Islanders at Sharks
The road-weary San Jose Sharks vie for only their second home win of the season when they host the New York Islanders on Saturday night. San Jose, which is playing 16 of its first 21 games away from home, had its chance for a perfect three-game road trip thwarted when it squandered a two-goal third-period lead in a 4-3 shootout loss at Minnesota on Thursday. "We showed signs of fatigue a little bit," said Sharks coach Todd McLellan, whose team has played five straight one-goal games versus the Islanders.
New York's five-game road trip through the Western Conference got off to an ominous start with a 5-0 drubbing at Colorado on Thursday, marking its second straight defeat and third contest in a row in which it permitted three second-period goals. With their next three games against Pacific Division powers, the Islanders need a positive result to avoid reminders of last season's November swoon that produced 18 losses in 21 games. New York beat visiting San Jose 4-3 in a shootout on Oct. 16.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports, MSG Plus (New York), CSN California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (6-4-0): With his team having lost back-to-back games, New York coach Jack Capuano decided to shuffle his lines during Friday's practice, elevating Brock Nelson to the top line alongside captain John Tavares and Kyle Okposo. Nelson tops the team with six goals and is tied with Tavares with a team-high 12 points after registering 26 points in 72 games last season. "We've given it 10 games, now we're going to see what Brock can do up there," Capuano said of Nelson's promotion. "That's also our first power-play unit, so it makes sense to try it 5-on-5."
ABOUT THE SHARKS (6-4-2): Rookie defenseman Mirco Mueller, the 18th overall pick in the 2013 draft, scored his first career goal Thursday but equally noteworthy was the NHL debut of forward Barclay Goodrow, who spent time on a line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. An undrafted free agent, Goodrow was hurt in the final preseason game after San Jose signed him out of junior hockey in March. “He won some battles in tight areas, which is his forte," McLellan said. "I thought he was fine. He got some shifts with Jumbo and Patty so his confidence should go up a little bit and we’ll continue to work with him.”
OVERTIME
1. Thornton needs one point to move past Vincent Damphousse (1,205) and into 44th place on the all-time list.
2. Islanders D Travis Hamonic (upper body) is expected to return to the lineup after missing four games.
3. Four of the past five meetings between the teams have gone to overtime or a shootout.