LAS VEGAS — Collin Graf avoided the worst-case injury scenario, but it was still an ordeal for him.

And also for his mother, Terri, who learned on the internet of Graf getting hit in the face with a puck in practice.

But all’s well that ends well for Graf, who will play Tuesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights, sporting a nasty scar and wearing a full bubble mask.

“There was actually, surprisingly, a lot of blood. But it didn’t really like hurt that bad,” Graf said of the puck that deflected into his face late in practice.

Graf went to the hospital for a CT scan and saw a dentist, missing the team flight. But besides needing some stitches, he was all good to go, eventually flying to Las Vegas by himself, getting in late last night.

“Luckily, nothing was broken,” San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “So we move forward. Part of being a hockey player.”

And part of being a hockey player’s mom.

“My mom was worried,” Graf smiled. “But sent her a picture, before the stitches, after the stitches, said I was fine. So she’s good.”

The bubble won’t be an unfamiliar experience for Graf, who wore a cage when he played for Quinnipiac University.

“I heard a couple Scarface comments,” Graf laughed, about what he heard from his San Jose Sharks teammates. “Besides the bubble, everything’s normal.”

He laughed: “It’s just a little bit different in terms of, like, if you have a scratch on your face, you can’t really get it. Or, I completely missed my mouth with the water bottle this morning, but besides that, it’s honestly not that different.”

San Jose Sharks (17-16-3)

Yaroslav Askarov will start.

Ethan Cardwell will come in for Adam Gaudette, and Nick Leddy for Vincent Iorio.

“He’s a little nicked up,” Warsofsky said of sitting Gaudette, who scored in the Sharks’ last game, a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken. “We want to just give him these four days here to kind of get healthy.”

Here’s how lines should look tonight:

Graf-Celebrini-Chernyshov
Eklund-Wennberg-Toffoli
Skinner-Dellandrea-Cardwell
Goodrow-Ostapchuk-Reaves

Orlov-Klingberg
Ferraro-Mukhamadullin
Dickinson-Leddy

Askarov

Also, here’s how the San Jose Sharks practiced the power play.

PP1: Klingberg-Celebrini-Eklund-Toffoli-Wennberg
PP2: Orlov-Cardwell-Skinner-Graf-Chernyshov

Warsofsky wanted to try Ethan Cardwell’s speed and pace on the man advantage: “He’s got enough skill to make some plays on the flank and come downhill and rip a couple pucks, too.”

Warsofsky has no concern about rookie Chernyshov’s first road game being in an environment like Vegas: “He’s got a veteran presence to him…Nothing really bothers this kid. He just goes about his business, prepares like he’s been league for 10 years.”

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 23, 2025

Vegas Golden Knights (16-8-10)

Mitch Marner is 1C again with Eichel still out. Alex Holtz is in; Cole Reinhardt comes out.

Barbashev—Marner—Stone
Holtz—Hertl—Dorofeyev
Smith—Howden—Bowman
Saad—Sissons—Kolesar

McNabb—Korczak
Hanifin—Hutton
Lauzon—Whitecloud

— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) December 23, 2025

Carter Hart is the first goaltender off the ice.

— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) December 23, 2025

Where To Watch

Puck drop between the San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights is at 7 PM PT at T-Mobile Arena. Watch it live on NBC Sports California. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.