Sabres at Sharks
THE STORY: San Jose looked like a team happy to be home in its first game back following a lengthy road trip. The Sharks will try to build on that momentum and win consecutive games for the first time in nearly a month when the Buffalo Sabres pay a visit to HP Pavilion on Thursday night. The Sabres enter the showdown on a surge, going 4-0-1 their past five games to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, MSGB, CSNC
ABOUT THE SABRES (28-27-8): Ryan Miller deserves as much credit as anyone for the Sabres’ recent run, which has seen them go 9-3-3 since Jan. 24 to pull within five points of a postseason berth. Miller had a season-best 43 saves in a 2-0 win over Anaheim on Wednesday. He has made 18 consecutive starts and given up fewer than three goals in 10 of those. Miller has been strong in his career when facing the Sharks, going 5-1-1 with a 2.24 GAA in seven starts.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (33-22-7): The Sharks returned from a season-long nine-game road trip in which they went 2-6-1 in fine fashion by securing a 1-0 win over Philadelphia on Tuesday. Antti Niemi made 26 saves for his fifth shutout for San Jose, which trails Phoenix by two points for first place in the Pacific. Niemi could be in store for a challenge, as the netminder allowed five goals on 36 shots in his one prior outing against Buffalo.
OVERTIME:
1. Buffalo has won three straight and six of seven in the series.
2. Sharks captain Joe Thornton has six points (five assists) his last four games.
3. Sabres center Derek Roy has eight points the previous six games.