Ryan Warsofsky was not thrilled with his fourth line in Tuesday\u2019s 2-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were in their defensive zone a lot,\u201d he said. \u201cStarts with some details off of faceoffs, come into the defensive zone, closing, killing plays. They\u2019re big guys; they can do that. We\u2019ve seen that. We\u2019re gonna have to clean some things up there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cleaning up things for the San Jose Sharks, at least for one night, means scratching fourth-line center Zack Ostapchuk<\/a> for the first time this season, and installing Ty Dellandrea<\/a> in that role, against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday. Barclay Goodrow<\/a> and Adam Gaudette<\/a> remain on the wings.<\/p>\n Sharks tools<\/p>\n Ostapchuk concedes that he wasn\u2019t at his best against the Sabres (and also at the Boston Bruins last Saturday): \u201cI just felt like I was in the wrong spots all night. It\u2019s just one of those games.\u201d<\/p>\n What was the message from the coaching staff to Ostapchuk?<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s more things he can do to impact the game in different levels,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cAnd we\u2019ve talked to him about that. We\u2019re on the same page.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust being a little harder to play against, being a little more physical, bringing that back into my game,\u201d Ostapchuk said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The San Jose Sharks signed the 23-year-old center to a four-year, $9.4 million contract over the summer, so consider this just a little speed bump in his development.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a guy that\u2019s an important piece of our team. We need him,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cHe\u2019ll get a little bit of a reboot.\u201d<\/p>\n So why Dellandrea at 4C?<\/p>\n For one thing, the Sharks are trying to shore up their defensive zone coverage, and 6-foot-2 Dellandrea, who was San Jose\u2019s third-line center for a lot of last season, is perfectly capable of killing plays down low.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to play more on our toes,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cThat\u2019s ultimately, we want to take away time and space quicker in the defensive zone. We\u2019re just a second hesitant to maybe jump in there with numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n Dellandrea is also, since the Nico Sturm<\/a> trade, the Sharks\u2019 best faceoff man, and whatever he lacks offensively, is a proven defensive forward.<\/p>\n \u201cHe understands what the job is. He played some really good hockey for us there down the stretch before he got injured last year. Helped us win some hockey games,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cHe\u2019s a right shot, a center that can help us win faceoffs. So there\u2019s a little bit of that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n San Jose Sharks (6-6-1)<\/p>\n Yaroslav Askarov draws the start.<\/p>\n The San Jose Sharks held an optional skate today, so they didn\u2019t reveal lines<\/a>.<\/p>\n But lines should be similar to what they ran in practice on Wednesday:<\/p>\n Stenberg-Celebrini-Graf Dickinson-Trouba Askarov<\/p>\n Warsofsky did confirm that Filip Bystedt<\/a> will indeed make his NHL debut.<\/p>\n Bystedt says his family from Sweden should make it in time to Tank for his NHL debut. In the air now, should land in SFO soon<\/p>\n
Marchment-Misa-Smith
Sherwood-Bystedt-Toffoli
Goodrow-Dellandrea-Gaudette<\/p>\n
Nurse-Allan
Orlov-Kesselring<\/p>\n