Sharks at Canucks
THE STORY: The San Jose Sharks have cleaned up lately against the teams at both the bottom of the standings and on the fringes of contention. The clubs at the top have been a different story. The Sharks have fallen to the Chicago Blackhawks and Ottawa Senators in two of the last three games, with a shootout win over fringe team Calgary sandwiched in the middle. The last time the Sharks defeated a legitimate Stanley Cup contender was Jan. 2, when they skated to a 3-2 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks. San Jose will get another shot at the Canucks on Saturday when they visit British Columbia. The Canucks are running away with the Northwest Division, but have dropped two straight at home. With the Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings looming at the end of the current six-game homestand, Vancouver will get a chance to establish itself atop the conference over the next 10 days.
TV: 4 p.m. ET, NHLN, CSNC (San Jose), RSNP (Vancouver)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (26-13-5): San Jose dropped the first two meetings with Vancouver by 3-2 margins - once in overtime. The Sharks are 7-2-1 this month, with the three setbacks marking the only games in which they have surrendered more than two goals. While the loss to Chicago was a 4-3 setback, San Jose dropped a 4-1 decision at home against the Senators on Thursday. San Jose does not have a power-play goal in any of its last three games.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (28-15-4): Vancouver could coast to the Northwest Division title, with only the Colorado Avalanche within eight points at the moment. The challenge will be staying sharp as the rest of the conference contenders engage in fierce battles for division standing. Chicago and Detroit loom after the All-Star break, but the Canucks would like to go in with some momentum after falling to the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings in back-to-back games.
OVERTIME:
1. Sharks LW Ryane Clowe (nose), RW Martin Havlat (hamstring) and C Tommy Wingels (undisclosed) are not expected to play Saturday.
2. San Jose G Antero Niittymaki was assigned to Worchester of the American Hockey League on a conditioning assignment and to audition for a possible trade.
3. Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin has gone two games in a row without a point - matching a season high.