The San Jose Sharks wrap up the team’s three-game road trip today with a stop in Columbus to play the Blue Jackets. The last time these two teams played was on Jan. 6, when the Sharks won 5-2. But today is a different story. Now the teams are in much different position. San Jose is on a losing streak. Meantime, since Jan. 11, Columbus has gone 20-4-4 and jumped into a playoff spot. The Blue Jackets are third in the Metropolitan Division as of this morning, knocking the New York Islanders down into the wild card race.

The Blues are led by defenseman Zach Werenski, who has 77 points in 65 games. Forward Kirill Marchenko has 25 goals. Young Adam Fantilli has taken over the team’s first-line center role. He has 53 points in 72 games.

In the net, Jet Greaves is considered the team’s top goaltender. He has a 24-14-8 record and a .910 save percentage. Behind him, Elvis Merzlikins is 14-9-3 with a .885 save percentage.

The Blue Jackets are without defenseman Damon Severson, who is reportedly week-to-week after he was injured in Montreal on Thursday’s loss.

On the special teams front, both teams are on about the same level. The Blue Jackets are 17th in the league for power play and the Sharks are 18th. On the penalty kill, the Sharks are 16th in the league, while the Blue Jackets are 23rd, though the kill rate difference is 79.0% to 78.2%.

The trouble will be 5-on-5, where the Blue Jackets are averaging more goals per game (3.14 to 3.00) and allowing fewer goals against per game (3.03 to 3.57).

San Jose Sharks lines today

Despite the fact that the Sharks haven’t been doing well with these lines, if the Sharks are truly turning things over to the younger players, then there should not be many changes to this lineup other than due to injury. The Sharks recalled Laurent Brossoit from the San Jose Barracuda, which Brossoit might be the backup today. Odds are Nedeljkovic is starting today.

Forwards
Igor Chernyshov — Macklin Celebrini — Will Smith
William Eklund — Alexander Wennberg — Kiefer Sherwood
Collin Graf — Michael Misa — Tyler Toffoli
Barclay Goodrow — Zack Ostapchuk — Adam Gaudette

Defense
Dmitry Orlov — John Klingberg
Shakir Mukhamadullin — Mario Ferraro
Sam Dickinson — Vincent Desharnais

Goaltenders
Alex Nedeljkovic
Yaroslav Askarov

Columbus Blue Jackets lines vs. San Jose Sharks

According to the Blue Jackets’ website, this is the expected lineup today, with Elvis Merzlikins getting the start in the net. This is the first of back-to-back games for the Blue Jackets, so Merzlikins and Jet Greaves will be splitting starts this weekend.

Forwards
Mason Marchment – Adam Fantilli – Kirill Marchenko
Danton Heinen – Sean Monahan – Conor Garland
Cole Sillinger – Charlie Coyle – Mathieu Olivier
Isac Lundestrom – Boone Jenner – Miles Wood

Defense
Zach Werenski – Dante Fabbro
Ivan Provorov – Denton Mateychuk
Egor Zamula – Erik Gudbranson

Goaltenders
Elvis Merzlinkins
Jet Greaves

How to watch San Jose Sharks at Columbus Blue Jackets March 28, 2026

The puck drops at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

Sharks fans can watch today’s game on NBCSCA or listen on the Sharks Audio Network.

Blue Jackets fans can watch the game on the FanDuel Sports Network or listen on 97.1 FM.

Be sure to come back here at game time to talk about what’s happening on the ice or around the league. While the Sharks are dropping further and further out of the playoff race, they are for sure still watching the scoreboard. There are 15 games on the docket today, which means everyone is in action except the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks.