McLellan seeking better effort from Sharks

Thursday, 01.12.2012 / 2:34 PM | Patrick Williams  - NHL.com Correspondent
WINNIPEG -- A 5-4 shootout loss on Tuesday night at Minnesota figures to leave the San Jose Sharks a hungry bunch leading into tonight's date with the Winnipeg Jets.

The shootout loss ended the Sharks' four-game win streak as they started a four-game road trip that continues against the Jets before winding its way to Columbus for a game with the Blue Jackets on Saturday.

"We were actually quite disappointed with a number of our players," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "We didn't get the effort that we needed.

"We'll probably talk about a 10-minute game and a 50-minute game," McLellan explained when asked what he expects from the Jets. "We'll have to be on our toes early. I think they're going to be an energized team."

Antti Niemi, who has started 15 of the Sharks' past 16 games, is expected to be in net for San Jose. Ryan Clowe is expected to skate for the Sharks tonight after being banged up in Minnesota. The Sharks will be without defensemen Jim Vandermeer and Colin White as well as Martin Havlat.

McLellan also indicated that there could "potentially" be lineup changes after Tuesday's game. Here is a look at the projected lineup for San Jose:

Patrick Marleau - Joe Thornton - Joe Pavelski
Ryan Clowe - Logan Couture - Benn Ferriero
Jamie McGinn - Michal Handzus - Torrey Mitchell
Brad Winchester - Andrew Desjardins - Tommy Wingels

Dan Boyle - Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Jason Demers - Brent Burns
Douglas Murray - Justin Braun

Antti Niemi
Thomas Greiss
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