{"id":481658,"date":"2026-10-01T14:42:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T14:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/481658\/"},"modified":"2026-10-01T14:42:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T14:42:08","slug":"nhl-game-preview-florida-panthers-at-san-jose-sharks-with-line-combinations-10-01-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/481658\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Game Preview: Florida Panthers at San Jose Sharks with Line Combinations 10\/01\/2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Florida Panthers visit the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose on Thursday, October 1, 2026, with puck drop set for 10:00\u202fPM EDT.<\/p>\n<p>Matchup: Florida Panthers (1-0-0, 2 points in 2026-27) at San Jose Sharks (0-0-0, 0 points in 2026-27)<\/p>\n<p>Date: Thursday, October 1, 2026<\/p>\n<p>Puck drop: 10:00\u202fPM EDT (7:00\u202fPM PDT local)<\/p>\n<p>Venue: SAP Center at San Jose<\/p>\n<p>How to watch: SJS: TVAS, NBCSCA \u00b7 FLA: SCRIPPS<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ticketmaster.evyy.net\/c\/5142595\/264167\/4272?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ticketmaster.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Purchase tickets via Ticketmaster<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Florida Panthers News &amp; Notes<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Florida opened the season in Carolina, where the banner being raised belonged to the Hurricanes, and left with an overtime win. Gustav Forsling scored the winner in a defense-heavy game that echoed the teams\u2019 2023 playoff series. The Panthers carried the shot advantage throughout, leading 6-3 in the first period and 20-15 overall, while Carolina held an 18-25 edge in hits after 20 minutes. Boko Imama fought Nicolas Deslauriers late in the first. Aleksander Barkov looked like himself in his first regular-season game in more than a year. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The second period turned into a parade to the box, with Forsling, Dmitry Kulikov, Brady Tkachuk, Garnet Hathaway and Imama all penalized for Florida and both sides drawing 5-on-3 chances. The Panthers went 2-0-2 through four preseason games, including a 5-3 win over Tampa Bay on Sept. 24 in which Imama scored first. Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid, both signed through two more seasons, each posted a .923 save percentage against Carolina. Brady Tkachuk scored in both exhibition games against the Hurricanes. <\/p>\n<p>San Jose Sharks News &amp; Notes<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">San Jose opens its season Thursday, October 1, at home against the Florida Panthers, beginning an 84-game schedule for the first time. The Sharks finished 39-35-8 with 86 points last season, fifth in the Pacific Division and four points behind the second Western Conference wild card, after improving by 19 wins and 34 points. The offseason brought Jacob Trouba on a four-year, $33 million deal, Darnell Nurse from Edmonton, Michael Kesselring from Buffalo, and Mason Marchment on a five-year, $33.75 million contract. [<a href=\"https:\/\/insidetherink.com\/2026-27-season-preview-san-jose-sharks\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">1<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Macklin Celebrini was named captain on September 25, with former captain Joe Thornton presenting the C. At 20, he becomes the youngest captain in franchise history and the 11th full-time captain. The Sharks closed the preseason by placing Eric Comrie and Jimmy Huntington on waivers for assignment to the AHL Barracuda, days after doing the same with Ethan Cardwell, Tye Felhaber and Libor Hajek. Elliotte Friedman reported San Jose and Winnipeg discussed a Connor Hellebuyck trade, with the goaltender suspended indefinitely. <\/p>\n<p>Florida Panthers Projected Lines<\/p>\n<p>Line 1: Brady Tkachuk \u2013 Aleksander Barkov \u2013 Sam Reinhart<\/p>\n<p>Line 2: Carter Verhaeghe \u2013 Sam Bennett \u2013 Matthew Tkachuk<\/p>\n<p>Line 3: Eetu Luostarinen \u2013 Anton Lundell \u2013 Sandis Vilmanis<\/p>\n<p>Line 4: Garnet Hathaway \u2013 Lars Eller \u2013 Bokondji Imama<\/p>\n<p>Pair 1: Gustav Forsling \u2013 Aaron Ekblad<\/p>\n<p>Pair 2: Niko Mikkola \u2013 Seth Jones<\/p>\n<p>Pair 3: Dmitry Kulikov \u2013 Radko Gudas<\/p>\n<p>Goaltenders: Akira Schmid \u2013 Jacob Markstrom<\/p>\n<p>Florida Panthers Special Teams<\/p>\n<p>Power play, First unit: Brady Tkachuk \u2013 Aleksander Barkov \u2013 Sam Reinhart \u2013 Seth Jones \u2013 Matthew Tkachuk<\/p>\n<p>Power play, Second unit: