Sharks (21-12-1, 9-8-1 away) at Anaheim (17-12-6, 10-4-1 away), 7 p.m., Honda Center, CSNCA, 98.5 KFOX
The Sharks are 66-52-4-8 all-time vs. Anaheim and have a 1-2 record against the Ducks this season. In their last meeting Dec. 9 at Honda Center, Hampus Lindholm scored with 5:38 to go in the third period to give the Ducks a 3-2 win. Brent Burns and Kevin Labanc both scored for the Sharks.
Today’s story: Timo Meier moved away from home when he was 16. Now 20 and in the NHL, Meier is again getting to spend a Christmas with his mom and dad
Sharks notes: The Sharks will be staying with the same lineup they had in Friday’s overtime win over the Edmonton Oilers. Joel Ward remains on the fourth line and Tommy Wingels will be a healthy scratch. The defense pairs also remain the same as David Schlemko will be scratched for the third straight game. Martin Jones will start in net for the seventh consecutive game. He is 5-1 in his last six starts and 6-3 this month, but is just 3-7 in 10 career games against Anaheim. Tomas Hertl, out since he suffered a right knee sprain Nov. 17, skated on Tuesday at the Sharks’ practice facility. There remains no timetable for his return.
Ducks notes: John Gibson will start in net for the Ducks, who went 2-3-1 on their six-game road trip just before the Christmas break. Jonathan Bernier has beaten the Sharks twice this season, but gave up 12 goals in three appearances on the road trip. Tuesday’s game is Anaheim’s final one at home this month. The Ducks have an 8-2-2 record against division opponents, a big reason why they’re in third place in the Pacific with 40 points, just three back of the Sharks. Corey Perry has just three goals since the start of December, but has three assists in three games against San Jose this season.
Here are three keys for the Sharks on Tuesday as they look for their seventh win in eight games.
1) Make life easy for your goalie: The Sharks made things relatively easy for Martin Jones in wins last week over Calgary and Edmonton. They cleared traffic in front and didn’t allow a ton of second chances around the net. The Sharks created plenty of even strength scoring chances against the Ducks in their last meeting on Dec. 9 in Anaheim. But the Ducks’ first goal came off a rebound, and the winner came on a screened shot from inside the blue line. If the Sharks can take care of the puck, win battles inside their own zone and limit second chances, they should be fine.
2) Play with a lead: The Sharks have led for a grand total of 64 seconds in their last two games against the Ducks. On Nov. 26, Logan Couture scored a first period goal at the 8:40 mark, followed by a Ryan Garbutt goal 9:44 into the first. Anaheim didn’t trail again as it went on to win 3-2. The Ducks are 1-11-4 when trailing after two periods, and the Sharks aren’t much better at 1-8-1. Take what’s bound to be a raucous crowd out of with by scoring an early goal, and force the Ducks out of their comfort zone by having to come from behind.
3) Joe’s gotta go: The Sharks have only scored six goals in three games against the Ducks this season, and Joe Thornton doesn’t have a point on any of those goals. He’s got to make an impact on the scoresheet sooner or later in these games against the Ducks, which always seem to be close. The Sharks are 7-1 in their last eight games when Thornton has at least one point. The Sharks’ record in the last eight games when Thornton doesn’t have a point is 2-6. A big game tonight from the future Hall of Famer would go a long way for the Sharks in extending their Pacific Division lead.
