Wild-Sharks game preview: Marc-Andre Fleury starts in goal tonight
No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini has returned for the Sharks, who are led in scoring by former Wild center Mikael Granlund.
Tonight at 9:30, SAP Center
TV; radio: FanDuel Sports Network North; 100.3 FM
Wild update: Marc-Andre Fleury starts in goal for the Wild, who added an extra forward for their three-game road trip, promoting LW Michael Milne from the minors. In 10 games with Iowa in the American Hockey League, Milne has four goals and four assists. Coach John Hynes called Milne “consistently the top forward” for Iowa; Milne would be making his NHL debut if he plays, although that seems more likely Friday night. After the Wild’s 5-1 loss to Los Angeles on Tuesday night, Hynes said, “I’d still like to see some more from certain guys. I thought there was some light players tonight, so we’ll make some decisions.”
Sharks update: San Jose has climbed out of the NHL’s basement after winning four of its past five games. During their latest victory on Tuesday, the Sharks outlasted the Blue Jackets 2-1 in overtime. G Vitek Vanecek made 49 saves, and C Macklin Celebrini returned to the lineup after missing 12 games because of a hip injury. Celebrini was drafted first overall by San Jose over the summer after the forward won the Hobey Baker Award as a freshman with Boston University. He went pointless vs. Columbus but tallied his first career goal and assist in his only other NHL game on Oct. 10. Former Wild C Mikael Granlund leads the Sharks with 14 points; ex-Wild forwards Luke Kunin and Nico Sturm are also on the team.
Injuries: Sharks C Logan Couture (groin) and D Marc-Edouard Vlasic (back) are out.
The new-look top line of Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi had a field day in Anaheim, combining for nine points on Friday as the Wild won their fifth in a row.