{"id":426026,"date":"2026-01-24T00:35:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T00:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/426026\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T00:35:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T00:35:07","slug":"preview-lines-50-what-can-chernyshov-improve-in-ahl-smith-perreault-meet-in-nhl-for-1st-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/426026\/","title":{"rendered":"Preview\/Lines #50: What Can Chernyshov Improve in AHL? Smith, Perreault Meet in NHL for 1st Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier said that Igor Chernyshov<\/a> had some things that \u201cthe coaching staff would like him to work on\u201d in the AHL.<\/p>\n

What are those things?<\/p>\n

For what it\u2019s worth, it doesn\u2019t mean that Chernyshov was sent down because of those things or the coaching staff. Reading between the lines, Chernyshov getting sent down is just because of the Sharks\u2019 roster crunch.<\/p>\n

Chernyshov has three goals and 11 points in his first 15 NHL games. His last appearance at the Florida Panthers, he had a pair of assists in a 4-1 win.<\/p>\n

Recently, veterans Jeff Skinner, Adam Gaudette, and Ryan Reaves have been, however, among those sitting out because of San Jose\u2019s glut up front. Philipp Kurashev looks poised to come off IR soon.<\/p>\n

So Chernyshov, 20, and still waiver-exempt, is a convenient roster move. He still has stuff to work on in the AHL \u2014 like his penalty killing \u2014 and this buys time for Grier to make a beneficial move or two to clear up the logjam. Chernyshov will also be able to play up to eight games for the Cuda while the Sharks are on Olympic break.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re getting healthy, so there will be, probably some more roster decisions to come in the next week to ten days,\u201d Grier said.<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky hoping to see from Chernyshov with the Barracuda?<\/p>\n

\u201cJust details away from the puck. Go down there and be on a mission. I think when you get sent down, from coaching that league, you can come off the gas with your mentality a little bit and just kind of float through it,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019ll do that, just because of type of hockey player and person he is. But continue to push the envelope with his details.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chernyshov, when he wasn\u2019t at the top of his game in the best league in the world, did struggle at times with pace. Part of it, he\u2019s still growing into his body.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pace of the game, the National Hockey League is extremely high. To do that and play at that, extremely high pace, shift in and shift out, your conditioning has to be extremely high-end,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cSo he probably won\u2019t pick [that] up and in the time he\u2019s down there\u2026A lot of that will come throughout the summer, but he\u2019s gonna be a special player. We know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks (25-21-3)<\/p>\n

Alex Nedeljkovic will start.<\/p>\n

The Sharks have six games until the Olympic break, no back-to-backs. Warsofsky declined, when asked, if Nedeljkovic and Yaroslav Askarov would be alternating starts from this point on, as they had in the four-straight back-to-back\u2019s. So maybe Nedeljkovic will get a chance to run with the ball a bit?<\/p>\n

This is how San Jose lined up at morning skate:<\/p>\n

Graf-Celebrini-Smith
Regenda-Wennberg-Toffoli
Eklund-Misa-Gaudette
Goodrow-Ostapchuk-Reaves<\/p>\n

Orlov-Klingberg
Ferraro-Liljegren
Dickinson-Desharnais<\/p>\n

Nedeljkovic<\/p>\n

This is what the Sharks\u2019 power play groups looked like:<\/p>\n

PP1: Klingberg-Celebrini-Smith-Toffoli-Wennberg
PP2: Orlov-Eklund-Misa-Graf-Regenda<\/p>\n

New York Rangers (21-24-6)<\/p>\n

Spencer Martin should start.<\/p>\n

Looks like lines are<\/p>\n

Miller-Zibanejad-Perreault
Panarin-Trocheck-Lafreni\u00e8re
Cuylle-Laba-Othmann
Blidh-Carrick-Raddysh<\/p>\n

Gavrikov-Schneider
Soucy-Borgen
Robertson-Morrow<\/p>\n

\u2014 Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) January 23, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Smith and Gabe Perreault, Boston College linemates, face each other for the first time in the NHL.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be pretty weird,\u201d Smith told Sharks Hockey Digest<\/a> about facing Perreault. Perreault also told SHD that he met Smith\u2019s landlord, Patrick Marleau, before the college mates went out to dinner on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

Where To Watch<\/p>\n

Puck drop between the San Jose Sharks and New York Rangers is at 7 PM PT at SAP Center. Watch it live on NBC Sports California. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.<\/p>\n

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