Programming note
Sharks-Canucks coverage starts tonight at 3:30 p.m. with Sharks Pregame Live on CSN California
Where they stand
Sharks: 32-22-6, 70 points, 3rd Pacific Division
Canucks: 24-24-12, 60 points, 4th Pacific Division
Playoff picture
The Sharks trail the Kings by eight points in the Pacific Division, with one game in hand. They trail the Ducks by four points. Los Angeles is in Anaheim tonight.
The latest
Sharks: San Jose dropped a 3-1 decision to lowly Buffalo at home on Monday, its third loss in the last four games (1-2-1), ending a nine-game point streak in its own building (6-1-3). The Sharks will be trying to avoid losing consecutive games in regulation for the first time since Jan. 2-7.
Canucks: Matt Bartkowski and Emerson Etem’s two goals each led the Canucks in a 5-3 win against Ottawa on Thursday. It was Vancouver’s second straight win after losing its previous four. This is the third of a five-game homestand for the Canucks.
Keep an eye on…
Sharks: Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Already the Sharks’ best defensive defenseman by fairly wide margin, Vlasic is continuing to produce offensively, scoring the team’s only goal on Friday. The 28-year-old is just one point off his career high of 36 points, set in 2008-09, and has 24 points (5g, 19a) in his last 30 games.
Canucks: Daniel Sedin. The 35-year-old leads the Canucks with 22 goals and 52 points, and recently had a five-game point streak from Feb. 13-21. He has one goal and seven assists in the last six games.
Probable lines
Sharks
Tomas Hertl – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Patrick Marleau – Logan Couture – Joonas Donskoi
Matt Nieto – Nick Spaling – Joel Ward
Melker Karlsson – Chris Tierney – Dainius Zubrus
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Dylan DeMelo – Roman Polak
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Canucks
Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Jannik Hansen
Sven Baertschi – Bo Horvat – Jake Virtanen
Emerson Etem – Markus Granlund – Linden Vey
Alex Burrows – Jared McCann – Derek Dorsett
Ben Hutton – Chris Tanev
Luca Sbisa – Alex Biega
Dan Hamhuis – Matt Bartkowski
Ryan Miller
Jacob Markstrom
Vitals
Sharks
Goals per game: 2.92 (4th)
Goals-against per game: 2.68 (13th)
Power play: 22.5 percent (3rd)
Penalty kill: 79.3 percent (23rd)
Canucks
Goals per game: 2.38 (26th)
Goals-against per game: 2.80 (10th)
Power play: 17.6 percent (21st)
Penalty kill: 81.6 percent (14th)
Injuries/Scratches
Sharks: Tommy Wingels (shoulder sprain) and Matt Tennyson (possible concussion) are out.
Canucks: Alex Edler (fractured fibula), Brandon Sutter (fractured jaw) and Radim Vrbata (lower body) are out.
Season series
Oddly, this is the first of five meetings between the Sharks and Canucks, who meet twice more this week: Thursday, again at Rogers Arena, and Saturday in San Jose.
The Sharks are 8-4-0 in their last 12 meetings with Vancouver, and have won their last five at Rogers Arena.
Odds and ends
*Goaltender Aaron Dell, 26, was recalled for the game after Alex Stalock was dealt to Toronto as part of the trade for James Reimer. Dell, who has never played an NHL game, is 11-10-5 with a 2.39 GAA and .923 SP with the Barracuda this season.
*The Sharks lead the NHL with 45 road points (21-9-3). Vancouver is 11-13-5 at home.
*Joe Thornton has 29 points since Jan. 9, leading the NHL over that span (through games of Feb. 27).
