Los Angeles played San Jose twice during the preseason, yet this is their first official matchup of the 2022-23 campaign. Even though it didn’t count for real, Carl Grundstrom scored in both exhibition games and he’d love nothing more than to find the back of the net again on Friday night.
Last year, the Sharks came out victorious in three of the team’s four-game series, before the Kings shutdown their in-state rival 3-0 in the final contest. Anze Kopitar and Phil Danault each scored two goals in the series.
Coach Todd McLellan will be looking to get back on the winning side things, following a frustrating home loss 72 hours ago. His team was leading 2-0 at first intermission before the wheels fell off in the second period and they eventually succumbed 5-3 to the New York Rangers.
Sean Durzi did travel with the team after being sidelined recently and listed day-to-day with a lower body injury. Should he be available to return for game action after skating at TSPC yesterday, that would change the defensive alignment. He’s most likely a game time decision.
Other than that, we’re expecting McLellan to largely go with the same lineup used on Tuesday, including keeping Kevin Fiala on the top-line with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. Additionally, that means Gabe Vilardi will play wing on the third line again.
Regarding the eventual returns of Alex Iafallo and Brendan Lemieux, we’ve added some updated notes to the section below.
LA Kings Projected Lineup vs. San Jose Sharks
Fiala – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Danault – Arvidsson
Vilardi – Lizotte – Grundstrom
JAD – Kupari – Kaliyev
Anderson – Doughty
Edler – Roy
Moverare – Walker
Quick
Petersen
Scratches: Andersson, Durzi
Injured Reserve: Lemieux (targeting around Dec. 17)
Long-term Injured Reserve: Iafallo (has begun skating, targeted for mid-late December return)
ICYMI: We posted Alex Turcotte, Brandt Clarke, and Quinton Byfield updates recently. See below for the links.
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— The Mayor | Team MM (@mayorNHL) November 25, 2022
Additional Game Notes
Puck drop is set for 7:30pm PST and will be televised by Bally Sports West.
The Sharks will be wearing their Reverse Retro jerseys:
https://twitter.com/SanJoseSharks/status/1583119626015150085
Sharks forward Logan Couture can extend his goal streak to six games, which would tie him with Stars forward Jason Robertson and Nikita Kucherov of the Lightning for the longest goal streak by any player thus far in 2022-23. By scoring vs. LA on Friday, Couture would also match the Sharks franchise record of six straight games with a goal, a mark currently held by Owen Nolan and Patrick Marleau Both players reached that number twice each in their respective careers.
Last time out, San Jose fell to the Kraken 8-5 in Seattle on Wednesday. Here’s how they lined up for that one:
LINEUP!
LINEUP!
LINEUP!Everybody scream & shout.
✨RT for the W vibes✨ pic.twitter.com/53tul3BAiN
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) November 24, 2022
From Friday’s pre-game skate:
Both goalies are sporting Seals-themed masks as well
— Josh Frojelin (@JoshFrojelin) November 25, 2022
RELATED CONTENT:
Alex Turcotte is Taking it Day by Day, Back to Grinding Away
Lineup image created by ALo Images
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