The San Jose Sharks continue this crazy road trip with a hop, skip and a jump to Detroit. The Sharks visit the Detroit Red Wings today for the second half of back-to-back games. Unfortunately for the Sharks, the Red Wings are well rested and angry. Detroit hasn’t played since Tuesday, when the team was shutout by the Boston Bruins 3-0 and outshot 41-24.

Detroit is doing well in the last ten games, so that loss had to hurt. It’s 6-3-1 in its last ten games and sits in second in the Atlantic Division. The Red Wings’ leading scorers are Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond with 49 points each. DeBrincat also leads the team with 24 goals. Dylan Larkin is close behind with 23 goals.

In the net, there’s a pair of familiar faces. John Gibson is 17-9-1 with a .903 save percentage and Cam Talbot is 11-7-3 with a .892 save percentage.

Special teams will be an issue. The Sharks’ power play hasn’t been so bad. While San Jose fans will lament the power play, it’s actually been top ten in the league for the month of January, operating at 30.8% for eighth in the NHL. It’s the penalty kill that you have to worry about. San Jose’s penalty kill is killing at a 68.4%, 25th in the league in the month of January.

The big news for the Sharks is two-fold. There’s the return of Will Smith. Smith has been out since Dec. 13, when he was hit along the boards. He’s tested that shoulder out in contact and seems good to go. Then there’s the trade earlier today that cleared out a contact, making space for Michael Misa to play his 10th game in a Sharks’ uniform. That means the kid is officially here to stay. The Future is Teal is becoming reality before our very eyes.

San Jose Sharks lines today

All of that means some very different looking lines today. Smith will be back on Macklin Celebrini’s wing and Pavol Regenda earned his spot on the other side with his play last night. Misa will center the third line, marking the first time he’ll play back-to-back games this season.

On the back end, Nick Leddy is in and Vincent Iorio is out. Look for Yaroslav Askarov in the net today since Alex Nedeljkovic played yesterday. Nedeljkovic got the win, so that’s a bit of throwing down the gauntlet for Askarov to get the W as well.

Here the lines according to San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng.

Forwards
Pavol Regenda — Macklin Celebrini — Will Smith
William Eklund — Alexander Wennberg — Tyler Toffoli
Collin Graf — Michael Misa — Igor Chernyshov
Barclay Goodrow — Zack Ostapchuk — Adam Gaudette

Defense
Dmitry Orlov — John Klingberg
Mario Ferraro — Timothy Liljegren
Sam Dickinson — Nick Leddy

Goaltenders
Yaroslav Askarov
Alex Nedeljkovic

Detroit Red Wings lines vs. San Jose Sharks

According to NHL.com, the Red Wings will start John Gibson in the net today. Here’s the projected lineup for the Red Wings.

Forwards
James van Riemsdyk — Dylan Larkin — Lucas Raymond
Alex DeBrincat — Andrew Copp — Patrick Kane
Emmitt Finnie — J.T. Compher — Marco Kasper
Elmer Soderblom — Michael Rasmussen — Mason Appleton

Defense
Simon Edvinsson — Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot — Axel Sandin-Pellikka
Albert Johansson — Jacob Bernard-Docker

Goaltenders
John Gibson
Cam Talbot

How to watch San Jose Sharks at Detroit Red Wings Jan. 16, 2026

The puck drops at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

Sharks fans can watch today’s game on NBCSCA or listen on the Sharks Audio Network.

Red Wings’ fans can watch the game on FDSNDET.

Make sure you come back here at game time to talk with other Sharks fans about how San Jose matches up against another of the young, rebuilding teams in the league.