Preview/Lines #79: ‘Looking’ Like Johnsson’s Season Over, Lindblom Too?

Are Alexander Barabanov and Andreas Johnsson’s seasons over?

“It’s looking that way,” San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn acknowledged today.

Neither are expected to travel on the Sharks’ season-ending trip to Western Canada.

Quinn, of course, clued us in on Barabanov’s status earlier this week. According to a source, Barabanov’s upper-body injury isn’t terribly serious, but there isn’t much to play for anymore this season.

Barabanov Unlikely To Return This Year

According to my eyes, Johnsson is more than just “looking” like he’s done, he’s done. I saw him after the last game in full cast and crutches, two weeks after blocking a shot on Mar. 20 in Edmonton.

Johnsson has a lot to play for — he was in the AHL for most of the year until the New Jersey Devils sent him to the San Jose Sharks in the Timo Meier trade — but the pending UFA will end this season with three assists in 11 games in teal.

And it looks like Oskar Lindblom is entering the same territory.

Before the last two games, Lindblom was practicing, and it appeared that he might return to the line-up after an upper-body injury from the Mar. 30 tilt against the Vegas Golden Knights.

But now, Quinn says Lindblom’s season, and whether or not he travels, will be decided by his workout today.

“I wouldn’t say a setback, but no progress. Going in the right direction, but no progress,” Quinn shared. “So kind of leveled off.”

San Jose Sharks (22-40-16)

Quinn says James Reimer will start, otherwise, the line-up remains the same as the last game. We’ll see about the actual lines:

#SJSharks lines tonight, Raska's back:

Peterson-Hertl-Gregor
Bordeleau-Couture-Labanc
Svechnikov-Sturm-Zetterlund
MacDonald-Lorentz-Raska

Vlasic-Karlsson
Ferraro-Benning
Thrun-Simek

Kahkonen

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) April 7, 2023

Edmonton Oilers (47-23-9)

Oilers practice:

RNH-McDavid-Hyman
Kane-Draisaitl-Yamamoto
Kostin-Bjugstad-Janmark
Foegele-Shore-Ryan
McLeod

Nurse-Desharnais
Ekholm-Bouchard
Kulak-Broberg
Murray-Demers

Skinner
Campbell

*Ceci (personal) has returned to EDM

— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) April 7, 2023

Where to Watch

The San Jose Sharks will take on the Edmonton Oilers at 1 PM PST at SAP Center. Watch it live on NBC Sports California. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.