After all the talk and well wishes and hopes that Sharks coach Todd McLellan had for tough guy Ben Eager after Eager’s brutal play in Game 2, it looks like he won’t take a chance that Eager will do the same tonight.
Eager will be a healthy scratch for Game 3 with the team down 2-0 in the series. In Game 2, Eager had six penalties for 20 minutes as well as a late goal in the Sharks 7-3 loss to Vancouver. Eager also found ways to energize the Canucks in all the wrong ways with a hit from behind on Daniel Sedin as well as taunting Roberto Luongo after scoring late in the third period of a blowout game.
Joining Eager as healthy scratches are Scott Nichol and Benn Ferriero. Entering into the lineup for San Jose are Jamal Mayers, Jamie McGinn, and Andrew Desjardins. It seems clear that McLellan didn’t want to take the chance of having Eager meltdown in Game 3 and risk taking another bad penalty or two. McLellan bulking down his entire fourth line is a substantial shakeup for this team.