SAN JOSE -- The Sharks have their backs up against the wall, but have the opportunity to extend their playoff run as their best-of-seven first-round series with the Vegas Golden Knights returns to SAP Center on Thursday evening.
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San Jose will have Joe Thornton back in the lineup after serving a one-game suspension and missing the 5-0 loss in Game 4. Marc-Edouard Vlasic will also return to the lineup after missing Games 3 and 4 with an undisclosed injury. Micheal Haley remains out of the lineup after being injured blocking a shot in Game 3.
The Sharks are 16-18 all-time in Game 5's and have a 12-20 record when facing elimination, but the team is hoping that the energy from being back in front of their home crowd will help them get everything going in the right direction.
"We know what our crowd can bring for us," Timo Meier told the media after morning skate on Thursday. "The energy level definitely goes up here at home. They help us a lot."
Sharks projected lines and pairs:
Timo Meier – Logan Couture – Joe Pavelski
Evander Kane – Tomas Hertl – Gustav Nyquist
Marcus Sorensen – Joe Thornton – Kevin Labanc
Joonas Donskoi – Barclay Goodrow – Melker Karlsson
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Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon – Erik Karlsson
Joakim Ryan – Justin Braun
[RELATED: Why Jones starting Game 5 vs. Vegas shouldn't be surprising]
Martin Jones – projected starter
Aaron Dell
Golden Knights projected lines and pairs:
Jonathan Marchessault – William Karlsson – Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty – Paul Stastny – Mark Stone
Tomas Nosek – Cody Eakin – Alex Tuch
Will Carrier – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – Ryan Reaves
Nate Schmidt – Deryk Engelland
Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore
Jon Merrill – Colin Miller
Marc-Andre Fleury – projected starter
Malcom Subban
