After suffering two losses earlier this week, Sharks coach Peter DeBoer has rearranged his offensive lines a bit ahead of San Jose’s Saturday night contest against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Rookie forward Antti Suomela is expected to be a healthy scratch after spending the first 13 games of the season centering the third line. Kevin Labanc and Rourke Chartier filed onto that line during Friday’s morning skate along with Suomela’s fellow Finn, Joonas Donskoi.
“I felt really comfortable with our four-line game up until the last couple of games,” DeBoer said of mixing the combinations up. “And that’s not necessarily the third or fourth line. It’s everybody.”
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Evander Kane is expected to skate on Joe Thornton’s wing along with Joe Pavelski on San Jose’s top line on Saturday evening. Barclay Goodrow, Marcus Sorensen, and Melker Karlsson are expected to make up the Sharks' fourth line.
San Jose’s most productive line on the young season consisting of Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl, and Timo Meier will be reunited to start the game.
“We weren’t getting that type of tilt that we talk about from all four lines, where we can get into that rhythm,” DeBoer continued. “So we’ve juggled some things around.”
The Sharks are 2-1-2 in their last five as they gear up for their second game of the season against the Flyers. When the teams previously met in Philly in early October, the Sharks skated to a very convincing 8-2 victory. San Jose is looking to have a repeat performance, particularly after dropping the first two games of this four-game homestand.
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“We beat them pretty badly, and I’m sure that’s still in the back of their minds,” Logan Couture said about Saturday’s opponent. “They’re going to come out and want to redeem themselves.”