Sharks at Ducks
After a rough start to January, the San Jose Sharks finished it with a flourish to pull into second place in the Pacific Division. San Jose continues its charge toward the top Tuesday, when it kicks off a four-game road trip against the division-rival Anaheim Ducks.
The Sharks opened the new year with a pair of losses before beginning a point streak that reached double digits (8-0-2) with a 6-1 home triumph over Colorado last Tuesday in the club's final game before the All-Star break. Anaheim also performed well last month, winning five of its final six contests to finish with a 7-3-1 record. Captain Ryan Getzlaf still has been unable to regain his goal-scoring touch, recording only three in 43 games, but has notched a team-leading 28 assists - including eight in his last eight contests. The Sharks and Ducks are wrapping up their four-game season series that already has featured three shutouts, with Anaheim posting a pair of 1-0 victories and San Jose registering a 2-0 triumph.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CSN California (San Jose), Prime Ticket, FSN San Diego (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (26-18-4): Captain Joe Pavelski and defenseman Brent Burns represented San Jose at the All-Star Game, with the former scoring a goal and setting up another in the Pacific Division's first-round triumph over the Central while the latter registered three assists in that contest before helping set up the lone tally in the championship game victory over the Atlantic. Pavelski, who has hit the 25-goal mark for the sixth time in his career, also leads the Sharks in points (49), power-play tallies (eight) and game-winners (league-high eight). Joe Thornton has gone seven contests without a goal but has notched at least one point in 10 straight games (two goals, 12 assists) and 18 of his last 19.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (22-18-7): Corey Perry notched two assists in the Pacific's win over the Central before scoring the lone goal in the triumph over the Atlantic, while John Gibson recorded the victory in each contest, making seven saves en route to a combined shutout with Los Angeles' Jonathan Quick in the title game after allowing three goals on 10 shots in the opener. Perry tops the club in goals (20), points (33) power-play tallies (six) and game-winners (three). Anaheim begins the second half ranked first in the NHL on the penalty kill with an 89.6 percent success rate.
OVERTIME
1. Patrick Marleau scored both goals for the Sharks over the first three meetings of the season series while Perry and Mark Santorelli tallied for the Ducks.
2. Anaheim has had 13 players combine to score 24 power-play goals, with Perry accounting for 25 percent of them.
3. San Jose has won four straight road games and is 6-1-2 in its last nine.