San Jose Sharks
Preview/Lines #77: Why Klingberg, Nedeljkovic Playing Tonight?
John Klingberg is back.
Klingberg, a healthy scratch since Mar. 24, will come in for Shakir Mukhamadullin, even though the San Jose Sharks won their last game, 3-2 over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Why Klingberg?
“Helps having a righty, right? So we get Mario off his off-side. That’s one thing,” Warsofsky said of the right-handed Klingberg versus the left-handed Mukhamadullin. “He can get the puck through on the offensive blueline. He can move the puck.”
So Klingberg will pair with Mario Ferraro.
As for the 24-year-old Mukhamadullin, this continues an up-and-down campaign for the young defenseman.
Warsofsky, as he sometimes does, chose not to expand on his line-up decisions, especially when they might be critical of a player.
“There’s a lot of factors into switching the line-up after a win and who and what [the match-ups are]. I’m not going to go through it all, but as coaches and as an organization, we talk about and discuss it, and that was the decision that we made,” Warsofsky said. “He’s done some good things, and he’s improved in some areas. There’s some areas we got to continue to work on, but I think he’s playing better than he was, probably, coming off the injury earlier in the year.”
Reading between the lines, Warsofsky is saying that Mukhamadullin is playing at a higher level than he was early in the season, but it’s still not high enough to be an everyday blueliner for the San Jose Sharks.
San Jose Sharks (37-32-7)
Alex Nedeljkovic will start. Presume that Yaroslav Askarov will get the start on Thursday at the Anaheim Ducks.
It was notable that Nedeljkovic got the Monday start against the Hawks, is he moving ahead of Askarov on the depth chart?
Warsofsky didn’t answer that, but did speak to what Nedeljkovic has done to earn Monday’s pivotal start and tonight’s.
“He’s won. That’s a big thing. That’s not a shot at anyone. But he’s played some really good hockey here for us, as of late. He’s competitive, he seems pretty locked in right now,” Warsofsky said. “I think he’s tracking pucks really well, he’s making the saves we need, the timely ones.”
No doubt, Nedeljkovic has outperformed Askarov since November.
Since Dec. 1, Nedeljkovic is 13-8-2 with an .895 Save % and Askarov is 12-12-2 with an .870. Nedeljkovic is also a bit of the hot hand, too, since Mar. 26, the Sharks are 5-1-1, and Nedeljkovic is 3-0-1 with a .918 Save % and Askarov is 2-1-0 with an .881 Save %.
I’ll be very curious to see who gets Saturday’s start!
Along with Klingberg, Adam Gaudette also returns to the line-up:
Graf-Celebrini-Smith
Eklund-Wennberg-Sherwood
Chernyshov-Misa-Toffoli
Goodrow-Ostapchuk-Gaudette
Orlov-Desharnais
Ferraro-Klingberg
Dickinson-Leddy
Nedeljkovic
Klingberg will also be reinstated onto the power play:
PP1: Orlov-Celebrini-Smith-Toffoli-Wennberg
PP2: Klingberg-Eklund-Chernyshov-Misa-Sherwood
Edmonton Oilers (39-29-10)
The Oilers played yesterday at the Utah Mammoth, running these lines in a 6-5 OT loss.
Tristan Jarry starts in net & Colton Dach returns to the #Oilers lineup vs. Utah.@PlayAlbertaCA | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/emfjbD3bxx
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 8, 2026
Connor Ingram figures to start against the Sharks.
Head coach Kris Knoblauch will share more line-up details at about 5:30 PM PT.
Where To Watch
Puck drop between the San Jose Sharks and Edmonton Oilers is at 7 PM PT at SAP Center. Watch it live on TNT and HBO Max. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.
Klingberg better not get more minutes than Dickinson and Leddy tonight.
He shouldn’t even be in the lineup but there’s the wonderful randomness of this coaching staff. What a joke.
It’s Warso daily reminder of his immunity to logic.
