Devils at Sharks
The New Jersey Devils attempt to make their California road trip a successful one when they visit the San Jose Sharks on Monday. New Jersey began its trek through the Golden State with a triumph at Los Angeles on Wednesday before suffering a 5-1 loss in Anaheim two nights later. Martin Havlat scored the lone goal for the Devils while Cory Schneider played just one period after being hit in the mask with a shot.
San Jose split the first two contests of its season-high seven-game homestand, defeating Toronto in the opener on Thursday before dropping a 4-3 overtime decision to Calgary two nights later. Logan Couture, Joe Thornton and rookie Melker Karlsson scored in the first nine minutes of the second period to erase a 2-0 deficit, but the Sharks yielded the tying goal 2 1/2 minutes later and the winner 24 seconds into the extra session. San Jose looks to complete a sweep of the two-game season series after posting a 4-2 triumph on Oct. 18 in New Jersey's home opener.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New Jersey), CSN California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE DEVILS (16-22-8): Schneider is expected to be in net against the Sharks for his league-high 41st start of the season after taking part in Sunday's practice. "I had (Saturday) off, felt OK (Sunday) and should be good to go," the netminder said. "I got my bell rung a bit and they wanted to be careful. Fortunately, it wasn't any more than that." Havlat has scored in back-to-back games after netting just one goal in his previous 18 contests.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (24-16-6): Thornton, who notched his 1,200th career point in the first meeting with the Devils, is one away from claiming sole possession of 38th place on the all-time list. The former Hart Trophy winner is tied for the spot with Norm Ullman and trails Phil Housley by three points for 37th. Thornton's next assist will be his 878th, which will tie him with defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom for 21st in NHL history.
OVERTIME
1. New Jersey C Patrik Elias is one goal shy of 400 for his career.
2. San Jose is 1-3-1 over its last five home games.
3. Devils RW Jaromir Jagr and LW Tuomo Ruutu are expected to miss their third straight game due to the flu.