Blue Jackets at Sharks
Getting away from home may not be a bad thing for the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets, who kick off a three-game California road trip with a visit to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night. The Blue Jackets, who opened the season with eight consecutive defeats, are coming off a 3-2 loss to Winnipeg on Saturday night that dropped the club to 0-5-0 at home.
"We have to try to dig out of this," said Columbus coach John Tortorella, who took over after the Blue Jackets lost their first seven games. "We'll get to California and see if we can keep our wits about ourselves and go about our business." The Sharks had dropped five of six games before squeezing out a 4-3 victory at Colorado on Sunday and hope to carry the momentum into a four-game homestand. "A big two points, as big as two points can get 10 games into the season," San Jose coach Peter DeBoer said. "We needed them."
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Columbus), CSN California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (2-10-0): Following back-to-back strong performances against New Jersey and Washington, Sergei Bobrovsky was yanked after allowing three first-period goals versus Winnipeg that pushed his goals-against average to a woeful 3.97. "He’s still trying to find himself," Tortorella said of the former Vezina Trophy winner. "Just like everybody else, he’s got to fight it mentally. Have some mental toughness to him and find his consistency." Columbus is 0-for-11 on the power play over the past three games.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (6-5-0): Captain Joe Pavelski, who extended his goal-scoring streak to four games with an empty-net tally against Colorado, tallied three times in a pair of one-goal losses to the Blue Jackets last season. San Jose has dropped six of its last eight meetings against Columbus, which is why its not looking past Tuesday's matchup. "For me, a real dangerous team," DeBoer said. "They're the story of two seasons: their start and then their last three or four games. They're playing better."
OVERTIME
1. Sharks C Patrick Marleau is four points shy of 1,000 for his career.
2. Columbus has won five straight against Pacific Division opponents.
3. The Sharks have yielded six power-play goals in the past five games.