San Jose @ New Jersey preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 10, 2018 ) New Jersey 2, San Jose 5

The New Jersey Devils began looking toward next season before the Christmas break arrived, firing coach John Hynes and trading away former league MVP Taylor Hall within a two-week span in December. The Devils continued to make moves over the weekend and will face a team in a similar plight when the San Jose Sharks pay a visit to New Jersey on Thursday night.

San Jose, which is a dozen points out of the second wild card in the Western Conference, jumped into the trade market by shipping defenseman Brenden Dillon to Washington for a pair of draft picks. "I’ve been pretty transparent, we expect this team to be back in place in September, to be a competitive hockey team," Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said, adding that more moves could be coming. "We'll be on the phone." Anchored in the basement of the Metropolitan, the Devils traded away captain Andy Greene and 21-goal scorer Blake Coleman on Sunday -- and also may not be done. New Jersey has scored only eight goals in dropping five of its last six meetings to the Sharks, who will host the Devils in a rematch on Feb. 27.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: MSG-Plus, NBCS California

ABOUT THE SHARKS (26-29-4): San Jose has a number of potential candidates for trade, including a pair of 40-year-olds in Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton, although the latter would have to waive a no-movement clause in his contract. Defensive Brent Burns set up a pair of goals in Monday's 5-3 loss to Florida to give him two tallies and six assists during a six-game point streak, bumping his point total to a team-high 41. Timo Meier has scored four times in the past five games to reach 20 goals for the third consecutive season.

ABOUT THE DEVILS (22-27-10): The departure of Greene and an eight-game injury absence to Sami Vatanen has New Jersey thin on the blue line and the situation worsened when defenseman Will Butcher exited Tuesday's 3-0 loss at St. Louis after blocking a shot. "He'll be OK," coach Alain Nasreddine said after the game. "Right now I don't really have an update but before I was told that nothing too serious, but we'll get a better evaluation (Wednesday)." New Jersey is 0-for-7 on the power play over the past three games.

OVERTIME

1. San Jose enters a stretch of six straight against Metropolitan foes with a 6-2-2 mark versus the division.

2. Devils G Mackenzie Blackwood has allowed four goals in winning his last four starts.

3. Sharks F Evander Kane will sit out the third of his three-game suspension for elbowing Winnipeg D Neal Pionk.

PREDICTION: Sharks 3, Devils 2