Preview/Lines #13: Eklund’s Grandpa Good Luck Charm for Sharks? Next Hurdle for Celebrini

William Eklund’s grandfather is helping the San Jose Sharks win games?

Well, he’s been a good luck charm, at least.

Mats, and Eklund’s mother Maria, have been in town from Sweden since the San Jose Sharks’ 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.

San Jose Hockey Now met both after Thursday’s 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, and they joked about what they called “The Grandpa Effect”.

Mats was also here last year, when the Sharks ended their 0-10-1 start with victories against the Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers.

Eklund estimated that the San Jose Sharks’ record with Mats around is about 6-1. That’s actually impressive, considering San Jose has won, including all of last season, just 22 of their last 94 games.

“It’s just a fun thing that we were joking about,” Eklund said. “But obviously, we are playing way better as a team right now.”

“The Grandpa Effect” will be put to the test for about another week: The Sharks have three more games on this homestand, tonight against the Vancouver Canucks, Nov. 5 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Nov. 7 versus the Minnesota Wild.

San Jose Sharks (3-7-2)

Mackenzie Blackwood will start.

Will (Smith) will play and Timothy Liljegren will make his Sharks’ debut.

San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky says there could be some health concerns going into tonight, but at the moment, Givani Smith, Klim Kostin, and Jack Thompson appear to be healthy scratches.

Based on yesterday’s practice lines, these could be the lines tonight:

Eklund-Granlund-Toffoli
Cardwell-Wennberg-Zetterlund
Goodrow-Smith-Kunin
Gushchin-Sturm-Grundstrom

Walman-Ceci
Ferraro-Rutta
Thrun-Liljegren

Also, Macklin Celebrini practiced for a third-straight day:

Warsofsky said Celebrini will have to go through a practice with some contact before he plays again. Sharks' next practice is Monday.

"We have a pretty good plan going forward. We won't put him in a game without contact. So that's kind of where it's at."

— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) November 2, 2024

Vancouver Canucks (4-2-3)

Kevin Lankinen first off the ice for the #Canucks

— Max Miller (@Real_Max_Miller) November 2, 2024

Where To Watch

Puck drop between the San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks is 7 PM PT at SAP Center. Watch it live on NBC Sports California. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.