Sharks at Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights likely won't catch Nashville for the top spot in the Western Conference, but they can secure the Pacific Division title when they face the San Jose Sharks on Saturday in their final home game of the regular season. The expansion Golden Knights will clinch the division crown with a regulation victory as they lead the Sharks by seven points with four games remaining.
Vegas, which trails the Predators by six points for first in the West, improved to 2-1-0 on its four-game homestand by edging St. Louis 4-3 in overtime Friday. Jonathan Marchessault, who leads the team with a career-best 75 points, completed his first two-goal performance of the season 22 seconds into the extra session as the Golden Knights improved to 4-1-2 over their last seven contests. San Jose had its nine-game point streak (8-0-1) snapped Thursday as it dropped a 5-3 decision at Nashville to fall to 1-1-1 on its four-game road trip. The Sharks are all but locked into second place in the Pacific as they own a four-point lead over Los Angeles, which has only three games left on its schedule.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBCS California (San Jose), AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Vegas)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (44-24-10): Logan Couture scored his 32nd goal of the season Thursday to match the career high he set in 2010-11. The 29-year-old center had been kept off the scoresheet in back-to-back contests after collecting four tallies and four assists over his previous six games. Captain Joe Pavelski has scored only twice in his last 13 contests but has reached the 20-goal plateau for the fifth consecutive season and ninth time in his last 11 campaigns.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (49-22-7): Marchessault is riding a seven-game point streak during which he has collected five goals and five assists. The 27-year-old center, who is expected to appear in his 200th NHL game Saturday, is three tallies away from matching the career high of 30 he set last season with Florida. James Neal, who recorded six goals during a season-opening four-game streak, ended his 12-game drought by tallying against the Blues in his 699th career contest.
OVERTIME
1. Sharks LW Evander Kane needs one goal to match the career high of 30 he set in 2011-12 with Winnipeg.
2. Vegas C William Karlsson scored his 41st goal Friday and added a pair of assists, giving him seven points during his three-game streak.
3. San Jose D Brent Burns leads the team with 63 points and has collected 10 over his last nine contests.