Programming note
Sharks-Canadiens coverage starts tonight at 7:00 p.m. with Sharks Pregame Live on CSN California.
Where they stand
Sharks: 33-22-6, 72 points, 3rd Pacific Division
Canadiens: 30-27-5, 65 points, 6th Atlantic Division
Playoff picture
The Sharks trail the Kings by six points in the Pacific Division, with one game in hand. The Kings and Ducks are both idle tonight.
The latest
Sharks: Last night in Vancouver, the Sharks scored four goals in the third period to beat the Canucks, 4-1. Tomas Hertl’s deflection of a Justin Braun shot ended up as the game-winner, while Martin Jones recorded his 30th win in net. San Jose is 7-4-2 since the All-Star break, playing 10 of those 13 games on the road.
Canadiens: Montreal brings a four-game point streak into tonight’s game (3-0-1), including a 4-1 defeat of Toronto on Saturday. The Canadiens enter tonight five points out of the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Keep an eye on…
Sharks: Patrick Marleau. Now that the trade deadline has come and gone and Marleau is still a Shark, the club could use a little more offense out of its all-time leading scorer down the stretch. Marleau registered a power play goal against the Canucks on Sunday, but hasn’t scored an even strength goal in a manned net in more than two months (Dec. 28 versus Colorado). He has four goals in his last 26 games, including three on the power play and one in an empty net.
Canadiens: Max Pacioretty. The winger leads the Canadiens with 23 goals, and is third on the club with 44 points. He paced the Montreal offense on Saturday with a pair of scores against the Maple Leafs, and is the only American-born player in franchise history to record at least four 20-goal seasons for the Canadiens (per Elias).
Probable lines
Sharks
Tomas Hertl – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Matt Nieto – Logan Couture – Joonas Donskoi
Nick Spaling – Patrick Marleau – Joel Ward
Melker Karlsson – Chris Tierney – Dainius Zubrus
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon – Roman Polak
Martin Jones (confirmed starter)
Aaron Dell
Canadiens
Max Pacioretty – Tomas Plekanec – Brendan Gallagher
Alex Galchenyuk – Lars Eller – Sven Andrighetto
Paul Byron – Jacob De La Rose – Phillip Danault
Michael McCarron – Torrey Mitchell – Devante Smith-Pelly
Andrei Markov – P.K. Subban
Alexei Emelin – Greg Pateryn
Victor Bartley – Mark Barberio
Mike Condon
Ben Scrivens
Vitals
Sharks
Goals per game: 2.93 (4th)
Goals-against per game: 2.66 (14th)
Power play: 22.5 percent (3rd)
Penalty kill: 79.4 percent (22nd)
Canadiens
Goals per game: 2.68 (12th)
Goals-against per game: 2.69 (12th)
Power play: 18.1 percent (18th)
Penalty kill: 83.8 percent (5th)
Injuries/Scratches
Sharks: Tommy Wingels (shoulder sprain) and Matt Tennyson (head) are out.
Canadiens: Carey Price (leg), Daniel Carr (lower body), Jeff Petry (sports hernia), Brian Flynn (lower body), David Desharnais (broken foot), Tom Gilbert (left knee) and Nate Beaulieu (lower body) are out.
Season series
The Sharks won at Bell Centre on Dec. 15, 3-1.
San Jose has won five of the last six head-to-head meetings (5-1-0).
Odds and ends
*The Sharks waived Mike Brown on Sunday, and he was claimed by Montreal on Monday.
*James Reimer, acquired on Sunday, has yet to join the Sharks while his immigration issues get worked out.
*Logan Couture has nine points (4g, 5a) in six career games against the Canadiens. San Jose is 19-7-5 with Couture in the lineup.
*This is the second-straight year the Sharks have hosted Montreal on the day of the NHL trade deadline.
