Sharks vs. Capitals watch guide: Projected lines and defensive pairs

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SAN JOSE -- There will be no love lost on the SAP Center ice on Valentine’s Day evening as the Sharks have their rematch with the Stanley Cup-defending Washington Capitals.

These teams last saw each other just a few weeks ago for a high-scoring showdown that saw the Sharks win 7-6 in overtime. In that game, Evander Kane scored the tying goal with one second left in regulation to set up Tomas Hertl to score the game-winner in OT and tally his second hat trick in a four-game span. Both skaters enter Thursday’s game on three-game goal streaks.

Since defeating the Capitals on Jan. 22, Team Teal has put together a six-game winning streak, allowing just two goals per game against every opponent since Washington. They currently sit in first place in the Pacific Division and are tied with the Winnipeg Jets atop the Western Conference with 75 points.

The Capitals visit the Tank on Thursday having gone 4-3-1 in the eight games they’ve played since hosting the Sharks, most recently being shut out at home 3-0 by the Columbus Blue Jackets. They currently sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division, three points behind the New York Islanders.

This is the second and final time the Sharks and Capitals will play each other this regular season. In 42 total games played against Washington, San Jose holds a 28-11-1-2 record.

[RELATED: Sharks can benefit from topsy-turvy division]

Sharks projected lines and pairs:

Timo Meier – Logan Couture – Joe Pavelski
Evander Kane – Tomas Hertl – Joonas Donskoi
Marcus Sorensen – Joe Thornton – Kevin Labanc
Lukas Radil – Barclay Goodrow – Melker Karlsson

Radim Simek – Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon – Justin Braun
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Tim Heed

Martin Jones – projected starter
Aaron Dell

Capitals projected lines and pairs:

Alex Ovechkin – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana – Niklas Backstrom – T.J. Oshie
Andre Burakovsky – Lars Eller – Brett Connolly
Dmitrij Jaskin – Chandler Stephenson – Devante Smith-Pelly

Michal Kempny – John Carlson
Dmitri Orlov – Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik – Christian Djoos

Brayden Holtby – projected starter
Pheonix Copley
 

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