San Jose Sharks Line Matchups
2026-27 · 2-0-0 · 4 pts · 2nd Pacific
How the Sharks match lines at 5-on-5: who they send against the other team's top line, how hard they match at home, where they change last, versus on the road, and which players carry the toughest minutes. This is the Last-Change Fingerprint.
Next game, Oct 5
The Stars have last change at home. Minutes are expected 5v5 time together; the ratio compares it with coaches ignoring matchups (1.00×).
Sharks
- Line 1Celebrini – Smith – Grafvs DAL Johnston line 5.5 min (1.17×) · vs DAL Harley pair 6.6 min (1.17×)
- Line 2Wennberg – MarchmentNew team · 2 GP with SJS – Sherwoodvs DAL Johnston line 4.6 min (1.06×) · vs DAL Harley pair 5.4 min (1.03×)
- Line 3Stenberg – Chernyshov – Misavs DAL Johnston line 3.7 min (0.93×) · vs DAL Harley pair 4.3 min (0.91×)
- Line 4Toffoli – Ostapchuk – Goodrowvs DAL Bäck line 2.5 min (1.52×) · vs DAL Lundkvist pair 3.8 min (1.26×)
- Pair 1KesselringNew team · 2 GP with SJS – Orlovvs DAL Johnston line 5.8 min (1.06×) · vs DAL Harley pair 6.8 min (1.03×)
- Pair 2NurseNew team · 2 GP with SJS – TroubaNew team · 2 GP with SJSvs DAL Johnston line 5.7 min (1.06×) · vs DAL Harley pair 6.5 min (1.00×)
- Pair 3Cagnoni – Allanvs DAL Hryckowian line 4.1 min (1.08×) · vs DAL Harley pair 5.4 min (0.94×)
Stars
- Line 1Johnston – Rantanen – Robertsonvs SJS Celebrini line 5.5 min (1.17×) · vs SJS Kesselring pair 5.8 min (1.06×)
- Line 2Hryckowian – Steel – Bennvs SJS Celebrini line 3.8 min (1.03×) · vs SJS Kesselring pair 4.3 min (0.99×)
- Line 3Seguin – Hintz – Hyryvs SJS Celebrini line 3.0 min (0.93×) · vs SJS Kesselring pair 3.8 min (1.00×)
- Line 4Bäck – Faksa – Blackwellvs SJS Toffoli line 2.5 min (1.52×) · vs SJS Cagnoni pair 3.1 min (1.21×)
- Pair 1Harley – Heiskanenvs SJS Celebrini line 6.6 min (1.17×) · vs SJS Kesselring pair 6.8 min (1.03×)
- Pair 2Lindell – Myersvs SJS Celebrini line 5.2 min (1.06×) · vs SJS Kesselring pair 5.7 min (1.00×)
- Pair 3Lundkvist – Bichselvs SJS Stenberg line 4.3 min (1.12×) · vs SJS Nurse pair 5.3 min (1.02×)
Full line-vs-line grid
| DAL | Line 1Celebrini | Line 2Wennberg | Line 3Stenberg | Line 4Toffoli | Pair 1Kesselring | Pair 2Nurse | Pair 3Cagnoni |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line 1 Johnston | 5.5(1.2) | 4.6(1.1) | 3.7(0.9) | 2.4(0.8) | 5.8(1.1) | 5.7(1.1) | 3.9(0.8) |
| Line 2 Hryckowian | 3.8(1.0) | 3.6(1.0) | 3.2(1.0) | 2.1(0.9) | 4.3(1.0) | 4.1(1.0) | 4.1(1.1) |
| Line 3 Seguin | 3.0(0.9) | 2.9(1.0) | 2.9(1.1) | 2.3(1.1) | 3.8(1.0) | 3.6(1.0) | 3.2(1.0) |
| Line 4 Bäck | 1.8(0.7) | 2.0(0.8) | 2.1(1.0) | 2.5(1.5) | 2.8(0.9) | 2.8(1.0) | 3.1(1.2) |
| Pair 1 Harley | 6.6(1.2) | 5.4(1.0) | 4.3(0.9) | 3.1(0.8) | 6.8(1.0) | 6.5(1.0) | 5.4(0.9) |
| Pair 2 Lindell | 5.2(1.1) | 4.3(1.0) | 4.2(1.0) | 3.0(0.9) | 5.7(1.0) | 5.3(1.0) | 5.1(1.0) |
| Pair 3 Lundkvist | 3.4(0.7) | 4.3(1.0) | 4.3(1.1) | 3.8(1.3) | 5.0(0.9) | 5.3(1.0) | 4.8(1.0) |
- With last change at home, the Sharks are a middle-of-the-pack line matcher (16th of 32 by matching intensity).
