At practice Monday, Oct. 26, Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky put 19-year-old rookie Ivar Stenberg on the first line with Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. Sharks Hockey Digest said it was the first time this season the team had tried Stenberg with its two best players.
Monday's forward lines
- Stenberg - Celebrini - Smith
- Marchment - Misa - Graf
- Toffoli - Dellandrea - Sherwood
- Goodrow - Ostapchuk - Gaudette
New defense pairs
- Nurse - Trouba
- Dickinson - Kesselring
- Allan - Orlov
Darnell Nurse and Michael Kesselring had played together since the start of the season. Apart from Luca Cagnoni and Nolan Allan swapping in and out, the pairs hadn't changed until now.
Why Stenberg
NHL.com's weekly Rookie Watch listed Stenberg as "trending up." He was tied for the rookie scoring lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) and averaged 15:50 of ice time. Seven of those points came on the first power-play unit with Celebrini and Smith.
Injuries
The Hockey Writers lists winger Igor Chernyshov and center Alexander Wennberg as week-to-week with upper-body injuries. Chernyshov was hurt blocking a shot against Ottawa on Oct. 22. Quentin Musty and goaltender Kyle Keyser are on injured reserve. San Jose was 6-5-1 entering the week, fourth in the Pacific Division, and had allowed 42 goals while scoring 36.
Four home games
All four of this week's games are at SAP Center: Buffalo on Tuesday, Oct. 27 (7:30 p.m.), Vancouver on Thursday, Oct. 29 (7 p.m.), Ottawa on Saturday, Oct. 31 (1 p.m., Los Tiburones night), and Calgary on Monday, Nov. 2 (6 p.m.).