Blackhawks at Sharks
Evander Kane was quick to note the importance of the games being played by his new team far outweigh those being contested by his former one. After notching a pair of assists in his debut with San Jose, a determined Kane hopes to help the Sharks avenge a loss last week to the Chicago Blackhawks when the Western Conference foes meet at SAP Center on Thursday.
"I kind of come from not playing so much meaningful hockey (in Buffalo) to playing some meaningful hockey," Kane said. "Obviously you get a little ramped up, and I just tried to change the game in any way I can. It's good to get on the board and contribute offensively and also with some other elements." New linemate Joe Pavelski matched a career high with a four-point performance (one goal, three assists) in San Jose's 5-2 win over Edmonton on Tuesday to increase his point total to 14 (six goals, eight assists) in the past 11 games. While the second-place Sharks are swimming upstream in the Pacific, the Blackhawks have plummeted to the bottom of the Central with losses in 10 of 13 contests in February. A rare win came at the expense of the Sharks, however, as Artem Anisimov netted his third goal in four games before being held off the scoresheet in a 3-2 setback at Columbus on Saturday.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, WGN (Chicago), NBC Sports Network
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (27-28-8): Jean-Francois Berube will hope to repeat the feat on Thursday after flustering the Sharks by turning aside 42 shots in his first start for Chicago. The 26-year-old was recalled from Rockford of the American Hockey League last week and shined in his first NHL start since Feb. 19, 2017. Berube is expected to see some additional action during the team's trek through California, although coach Joel Quenneville told reporters that Corey Crawford (concussion) could return to the ice following the road trip.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (34-21-9): San Jose showed its appreciation of Aaron Dell by signing the backup goaltender to a two-year, $3.8 million contract extension on Wednesday. "Aaron has met every challenge he has faced in his career head-on and our team is a confident group when he's in the net," Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said of Dell, who sports a 14-5-3 mark this season. "He's a very popular guy in the dressing room and we feel that Aaron and Martin (Jones) give us one of the top goaltending tandems in the league." Jones has turned aside 93 of 98 shots to highlight his three-game home winning streak, although his 33 saves were not enough as he absorbed the hard-luck loss in Chicago on Friday.
OVERTIME
1. Chicago captain Jonathan Toews has 27 points (13 goals, 14 assists) in 33 career contests versus San Jose.
2. Sharks LW Mikkel Boedker set up a goal in his 600th career NHL game on Tuesday, giving him eight points (five goals, three assists) in his last nine games.
3. The Blackhawks' 29th-ranked power play is 0-for-8 in its last four games after scoring with the man advantage in seven of its previous eight.