Sharks at Kings
THE STORY: The San Jose Sharks have risen to the top of the Pacific Division thanks to the best road record in the NHL. They'll look to continue that trend Monday night as they travel down the coast for a date with the rival Los Angeles Kings. The recent head-to-head series has been heavily tilted in favor of San Jose, which beat the Kings in six games in last year's playoffs and won the first meeting this season. Also working in the Sharks' favor is a 7-2-0 mark away from San Jose, including identical 4-1 victories over Dallas and Colorado in its only road games this month. They'll try to take advantage of a Kings team that is coming off back-to-back one-goal losses to the Stars and Chicago Blackhawks, the latter kicking off a pivotal stretch that will see Los Angeles play six of its next seven games at home.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, CS California (San Jose), FS West (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (13-6-1): San Jose saw its four-game winning streak come to an end Saturday, dropping a 3-2 decision to Vancouver despite outshooting the Canucks 45-27. It was their first meeting since the Canucks eliminated the Sharks to advance to the Stanley Cup final in June. One of the lone bright spots for San Jose was Patrick Marleau's late goal, his fourth in three games. Marleau has scored eight times in November after finding the net only twice in October.
ABOUT THE KINGS (11-8-4): Los Angeles coach Terry Murray has a simple message for his players: Shoot more. Los Angeles averages nearly 29 shots per game but has failed to reach that mark in any of its last four games. The result: Seven goals and a 1-2-1 record in that stretch. "We need a better shot mentality, as a group," Murray said. "We've always talked about that. That still is a need that we talk about in our meetings."
OVERTIME:
1. Kings forward Jarret Stoll continues to struggle. A 20-goal scorer a season ago, the 29-year-old has struck only twice in 23 games in 2011-12.
2. Sharks star Joe Thornton has 11 goals and 44 assists in 51 career games against Los Angeles. He had a goal and an assist in their previous meeting.
3. San Jose has prevailed in 19 of its last 26 visits to Los Angeles.