Sharks at Wild
THE STORY: The road-weary San Jose Sharks have finally reached the tail end of a season-long nine-game trip – and the results haven't been pretty. Coach Todd McLellan's club has dropped six of the eight contests (2-5-1) to fall out of the penthouse in the Pacific Division. The Sharks will look to salvage the finale on Sunday when it visits the struggling Minnesota Wild, who fell for the eighth time in 10 games (2-6-2) when it dropped a 4-1 decision to Dallas on Friday.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, CSCA, FSNO
ABOUT THE SHARKS (32-21-7): Although Patrick Marleau tallied for the third time in two games, San Jose limped to a 6-2 loss to the Nashville Predators on Saturday. Marleau has collected three goals and an assist in three games versus Minnesota this season. G Antti Niemi yielded three goals on seven shots on Saturday before being pulled in favor of Thomas Greiss. Niemi hopes to have better success on Sunday when he faces the Wild, against whom he is 4-1-1 in his career with a slim 1.98 goals-against average. San Jose will begin a four-game homestand after Sunday's contest.
ABOUT THE WILD (27-25-9): Marek Zidlicky did not wish to stay in Minnesota. Three weeks ago, he expressed to the team that very sentiment and reiterated the news to the general public a week-and-a-half ago. The Wild granted Zidlicky his wish when he was traded to the New Jersey Devils on Friday. In return, the Wild welcomed back D Kurtis Foster and LW Stephane Veilleux along with forward Nick Palmieri. Foster played for the Wild from 2005-09 and Veilleux was Minnesota's 2001 third-round pick.
OVERTIME:
1. Sharks C Dominic Moore missed his second straight game on Saturday with an undisclosed injury.
2. Wild G Niklas Backstrom has struggled mightily versus the Sharks, dropping 13 of 17 career decisions (4-10-3). The 34-year-old Finn lost his lone meeting with San Jose after permitting three goals in a 3-1 setback on Nov. 10.
3. With Foster, Veilleux and Foster aboard, the Wild shipped G Matt Hackett and C Chad Rau to Houston of the American Hockey League on Saturday. The club assigned RW Carson McMillan to the Aeros on Friday.