Morning Skate: Sharks can pull closer to first place Kings

Programming note 
Sharks-Kings coverage starts tonight at 6:30 p.m. with Sharks Pregame Live on CSN California

Where they stand
Sharks: 25-18-3, 53 points, 2nd Pacific Division
Kings: 29-15-3, 61 points, 1st Pacific Division

The latest

Sharks: The Sharks ran their point streak to eight games (7-0-1), with a 4-3 win over the Wild on Saturday afternoon. Joe Pavelski’s league-leading eighth game-winning goal was the difference, as the captain scored with 1:24 left in regulation. The Sharks host Colorado on Tuesday in the final game before the All-Star break.

Kings: Los Angeles dropped its second straight on Saturday night, 3-2 in Arizona. The Kings are 3-3-1 in their last seven games, and have scored just 21 goals in their last 10 games.

Keep an eye on…

Sharks: Joonas Donskoi. The 23-year-old rookie’s second period power play goal tied Saturday’s game against Minnesota, and afterwards coach Pete DeBoer called him “maybe one of the best players on the ice on either team.” Donskoi brings a four-game point streak into Sunday’s game, with one goal and four assists over that span. He’s found the scoresheet in six of his last eight games overall.

[RELATED: NHL to have hearing for Lucic's 'sucker punch' vs Coyotes]

Kings: Vincent Lecavalier. His career as good as dead in Philadelphia, Lecavalier was acquired by the Kings on Jan. 6 and promptly had a three-game goal-scoring streak from Jan. 16-19. The 35-year-old veteran, who is set to retire after the season, has been utilized on Los Angeles’ second power play unit where all three of his markers have occurred.

Probable lines

Sharks
Tomas Hertl – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Matt Nieto – Patrick Marleau – Joel Ward
Joonas Donskoi – Logan Couture – Tommy Wingels
Melker Karlsson – Chris Tierney – Mike Brown

Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon – Dylan DeMelo

Martin Jones (confirmed starter)
Alex Stalock

Kings
Tanner Pearson – Anze Kopitar – Tyler Toffoli
Dwight King – Jeff Carter – Dustin Brown
Trevor Lewis – Vincent Lecavalier – Marian Gaborik
Andy Andreoff – Nick Shore – Jordan Nolan

Jake Muzzin – Drew Doughty
Alec Martinez – Jamie McBain
Brayden McNabb – Luke Schenn

Jonathan Quick
Jhonas Enroth

Vitals

Sharks
Goals per game: 2.87 (4th)
Goals-against per game: 2.70 (23rd)
Power play: 21.9 percent (3rd)
Penalty kill: 79.4 percent (22nd)

Kings
Goals per game: 2.57 (15th)
Goals-against per game: 2.23 (3rd)
Power play: 21.1 percent (6th)
Penalty kill: 81.8 percent (10th)

Injuries/Scratches

Sharks: Raffi Torres (right knee) is on a conditioning assignment with the AHL Barracuda.

Kings: Milan Lucic (suspension), Matt Greene (shoulder surgery) and Kyle Clifford (lower body) are out.

Season series

The Sharks have won two of three against the Kings, including the most recent meeting at Staples Center on Dec. 22, 5-3.

Joe Pavelski leads all scorers with seven points in the season series (3g, 4a) while Jeff Carter paces the Kings with five points (2g, 3a).

The fifth and final game is at SAP Center on March 28.