- At home their top line meets the other team's top line about as often as random mixing would give (1.10×).
- The second line draws the opponent's top line most among the depth lines at home (1.11×).
- On the road, without last change, their matching fades (intensity 0.05 vs 0.06 at home).
From the last 30 home and 30 road games with shift data (this season and last), as of Oct 4, 2026. Ratios are shrunk toward 1.00 for small samples.
At home: with last change
| Sharks | Opp Line 1 | Opp Line 2 | Opp Line 3 | Opp Line 4 | Opp Pair 1 | Opp Pair 2 | Opp Pair 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line 1 | 1.10 | 1.04 | 0.96 | 0.85 | 1.09 | 1.00 | 0.85 |
| Line 2 | 1.11 | 1.02 | 0.96 | 0.82 | 1.03 | 1.01 | 0.95 |
| Line 3 | 0.86 | 1.04 | 1.10 | 1.01 | 0.91 | 1.01 | 1.14 |
| Line 4 | 0.84 | 0.84 | 0.99 | 1.43 | 0.93 | 0.99 | 1.15 |
| Pair 1 | 1.02 | 0.97 | 1.05 | 0.97 | 1.03 | 1.01 | 0.92 |
| Pair 2 | 1.05 | 1.01 | 0.94 | 1.00 | 1.01 | 0.99 | 0.98 |
| Pair 3 | 0.92 | 1.03 | 1.01 | 1.08 | 0.93 | 0.98 | 1.11 |
On the road
| Sharks | Opp Line 1 | Opp Line 2 | Opp Line 3 | Opp Line 4 | Opp Pair 1 | Opp Pair 2 | Opp Pair 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line 1 | 1.00 | 1.11 | 0.99 | 0.84 | 1.07 | 1.05 | 0.86 |
| Line 2 | 1.11 | 1.02 | 0.94 | 0.86 | 1.03 | 0.99 | 0.98 |
| Line 3 | 1.01 | 0.96 | 1.01 | 1.02 | 0.97 | 0.97 | 1.07 |
| Line 4 | 0.83 | 0.82 | 1.07 | 1.37 | 0.92 | 0.98 | 1.15 |
| Pair 1 | 1.02 | 1.00 | 1.01 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 1.02 | 0.99 |
| Pair 2 | 0.99 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.02 | 1.01 | 0.98 | 1.00 |
| Pair 3 | 0.99 | 1.01 | 0.99 | 1.03 | 0.99 | 0.99 | 1.01 |
Player competition
Each skater's 5v5 time against each of the opponent's units, as a ratio to random mixing, over his recent games (both venues). Above 1.00 against L1 and P1: he draws top competition.
