The Detroit Red Wings will conclude their California road trip against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Sunday night. Both teams enter the matchup with recent games influencing their lineups and strategies, as the Red Wings look to rebound from a loss to the Ducks.
The Detroit Red Wings (8-4-0, 16 points) face the San Jose Sharks (4-6-2, 10 points) at 8 p.m. ET on November 2, 2025, at SAP Center. This game marks the end of Detroit's five-game road trip out West, following a 5-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday, where self-inflicted mistakes like poor puck management and a short-handed goal proved costly.
Projected Lineups
Red Wings:
- Forwards: Emmitt Finnie — Dylan Larkin — Lucas Raymond; Alex DeBrincat — Marco Kasper — Mason Appleton; Andrew Copp — J.T. Compher — Jonatan Berggren; Elmer Soderblom — Michael Rasmussen — Austin Watson
- Defense: Simon Edvinsson — Moritz Seider; Ben Chiarot — Axel Sandin-Pellikka; Albert Johansson — Jacob Bernard-Docker
- Goalies: Cam Talbot, John Gibson
- Scratched: Travis Hamonic, James van Riemsdyk
- Injured: Patrick Kane (upper body), who is skating in Detroit but not joining the road trip.
Sharks:
- Forwards: Tyler Toffoli — Macklin Celebrini — Will Smith; Philipp Kurashev — Alexander Wennberg — William Eklund (or Jeff Skinner per some reports); Collin Graf — Michael Misa (or Ty Dellandrea) — Jeff Skinner (or Ethan Cardwell); Barclay Goodrow — Patrick Giles — Ty Dellandrea
- Defense: Dmitry Orlov — Vincent Iorio (or Timothy Liljegren); Mario Ferraro — John Klingberg; Shakir Mukhamadullin — Vincent Desharnais
- Goalies: Alex Nedeljkovic, Yaroslav Askarov
- Scratched: Sam Dickinson, Ethan Cardwell (or Vincent Iorio, Michael Misa)
- Injured: Nick Leddy (upper body), Adam Gaudette (upper body), Ryan Reaves (lower body); Timothy Liljegren (upper body, evaluating after leaving 3-2 OT win vs. Avalanche); William Eklund (lower body, per conflicting reports).
The Sharks did not hold a morning skate and may use 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Alex Nedeljkovic could start after Yaroslav Askarov made 36 saves in Saturday's 3-2 overtime win against the Colorado Avalanche, part of San Jose's three wins in their last four games.
Key Insights and Quotes
Red Wings coach Todd McLellan, who coached the Sharks from 2008-15 and holds franchise records for games coached (540), wins (311), and points (688), reflected on past parallels between the teams. “I was very fortunate, as a young coach, to be leaving the Wings and coming here,” McLellan said. He described the Sharks as “a very dangerous team” with two lines that “can really snap the puck around and have good offensive instincts.”
Defenseman Albert Johansson emphasized forechecking: “We need to stay ahead of the other team. We got to try to get the puck deep in their zone and get our forecheck going.” Alex DeBrincat is on a four-game goal streak and five-game point streak (4 goals, 4 assists).
For the Sharks, Macklin Celebrini leads with 18 points (7 goals, 11 assists) and a seven-game point streak, including a goal against the Avalanche. Johansson noted, “He’s fast. He has good skill, a good shot and good vision. Overall, he’s a good player and can skate. We got to keep an extra eye on him tonight.” William Eklund has 11 points (5-6), and Will Smith has 10 (4-6). Nedeljkovic holds a 2-2-1 record with a 3.60 GAA and .887 save percentage.
