Sharks at Hurricanes
The San Jose Sharks attempt to rebound from a decisive loss as they continue their road trip against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. San Jose received a break Thursday as Pittsburgh superstar Evgeni Malkin was scratched with a lower-body injury. But Chris Kunitz scored goals 2:03 apart during a four-goal second period and captain Sidney Crosby notched three assists as the Penguins handed the Sharks just their second regulation loss in 12 games against Eastern Conference opponents this season.
Rookie Tomas Hertl scored his team-leading 14th goal for the Sharks, who had their six-game winning streak snapped as they dropped to 1-1-0 on their four-game trek. Jeff Skinner registered his first career hat trick and defenseman Justin Faulk notched a goal and two assists as Carolina scored the final four tallies en route to a 5-2 triumph at Nashville on Thursday. The Hurricanes outscored Washington and the Predators by a combined 9-3 score in sweeping their brief two-game road trip.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN California (San Jose), FSN (Carolina)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (19-4-5): Joe Thornton extended his point streak to seven games with an assist on Thursday. The captain pulled even with Mike Modano and John Bucyk for 27th place on the all-time list with 813 career assists. Hertl leads all NHL rookies in goals and points (22) while placing second to Anaheim's Hampus Lindholm (plus-12) with a plus-10 rating.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (12-12-5): Carolina paid a price for Thursday's victory, losing three players due to injuries. Defenseman Mike Komisarek went down with an upper-body injury, right wing Patrick Dwyer took a stick to the face and left wing Drayson Bowman was hit in the foot by a puck. Andrej Sekera has become an offensive force on the blue line, recording four goals and seven points over his last six games.
OVERTIME
1. Skinner has scored five goals over his last two games.
2. The Sharks conclude their road trip Sunday in Minnesota.
3. San Jose suffered its first regulation loss of the season with RW Brent Burns in the lineup (13-1-1).