Sharks at Penguins
The San Jose Sharks won't soon forget the last time they faced off against Pittsburgh, watching helplessly as the visiting Penguins hoisted the Stanley Cup with a 3-1 victory on June 12. San Jose has a chance to extract some revenge on a much smaller scale when it visits the Penguins on Thursday night in the fourth stop of a five-game road trip.
Captain Joe Pavelski told reporters that the most important aspect for the Sharks is building upon their 3-1-0 start to the season, although some of his teammates acknowledged the revenge factor. “Obviously it doesn’t feel good when you lose to a team in the final,” San Jose center Chris Tierney said. “So you take a little pride in wanting to beat them and you definitely get a little more hyped up for those kinds of games.” Pittsburgh, meanwhile, is trying to regroup following a 2-0-0 start, blowing a third-period lead in a 4-3 overtime loss to Colorado before getting blanked at Montreal 4-0 on Tuesday. Captain Sidney Crosby, out with a concussion, skated on his own Wednesday but coach Mike Sullivan termed his condition "status quo."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN California (Anaheim) ROOT (Pittsburgh), NHL.TV
ABOUT THE SHARKS (3-1-0): Pavelski was frustrated by the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals, registering his only point on a goal in Game 5 following a career-high 38 tallies in the regular season. He has five points in his last two games, including the game-winning goal in Tuesday's 3-2 win at the New York Islanders with one of his trademark deflections. “I’ve never seen anybody in the world like him. It’s amazing,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said. “His hand-eye coordination is incredible."
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (2-1-1): Goaltender Matt Murray, one of the sparks in the Stanley Cup run, also has missed the first four games due to a broken right hand sustained in the World Cup of Hockey, but he was cleared to return to practice Thursday. Still, Pittsburgh received more bad news on the injury front with defenseman Kris Letang (upper body) and forward Conor Sheary (eye) hurt in Montreal and listed as day-to-day. "Those potentially could have been really serious injuries," Sullivan said.
OVERTIME
1. Pittsburgh failed on all eight power-play chances at Montreal after converting 4-of-10 in the first three games.
2. Sharks D Brent Burns has three goals and five assists during a four-game point streak.
3. Penguins G Marc-Andre Fleury is 4-3-3 with a 2.17 goals-against average versus San Jose.