Sharks at Red Wings
The San Jose Sharks haven't missed the playoffs since the 2002-03 season but their streak appears to be in serious jeopardy with nine games remaining on the schedule. The Sharks are 10 points out of the second wild card in the Western Conference as they prepare to visit the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night in the fifth stop of a seven-game road trip. "We're not good enough right now to compete against good teams in the NHL," center Logan Couture said.
The Red Wings are holding down the third spot in the Atlantic Division, leading Ottawa by five points, but they are not exactly surging to the wire with seven losses in the past 10 games (3-6-1). Detroit has split the first two of a four-game homestand, following up an overtime victory against the top team in the West (St. Louis) with a setback versus the conference's worst team (Arizona). The Red Wings halted a four-game skid in the series with a 3-2 win at San Jose on Feb. 26.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN California, FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE SHARKS (35-30-8): San Jose, which plays six of its final nine games away from home, absorbed its fourth defeat in five games by giving up four goals in the third period of a 5-2 loss at Ottawa on Tuesday. Joe Pavelski scored his 18th power-play goal of the season, which ranks second in the league to Washington's Alex Ovechkin (21), and has 19 points in his last 19 games. Goaltender Antti Niemi has made nine straight starts but has been shaky in three of his last five outings, including a loss at Winnipeg in which he gave up three goals on eight shots.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (39-21-12): Goaltending has also been an issue for Detroit, with Jimmy Howard limping to a 6-5-3 mark with a 3.00 goals-against average since missing a month with a groin injury. Forward Erik Cole suffered an upper-body injury in Tuesday's loss and will miss at least one more game, but the Red Wings are hoping for the return of defenseman Niklas Kronwall and two-way standout Pavel Datsyuk. Kronwall sat out his first game of the season Tuesday while Datsyuk has been sidelined for the past four straight contests.
OVERTIME
1. Red Wings F Justin Abdelkader has scored eight goals in his last 11 games.
2. Niemi is 12-3-2 with a 1.72 goals-against average versus Detroit.
3. The Red Wings have scored at least one power-play goal in 12 of the past 13 games.