San Jose @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 6, 2018 ) Minnesota 3, San Jose 4

The San Jose Sharks are riding high on a four-game winning streak and have scored 30 goals while emerging victorious in six of seven overall, but their fortunes haven't been positive in recent treks to the Xcel Energy Center. The Sharks will look to buck that trend Tuesday when they visit the Wild, who are 9-1-1 in their last 11 home encounters in the series.

Logan Couture joined four other San Jose players in scoring and setting up a goal in Sunday's 7-3 romp in Chicago to boost his point total to nine (three goals, six assists) in his past seven games. "We're playing the right way now," the 29-year-old said. "... Defensively we've played some very strong hockey and when we do that, it may be hard to realize, but it always leads to offense. You're always going to score more goals when you're defending well." Minnesota had done precisely that by outscoring the opposition 12-2 in the first two contests of its four-game homestand before dropping a testy 2-1 setback to red-hot Calgary on Saturday. Mikael Granlund pulled into a tie with defenseman Ryan Suter with 22 assists after setting up his fifth goal in three games via Jordan Greenway's second-period tally.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCS California (San Jose), FS North (Minnesota)

ABOUT THE SHARKS (18-11-5): Defenseman Brent Burns set up three goals versus the Blackhawks to give him five assists in his last three games and boost his team-leading total to 30. The 33-year-old also had a pair of assists Nov. 6 in San Jose's 4-3 win over Minnesota, which selected him with the 20th overall pick of the 2003 NHL Draft. Evander Kane has answered a stretch of collecting one point in eight games by scoring three goals and setting up another in his last five.

ABOUT THE WILD (17-13-2): Captain Mikko Koivu is expected to end a four-game absence and return from a lower-body injury Tuesday night versus San Jose, against which he boosted his career total to 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in the series after setting up two scores in the season's first encounter. The 35-year-old Finn skated on a line with Jason Zucker and Luke Kunin during Monday's practice. While Koivu is set to join his mates for game action, coach Bruce Boudreau told reporters that the return of offensive-minded defenseman Matt Dumba (12 goals, 22 points) is at least one week away as he nurses an upper-body injury sustained in Saturday's setback versus the Flames.

OVERTIME

1. Minnesota C Eric Staal has scored 10 of his 12 goals this season at home heading into a tilt with San Jose, against which he has netted 13 in 20 career encounters.

2. Sharks C Joe Thornton, who has collected 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) in career 46 contests versus the Wild, is one assist shy of matching tie Hockey Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne (1,040) for 10th place in NHL history.

3. Minnesota LW Zach Parise has recorded 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 22 career meetings with San Jose.

PREDICTION: Wild 3, Sharks 2