Coyotes at Sharks
One day after ending their five-game slide, the Arizona Coyotes continue to push toward a postseason berth when they visit the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. Arizona climbed within three points of Nashville for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference on Friday with its first win since Jan. 25 - a 4-1 triumph over Calgary.
Coyotes captain Shane Doan enters the meeting with San Jose as the franchise's all-time points leader as he passed Dale Hawerchuk (929) by notching two goals and an assist versus the Flames for 931 career points. The Sharks have struggled with consistency of late, alternating wins and losses over their last eight games. Despite the ups and downs, San Jose sits in second place in the Pacific - one point ahead of Anaheim and eight behind division-leading Los Angeles. The Sharks won the opener of the five-game season series, posting a 3-1 victory at Arizona on Jan. 21.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona, CSN California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE COYOTES (25-23-6): In addition to passing Hawerchuk in points, Doan moved ahead of the Hall of Famer for first on the franchise list with his 123rd power-play goal. The 39-year-old hit the 20-goal mark with his first tally Friday, marking the 13th time in his career he has hit the plateau. Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson matched Doan with three points against Calgary, raising his team-leading total to 41.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (28-20-5): Captain Joe Pavelski leads the club in goals (25) and points (52) but has gone five games without a tally. Joe Thornton has been an offensive force of late, notching at least one point in 22 of his last 24 games. The 36-year-old enters Saturday with a four-game point streak during which he has recorded three goals and three assists.
OVERTIME
1. San Jose's Brent Burns leads all NHL defensemen with 18 goals but is mired in a 13-game drought.
2. Ekman-Larsson has scored seven game-winning goals this season, one shy of the league lead shared by Pavelski and Chicago captain Johnathan Toews.
3. San Jose C Logan Couture is heating up, collecting two goals and five assists during his three-game point streak.