Sharks at Red Wings
The San Jose Sharks look to shake off a rough third period in their last contest and finish a five-game road trip with a winning record when they visit the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. The Sharks were in control with a two-goal lead going into the final 20 minutes against injury-depleted Pittsburgh on Thursday before walking away with a dispiriting 3-2 loss.
“We couldn’t get the third goal and again let them hang around a little bit, which is something we’ve done lately,” San Jose coach Peter DeBoer told reporters. “Probably deserved to be up by more, but we weren’t. That’s what happens.” The Sharks were 28-0-2 in the regular season and 9-0 in the playoffs with a lead going into the third in 2015-16 and will try to wash away the memory from Thursday by taking care of Detroit, which has won three straight contests after Friday’s 5-3 triumph against Nashville at home. The Red Wings lost the first two games of the season in Florida and have scored five goals each in a pair of victories at Joe Louis Arena since, sandwiching a 2-1 road triumph against the New York Rangers. Defenseman Mike Green is off to a strong start for Detroit with three goals and four assists.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN California (San Jose), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE SHARKS (3-2-0): Defenseman Brent Burns has picked up right where he left off last season by recording three goals and six assists with a team-best 25 shots in the first five games. Captain Joe Pavelski (two goals, five assists), along with fellow forwards Logan Couture (two, three) and Joe Thornton (five assists), also have continued their production. Martin Jones started the season with two outstanding performances but has followed by surrendering eight goals on 47 shots in losses to New York and Pittsburgh.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (3-2-0): Skillful forward Gustav Nyquist appears to be rebounding from a disappointing 2015-16 season, posting a goal and an assist in Friday’s win to push his total to five points in as many games. Nyquist managed 17 goals last campaign after recording 28 and 27, respectively, in the previous two and owns a plus-3 rating. Speedy forward Darren Helm leads the team with four tallies and offseason acquisition Thomas Vanek has notched six points while captain Henrik Zetterberg (three assists) has yet to score a goal.
OVERTIME
1. The Red Wings have allowed three power-play goals in two games this season, including Friday’s victory.
2. San Jose F Patrick Marleau has scored two goals this season and 483 overall, tying him with Sergei Fedorov for 50th place on the all-time list - one behind Darryl Sittler.
3. The teams split a pair of one-goal games last season, each winning on the road.