| Player | Role | GP | Opp L1 | Opp L2 | Opp L3 | Opp L4 | Opp P1 | Opp P2 | Opp P3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macklin Celebrini | Line 1 · 15.8 min | 40 | 1.07 | 1.13 | 0.92 | 0.79 | 1.17 | 1.04 | 0.70 |
| Will Smith | Line 1 · 14.2 min | 40 | 1.05 | 1.12 | 0.92 | 0.84 | 1.14 | 1.04 | 0.75 |
| Collin Graf | Line 1 · 13.7 min | 40 | 1.11 | 1.01 | 1.02 | 0.74 | 1.15 | 0.99 | 0.81 |
| Alexander Wennberg | Line 2 · 13.6 min | 40 | 1.20 | 0.96 | 0.90 | 0.85 | 1.02 | 0.97 | 1.00 |
| Mason Marchment | Line 2 · 13.5 min | 2 | 1.00 | 1.06 | 1.01 | 0.86 | 1.06 | 1.07 | 0.87 |
| Kiefer Sherwood | Line 2 · 13.2 min | 30 | 1.18 | 0.97 | 0.89 | 0.89 | 1.01 | 0.97 | 1.02 |
| Ivar Stenberg | Line 3 · 12.9 min | 2 | 1.19 | 1.00 | 0.90 | 0.86 | 1.03 | 0.93 | 1.07 |
| Igor Chernyshov | Line 3 · 12.5 min | 29 | 0.89 | 1.10 | 1.08 | 0.93 | 0.98 | 1.09 | 0.91 |
| Michael Misa | Line 3 · 11.5 min | 40 | 0.88 | 0.98 | 1.21 | 0.94 | 0.89 | 0.97 | 1.22 |
| Tyler Toffoli | Line 4 · 10.5 min | 40 | 0.87 | 1.03 | 1.16 | 0.94 | 0.91 | 0.98 | 1.19 |
| Zack Ostapchuk | Line 4 · 9.1 min | 40 | 0.72 | 0.80 | 1.07 | 1.62 | 0.90 | 1.00 | 1.20 |
| Barclay Goodrow | Line 4 · 9.1 min | 40 | 0.72 | 0.85 | 1.07 | 1.57 | 0.91 | 0.99 | 1.18 |
| Michael Kesselring | Pair 1 · 17.2 min | 2 | 0.94 | 1.05 | 1.01 | 1.03 | 0.95 | 1.08 | 0.95 |
| Dmitry Orlov | Pair 1 · 17.1 min | 40 | 1.02 | 1.08 | 0.96 | 0.91 | 1.07 | 0.97 | 0.91 |
| Darnell Nurse | Pair 2 · 17.0 min | 2 | 0.94 | 1.04 | 1.00 | 1.05 | 0.95 | 1.05 | 0.98 |
| Jacob Trouba | Pair 2 · 16.2 min | 2 | 1.31 | 0.86 | 0.84 | 0.93 | 1.14 | 0.89 | 0.96 |
| Luca Cagnoni | Pair 3 · 15.5 min | 5 | 0.81 | 1.07 | 1.00 | 1.21 | 0.92 | 1.04 | 1.05 |
| Nolan Allan | Pair 3 · 14.1 min | 2 | 1.28 | 0.88 | 0.85 | 0.97 | 1.08 | 0.96 | 0.98 |
Every game tonight
These habits drive the Matchup Forecast. It projects which line and pair each player faces tonight, for every game. Also see the Sharks line combinations and the methodology.
FAQ
Who do the Sharks match against the other team's top line?
At home, with last change, the Sharks' pair 2 (D) sees top lines 1.05× as often as random mixing, and among depth forwards line 2 gets the most top-line minutes (1.11×). The full grid and each player's numbers are on this page.
What is a Last-Change Fingerprint?
It's a coach's line-matching habit, measured from shift charts. Each cell compares the 5-on-5 time one of his units spent against one of the opponent's units with what it would have been if he ignored matchups. 1.00× is random mixing, above it is a matchup he seeks, below it one he avoids. It's measured separately at home, where the home coach changes last, and on the road.
How do the Sharks' matchups affect fantasy hockey?
A forward who regularly draws the other team's top line and top pair faces tougher competition than his raw numbers suggest. A sheltered line gets softer minutes. Tonight's Matchup Forecast applies these habits to each game's projected lineups.