Programming note
Sharks-Coyotes coverage starts tonight at 6:30 p.m. with Sharks Pregame Live on CSN California
Where they stand
Sharks: 40-25-6, 86 points, 3rd Pacific Division
Coyotes: 31-33-7, 69 points, 4th Pacific Division
Playoff picture
The Sharks trail the Kings by seven points and the Ducks by one point in the Pacific Division. The Ducks have one game in hand.
Anaheim visits Winnipeg this afternoon.
The latest
Sharks: San Jose struck for three goals in less than four minutes in the third period to defeat the Rangers at home on Saturday, 4-1. Joel Ward scored twice and Tomas Hertl added a career-high three assists as the Sharks registered a season-high 52 shots on goal. The Sharks are playing the second of a season-long six-game homestand tonight.
Coyotes: Ben Bishop made 31 saves in blanking the Coyotes on Saturday night at Gila River Arena, 2-0. That ended a three-game winning streak and four-game point streak (3-0-1) for Arizona that included a 3-1 victory over the Sharks on Thursday.
Keep an eye on…
Sharks: Chris Tierney. The 21-year-old was promoted to the third line center role for Saturday’s game between Patrick Marleau and Joel Ward, and he finished with three shots on goal and an even rating. Tierney has just one assist in his last nine games, but had what probably should have been a legal goal on Thursday in Arizona overturned for a kicking motion upon review. Tierney has the game-winning goal in both Sharks wins over the Coyotes this season.
Coyotes: Shane Doan. The veteran Coyotes captain scored his team-leading 25th goal on Thursday against the Sharks late in the third period for the game-winner. He’s trying to become just the fourth player in NHL history 39 years of age or older to lead his team in goals (Jaromir Jagr, Johnny Bucyk, Gordie Howe). He has 43 points (25g, 18a) in 62 games.
Probable lines
Sharks
Tomas Hertl – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Melker Karlsson – Logan Couture – Joonas Donskoi
Patrick Marleau – Chris Tierney – Joel Ward
Nick Spaling – Dainius Zubrus – Tommy Wingels
Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon – Roman Polak
Dylan DeMelo – Justin Braun
James Reimer (confirmed starter)
Martin Jones
Coyotes
Alex Tanguay – Antoine Vermette – Anthony Duclair
Max Domi – Brad Richardson – Shane Doan
Tobias Rieder – Martin Hanzal – Viktor Tikhonov
Jordan Martinook – Boyd Gordon – Sergei Plotnikov
Kevin Connauton – Connor Murphy
Klas Dahlbeck – Zbynek Michalek
Nicklas Grossmann – Michael Stone
Mike Smith (confirmed starter)
Louis Domingue
Vitals
Sharks
Goals per game: 2.93 (3rd)
Goals-against per game: 2.56 (13th)
Power play: 22.2 percent (4th)
Penalty kill: 79.4 percent (23rd)
Coyotes
Goals per game: 2.63 (16th)
Goals-against per game: 3.00 (28th)
Power play: 18.7 percent (15th)
Penalty kill: 78.9 percent (24th)
Injuries/Scratches
Sharks: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (lower body), Matt Nieto (hand) and Matt Tennyson (head) are out.
Coyotes: Oliver Ekman-Larsson (upper body) is questionable. Anders Lindback (Achilles) and Joe Vitale (concussion symptoms) are out.
Season series
The Sharks have won two of three meetings against the Coyotes. They match up for the fifth and final time on April 9 at SAP Center in the final game of the regular season.
Odds and ends
*Brent Burns is 14 shots behind the all-time franchise record of 317, set by Jonathan Cheechoo in 2005-06.
*Joe Thornton has at least one point in each of the Sharks’ last 27 wins.
*The Coyotes have killed off 17 straight opponent power plays.
