
The San Jose Sharks have work to do before they kick off their 2019 Stanley Cup playoff run, and have just three regular season games left to do it. First, they travel to Vancouver for their final meeting with the Canucks.
Team Teal expects to have captain Joe Pavelski back in the lineup after he missed seven straight games with a lower-body injury. The Sharks leading goal-scorer is expected to file back onto the top line alongside Logan Couture.
[RELATED: How to watch Sharks-Canucks live on MyTeams]
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
San Jose split their recent home back-to-back, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in overtime 4-3 but falling flat the following night against the Calgary Flames and losing 5-3. While Saturday’s game helped San Jose clinch home ice for the first round of the playoffs, Sunday’s loss helped the Flames to clinch a division title.
Tuesday’s game will be a test for the Sharks, because the Canucks have been eliminated from playoff contention and will likely play a more opportunistic game.
“We’re going into buildings where teams are going to be playing a little bit loose. Those are sometimes the hardest time to play,” Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon said of the Sharks final road trip of the season. “I think these are going to be good tests for us to make sure we’re playing the right way.”
Tuesday marks the fourth and final time the Sharks and Canucks will play each other this season, with the Sharks winning the previous three contests. In 124 total games between the franchises, San Jose holds a 61-48-9-6 record.
San Jose Sharks
Find the latest San Jose Sharks news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
Sharks projected lines and pairs:
Timo Meier – Logan Couture – Joe Pavelski
Evander Kane – Tomas Hertl – Gustav Nyquist
Marcus Sorensen – Joe Thornton – Kevin Labanc
Micheal Haley – Barclay Goodrow – Joonas Donskoi
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Tim Heed
Jacob Middleton – Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon – Justin Braun
Martin Jones – projected starter
Aaron Dell
Canucks projected lines and pairs
Tanner Pearson – Bo Horvat – Loui Eriksson
Sven Baertschi – Elias Pettersson – Brock Boeser
Ryan Spooner – Adam Gaudette – Josh Leivo
Tim Schaller – Jay Beagle – Markus Granlund
Alexander Edler – Alex Biega
Ben Hutton – Troy Stecher
Quinn Hughes – Luke Schenn
Thatcher Demko – projected starter
Jacob Markstrom