Stars at Sharks
While the San Jose Sharks have a bit of a cushion atop the Pacific Division, time is running out for the Dallas Stars to grab a playoff berth. The Stars, who trail St. Louis by 11 points for the second wild card in the Western Conference with 15 games remaining, look to gain ground when they visit the Sharks on Sunday.
Dallas is beginning a string of four games on the road, where it is just 9-18-4 on the season but has posted victories over Florida and Washington following a six-game slide. San Jose is hoping to extend its seven-point division lead over Calgary and Anaheim as it continues a six-game homestand on which it split the first two contests - defeating the league-best Washington Capitals on Thursday before dropping a 3-1 decision to Nashville two days later. Sharks defenseman Paul Martin scored the lone goal, his first since Dec. 27, while Joe Thornton notched an assist for his 1,385th career point - six shy of tying Brett Hull for 22nd place on the NHL's all-time list. San Jose's veteran forward Patrick Marleau has scored only three goals over his last 15 contests after recording seven during a five-game stretch to reach 500 for his career.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), CSN California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE STARS (27-30-10): Curtis McKenzie apparently has impressed team brass, as the 26-year-old left wing received a one-year contract extension worth $700,000 on Thursday. "This whole year is kind of been wondering what was going to happen for next season," McKenzie, who has recorded four goals and seven assists in 43 games, told the team's website. "So I was pretty happy when they offered (the contract) to me. It's definitely nice to have that in the back pocket for next year." Captain Jamie Benn has been kept off the scoresheet in only four of his last 22 games, collecting 14 goals and 14 assists in that span.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (40-20-7): Jannik Hansen was kept off the scoresheet Saturday after notching an assist in his debut with San Jose two days earlier. The 30-year-old Dane, who was acquired from Vancouver on Feb. 28, recorded only six goals and seven assists in 28 games with the Canucks after netting a career-high 22 tallies last season. Defenseman Brent Burns ranks among the league leaders with 70 points - five shy of the career high he set last campaign - and needs one goal to eclipse his personal best of 27, which he also accomplished in 2015-16.
OVERTIME
1. Sharks D Marc-Edouard Vlasic's next game will be his 800th in the NHL.
2. Dallas LW Patrick Sharp is one point shy of 600 for his career while G Kari Lehtonen will hit the 600-game plateau with his next appearance.
3. San Jose D David Schlemko has missed four consecutive games with a lower-body injury.