SHARKS (5-16-2) at DEVILS (11-9-1)
7 p.m. ET; MSGSN, NHLN, NBCSCA, SN, TVAS
Sharks projected lineup
Fabian Zetterlund -- Mikael Granlund -- Anthony Duclair
William Eklund -- Luke Kunin -- Mike Hoffman
Jacob MacDonald -- Nico Sturm -- Justin Bailey
Givani Smith -- Ryan Carpenter -- Kevin Labanc
Mario Ferraro -- Ty Emberson
Calen Addison -- Matt Benning
Nikita Okhotiuk -- Kyle Burroughs
Kaapo Kahkonen
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scratched: Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Nikolai Knyzhov
Injured: Tomas Hertl (upper body), Filip Zadina (undisclosed), Jan Rutta (upper body), Oskar Lindblom (lower body), Alexander Barabanov (finger)
Devils projected lineup
Tyler Toffoli -- Jack Hughes -- Dawson Mercer
Ondrej Palat -- Nico Hischier -- Jesper Bratt
Curtis Lazar -- Michael McLeod -- Alexander Holtz
Samuel Laberge -- Chris Tierney -- Nathan Bastian
Jonas Siegenthaler -- Luke Hughes
Kevin Bahl -- John Marino
Colin Miller
Vitek Vanecek
Akira Schmid
Scratched: None
Injured: Timo Meier (lower body), Tomas Nosek (foot), Erik Haula (lower body), Dougie Hamilton (torn pectoral muscle)
Suspended: Brendan Smith
Status report
Neither team held a morning skate Friday after playing Thursday. ... Givani Smith is dealing with a midbody injury and will be a game-time decision. ... Kahkonen will start after Blackwood started the previous two games. ... Rutta, a defenseman, and Barabanov, a forward, are "very close" to returning to the lineup, according to Sharks coach David Quinn. ... Hamilton, a defenseman, and Nosek, a forward, each is out indefinitely; Hamilton was placed on injured reserve and Nosek reaggravated his injury and had surgery. ...Brendan Smith was suspended two games by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday for slashing Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny during a 4-3 overtime win on Thursday. ... The Devils likely will call up a defenseman from Utica of the American Hockey League to take Smith's place in the lineup. ... Meier has skated on his own but has yet to practice with the Devils since he was injured Nov. 14. ... Vanecek likely will start after Schmid made 44 saves at Philadelphia.
