The San Jose Sharks are making one lineup change for their game against the Metropolitan Division-leading Washington Capitals on Tuesday. Veteran forward Carl Grundstrom is expected to dress, and rookie Ethan Cardwell will be a healthy scratch.
Grundstrom went five games without a point before being a healthy scratch for both games of the Sharks’ home-and-home series with the Seattle Kraken last week.
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Cardwell, who was recalled from Barracuda last week after Barclay Goodrow was placed on injured reserve, played in both games against the Kraken and scored his first NHL goal in Friday’s 8-5 Sharks win at SAP Center.
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky told media members in Washington that he thought Cardwell could benefit from watching a game from the press box. He also stressed that he wanted to give Grundstrom a chance to re-establish his game and contribute to the Sharks‘ growing identity.
Grundstrom is expected to skate on the Sharks’ fourth line with Nico Sturm and Ty Dellandrea.
Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood will start Tuesday against the Capitals, the NHL’s highest-scoring team, as the Sharks play the second game of a six-game road trip.
Blackwood is coming off a solid 36-save performance on Saturday when the Sharks beat the Kraken 4-2 for their third win in four games. In his last 11 games, going back to Oct. 28, Blackwood is 5-5-1 with a .907 save percentage.
Blackwood and the Sharks face a Capitals team that leads the NHL with an average of 4.21 goals per game. They’ve also scored a league-leading 69 goals during 5-on-5 play this season, including 12 during their current four-game win streak.
The Sharks have scored 22 goals in their last four games and are averaging 2.89 goals per game this season, 19th most in the NHL. Mikael Granlund leads the Sharks with 28 points, followed by William Eklund with 22, Fabian Zetterlund and Jake Walman with 19 each, and Tyler Toffoli with 17.
Macklin Celebrini has 14 points in 15 games, including 10 points in his last eight games. He was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month on Sunday and the league’s ‘First Star’ on Monday for his efforts last week when he had seven points in four games.
VLASIC NEARS RETURN: Warsofsky reiterated Tuesday that Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic is nearing a return and is on track to be available to play again by the end of the team’s road trip next week.
Vlasic, who missed all of training camp and every game so far this season with an upper-body injury, has been skating regularly with the Sharks over the last several days.
Vlasic is in his 19th NHL season and has played in 1,296 career NHL games, all with the Sharks.
“He’s close,” Warsofsky said. “He practiced obviously yesterday, he’ll practice tomorrow, and then we’ll circle back.”
Once Vlasic is deemed ready to be activated, the Sharks must create a roster spot for him. The easiest approach for the Sharks would be to return defenseman Jack Thompson, who does not require waivers, to the Barracuda of the AHL.
The Sharks road trip continues with games against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, the Florida Panthers on Saturday, the Carolina Hurricanes on Dec. 10, and the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 12.
