Sharks at Jets
After ending their homestand on a disappointing note, the San Jose Sharks look to end their four-game winless streak when they visit the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday. San Jose began its three-game homestand with shootout losses to Phoenix and Buffalo before suffering its first regulation loss at home this season on Thursday - a 4-2 setback against Vancouver. The defeat dropped the Sharks to 0-1-3 in their last four contests and ended the club's point streak at five games (2-0-3).
The Jets are coming off an impressive 5-0 triumph over Nashville on Friday in which Bryan Little scored a pair of goals and Ondrej Pavelec made 41 saves for his 11th career shutout. Olli Jokinen added a tally and an assist as Winnipeg won for just the second time in six contests. The Jets erupted for four goals in the first period, their highest output in a session since scoring five in a period against Florida on March 1, 2012.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN California (San Jose), TSN (Winnipeg)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (10-2-4): Thursday's loss ended San Jose's nine-game winning streak against Vancouver, which hadn't defeated the Sharks since Jan. 21, 2012. Antti Niemi had a difficult time, allowing four goals on 13 shots before being replaced. The starting netminder has yielded 14 tallies in his last four contests. "Nemo hasn't been sharp," coach Todd McLellan said. "He has to be better."
ABOUT THE JETS (7-9-2): Little increased his team-leading goal total to 10 on Friday as he began the scoring just over three minutes into the contest and ended it midway through the third period. It was the second two-goal performance of the season for Little, who has tallied in four of his last six games. "Last year, it seemed like everything I shot wasn't going in for me," Little said. "Right now, it just feels like everything I put on net is going in. I know it's not going to last forever, but I'll enjoy it right now."
OVERTIME
1. Winnipeg LW Evander Kane returned to the lineup Friday after missing two games with a lower-body injury and recorded an assist.
2. San Jose RW Mike Brown scored a goal Thursday, his first tally since March 10 against Chicago while with Edmonton.
3. The Jets are 1-for-42 on the power play over their last 13 games and 6-for-66 on the season.