Preview/Lines #60: Two Injured Sharks Return to Line-Up

MONTREAL — Timothy Liljegren is back in the San Jose Sharks line-up.

Head coach Ryan Warsofsky confirmed his return to San Jose Hockey Now after Thursday’s morning skate.

Liljegren left the Feb. 23 game at the Calgary Flames with an upper-body injury. Liljegren says he hit his head against the glass.

The 25-year-old blueliner, still trying to find his consistency after the Sharks acquired him from the Toronto Maple Leafs in October, has at least been a puck-moving minutes-muncher. He’s averaged 18:04 a night and has formed a regular second-pairing with Mario Ferraro.

San Jose Sharks (15-36-8)

Alexandar Georgiev will start.

Could Georgiev and Vitek Vanecek, in anticipation of the Trade Deadline, switch starts until then? The San Jose Sharks have five games before Mar. 7.

Warsofsky suggested that was basically the plan, along with also managing Vanecek’s minutes. Vanecek missed over a month with a fractured cheek, and returned right before the 4 Nations break.

Klim Kostin will return to the line-up, in place of Carl Grundstrom on the fourth line.

Kostin has been out with a lower-body injury since Jan. 10.

So here’s how the Sharks should line up:

Eklund-Celebrini-Toffoli
Zetterlund-Wennberg-Smith
Graf-Sturm-Kunin
Kostin-Dellandrea-Goodrow

Walman-Thrun
Ferraro-Liljegren
Vlasic-Mukhamadullin

Georgiev

Nikolai Kovalenko practiced for the second-straight day in an orange no-contact jersey. Warsofsky reported that he’s doing well.

Nico Sturm told me a fun fact: Montreal is the only arena that he hasn't played at as an NHL player.

He did play at Bell Centre during World Juniors

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) February 27, 2025

Montreal Canadiens (27-26-5)

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Where To Watch

Puck drop between the San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens is 4 PM PT at Bell Centre. Watch it live on NBC Sports California. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.