San Jose @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 21, 2019 ) San Jose 4, Pittsburgh 0

The Pittsburgh Penguins survived the loss of one elite player earlier this season and have been without captain Sidney Crosby for nearly two months, but now they will be tested by another major injury. Winners of three in a row, the surging Penguins will play their first game without leading scorer Jake Guentzel when they host the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.

Hours after he was named to play in the All-Star Game, Guentzel suffered a shoulder injury in Monday's 5-2 win over Ottawa that required surgery and will sideline him for at least the rest of the regular season. "He's not an easy guy to replace, but we've lost some tough guys to replace throughout the course of this season, and I know we have the wherewithal to continue to find ways to win," said Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan, who also has been without forward Nick Bjugstad and defensemen Justin Schultz and Brian Dumoulin. While the Penguins have won seven of eight, San Jose has plummeted to the basement of the Pacific Division after dropping 11 of 13 (2-9-2). "We just need to be better offensively," Sharks captain Logan Couture said following a 2-0 loss at NHL-worst Detroit in the opener of a five-game road trip. "We just need to get better."

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: Prime Ticket, AT&T Sportsnet-Pittsburgh

ABOUT THE SHARKS (17-21-3): San Jose had been held to two goals or fewer nine times in 11 games before matching a season-high output in a 6-1 beating of Philadelphia, only to fall flat again versus the Red Wings. "That margin for error is so small," interim coach Bob Boughner lamented of his team's sputtering attack. "We've got to figure out how to generate offensively here. We've got to get on board." One reason for the lack of offense is a dismal power play that has converted on 2 of 49 chances over the last 20 games.

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (24-11-4): Evgeni Malkin has done the heavy lifting in place of Crosby after returning from his own injury absence, collecting five goals and 11 assists during a nine-game point streak on the top line with Guentzel and Bryan Rust. Alex Galchenyuk, acquired from Arizona in the Phil Kessel trade, has been a disappointment with four goals in 30 games but took Guentzel's spot at Wednesday's practice. "It doesn't matter what happened in the past," Galchenyuk said. "It's a new opportunity and it's a new season."

OVERTIME

1. Crosby skated with the team Tuesday but there still is no timetable for his return.

2. San Jose's 38 points at the midway point of the season are its lowest total since it had 36 in 1998-99.

3. Penguins G Tristan Jarry has allowed 11 goals during a six-start winning streak.

PREDICTION: Penguins 4, Sharks 2