Islanders at Sharks
The San Jose Sharks continue their season-opening five-game homestand against the New York Islanders on Saturday night. San Jose was pierced for nine goals in back-to-back losses to begin the season but tightened things up in Thursday's 3-2 win over Buffalo -- one of 10 Eastern Conference opponents the Sharks will face in 11 games this month.
"You drop the first two, the third one you start thinking about it a little bit, especially opening up at home with the amount of games that we have here, it's a little unusual," San Jose captain Joe Pavelski said. "To get that first win was very important." The Sharks are hoping to get untracked offensively -- Pavelski, veteran forward Joe Thornton and star defenseman Brent Burns each has been limited to one assist through the first the games. Like San Jose, New York's early-season schedule is weighted heavily toward the opposing conference with only two Eastern opponents on the docket in a 15-game stretch. The status is unclear for Islanders forward Jordan Eberle, who was being evaluated Friday after taking a hard hit during Thursday's practice.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN California (San Jose), MSG-Plus (New York)
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (1-2-1): New York poured 83 shots on goal in its last two games, including 41 in a 3-2 loss at Anaheim in the opener of its four-game road trip. "We gotta score," summed up first-year coach Doug Weight, but captain John Tavares feels like the team is trending in the right direction. “I think parts of our game are really coming along and there’s obviously some areas we can clean up,” Tavares said. “It’s four games in so there’s no reason to feel panic or not stick together.”
ABOUT THE SHARKS (1-2-0): Coach Peter DeBoer shifted Tomas Hertl from center on the third line to left wing on the No. 2 line and inserted Chris Tierney in Hertl's former spot between Timo Meier and Joonas Donskoi. The moved paid off as the trio combined for a pair of goals and six points. “We felt like the last two games, we didn’t really generate much offense, the three of us," Tierney said. "We all got put together, coming from different lines, so we decided it was time to have a good game."
OVERTIME
1. Islanders F Brock Nelson scored twice against Anaheim and has recorded 14 goals in 41 career games in October.
2. Sharks D Paul Martin was placed on injured reserve Thursday after experience a setback from his offseason ankle surgery.
3. New York is 0-for-15 on the power play.