Blue Jackets at Sharks
After opening a five-game road trip with a one-goal victory over Columbus, the San Jose Sharks look to secure a winning homestand on Thursday when the Blue Jackets pay a visit. Captain Joe Pavelski scored a power-play goal and set up defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic's overtime goal in Tuesday's 2-1 triumph against Anaheim in the opener of a three-game stay at SAP Center.
Pavelski has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his last five games after being held off the scoresheet in a 3-2 win over Columbus on Oct. 15. San Jose has won both contests at home this season after struggling to an 18-20-3 mark in front of their fans in 2015-16. Columbus fell to 1-0-1 on its four-game Western Conference road trip after following up a 3-0 victory versus Dallas with a 3-2 overtime setback at Los Angeles on Tuesday. Former Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky, who has started all of his team's games this season, turned aside 35 of 37 shots in a 3-2 loss to San Jose on Oct. 15.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Columbus), CSN California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (2-2-1): Captain Nick Foligno has collected five points (one goal, four assists) in as many games after mustering just 37 (12 goals, 25 assists) last season. Foligno is unlikely to erupt against San Jose if history is any indication, as the 28-year-old has just one goal in 15 career encounters. Foligno is tied with Alexander Wennberg and rookie defenseman Zach Werenski for the team lead in points, with Werenski scoring his first career NHL goal against the Sharks.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (4-3-0): Known for his stellar play on defense, Vlasic had a chance to showcase his offensive talents by outracing Corey Perry for a loose puck before leaving his skates to finish off the overtime winner. "He's got some speed when he wants to use it, and he's a big-game player," coach Peter DeBoer said of the 29-year-old Vlasic. Martin Jones, who made 19 saves versus the Ducks to snap a three-game losing skid, turned aside 26 shots on Oct. 15 to improve to 1-2-0 in his career against the Blue Jackets.
OVERTIME
1. San Jose LW Patrick Marleau scored in the previous meeting with Columbus and has 40 points (18 goals, 22 assists) in 53 career encounters with the club.
2. The Blue Jackets are 5-for-10 on the power play (50 percent) and 16-of-17 on the penalty kill (94.1 percent).
3. The Sharks have denied 15 of their last 16 short-handed situations after yielding a power-play goal in each of their previous three games.