Sharks at Predators
The San Jose Sharks are in a freefall but hope to end it Saturday as they look to salvage the finale of their four-game road trip with a victory over the Nashville Predators. San Jose suffered a 6-1 loss at Dallas on Friday, extending its losing streak to five games — a slide during which it has scored a total of five goals.
Joe Thornton netted the lone tally to raise his career point total to 1,390 — one behind Hall of Fame member Brett Hull for 22nd place on the all-time list — but the Sharks fell into a tie for the Pacific Division lead with Anaheim, which defeated Winnipeg on Friday night. Nashville is aiming for its fourth consecutive victory at Bridgestone Arena as it concludes a three-game homestand. The Predators, who have earned points in seven of their last eight overall (5-1-2), hope to strengthen their hold on a playoff spot in the Western Conference as they are eight points ahead of Los Angeles for the second wild card but trail Calgary by one for the first. Nashville also is even in points with St. Louis for third place in the Central Division, although the Blues own the tiebreaker.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN California (San Jose), FSN Tennessee (Nashville)
ABOUT THE SHARKS (42-25-7): Brent Burns finally got on the scoresheet again Friday, notching an assist to halt his season-high seven-game drought. The 32-year-old leads all NHL defensemen with 71 points and needs five more to eclipse the career high he set last campaign. San Jose had a pair of players return to the lineup against Dallas as Jannik Hansen was back after missing two contests with an upper-body injury and Marc-Edouard Vlasic patroled the blue line following a one-game absence because of the flu.
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (37-25-11): Colton Sissons made his milestone game a memorable one Thursday as he scored the first game-winning goal of his career against the Flames in what was his 100th NHL contest. The tally was the sixth of the season for the 23-year-old center and first since he registered a hat trick at Tampa Bay on Jan. 5, ending his 20-game drought. Defenseman Mattias Ekholm notched an assist on the goal as he skated in his 300th career contest, while Ryan Johansen is one goal shy of 100 and Filip Forsberg two assists away from the century mark.
OVERTIME
1. Predators G Pekka Rinne has allowed one goal in each of his last three games.
2. San Jose captain Joe Pavelski will appear in his 800th career contest Saturday.
3. Nashville captain Mike Fisher missed Thursday's game with a lower-body injury and is day-to-day.