After beginning the season with a pair of convincing road wins, the San Jose Sharks have a chance to pile up the victories as they kick off a six-game homestand Thursday against the Pacific Division-rival Phoenix Coyotes. San Jose opened the abbreviated campaign with a triumph in Calgary on Sunday and followed with a 6-3 triumph at Edmonton on Tuesday as it scored all six goals in the first period. The Sharks could have a new face in the lineup against Phoenix as they signed veteran center Scott Gomez to a one-year contract on Wednesday.
The Coyotes are coming off their first victory of the season, a 5-1 home rout of the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday. After failing to score in his first two games as a Coyote, Steve Sullivan registered his eighth career hat trick against Columbus. Phoenix's win may have been costly as goaltender Mike Smith left the contest in the first period with a lower-body injury and may not dress against San Jose. Jason LaBarbera made 21 saves in relief of Smith.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona (Phoenix), CSN California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE COYOTES (1-2-0): Smith apparently suffered the lower-body injury during pregame warmups Wednesday and lasted only 11 minutes against Columbus. He's listed as day-to-day and traveled with the team to San Jose, but Phoenix will recall Chad Johnson from Portland of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis. "The trainers came to me after warmup and said, 'Smitty is a little tight, you might want to keep an eye on him,'" Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "And 'a little tight' turned into 'can't play.'" Phoenix also was without defenseman Rostislav Klesla and center Martin Hanzal on Wednesday due to lower-body injuries.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (2-0-0): Gomez, whose contract with Montreal was bought out by the Canadiens last week, signed a reported $700,000 deal with San Jose. The 33-year-old struggled during his three seasons in Montreal, recording only 21 goals in 196 games, but is glad to have received an opportunity from the Sharks. "You want to prove that you can contribute," Gomez said. "The main thing is, I want to come here, I want to help out and I want to win another Stanley Cup." Gomez will be reunited with Larry Robinson, San Jose's assistant coach who guided the New Jersey Devils to the championship in 2000. To make room on the roster for Gomez, the Sharks placed defenseman Brent Burns on injured reserve. Burns has yet to play this season due to a lower-body injury.
OVERTIME
1. San Jose's trio of Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture and captain Joe Thornton each have five points through two games.
2. Phoenix won four of the six meetings between the division rivals last season, with one of its losses coming in a shootout.
3. Sullivan's hat trick was his first since Dec. 14, 2009, when he also scored three times against Columbus while with the Nashville Predators.