Ducks at Sharks
First place in the Pacific Division is on the line when the San Jose Sharks host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday. The California rivals are even in points and have recorded the same amount of victories, with Anaheim having one game in hand. Both clubs trail St. Louis by four points in the race for the Presidents' Trophy.
The Ducks have dropped five of their last seven contests (2-3-2), including a 3-2 home loss to Washington on Tuesday. San Jose also suffered a 3-2 home setback on Tuesday against Florida, a defeat that halted its six-game winning streak and eight-game point run (7-0-1). The Sharks captured two of their first three meetings with Anaheim, with the home team winning each matchup.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Anaheim), CSN California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE DUCKS (45-17-7): Anaheim will be without Cam Fowler for three to five weeks due to a sprained left medial collaterate ligament. The defenseman suffered the injury in the second period of Friday's victory at Colorado after notching two assists earlier in the session. Fowler has collected 36 points in 67 games this season, four shy of his career high set as a rookie in 2010-11.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (45-18-7): Joe Thornton needs one point to overtake Rod Brind'Amour (1,184) for sole possession of 46th place on the all-time list. The captain is nine assists away from tying Bobby Clarke (852) for 24th in league history. San Jose set a franchise record for shots in a period by registering 29 in the third session of Tuesday's loss.
OVERTIME
1. Anaheim has scored only two power-play goals in its last 15 games while San Jose has tallied four times with the man advantage in its last 20 contests.
2. Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf is tied for second behind Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby with 74 points while RW Corey Perry is second in goals with 36 - 10 fewer than Washington captain Alex Ovechkin.
3. With 56 assists, Thornton trails Crosby by two for the league lead.