
David Rittich – projected starter
Mike Smith
