The San Jose Sharks enter their next ‘biggest game of the season’ on Monday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Alex Nedeljkovic will start in goal for the Sharks, and Ty Dellandrea will return to the lineup after he was a healthy scratch for the previous two games. Adam Gaudette will be a healthy scratch. Superstar Macklin Celebrini didn’t participate in the San Jose Sharks morning skate, but he will play, per Ryan Warsofsky.
The Sharks have given Celebrini some practice time off since he returned from the Olympics in February. It is easy to forget that Celebrini is just 19 years old and playing in his second NHL season. San Jose has leaned heavily on him, and with games becoming more physical, keeping Celebrini as fresh as possible will make him more effective.
Over the past 10 Sharks games, Celebrini is averaging 22:07 minutes a night. With games being close late, Celebrini has often been double or even triple-shifted.
“Just maintenance,” Warsofsky told reporters. “Everyone at this time of year has got bumps and bruises and is sore. We try to manage all those things. Mack played in the Olympics, and the minutes that he plays. I don’t think there’s one guy in there that doesn’t have a bump and a bruise.”
Warsofsky said Celebrini is on a plan. With his work ethic getting him to follow it was tough at the beginning, but Celebrini has since recognized the benefits of it.
“We’ve pretty much done that since the break. I don’t know how much more practicing we’ll do here going forward,” Warsofsky said. “Early on, it was a fight. Now he’s more accustomed to it, I would say.”
The Sharks will play four games in six days this week.
Why Dellandrea in for Gaudette?
Aside from Nedeljkovic starting, the San Jose Sharks will make one lineup change on Monday. Dellandrea will play his second game after coming back from a lower-body injury and slot in on the fourth line.
Despite the Sharks’ fourth line having success and results over the past five games, Warsofsky felt getting Dellandrea in the lineup was the best move for his team. Dellandrea is the top face-off man for the Sharks, and after giving up two power-play goals to the Nashville Predators, Warsofsky wanted to shore up the PK.
“Can take face-offs, he’s a center. He can help our penalty kill. [We] gave up two the other night, so those are probably the biggest factors,” Warsofsky said. “Gaudette has done some really good things for us. He can score. It wasn’t an easy decision, by any means.”
The Sharks will look to get back to their winning ways against the Blackhawks on Monday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT.