Programming note
Sharks-Sabres coverage starts tonight at 3:30 pm with Sharks Pregame Live on CSN California
Where they stand
Sharks: 8-8-0, 16 points, 4th Pacific Division
Sabres: 8-8-0, 16 points, 5th Atlantic Division
The latest
Sharks: The Sharks started a six-game road trip in Detroit on Friday, beating the Red Wings, 3-2. Melker Karlsson, Matt Nieto and Joe Pavelski scored, while Martin Jones made 26 saves.
[REWIND: Sharks' road trip starts on positive note]
Sabres: Buffalo skated to a 3-2 win in Florida on Thursday, despite getting outshot 38-19 by the Panthers. The Sabres have won three straight, and five of their last six.
Keep an eye on…
Sharks: Justin Braun. The Sharks defenseman has posted assists in back-to-back games, and played a season-high 24:39 on Friday in Detroit. He’s scoreless with a -2 rating in six career games against the Sabres.
Sabres: Jack Eichel. The second overall pick from last June’s draft is off to a solid start, with a team-high 6 goals and 9 points in his first 16 games. He centers a line that includes former Shark Jamie McGinn.
Probable lines
Sharks
Melker Karlsson – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Nikolay Goldobin – Patrick Marleau – Joel Ward
Joonas Donskoi – Tomas Hertl – Tommy Wingels
Matt Nieto – Chris Tierney – Mike Brown
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon – Matt Tennyson
Martin Jones
Alex Stalock
Sabres
Matt Moulson – Ryan O’Reilly – Brian Gionta
Jamie McGinn – Jack Eichel – Tyler Ennis
Johan Larsson – Zemgus Girgensons – Sam Reinhart
Nicolas Deslauriers – David Legwand – Marcus Foligno
Josh Gorges – Rasmus Ristolainen
Jake McCabe – Mark Pysyk
Carlo Colaiacovo – Cody Franson
Chad Johnson
Linus Ullmark
Vitals
Sharks
Goals per game: 2.63 (16th)
Goals-against per game: 2.63 (16th)
Power play: 11.1 percent (30th)
Penalty kill: 78.0 percent (21st)
Sabres
Goals per game: 2.38 (21st)
Goals-against per game: 2.75 (19th)
Power play: 25.0 percent (4th)
Penalty kill: 75.6 percent (26th)
Injuries/Scratches
Sharks: Ben Smith (head) and Logan Couture (fractured right fibula) are out.
Sabres: Mike Weber (lower body) is day-to-day. Cody McCormick (blood clots), Zach Bogosian (lower body), Robin Lehner (sprained ankle) and Evander Kane (sprained MCL) are out.
Season series
Buffalo visits San Jose on Feb. 26.
The Sharks are 1-15-1 all-time in Buffalo, their worst record in any visiting city. Their only win came on Dec. 2, 2005 in Joe Thornton’s Sharks debut.
