Sharks at Lightning
The San Jose Sharks look to continue their road success and solidify a playoff position when they start a five-game road trip Tuesday against the suddenly struggling Tampa Bay Lightning. The Sharks own the best record away from home in the Western Conference (18-8-2) and were winners in their last two visits to Tampa Bay.
San Jose is 3-1-1 in its last five contests overall after a 4-1 home victory over Arizona on Saturday, and veteran Joe Thornton has played a big role in the team’s revival with points in 15 of his last 16 games. The Lightning were rolling along with 11 wins in 13 contests before dropping three of their last four, and it could have been an 0-4-0 stretch if not for a late power-play goal Friday against Nashville. Tampa Bay outshot St. Louis 38-21 in a 2-1 loss on Sunday and has allowed 14 goals during the four-game span. “We’ve just got to regroup here,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper told reporters. “Everybody around us is winning.”
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN California (San Jose), Sun Sports (Tampa Bay)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (29-20-5): While captain Joe Pavelski (52 points), defenseman Brent Burns (48 points, four assists in last two games), Thornton (seven points in last five games) and Patrick Marleau (17 goals) continue to do their thing, San Jose is showing its depth. The fourth line of Melker Karlsson, Dainius Zubrus and Chris Tierney combined for three points Saturday. “When we play like that, we can lower the minutes of everybody else,” coach Peter DeBoer told reporters of the fourth unit. “We can play fresher, play with a little bit more energy.”
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (30-21-4): General manager Steve Yzerman ended speculation Monday, saying the team would not deal impending free-agent captain Steven Stamkos before the Feb. 29 trade deadline. Yzerman said in a statement, “With 27 games remaining in the season, our entire organization, Steven included, wants to focus on making the playoffs,” and they’ll keep negotiations private. Stamkos is second on the team with 22 goals and 42 points but has netted just two tallies in his last 12 contests and registered two or fewer shots in five of the past six.
OVERTIME
1. Tampa Bay RW Nikita Kucherov leads the team in goals (23) and points (48) after tallying in two straight games.
2. San Jose is 7-for-20 on the power play over its last four games and ranked third in the league (23 percent) through Sunday.
3. Lightning D Matt Carle’s next game will be the 700th of his NHL career.