Sharks at Flyers
The San Jose Sharks are perfect halfway through their six-game road trip and look to match their longest winning streak of the season when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night. The Sharks have kicked off the lengthy trek with three straight one-goal victories and look to win four in a row for the first time since opening the season with a four-game run.
San Jose left wing Patrick Marleau is one point shy of becoming the 83rd player in history to register 1,000 career points - and he'd like to hit the milestone sooner than later. "It'd be nice to get it, get it over and done with and keep moving on," Marleau told reporters. Philadelphia lost for the ninth time in 11 games with a 3-2 shootout defeat against Los Angeles on Tuesday, but there was a positive aside from earning a point. "That was the first time in 18 games that we played good hockey," Flyers forward Jakub Voracek told reporters.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN California (San Jose), CSN Philadelphia
ABOUT THE SHARKS (10-8-0): Marleau, who has scored in each of the past two games, can also join teammate Joe Thornton as one of five active players to reach 1,000 points. "I've liked him since day one of training camp," San Jose coach Pete DeBoer told reporters. "I haven't seen any highs or lows. I just see a guy that's consistently showing up here and playing great hockey for us." After going 0-for-14 with the man advantage in their first six games this month, the Sharks have scored three power-play goals in the past two contests.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (6-8-4): Rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who was summoned from the minors prior to Saturday's victory at Carolina, notched his first career goal with a blast from the point against the Kings. "It's a dream come true," Gostisbehere, who earned his first point against the Hurricanes, told reporters. "Every kid who has ever played hockey wants to play in the NHL let alone score a goal." Goals have come at a premium for Philadelphia, which has managed only 16 tallies in its last 10 games.
OVERTIME
1. Flyers G Steve Mason is 6-8-2 with a 2.71 goals-against average versus San Jose.
2. Marleau has seven goals and 18 points in 24 career games against Philadelphia.
3. The Flyers have allowed a power-play goal in four straight games.