Not sure specifically what Warsofsky is going for, but I doubt it is random. He wants a right shot D. Maybe that’s specific to how Connor Ingrahm plays or matching up vs Oilers skaters.
I’m not saying he is right on this particular decision. But unless you have spent the same time studying video of opposing teams, opposing goalies, etc and learning matchups., I don’t think you’re gonna know more than Warsofsky and his staff.
😁
Hmmm…a lot of undeserved credit for Warso and his staff. Only after he’s fire there will be many people posting “see, that’s what I was saying all year, etc.” That’s exactly what I was trying to tell everyone….etc. etc.”
https://youtu.be/uq-v1TTUyhM?si=piHzafd_lqQ_owi0
lol! Ok buddy. Have another drink.🥴
I’m sure many people will say that after he is fired, but they will be idiots then as they are now. In the NHL, the coach getting fired really doesn’t say all that much. Bruce Cassidy got fired recently and he won a Stanley Cup in 2023. Does him getting fired prove all the internet randos actually know more about hockey than Bruce Cassidy? I also don’t understand this “undeserved credit.” Are you saying Warsofsky and his staff don’t study video or opposing players? Like I said, I don’t know if Warsofsky’s specific decision is right. I won’t even say… Read more »
He just says dumb ass shit. Nothing of value to contribute.
We do have to take recent evidence that the team can make smart decisions about this stuff, because nobody had “Nick Leddy is now our best blue liner” on their Bingo card.
Maybe he is healthy and is playing well in practice. We have no idea until we see him play, but the staff has earned the benefit of the doubt.
We don’t know any of it but I think that Celly’s word and opinions carry a lot of weight around the team, so maybe, just maybe, isn’t it possible that after Celly and Leddy got really close that Leddy began playing?
No. And let’s be crystal clear, it’s you specifically, who doesn’t know any of it. Only a naive person with no capacity for critical thought would conclude that’s how a professional sports team is run.
i swear this seems like a burner account for Jeff when he’s shitfaced.
Jeff doesn’t drink. We might be able to attribute it to deranged brain cells due to his advanced age and the heat of Thailand, though.
Hmmm… could be just trying to throw us off the trail. 😜
Good for you, me either. 🙂
Me neither. ETOH brought out my “mean streak” I stopped many years ago.
So glad I did 👍
“better not”, or else what, you’ll go off on a tirade? It seems like all you do is complain about lineup decisions. Even before and after the last win, you were whining about Dellandrea playing. Today it’s Klingberg. I can’t stand Klingberg, but I find whiny fans to be very annoying.
I’m just grateful to watch some Sharks hockey!!! There’s potentially only a week or two left, and then we’ll have to wait until next season to see our favorite team. I hope you can enjoy the ending to this magical year!
🤣 🤣 🫶
Cue the meltdown…
Aw fuck
Rolling with Ned is pretty logical when things are this close and there are so few games left. Plus, if this team does squeeze into the playoffs, I think you probably need to pick a goalie and roll with him anyway. Ullmark/Swayman was probably the best tandem in recent history, and I think Boston suffered with trying to rotate the two in the playoffs.
If they do make it I’ll be shocked if they don’t lock into one until he gets shelled. Sharks vs Calgary in 95(?) they alternated between Irbe and Flaherty and pulled off the upset.
One of my early Sharks memories.
Made myself sick watching game 7.
For the last 6 games I’d like to see the Goalies deployed thusly:
Ned vs ED, Asky vs ANA, Asky vs VAN, Ned vs NSH, Asky vs CHI & Ned vs WPG.
Each gets 3 games but Ned gets the tougher opponent in ED, NSH & WPG, while Asky gets the so-called “easier” ones in ANA, VAN & CHI.
Sound deployment or should the Sharks just ride Ned into the dirt?
How would ya’ll did it?
I think I’d give Ned 4 games, and Asky 2 games. So the same as you, except Ned plays against Vancouver
Ned, meet dirt.
