
Programming note: Sharks-Canadiens coverage starts today at 4pm with Sharks Pregame Live on CSN California.
Where they stand
Sharks: 14-14-1, 29 points, 5th Pacific Division
Canadiens: 20-8-3, 43 points, 1st Atlantic Division
The latest
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Sharks: The Sharks dropped their sixth straight game on Saturday, a 2-0 defeat to Minnesota at SAP Center, as Darcy Kuemper stopped all 25 San Jose shots. It was the fourth time they have been shut out this season. The Sharks are beginning a five-game road trip tonight where they are 10-5-1, but have lost three straight (0-2-1).
Canadiens: The Canadiens snapped a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 triumph over the rival Senators on Saturday at Bell Centre, in a game where they recorded a franchise record-tying 27 shots on goal in the first period. Montreal concludes a three-game homestand with the Kings on Thursday.
Keep an eye on…
Sharks: Brent Burns. The Sharks defenseman has gone nine straight games without a plus rating, and at -15 owns the second-worst mark in the NHL. Just like last season, Burns’ questionable defensive decision-making seems to be outweighing his offensive ability, including on Saturday when he left Zach Parise wide open in front of the net for the game-winner. The 30-year-old still leads the Sharks in ice time at 26:35 per game.
San Jose Sharks
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Canadiens: P.K. Subban. On the other side, the 26-year-old Canadiens defenseman has 21 points (1g, 20a) in 31 games, and is leading his high-powered club with a +13 rating. Subban is Montreal’s ice time leader at 25:12 per game, but is scoreless in his last five.
Probable lines
Sharks
Tomas Hertl – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Melker Karlsson – Patrick Marleau – Joel Ward
Joonas Donskoi – Chris Tierney – Tommy Wingels
Matt Nieto – Dainius Zubrus – Mike Brown
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Dylan DeMelo – Brenden Dillon
Martin Jones (confirmed starter)
Alex Stalock
Canadiens
Max Pacioretty – Tomas Plekanec – Paul Byron
Lars Eller – Alex Galchenyuk – Dale Weise
Tomas Fleischmann – David Dessharnais – Daniel Carr
Sven Andrighetto – Torrey Mitchell – Brian Flynn
Andrei Markov – P.K. Subban
Alexei Emelin – Jeff Petry
Nathan Beaulieu – Tom Gilbert
Dustin Tokarski (confirmed starter)
Mike Condon
Vitals
Sharks
Goals per game: 2.55 (16th)
Goals-against per game: 2.69 (19th)
Power play: 17.7 percent (20th)
Penalty kill: 81.5 percent (13th)
Canadiens
Goals per game: 3.19 (2nd)
Goals-against per game: 2.23 (4th)
Power play: 20.4 percent (10th)
Penalty kill: 86.7 percent (3rd)
Injuries/Scratches
Sharks: Logan Couture (arterial bleeding in right thigh) is out.
Canadiens: Brendan Gallagher (broken fingers), Carey Price (leg) and Devante Smith-Pelly (lower body) are out.
Season series
San Jose is 1-4-0 in its last five trips to Bell Centre, but 4-1-0 in its last five games against the Canadiens overall.
The Canadiens visit SAP Center on leap day, Feb. 29.
Odds and ends
*Barclay Goodrow and Ben Smith have been recalled from the Barracuda. Goodrow was named the AHL’s Player of the Week on Dec. 6, with four goals and three assists in two games, while Smith played two games there on a conditioning assignment with a concussion.
*In his last seven starts, Martin Jones is 1-5-1 with a 2.97 goals-against average and .888 save percentage. On the road, though, he’s 9-3-1 with a 1.98 GAA and .930 SP this season.
*San Jose is 11-1-0 when scoring first, and 3-13-1 when allowing the first goal.