Morning Skate: Sharks back home to face Sabres

Programming note: Sharks-Sabres coverage starts tonight with Sharks Pregame Live at 7pm on CSN California.

Where they stand
Sharks: 32-21-6, 70 points, 3rd Pacific Division
Sabres: 24-30-7, 55 points, 7th Atlantic Division

Playoff picture
The Sharks trail the Kings by six points in the Pacific Division, with one game in hand. They trail the Ducks, who host Edmonton tonight, by two points.

The latest

Sharks: San Jose completed its five-game road trip in Colorado on Wednesday, losing 4-3 in a shootout. Still, the Sharks went 3-1-1 on the trip, and have played nine of their first 11 coming out of the All-Star break on the road. Tonight marks the start of three games in four nights for the Sharks.

Sabres: Buffalo didn’t to San Jose any favors on Wednesday, losing 1-0 in Anaheim, its second straight defeat. The Sabres wrap up a three-game California swing in Los Angeles tomorrow night.

Keep an eye on…

Sharks: Nick Spaling. The newly acquired forward wasted no time in making a positive impact with the Sharks, scoring on his first shift against Colorado on Wednesday. Spaling, considered a versatile guy by coach Pete DeBoer, ended up playing on what would be considered the Sharks’ second and third lines later in the game, after starting on the fourth. It’s unclear where he’ll begin against Buffalo.

Sabres: Jamie McGinn. The former Sharks forward is having a nice year with 14 goals and 27 points, tied for fourth on the team in scoring. He’s currently slotted on the left side of sensational rookie center Jack Eichel. Still, the 27-year-old pending free agent is a candidate to get moved at the upcoming trade deadline for the rebuilding Sabres.

Probable lines

Sharks
Tomas Hertl – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Joonas Donskoi – Logan Couture – Joel Ward
Nick Spaling – Patrick Marleau – Melker Karlsson
Matt Nieto – Chris Tierney – Dainius Zubrus

Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon – Roman Polak

Martin Jones (confirmed starter)
Alex Stalock

Sabres
Jamie McGinn – Jack Eichel – Zemgus Girgensons
Evander Kane – Sam Reinhart – Justin Bailey
Marcus Foligno – Johan Larsson – Brian Gionta
Nicolas Deslauriers – David Legwand – Matt Moulson

Josh Gorges – Rasmus Ristolainen
Jake McCabe – Zach Bogosian
Mark Pysyk – Cody Franson

Robin Lehner
Chad Johnson

Vitals

Sharks
Goals per game: 2.95 (4th)
Goals-against per game: 2.68 (13th)
Power play: 22.5 percent (3rd)
Penalty kill: 79.3 percent (23rd)

Sabres
Goals per game: 2.34 (29th)
Goals-against per game: 2.66 (14th)
Power play: 19.9 percent (10th)
Penalty kill: 82.5 percent (9th)

Injuries/Scratches

Sharks: Tommy Wingels (shoulder sprain) and Matt Tennyson (possible concussion) are out.

Sabres: Cody Franson (neck) is questionable. Tyler Ennis (upper body) and Ryan O’Reilly (lower body) are out.

Season series

The Sharks won in Buffalo on Nov. 14, 2-1, on Patrick Marleau’s overtime goal. It was San Jose’s first win there since Dec. 2, 2005, and just second in franchise history (2-15-1).

Buffalo is 8-0-1 in its last nine games against San Jose.

Odds and ends

*The Sharks are 6-0-3 in their last nine home games. They play 15 of their final 23 at SAP Center.

*Buffalo’s Ryan O’Reilly is out for approximately the next three weeks with a lower body injury. He is the Sabres’ leading scorer with 49 points.

*Brent Burns has 257 shots on goal, a new single-season franchise record for a defenseman (Dan Boyle, 252 in 2011-12).

*San Jose went a combined 12-2-2 on its three longest road trips this season (one six-gamer and two five-gamers).