Ride Ned into the dirt. He’s been the better goalie. This is no time for go back to Asky cause he’s the future. He had a bad game Saturday and for such a cocky guy, his refusal to want to discuss it is a bad sign.
What the helly? Askarov isn’t cocky. Did you see how dejected and self critical his expression was during the post game interview? Also, he isn’t super confident in his English, so I think he was biting his tongue. There’s a saying, if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all.
Either biting his tongue, or just struggling with the “translate question from English to Russian –> figure out reply –> translate response from Russian to English” all while he’s uphappy and probably worn out.
My brother’s German wife and I spoke at length about her early days of learning English and the mental gymnastics it took to switch languages in her head during every conversation. It took years before she stopped mentally translating between languages.
Brutal. I can’t even imagine the struggle.
I’ve been saying for some time now that one should exxpect more from the goalie that’s marked and advertised as Sharks “future”. Over the last 3-4 months Askarov didn’t make any progress in the areas outlined to him by coaches. He still allows a bunch of easy goals between the legs, etc. and quite frequently has an attitude about it. Not good but it’s kind of common about Russian players. This may also be the problem with Mukh whom some consider uncoachable. These players often follow what they learned back in Russia and think they know it best because of… Read more »
Da hell are you talking about? When has Askarov ever had an attitude about his easy goals?
Sure. In his rookie season he should be in his final form, fully developed. 🙄Dude please put your phone away. FFS…
What the hell? You drinking when you should be thinking?
I don’t see him as cocky in the least. That’s a crazy take.
Could Jerzy be the weird inverse of Dirty Al?
I’ve been pro-Muk at various points, but I am OK with this. First off, I don’t believe in adhering to narratives that are set in stone. The Klingberg narrative got out of control, and if they lose, some section of reddit will post the same Klingber-hating narratives after the game. Klingberg was truly horrific at the start of the season during the long losing streak. But since then he’s been as good as some of the other guys. Muk was probably really above Leddy, but Leddy has rebounded. I agree Muk has improved and all in all has played pretty… Read more »
I would not be shocked if Muk headed back to Russia for next season. I have no idea how he is reacting to what seems like random benching. For young guy it is all about confidence and the only way to maintain it is playing after a pretty good game. By-the-way I hope Klingberg plays his hockey in Russia next year, he has been brutal this season.
Klingberg is Swedish, so he has many options of which KHL would be the last one. Swedes prefer Swedish or German and Swiss league over KHL.
Holy shit. A coherent comment. 😮
This narrative is completely fan driven. I’m guessing by young people who haven’t actually had to work for things in their life yet.
“In recent games he’s just immediately firing the puck off the boards or rimming it around hard the other way, in a panic on too many plays.”
Mukh is learning this from his D-partner Mario, it’s the only move Mar knows…
You’re not wrong.
It’s on full display tonight. I seriously hope he’s not with the team next season.
Ferraro? Tonight it was very apparent that he’s too small. Couldn’t eliminate the Oil forwards against the boards. Just unskilled and ineffective defensive play. Time to move on.
I think the time to bench him was 1 or 2 games before last. His last game was very good. And Edmonton seems to bring the best out of him. It’s probably that Klinger is finally healthy enough to come in.
Beat the Oilers — the worse their record, the potentially higher pick we get.
Absolutely! I’m sure Mack & the Boys are using this very reason as the added motivation they need to secure 2 points tonight! /s
I would be shocked if they even knew the Sharks own the Oil 1st.
Late in the 2nd here, I’m going to go out on a limb and predict we won’t hear any MVP chants tonight.
Oh, and it’s pretty clear to me that Dickinson needs a night off.
He’s seen a little too much McJesus in this one. And not early regular season McJesus, near playoff form McJesus… Gotta love how physical Cele has been with him though. Spectacular hit at the end of the 2nd. That kid is going to be a terror in the playoffs whenever they make it.
They’re only down 3. You never know with this team. 😉