Programming note: Sharks-Sabres coverage gets underway at 4 p.m. with Sharks Pregame Live on Comcast SportsNet California
Where they stand
Sharks: 10-8-2, 22 points, 5th Pacific Division
Sabres: 4-13-2, 10 points, 8th Atlantic Division
The latest
Sharks: Troy Grosenick stopped 45 shots in his NHL debut to key a 2-0 Sharks win in Carolina on Sunday. Tomas Hertl was the lone goal-scorer in the game until Joe Thornton’s empty-netter sealed the victory for Grosenick, who made the most saves by any NHL goalie in his debut since the 1979-80 expansion season. San Jose wraps up its seven-game road trip tonight (3-3-0), and will return home on Thursday against Florida to begin a stretch of 11 of 13 at SAP Center.
Sabres: Buffalo exploded for a season-high six goals in beating the Maple Leafs on Saturday, 6-2, including a pair of markers from Zemgus Girgensons. The win ended a five-game losing streak for the Sabres (0-4-1), who own an NHL worst -38 goal differential (Edmonton is 29th at -16).
Keep an eye on…
Sharks: Troy Grosenick. The 25-year-old Wisconsin native will get a chance to follow up on his historic performance on Tuesday as he gets the call for the second straight game. Grosenick’s 45 saves against the Hurricanes were the most-ever by a Sharks goaltender in a shutout; he became the first Sharks goalie to ever record a shutout in his debut; and the Sharks became the first team in NHL history to have three goalies record shutouts in their season debut, as Antti Niemi and Alex Stalock blanked their opponents in the first two games of the season. This is the third season the Sharks have had three goalies each record at least one shutout.
Sabres: Tyler Ennis. The Buffalo forward is tied for the team lead with six goals, and brings a three-game scoring streak into tonight’s matchup (2g, 3a). Ennis has nine points in his last nine games (3g, 6a) and had a team-high 21 goals last season.
Vitals
Sharks
Goals per game: 2.70 (13th)
Goals-against per game: 2.55 (14th)
Power play: 22.6 percent (7th)
Penalty kill: 83.3 percent (12th)
Sabres
Goals per game: 1.47 (30th)
Goals-against per game: 3.53 (30th)
Power play: 7.0 percent (30th)
Penalty kill: 78.4 percent (22nd)
Probable lines
Sharks
Tomas Hertl – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Patrick Marleau – Logan Couture – Tyler Kennedy
Barclay Goodrow – James Sheppard – Tommy Wingels
Tye McGinn – Andrew Desjardins – Adam Burish
Mirco Mueller – Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Matt Irwin – Jason Demers
Troy Grosenick (confirmed starter)
Antti Niemi
Sabres
Matt Moulson – Zemgus Girgensons – Tyler Ennis
Brian Flynn – Torrey Mitchell – Brian Gionta
Nicolas Deslauriers – Cody McCormick – Drew Stafford
Marcus Foligno – Cody Hodgson – Chris Stewart
Tyson Strachan – Tyler Myers
Nikita Zadorov – Rasmus Ristolainen
Mike Weber – Andrej Meszaros
Michal Neuvirth (confirmed starter)
Jhonas Enroth
Injuries/Scratches
Sharks: Raffi Torres (right knee), Mike Brown (left hand) and Alex Stalock (lower body) are out.
Sabres: Josh Gorges (lower body) is day-to-day.
Odds and ends
*The Sharks have only won one game in Buffalo in the franchise’s history (Dec. 2, 2005).
*Joe Thornton made his Sharks debut on Dec. 2, 2005 at Buffalo. He also appeared in his 700th career NHL game on Dec. 8, 2007 vs. Buffalo.
*The Sharks are 5-6-1 against the Eastern Conference, and 1-3-0 against the Atlantic Division.
*The Sharks are 0-for-9 on the power play in their last four games.
*Joe Pavelski’s next goal will be the 200th of his career.
*Mirco Mueller’s 26 blocked shots leads all NHL rookies.
*The Sharks are 11-1-3 when Tomas Hertl scores a goal.
*Chris Stewart leads all Sabres with 10 points (3+7) in 20 career games against the Sharks.
*John Scott played in 90 games for the Sabres from 2012-2014, totaling one goal and 194 penalty minutes.
Season/All-Time series
Buffalo won the first meeting of the season, 2-1 at SAP Center on Oct. 25. Cody Hodgson and Nicolas Deslauriers scored third period goals on Alex Stalock in what was a rare afternoon start in San Jose. Michal Neuvirth got the win in net with 29 saves in what was one of just two regulation wins for the Sabres this season.
The Sabres have won seven straight against the Sharks, and are 15-1-0 all-time against them in Buffalo. The Sharks are 7-19-6 all-time vs. the Sabres.
Quoteable
“It’s kind of a dream come true. Just like you write it up when you’re a little kid.” – Troy Grosenick, after shutting out the Hurricanes on Sunday in his NHL debut
