Programming note
Sharks-Kings coverage gets underway at 7:00 p.m. on NBCSN
Where they stand
Sharks: 19-11-5, 43 points, 2nd Pacific Division
Kings: 17-11-7, 41 points, 4th Pacific Division
The latest
Sharks: Anaheim snapped the Sharks’ five-game winning streak with a 3-2 overtime win at Honda Center on Monday. Ryan Kesler had the game-winner, after third period goals by Joe Pavelski and Melker Karlsson had given San Jose a 2-1 lead it could not protect. Antti Niemi saw a personal seven-game winning streak snapped with 29 saves. The Sharks, 9-1-1 in their last 11, close out 2014 at home against Vancouver on Tuesday and go back to Anaheim for New Year’s Eve on Wednesday.
[KURZ: Rewind: Sharks pleased with effort despite OT loss to Ducks]
Kings: Los Angeles blew a late two-goal third period lead to Calgary, losing to the Flames in overtime at Staples Center on Monday, 4-3. Johnny Gaudreau’s hat trick helped to end the Flames’ eight-game losing streak. After tonight, the Kings begin a three-game road trip through Canada on Dec. 29 in Calgary, continuing on to Edmonton and Vancouver.
Keep an eye on…
Sharks: Melker Karlsson. The rookie winger continues to surprise and impress since arriving from Worcester on Dec. 9, as Karlsson has five points (1g, 4a) in his first six NHL games. The 24-year-old scored his first career NHL goal in Anaheim on Monday, after assisting on the late game-tying goal against St. Louis two nights earlier.
Kings: Marian Gaborik. A late addition to the Kings last season, Gaborik brings a five-game goal streak into today's game, with seven goals and two assists over that span. That’s tied for the second-longest goal streak in the NHL this season, and Gaborik’s 11 goals ties him with Tanner Pearson for the Los Angeles team lead.
Vitals
Sharks
Goals per game: 2.77 (16th)
Goals-against per game: 2.46 (9th)
Power play: 25.0 percent (1st)
Penalty kill: 84.4 percent (9th)
Kings
Goals per game: 2.74 (18th)
Goals-against per game: 2.40 (7th)
Power play: 19.7 percent (10th)
Penalty kill: 79.8 percent (16th)
Probable lines
Sharks
Tomas Hertl – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Patrick Marleau – Logan Couture – Tommy Wingels
Barclay Goodrow – James Sheppard – Melker Karlsson
Micheal Haley – Andrew Desjardins – Tye McGinn
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon – Brent Burns
Scott Hannan – Matt Tennyson
Antti Niemi
Alex Stalock
Kings
Marian Gaborik – Anze Kopitar – Jeff Carter
Dustin Brown – Jarret Stoll – Justin Williams
Tanner Pearson – Trevor Lewis – Tyler Toffoli
Kyle Clifford – Mike Richards – Dwight King
Jake Muzzin – Drew Doughty
Alec Martinez – Matt Greene
Brayden McNabb – Jamie McBain
Jonathan Quick
Martin Jones
Injuries/Scratches
Sharks: Raffi Torres (right knee), Tyler Kennedy (left shoulder), Mike Brown (broken right fibula) and John Scott (suspended) are out. Matt Nieto (ankle) is questionable.
Kings: Robyn Regehr (upper body) is out.
Season/All-Time series
The Sharks and Kings haven’t met since opening night, when San Jose claimed a 4-0 win on Oct. 8 after Los Angeles raised its second Stanley Cup banner in three seasons. Tommy Wingels had two goals, while Antti Niemi made 34 saves for the shutout.
The teams meet three more times, including Jan. 21 in San Jose and Feb. 21 outdoors at Levi’s Stadium. They close out the regular season against one another in Los Angeles on April 11.
The Sharks are 68-50-14 all-time against the Kings. The home team is 13-2-1 in the last 16 regular season games between the clubs.
Odds and ends
*The Sharks recalled left wing Micheal Haley from Worcester on Friday. Haley leads the AHL club with 10 goals and 60 penalty minutes.
[RELATED: Sharks recall bruiser Haley from AHL Worcester]
*John Scott will be serving the first of a four-game suspension for punching Tim Jackman in Anaheim on Dec. 22.
[RELATED: Sharks' Scott hit with multi-game suspension]
*The Sharks have outscored their opponents 18-11 over their season-long six-game point streak (5-0-1).
*Joe Pavelski’s nine power play goals leads the NHL. Pavelski has 207 career goals with the Sharks after scoring in Anaheim on Monday, surpassing Owen Nolan for second all-time in franchise history.
*San Jose has allowed just two power play goals against over its last 11 games (23-for-25, 92.0 percent).
*Anze Kopitar has 10 points in the last four games (1g, 9a) including five points vs. St. Louis on Dec. 18.
*Los Angeles is 7-for-13 on the power play in the last three games (53.8 percent).
*The Kings lead the NHL in home wins (13) and points (28).
*The Kings are 8-0-0 when Jeff Carter has a multi-point game.
Quoteable
“If we play that way, we’ll win more than we lose.” – Joe Pavelski, after the 3-2 overtime loss to Anaheim on Dec. 22
