Playoff Watch/Lines #41: Marleau, Nieto Stay in San Jose

The sixth-place San Jose Sharks are four points behind fourth-place St. Louis in the West. The Sharks do have a game in hand. Fifth-place Arizona, just one point behind the Blues, is in Colorado tonight. St. Louis is idle.

San Jose Sharks (18-18-4)

No projected changes as the #SJSharks take on the #FlyTogether.

Missed an episode—> https://t.co/wmyWBR90aU pic.twitter.com/N4DAy235MJ

— Locked on Karlsson's Apple (@LockedOnSharks) April 12, 2021

Anaheim Ducks (12-23-7)

This was Anaheim’s line-up last night. They’ve sent out Jani Hakanpaa and Ben Hutton, so their defense figures to look very different tonight.

Great to see The Captain back. #FlyTogether | @7UP pic.twitter.com/8BS2VhXTSP

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) April 11, 2021

Where to Watch

Puck drop is 7:30 PM PT at SAP Center. Watch it on NBC Sports California, KCOP, Bally Sports West Plus, or NHL.tv.

Morning Skate

Patrick Marleau, Marcus Sorensen, Kurtis Gabriel, and Matt Nieto are still with the San Jose Sharks.

As San Jose Hockey Now learned a couple days ago, it was a cold market for Marleau and Sorensen.

Kevin Kurz of The Athletic added that Marleau was interested only in going to a true Cup contender, which surely further chilled his market. Marleau isn’t the player that he was last year – the San Jose Sharks legend drew a third-round pick during the last Trade Deadline – so it’s not a surprise that the league’s deepest teams passed.

The good news?

Wilson declines to say how much interest there was in Marleau, but…: "We're excited to see Marleau break the record as a Shark."

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) April 12, 2021

That would be Gordie Howe’s All-Time Games Played record: Marleau is scheduled to break it on Apr. 19 in Las Vegas.

As for Gabriel and Nieto, there’s no exact reason apparent as to why neither moved.

Teams, however, might have been scared off by a lingering lower-body injury that’s sidelined Nieto for a couple weeks and running.

Doug Wilson noted that Nieto is skating again: “We expect him to be back playing the next couple of weeks. He’s played very well for us this year.

“We’ll be glad when he gets back in the lineup. His speed, his PK ability is really something that I think we’ve benefited from. We’ve missed him as a player. It will be good when he’s back healthy.”

If you want to look on the bright side, if the San Jose Sharks are still in the playoff picture in a couple weeks, Nieto could be seen as a very strong Trade Deadline “addition”.

Around the NHL

The biggest Trade Deadline deals – Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno, and David Savard – all dropped yesterday. Detroit trading Anthony Mantha to Washington for Jakub Vrana ended up being today’s big blockbuster.

Taylor Hall Hopes To Earn Contract Extension With Boston Bruins

“I’ve been on the other side of the firepower many times. It’s nice to be on the right side” – Devan Dubnyk on being an Av

Vegas Golden Knights Add Center Depth with Mattias Janmark

Penguins Trade: Jeff Carter to Penguins for Picks; Full Analysis

NHL Trade Deadline: Florida Panthers acquire Sam Bennett from Calgary Flames

With Additions Already Made, Islanders Have Quiet Trade Deadline Day

Scott Laughton signs five-year contract extension with Flyers