Programming note: Sharks-Jets coverage starts this afternoon at 4:30pm with Sharks Pregame Live on CSN California.
Where they stand
Sharks: 20-18-2, 42 points, 4th Pacific Division
Jets: 19-20-3, 41 points, 7th Central Division
The latest
Sharks: Brent Burns scored a tie-breaking power play marker in the third period and Joel Ward added a key insurance goal in the Sharks’ 5-4 win in Calgary on Monday. The Sharks improved to 14-6-2 on the road, and return home to host Todd McLellan and the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
Jets: The Sabres downed the Jets in Winnipeg on Sunday, 4-2. Since beating the Sharks on Jan. 2, the Jets are 1-2-1. Tonight is the second of a three-game homestand.
Keep an eye on…
Sharks: Joonas Donskoi. The Finnish forward has goals in consecutive games after his first period marker on Monday gave San Jose a 2-0 lead. Prior to that, he had just one goal in his previous 19 games. The 23-year-old free agent addition has a respectable 15 points (6g, 9a) in his first 35 games in the NHL.
Jets: Dustin Byfuglien. The big blueliner leads the Jets in shots with 133, placing him 16th in the NHL and second in defensemen behind only Brent Burns (175). The 30-year-old has 23 points (9g, 14a), and is the team leader in penalty minutes with 60.
Probable lines
Sharks
Tomas Hertl – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Matt Nieto – Patrick Marleau – Joel Ward
Tommy Wingels – Logan Couture – Joonas Donskoi
Melker Karlsson – Chris Tierney – Mike Brown
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon – Dylan DeMelo
Alex Stalock (likely starter)
Martin Jones
Jets
Drew Stafford – Bryan Little – Blake Wheeler
Andrew Ladd – Adam Lowry – Alex Burmistrov
Nikolaj Ehlers – Mathieu Perreault – Chris Thorburn
Joel Armia – Andrew Copp – Anthony Peluso
Tobias Enstrom – Tyler Myers
Jacob Trouba – Dustin Byfuglien
Mark Stuart – Ben Chiarot
Connor Hellebuyck (confirmed starter)
Michael Hutchinson
Vitals
Sharks
Goals per game: 2.83 (8th)
Goals-against per game: 2.80 (23rd)
Power play: 21.2 percent (6th)
Penalty kill: 80.0 percent (17th)
Jets
Goals per game: 2.64 (11th)
Goals-against per game: 2.83 (24th)
Power play: 15.4 percent (29th)
Penalty kill: 77.1 percent (26th)
Injuries/Scratches
Sharks: Tommy Wingels (upper body) is questionable. Dainius Zubrus (upper body) is day-to-day.
Jets: Grant Clitsome (back), Ondrej Pavalec (sprained knee) and Mark Scheifele (lower body) are out.
Season series
The Jets beat the Sharks on Jan. 2 at SAP Center, 4-1, in what was perhaps San Jose's worst effort of the season. Winnipeg returns to San Jose on April 7.
The Sharks are 13-4-4 all-time against the Winnipeg/Atlanta franchise.
Odds and ends
*The Sharks are just 1-6-1 against the Central Division, and 6-10-2 against the Western Conference. Winnipeg is 4-5-0 against the Pacific.
*San Jose is 16-2-0 when scoring first, the second-highest points percentage in the league (.888).
*Winnipeg is 5-1-0 when facing a team in the second of a back-to-back.
