San Jose's situation is different. The Sharks had lost 5 straight, including a 7-2 beating in Los Angeles and a 4-3 loss in Dallas, before beating the Islanders 3-2 in a shootout at home. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky had been saying the work was there even when the results weren't: "We're making strides these last two games... the results will come." One shootout win against a struggling Islanders team doesn't prove that yet. Still, it's more than San Jose had to show for most of the previous 2 weeks.
Macklin Celebrini drives everything for San Jose. He had 3 assists in Dallas and led the team with 21 points in 17 games going into the Islanders game. Will Smith, Ivar Stenberg and Michael Misa all scored in that Dallas loss, so the young forward group is producing. The concern is the other end. The Sharks have scored 3 or fewer in each of their last 5 and allowed 7 in Los Angeles, so their margin for error is small.
In goal, San Jose still hasn't said who starts. Alex Nedeljkovic was 3-3-1 in 7 starts heading into the Islanders game. Yaroslav Askarov has handled more of the workload but carried a .885 save percentage through 12 games. Whoever gets the net will face a Pittsburgh team that scored 5 in Los Angeles and then went 2 periods without a goal in Anaheim. That kind of swing is what you get from a lineup missing Rust and Soderblom, and now likely Koivunen too.
Puck drop is 7:00 PM PT. Crosby against Celebrini is the main reason to watch: an 18-game-old season with one all-time great still adding to his totals and the kid who is supposed to be next. Both teams have plenty of problems. The question is which one gets its special teams and goaltending to hold up for 60 minutes.
