Kings at Sharks
The San Jose Sharks haven't felt very much at home at the SAP Center, losing two straight and five of their last six (1-4-1). The Sharks look to reverse their fortunes when they host the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday in the Pacific Division rivals' final contest before the All-Star break. Matt Nieto and Joe Pavelski scored in Monday's 5-2 loss to New Jersey, dropping San Jose to 1-1-1 on its season-high seven-game homestand.
Nieto also tallied in the Sharks' season-opening 4-0 victory over the Kings on Oct. 8 and Pavelski netted his team's lone goal in a 3-1 setback to Los Angeles on Dec. 27. Both contests were at Staples Center, but the Kings couldn't leave home fast enough after mustering a 1-2-4 mark on their homestand following a 2-1 overtime loss to Calgary on Monday. Jonathan Quick made 21 saves against the Flames and turned aside the same amount in Los Angeles' victory over San Jose last month.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN
ABOUT THE KINGS (20-14-12): A late scoring change had Jarret Stoll credited with the Kings' lone goal on Monday and captain Dustin Brown notched an assist. Veteran defenseman Robyn Regehr blocked three shots and registered a team-high seven hits in his return from a 12-game absence due to a broken finger. "We played a decent game, but we didn't win," Regehr told the Los Angeles Daily News. "When that happens, you've got to make adjustments, you've got to make improvements. We have to find those and make those, especially against a team in our own division and we're fighting for a playoff spot with."
ABOUT THE SHARKS (24-17-6): Tommy Wingels scored twice in the season opener but is expected to be sidelined after absorbing a hard slash against the Devils on Monday. Defenseman Justin Braun also will miss Wednesday's contest after blocking a shot versus New Jersey. Antti Niemi turned aside all 34 shots he faced versus Los Angeles for the first of his three shutouts this season but struggled in his last outing - yielding four goals on 23 shots against Calgary on Saturday.
OVERTIME
1. San Jose C Joe Thornton's next assist with be the 880th of his career, moving him past former Detroit D Nicklas Lidstrom for sole possession of 21st place on the all-time list.
2. Los Angeles is 1-for-13 on the power play over its last four contests.
3. The Sharks killed off all 11 short-handed situations in their previous four games before allowing a power-play goal versus the Devils.