Sam Bennett \u2013 Anton Lundell \u2013 Carter Verhaeghe \u2013 Aaron Ekblad \u2013 Gustav Forsling<\/p>\n<p>Penalty kill, First unit: Aleksander Barkov \u2013 Sam Reinhart \u2013 Gustav Forsling \u2013 Aaron Ekblad<\/p>\n<p>Penalty kill, Second unit: Anton Lundell \u2013 Eetu Luostarinen \u2013 Niko Mikkola \u2013 Radko Gudas<\/p>\n<p>San Jose Sharks Projected Lines<\/p>\n<p>Line 1: Mason Marchment \u2013 Macklin Celebrini \u2013 Will Smith<\/p>\n<p>Line 2: Igor Chernyshov \u2013 Michael Misa \u2013 Tyler Toffoli<\/p>\n<p>Line 3: Ivar Stenberg \u2013 Alexander Wennberg \u2013 Collin Graf<\/p>\n<p>Line 4: Barclay Goodrow \u2013 Zack Ostapchuk \u2013 Kiefer Sherwood<\/p>\n<p>Pair 1: Darnell Nurse \u2013 Michael Kesselring<\/p>\n<p>Pair 2: Nolan Allan \u2013 Jacob Trouba<\/p>\n<p>Pair 3: Dmitry Orlov \u2013 Luca Cagnoni<\/p>\n<p>Goaltenders: Yaroslav Askarov \u2013 Alex Nedeljkovic<\/p>\n<p>San Jose Sharks Special Teams<\/p>\n<p>Power play, First unit: Igor Chernyshov \u2013 Alexander Wennberg \u2013 Will Smith \u2013 Macklin Celebrini \u2013 Luca Cagnoni<\/p>\n<p>Power play, Second unit: Mason Marchment \u2013 Michael Misa \u2013 Tyler Toffoli \u2013 Dmitry Orlov \u2013 Ivar Stenberg<\/p>\n<p>Penalty kill, First unit: Alexander Wennberg \u2013 Collin Graf \u2013 Darnell Nurse \u2013 Jacob Trouba<\/p>\n<p>Penalty kill, Second unit: Barclay Goodrow \u2013 Kiefer Sherwood \u2013 Nolan Allan \u2013 Dmitry Orlov<\/p>\n<p>Players To Watch<\/p>\n<p>Gustav Forsling \u2014 Florida Panthers<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Forsling was the only Panther to find the back of the net last time out, scoring on two shots while logging 22:40, the heaviest workload on the roster. With Marchand out, Florida needs offence from the back end, and Forsling is already taking the minutes and shots to supply it. A sneaky points-prop option.<\/p>\n<p>Macklin Celebrini \u2014 San Jose Sharks<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Celebrini did the most with the least last game, turning a single shot into a goal and an assist across 19:03. That two-point night makes him San Jose\u2019s clear focal point tonight, and if the shot volume climbs toward Marchment\u2019s or Nurse\u2019s, his fantasy ceiling rises with it. Worth an anytime-scorer look.<\/p>\n<p>Injury Report<\/p>\n<p>Florida Panthers<\/p>\n<p>Brad Marchand (LW) \u2014 Injured Reserve, Lower Body, expected back Sunday, October 25<\/p>\n<p>MacKenzie Entwistle (RW) \u2014 Injured Reserve, Undisclosed, expected back Saturday, October 10<\/p>\n<p>Jonah Gadjovich (LW) \u2014 Injured Reserve, Upper Body, expected back Saturday, October 17<\/p>\n<p>San Jose Sharks<\/p>\n<p>Adam Gaudette (RW) \u2014 Injured Reserve, Upper Body, expected back Saturday, October 10<\/p>\n<p>Alex Barre-Boulet (C) \u2014 Injured Reserve, Undisclosed, expected back Monday, October 5<\/p>\n<p>Quentin Musty (LW) \u2014 Injured Reserve, Upper Body, expected back Tuesday, December 1<\/p>\n<p>Cam Lund (C) \u2014 Injured Reserve, Upper Body, expected back Monday, October 19<\/p>\n<p>Kyle Keyser (G) \u2014 Injured Reserve, Upper Body, expected back Tuesday, December 1<\/p>\n<p>Patrick Giles (RW) \u2014 Injured Reserve, Upper Body, expected back Saturday, October 3<\/p>\n<p>Next Up<\/p>\n<p>Florida Panthers: visit the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday, October 4.<\/p>\n<p>San Jose Sharks: host the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, October 3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Florida Panthers visit the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose on Thursday, October 1,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":481659,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[188834,29453,140432,83959,90987,188835,2065,188836,52839,401,2098,25605,10370,2101,1035,55945,66125,404,16029,88,90,89,98,188837],"class_list":["post-481658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-2026-27-nhl-regular-season","tag-akira-schmid","tag-aleksander-barkov","tag-brady-tkachuk","tag-darnell-nurse","tag-dmitry-kulikov","tag-florida-panthers","tag-garnet-hathaway","tag-gustav-forsling","tag-hockey","tag-injury-report","tag-jacob-markstrom","tag-jacob-trouba","tag-line-combinations","tag-macklin-celebrini","tag-mason-marchment","tag-michael-kesselring","tag-nhl","tag-nhl-game-preview","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-san-jose-sharks","tag-sap-center-at-san-jose"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481658"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481658\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/481659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}