Sharks at Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks hope they will recognize their surroundings at Honda Center on Tuesday, when they face off against the Pacific Division-leading San Jose Sharks in a rare home contest. Anaheim is in the midst of a stretch during which they play eight of nine on the road and hits the ice in its own rink after completing a 2-3-1 trek prior to the holiday break with a 2-1 overtime loss at Ottawa on Thursday.
The Ducks have won four in a row at home, where they play 10 of their 14 games in January - including each of the first five. San Jose has surged to the top of the division by winning six of its last seven games, including three of four on the road. Kevin Labanc gave the Sharks a 3-2 home victory over Edmonton on Friday by completing the first two-goal performance of his career at 3:22 of overtime. The 21-year-old rookie also tallied in a 3-2 loss at Anaheim on Dec. 9 as the Sharks fell to 1-2-0 against their division rival this season.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, CSN California (San Jose), Prime Ticket (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (21-12-1): Two players reached milestones Friday as defenseman Brent Burns recorded his 300th career assist while Joe Thornton registered his 700th as a member of the Sharks. The 37-year-old Thornton is 31 assists away from tying Joe Sakic (1,016) for 12th place on the all-time list and needs six points to pass Johnny Bucyk for 24th in league history. Burns is tied for first on the team in scoring (32 points) with captain Joe Pavelski, who hasn't been kept off the scoresheet in consecutive games since Nov. 12 and 15.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (17-12-6): Andrew Cogliano looks to extend his consecutive games streak to 740, the second-longest run to start a career (Doug Jarvis - 964 from 1975-88). The 29-year-old left wing has not missed a contest since making his NHL debut with Edmonton on Oct. 4, 2007. Rickard Rakell, who leads the team with 14 goals, looks to a avoid a season-high four-game drought Tuesday after scoring 10 times over his previous 13 contests.
OVERTIME
1. Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, who shares the team lead of 28 points with fellow C Ryan Kesler, has been kept off the scoresheet in back-to-back contests following a five-game streak during which he registered two goals and four assists.
2. Pavelski's next power-play goal will be the 100th of his career.
3. Anaheim closes out the month with road games against Calgary and Vancouver on Thursday and Friday, respectively, before beginning its home-heavy January schedule Sunday versus Philadelphia.