Coyotes at Sharks
The San Jose Sharks have won eight of nine to swim to the top of the Pacific, but the division's cellar dwellers have given coach Pete DeBoer's club all it can handle this season. The Sharks look to pad their lead atop the division and even their season series at two wins apiece with the Coyotes on Saturday when the teams meet at the SAP Center.
Patrick Marleau reached the 500-goal milestone after tallying for the seventh time in five games during Thursday's 4-1 victory over Vancouver. "He's been hot lately," DeBoer told CSN Bay Area.com of the 37-year-old Marleau, who also scored in San Jose's 3-2 loss at Arizona on Nov. 1. "He's been shooting, he's been creating chances, he's been playing hard. He's always been a little bit of a streaky scorer." Arizona's streaks haven't been kind this season as the desert dwellers found themselves in an early three-goal deficit before battling back in a 4-3 setback versus Chicago. Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored with the man advantage for the seventh time this season for the Coyotes, whose 27th-ranked power play is just 1-for-8 this season against the Sharks.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona, CSN California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE COYOTES (16-28-6): Veteran Mike Smith sure has been busy when facing San Jose, turning aside 43 shots in a 3-2 overtime victory on Nov. 19 before making 40 saves just 10 days later. The 34-year-old traditionally has been in a thorn in the side of the Sharks, posting an 11-7-3 career mark with four shutouts and a more-than-respectable 2.09 goals-against average. Martin Hanzal netted the overtime winner against San Jose on Nov. 19, but has been held off the scoresheet in six of his last eight games overall.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (33-17-2): Brent Burns scored and set up a goal on Thursday, increasing his point total to 20 (seven goals, 13 assists) in the past 14 games. The veteran defenseman, whose 22 tallies are just five shy of last season's career high, netted a power-play goal 19 seconds into overtime in a 2-1 win over Arizona on Nov. 29. Forward Joe Thornton (1,374 points) notched an assist on Thursday to tie Mike Modano for 23rd place on the NHL's all-time points list, but the veteran has been held off the scoresheet in each of the three encounters with the Coyotes this season.
OVERTIME
1. San Jose G Martin Jones has yielded more than two goals just once in his last seven games (6-1-0).
2. Coyotes LW Jamie McGinn, who was second-round selection by the Sharks in the 2006 draft, is one goal shy of 100 for his career.
3. San Jose captain Joe Pavelski has recorded 49 points (28 goals, 21 assists) in 58 career contests versus Arizona.