Programming note: Sharks-Hurricanes coverage starts tonight at 3:30pm with Sharks Pregame Live on CSN California.
Where they stand
Sharks: 31-20-5, 67 points, 3rd Pacific Division
Hurricanes: 26-22-10, 62 points, 6th Metropolitan Division
Playoff picture
The Sharks trail the Kings by three points in the Pacific Division, and the Ducks by one point. San Jose has one game in hand on both clubs, who are idle on Friday.
The latest
Sharks: Logan Couture scored the tying goal in the third period while Joonas Donskoi and Joe Pavelski connected in the shootout to give the Sharks a 2-1 win in Florida, moving them to 2-0 on their five-game road trip Thursday night. San Jose is 13-2-3 in its last 18 games, and 4-0-1 in its last five. The trip continues Monday in St. Louis.
Hurricanes: The Hurricanes will also be playing the second of a back-to-back tonight, dropping a 4-2 decision in Ottawa last night, as goals by Jordan Staal and Riley Nash weren’t enough. Carolina is 10-4-3 since Jan. 8.
Keep an eye on…
Sharks: Logan Couture. The Sharks center has registered at least one point in five of his last six games, with three goals and six assists over that span including Thursday night’s key third period score. The Sharks are 16-5-4 with Couture in the lineup, and 14-15-1 without him.
Hurricanes: Jordan Staal. The Canes’ second line center has one goal in each of his last two games, and eight points (3g, 5a) in his last six games. The former second overall pick by Pittsburgh in 2006, Staal leads Carolina in scoring with 35 points and a plus-seven rating.
Probable lines
Sharks
Tomas Hertl – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Matt Nieto – Patrick Marleau – Joel Ward
Melker Karlsson – Logan Couture – Joonas Donskoi
Dainius Zubrus – Chris Tierney – Mike Brown
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Dylan DeMelo – Matt Tennyson
Martin Jones (confirmed starter)
Alex Stalock
Hurricanes
Kris Versteeg – Eric Staal – Phil DiGiuseppe
Joakim Nordstrom – Jordan Staal – Andrej Nestrasil
Jeff Skinner – Victor Rask – Elias Lindholm
Chris Terry – Jay McClement – Riley Nash
Jaccob Slavin – Ron Hainsey
John-Michael Liles – Brett Pesce
Noah Hanifin – Michal Jordan
Cam Ward (confirmed starter)
Eddie Lack
Vitals
Sharks
Goals per game: 2.91 (4th)
Goals-against per game: 2.63 (17th)
Power play: 22.2 percent (4th)
Penalty kill: 80.8 percent (15th)
Hurricanes
Goals per game: 2.43 (24th)
Goals-against per game: 2.60 (15th)
Power play: 17.3 percent (24th)
Penalty kill: 82.1 percent (11th)
Injuries/Scratches
Sharks: Brenden Dillon (upper body) and Tommy Wingels (undisclosed) are doubtful.
Hurricanes: Justin Faulk (leg) is questionable. James Wisniewski (torn ACL) is out.
Season series
The Sharks took the first game of the season series at SAP Center, 5-2 on Oct. 24. Joel Ward’s hat trick paced the home team.
Carolina has won seven of the last 10 meetings, and five of the last seven in Raleigh.
Odds and ends
*Including tonight, nine of the Sharks’ next 10 games are against teams not currently in playoff position.
*Joe Thornton has a seven-game point streak (3g, 7a), and at least one point in 25 of his last 27 games (8g, 27a).
*Carolina is 52-for-59 on the penalty kill since the calendar flipped to 2016, the third-best mark in the league since then.
