Programming note
Sharks-Coyotes coverage gets underway at 6:30 p.m. with Sharks Pregame Live on Comcast SportsNet California
Where they stand
Sharks: 38-30-9, 85 points, 5th Pacific Division
Coyotes: 23-46-8, 54 points, 7th Central Division
Playoff watch
San Jose is five points behind Los Angeles for the second wild card spot, with five games remaining.
The latest
Sharks: In their first home game in two and a half weeks, the Sharks beat Colorado on Wednesday, 5-1. San Jose had five different goal scorers, including two into an empty net, and Alex Stalock made 19 saves in net. The Sharks are 3-0-1 in their last four, and visit Arizona on Saturday in the second of a back-to-back, home-and-home with the last place Coyotes.
[RELATED: Sharks making trio of lineup changes for Coyotes game]
Coyotes: In a matchup of the two worst teams in the NHL, the Buffalo Sabres beat the Coyotes in Arizona on Monday, 4-1. Connor Murphy scored the lone goal for the Coyotes, and Mike Smith allowed two goals on 34 shots in the defeat. Arizona is just 4-20-2 in its last 26 games since Feb. 5, with none of those four wins coming in regulation.
Keep an eye on…
Sharks: Taylor Fedun. The 26-year-old defenseman has played well in his first two games with the Sharks, and assisted on the game-winning goal against Colorado on Wednesday. Fedun is a pending restricted free agent and one of a few Sharks currently playing for jobs. There’s a good chance he’ll be paired with recent call-up Karl Stollery on the blue line as the team’s third pair, as Scott Hannan, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Mirco Mueller all remain out due to injury.
Coyotes: Louis Domingue. The 23-year-old goalie has played in just five career NHL games, with a 1-1-1 record, 2.65 GAA and .912 SP. He did play against the Sharks in the preseason, though, stopping all 23 shots he saw in 25 minutes of work. Domingue, drafted by Arizona in the fifth round of the 2010 draft, last started on March 9 against Nashville, stopping 38 of 40 shots in a 2-1 overtime loss.
Vital stats
Sharks
Goals per game: 2.77 (14th)
Goals-against per game: 2.73 (22nd)
Power play: 21.5 percent (6th)
Penalty kill: 78.7 percent (25th)
Coyotes
Goals per game: 2.03 (29th)
Goals-against per game: 3.26 (28th)
Power play: 20.2 percent (7th)
Penalty kill: 77.3 percent (28th)
Probable lines
Sharks
Melker Karlsson – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Patrick Marleau – Logan Couture – Tomas Hertl
Matt Nieto – Chris Tierney – Tommy Wingels
Mike Brown – Ben Smith – Barclay Goodrow
Brenden Dillon – Justin Braun
Matt Irwin – Brent Burns
Karl Stollery – Taylor Fedun
Antti Niemi (confirmed starter)
Alex Stalock
Coyotes
Tobias Rieder – Mark Arcobello – Shane Doan
Martin Erat – Sam Gagner – David Moss
Craig Cunningham – Kyle Chipchura – Jordan Szwarz
Tye McGinn – Joe Vitale – B.J. Crombeen
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Michael Stone
Klas Dahlbeck – Connor Murphy
Andrew Campbell – John Moore
Louis Domingue (confirmed starter)
Mike Smith
Injuries/Scratches
Sharks: Scott Hannan (facial injury), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (lower body), Raffi Torres (right knee surgery) and Mirco Mueller (left hand) are out.
Coyotes: Mikkel Boedker (ruptured spleen) and Martin Hanzal (back) are out. Lauri Korpikoski (facial injury) is day-to-day.
Odds and ends
*Brent Burns has a five-game assist streak, with six total over that span.
*Joe Thornton is on a six-game scoreless streak, the longest such streak of his Sharks career.
*Mike Smith is expected in net for the Coyotes in Saturday’s rematch.
*Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s nine goals lead all NHL defensemen.
*Arizona has outscored the Sharks 5-0 in the first period this season.
*Tye McGinn has one goal and one assist in 13 games with Arizona, since he was claimed off of waivers from San Jose in early March.
Season/All-Time series
The Sharks are 2-0-1 against Arizona this season. Joe Pavelski has five goals to lead all scorers, while Shane Doan’s three points (2g, 1a) leads the Coyotes.
San Jose is 64-46-16 all-time against the Arizona/Winnipeg franchise.
Quotable
"I guess I'll kind of have to learn on the go here, just getting here now. But I think the farm team in Worcester has been good, just kind of getting settled into the new organization and getting to know some of the people in it, getting to know the way they play." - Karl Stollery