NHL Gameday: Sharks can distance themselves from Ducks

Programming note – Sharks-Ducks coverage starts today at 7:00 p.m. with Sharks Pregame Live on CSN California

WHERE THEY STAND

Sharks: 42-21-7, 91 points, 1st Pacific Division
Ducks: 37-23-11, 85 points, 2nd Pacific Division

PREGAME NEWS AND NOTES

***The Sharks and Ducks will get together for the fifth and final time tonight. San Jose has two wins in overtime, while Anaheim has gained a point in all four meetings (2-0-2).

The Ducks could draw to within four points of the Sharks in the Pacific Division with a regulation win (San Jose would still have one game in hand). They are playing the second of a back-to-back, losing in a shootout at home to Buffalo on Friday, 2-1. 

Pete DeBoer said: “They always give us a hard time and a hard game. They're physical. What are you going to say? We know what these games are.”

Anaheim is 4-1-1 in its last six games, and 5-2-1 since its bye week.

***The Sharks are closing out a six-game homestand, having won three of the first five (3-2-0), but coming off of a disappointing 4-1 loss to St. Louis on Thursday in which they managed a season-low 20 shots.

“Any time you get beat in your own rink like that it's a little bit of a wakeup call for the next game,” DeBoer said. “At the same time, we didn't have our A game. It happens at this level with the number of games you're playing.”

Paul Martin said: “I think after [Thursday’s] performance we’re going to want to make sure that we tighten things up and have a better effort and fix some things we should be able to correct.”

San Jose opens a four-game road trip on Monday in Dallas.

“We’ve got one more big game here before we head out on the road, and it will be important for us to play our game,” Joe Pavelski said.

***It’s been more than two months since the Sharks lost back-to-back games in regulation (Jan. 11-14). It's happened just once at home all season (Nov. 3-5).

What has allowed this team to routinely rebound from a poor performance?

“I just think that the guys we have in the room, we have a lot of character, and it’s real good leadership,” Martin said. “I think we push each other to make sure that we’re giving that effort. If we come up short in one game we have to make sure we deliver that effort and the expectations that we have to bounce back, just like that.”

KEEP AN EYE ON...

Sharks: Brent Burns. The NHL’s leading scorer among defenseman with 70 points, Burns hasn’t scored a goal in his last 11 games despite 43 shots (and 14 in his last two games combined). Burns has failed to find the scoresheet in six of the past seven games, with a minus-two rating over than span. He has three points (2g, 1a) in four games against Anaheim this season.

Ducks: Patrick Eaves. The Ducks acquired the forward from Dallas just before the trade deadline, and in nine games with Anaheim, Eaves has posted two goals and two assists for four points and a plus-two rating. He’s gotten time on the top power play unit, too, and is tied for seventh in the NHL with 11 power play goals.

PROBABLE LINES

Sharks
Jannik Hansen – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Patrick Marleau – Logan Couture – Joel Ward
Joonas Donskoi – Tomas Hertl – Mikkel Boedker
Micheal Haley – Chris Tierney – Marcus Sorensen

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

Martin Jones (starter)
Aaron Dell

Ducks
Rickard Rakell – Ryan Getzlaf – Patrick Eaves
Andrew Cogliano – Ryan Kesler – Jakob Silfverberg
Nick Ritchie – Antoine Vermette – Corey Perry
Chris Wagner – Nate Thompson – Jared Boll

Cam Fowler – Sami Vatanen
Hampus Lindholm – Josh Manson
Korbinian Holzer – Kevin Bieksa

Jonathan Bernier
Jhonas Enroth

INJURIES

Sharks: David Schlemko (right knee) and Melker Karlsson (lower body) are out.

Ducks: John Gibson (lower body) is day-to-day. Simon Despres (concussion) and Clayton Stoner (abdominal surgery) are out.