Sharks at Wild
The Minnesota Wild rode an impressive six-game winning streak to the cusp of a postseason berth only to blow a tire and lose their last three contests. The Wild look to put their troubles in their rear-view mirror and secure a playoff berth on Tuesday when they play the penultimate game of their regular season against the visiting San Jose Sharks.
"The guys have been sitting on a cushion," interim coach John Torchetti told the team website of Minnesota, which leads Colorado by five points for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Wild can secure a postseason berth with either two points gained in their final two contests or two lost points by the Avalanche in their final three. Former Minnesota defenseman Brent Burns extended his point streak to six games (one goal, eight assists) by setting up a tally as San Jose skated to its third win in four outings with Saturday's 3-2 shootout victory over Nashville. Selected as the NHL's Second Star of the Week on Monday, Burns leads all blue-liners with 27 goals this season and ranks second only to Ottawa captain Erik Karlsson at the position in points.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN California-Plus (San Jose), FSN North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (44-29-6): Third-place San Jose, which is playing its final regular-season road contest, is an NHL-best 27-10-3 away from home this season to match its franchise record for road wins (2007-08). "We've been good on the road all year. I think we're taking some pride in wanting to finish with the best road record in the league," coach Pete DeBoer told CSNBayArea.com. James Reimer, who has made himself at home with five wins in his last six starts overall, has stopped 92 of 94 shots to post a 2-1-0 mark in his career versus Minnesota.
ABOUT THE WILD (38-31-11): Defenseman Jared Spurgeon joined a handful of his teammates for an optional skate on Monday, under 24 hours removed from a lackluster 5-1 setback to Winnipeg that marked the club's third game in four days. "I'll take it day-by-day," Spurgeon told the Minneapolis Star Tribune of the lower-body injury he suffered while blocking a shot during Thursday's 3-2 setback to Ottawa. While Torchetti told reporters that Spurgeon will play if he's able on Tuesday, veteran forward Thomas Vanek will sit for the third time in four games with an upper-body injury.
OVERTIME
1. San Jose LW Tomas Hertl scored twice in the third period on Saturday and also tallied in a 4-3 win over Minnesota on Jan. 23.
2. The Wild are 0-for-8 on the power play in their last four games after scoring five times with the man advantage in their previous three.
3. San Jose C Joe Thornton (1,337 points) is one shy of tying Denis Savard and Dave Andreychuk for 28th on the NHL's all-time list.