Programming note
Sharks-Wild coverage starts tonight at 12:30 p.m. with Sharks Pregame Live on CSN California
Where they stand
Sharks: 24-18-3, 51 points, 2nd Pacific Division
Wild: 23-16-8, 54 points, 4th Central Division
The latest
Sharks: The Sharks beat the Coyotes in a key divisional matchup on Thursday in Arizona, 3-1. Tommy Wingels and Chris Tierney scored first period goals while Martin Jones made 23 saves in the win. Today is the first of a three-game homestand that leads into the All-Star break for San Jose.
Wild: Minnesota blanked the Kings on Thursday, 3-0, behind a 32-save shutout by Darcy Kuemper. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Wild, who are wrapping up a four-game road trip this afternoon.
Keep an eye on…
Sharks: Brent Burns. The former Wild defenseman has just one assist in his last four games, but Burns’ defensive game continues to trend upward, as he has a +7 rating in his last eight games. In 14 games against his former club, Burns has 10 points (2g, 8a), and he’s still second in the league in scoring among defensemen with 41 points (18g, 23a).
Wild: Zach Parise. A former player for Sharks coach Pete DeBoer in New Jersey, Parise snapped a four-game scoring drought with a goal against the Kings on Thursday. Against the Sharks in December, his third period goal broke a scoreless tie in the third period and ended up as the game-winner. His 17 goals this season leads Minnesota.
Probable lines
Sharks
Tomas Hertl – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Matt Nieto – Patrick Marleau – Joel Ward
Joonas Donskoi – Logan Couture – Tommy Wingels
Melker Karlsson – Chris Tierney – Mike Brown
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon – Dylan DeMelo
Martin Jones (confirmed starter)
Alex Stalock
Wild
Thomas Vanek – Mikko Koivu – Jason Zucker
Zach Parise – Mikael Granlund – Jason Pominville
Nino Niederreiter – Charlie Coyle – Justin Fontaine
Chris Porter – Jarret Stoll – Erik Haula
Ryan Suter – Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin – Matthew Dumba
Marco Scandella – Nate Prosser
Darcy Kuemper (confirmed starter)
Devan Dubnyk
Vitals
Sharks
Goals per game: 2.84 (5th)
Goals-against per game: 2.69 (19th)
Power play: 21.6 percent (4th)
Penalty kill: 79.7 percent (22nd)
Wild
Goals per game: 2.49 (18th)
Goals-against per game: 2.30 (5th)
Power play: 17.0 percent (24th)
Penalty kill: 79.8 percent (21st)
Injuries/Scratches
Sharks: Dainius Zubrus (upper body) is questionable. Raffi Torres (right knee) is on a conditioning assignment with the AHL Barracuda.
Wild: Ryan Carter (hand) is out.
Season series
The Wild beat the Sharks at SAP Center on Dec. 12, 2-0, a 24-save shutout by Darcy Kuemper.
The third and final game of the season series is at Xcel Energy Center on April 5.
