Preview/Lines #35: Should Sharks Send Message to Shaw Tonight?

Should the San Jose Sharks get retribution tonight?

On Nov. 13, Mason Shaw hit Radim Simek high in a 3-2 Sharks’ shootout victory over the Minnesota Wild.

The hit was neither penalized on the ice nor disciplined by the NHL Department of Player Safety. The Sharks, perhaps because of the close game, or not seeing the replay – if the refs missed it on the ice, maybe Simek’s teammates didn’t see it either – did not appear to mix it up with the offender that night.

San Jose placed Simek on IR the next day for, officially, an upper-body injury, and unofficially, a concussion.

Simek returned to the line-up on Nov. 25 against the Los Angeles Kings and made his feelings clear about the hit.

SJHN Daily: Simek Says Shaw Hit ‘Dirty’

“I think it was a dirty, dirty play,” Simek told The Mercury News. “[Shaw] had a chance to hit my body but he didn’t even try to hit my body. He went through my head.”

It looks like Simek will be scratched tonight, but will the San Jose Sharks get their pound of flesh? It’s an interesting question and might be a statement about how you feel about the larger issue of fighting in hockey.

Sharks head coach David Quinn didn’t give a concrete answer to the question about whether or not the team needed to “send a message” tonight.

“Hockey has a way of having long memories. The sport does. So things happen,” Quinn offered. “But again, it was a fast play. He wasn’t trying to hurt him, we all know that.”

Well, I’m not sure that Simek knows that. But regardless, it’s something that I’m watching tonight.

San Jose Sharks (10-18-6)

The line-up will undergo some changes after San Jose was embarrassed by the Calgary Flames in back-to-back losses, 5-2 and 7-3 pastings on Sunday then Tuesday.

Quinn was undecided about his starting netminder tonight, James Reimer or Kaapo Kahkonen, and was coy about both his forwards and defense.

It does appear that C.J. Suess and Simek will sit.

Both Kahkonen and Reimer appeared to come off the same time, so we may not really know who's starting until tonight 😆 Simek and Suess are doing extra work (with Hertl & Knzyhov), so assume Megna is in and the forwards are the same

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 22, 2022

These were the lines at yesterday’s practice, Quinn appeared to like the idea of loading up the top unit.

See these lines today, Hertl and Couture alternating, wonder if this will hold tomorrow:

Meier-Couture-Barabanov
Nieto-Bonino-Labanc
Gregor-Sturm-Svechnikov
Gadjovich-Lorentz-Lindblom

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 21, 2022

Minnesota Wild (19-11-2)

The Wild won last night against the Anaheim Ducks 4-1. Expect Minnesota to go with back-up Filip Gustavsson tonight.

Where to Watch

The San Jose Sharks will take on the Minnesota Wild at 7:30 PM PST at SAP Center. Watch it live on NBC Sports California. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.