Line matching should prove interesting tonight. Despite not having last change, look for Todd McLellan to get the Thornton line on the ice against Nugent-Hopkins whenever possible; that's a matchup the Sharks' top line should win territorially and on the scoreboard. Krueger, on the other hand, will likely look to sneak RNH and co. onto the ice against Michal Handzus, which could be disastrous for San Jose. I think the Couture line will be key tonight. One of Edmonton's biggest holes is that they really only have one reliable defense pairing in Smid and Petry, and those two should spend most of their time against Thornton. That leaves Clowe, Couture and Havlat either the rookie Schultz or the terrible Whitney/Potter pairing to exploit. On the flipside, the Sharks' biggest hole is that they only have two good lines; as mentioned, if RNH or even Gagner gets minutes against Handzus, that's a big advantage for Edmonton.
--The Neutral, from Fear The Fin, gives us his take on Todd McLellan's tactics tonight in his game preview.