A few different changes have been made to the San Jose Sharks lineup as they close out a two-game road trip tonight.
Before taking on the St. Louis Blues, Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky confirmed a few adjustments. San Jose Hockey Now reporter Sheng Peng has followed the team in Dallas, Texas, and now in St. Louis, Missouri.
Defenseman Sam Dickinson will draw in for Nolan Allan on the blue line, while captain Macklin Celebrini will be a game-time decision.
It’s not known if Celebrini will participate in the warm-up in St. Louis.
Peng noted during practice that Sharks director of performance Mike Potenza was checking in regularly at the bench with Celebrini as he participated normally in drills this morning.
Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic will make his first start of the season after Yaroslav Askarov has played in the last three contests.
Opportunity for Dickinson to step up for Sharks
The San Jose Sharks did not play Sam Dickinson for the first two games of the regular season. Warsofsky wanted to lean on Allan after seeing him have a stronger end to training camp.
“He’s made some improvements, and he’s come along,” Warsofsky said Thursday morning. “Obviously it’s not going to be a perfect game. No one is going to play a perfect game, but I think his focus level has risen. Still work to be done, but it’s a step in the right direction.”
Dickinson will play in his second game tonight after logging 16:28 against the Stars on Monday night in a 5-0 loss.
“Just bring consistency. Make sure I’m at my best every night and every shift,” Dickinson said before playing St. Louis. “Keep building on the things I have been doing and continue to learn and grow and get better.”
The foundational pieces for Dickinson are how he moves the puck and his feet to create the best opportunities. He understands that he needs to be hard to play against in the defensive zone and wants to build that part of his game.
Dickinson went up against Celebrini in drill today too. It’s always a challenge to go up against him and something the defenseman isn’t a huge fan of. Nonetheless, he knows it will make him a better player in the future.
“Happy to see him out there. Not happy to play him in 2-on-1s, but it’s great seeing him back out there,” Dickinson said.
“I don’t like it ever. He normally puts something through a seam that I don’t even know is there. It’s fun to go up against him and a challenge. Just happy he’s back out there and skating.”
Other half of Sharks goalie tandem to make season debut
Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic will hop onto the ice tonight for his 41st career game with the San Jose Sharks.
Last season, he went 18-14-4 overall for the Sharks. He’ll have a chance to reclaim more of the workload this season with a strong performance tonight against the Blues.
Askarov went 21-20-4 last year in 37 starts. He’s still aiming to command the net for the Sharks and has a 2-1 record across his first three appearances this season.
The Russian netminder has been claimed to be one of the top goalie prospects over the last few seasons. Now is the time to see what he’s made of as the Sharks embark on a 6-game road trip next Thursday in Nashville.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
San Jose Sharks Make Lineup Decisions, Sam Dickinson to play in St. Louis