Sharks at Wild
The Minnesota Wild will begin the Dean Evason era when they host the San Jose Sharks on Saturday after the club relieved Bruce Boudreau of his head coaching duties Friday despite the club’s 7-3-1 record over their last 11 games. This will be Evason’s first time as an NHL bench boss and the 55-year-old will be tasked with returning the Wild to the postseason as they enter the weekend sitting three points out of a Western Conference wild-card spot.
“I think it’s a learning experience for (Evason). I think it’s a learning experience for us as a group,” Wild captain Mikko Koivu told the media Friday. “We gotta get on the same page as soon as possible and prove that we can be a playoff team.” Boudreau’s final game with Minnesota was a 4-3 shootout loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday after the Wild allowed a two-goal lead with less than nine minutes remaining in the third period to be erased, missing out on a crucial extra point in the standings. The Sharks did the Wild a favor Friday as they delivered a third-period comeback against Winnipeg, which sits two points ahead of Minnesota, with Timo Meier’s 19th goal of the season proving to be the difference in the 3-2 victory. After a career-high 17 goals and 30 points a season ago, Sharks left wing Marcus Sorensen had managed just two assists over his previous 25 games before opening the scoring Friday with his sixth of the season.
TIME: 5 p.m. ET. TV: NBCS California, FS North, FS Wisconsin
ABOUT THE SHARKS (25-28-4): Defenseman Brent Burns registered an assist Friday while playing in his 1,100th NHL game and his 528th in a row - the second-longest active streak among blueliners behind Florida’s Keith Yandle (854). Goaltender Aaron Dell made 30 saves against the Jets and is expected to hand the crease over Saturday to Martin Jones, who is 1-9-1 with a .874 save percentage since Dec. 1. Two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson leads the team with 34 assists and 40 points but the defenseman has had trouble finding the back of the net with one goal in his last 12 games.
ABOUT THE WILD (27-23-7): Despite going 0-for-2 with the man advantage Thursday, the Wild have had one of the league’s best power plays in recent weeks with eight goals on an NHL-best 42.1 percent success rate since Feb. 4. Defenseman Jonas Brodin sits fourth on the team with 22 assists and on Thursday scored his first goal since Nov. 19 - ending a 35-game drought. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk is expected to get the start Saturday as the 11-year-veteran has struggled with a 2-3-0 record, .876 save percentage, and 4.02 goals against average since Jan. 14.
OVERTIME
1. Koivu registered the 500th assist of his career Thursday, but has just two goals and 13 helpers in 43 games - on pace for his lowest point total since his rookie season in 2005-06.
2. The Sharks own the league’s best penalty kill (85.4 percent) while the Wild own the second worst (74.4).
3. Sharks LW Evander Kane has scored a team-high 21 goals - 11 of which have come on the power play.