Arizona @ San Jose preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 8, 2018 ) San Jose 5, Arizona 3

The San Jose Sharks were optimistic heading into their four-game homestand after having earned points in 10 of their previous 11 contests at SAP Center (9-1-1). The positivity may be lacking Sunday as the Sharks remain in search of their first win on the stretch at home when they face the Arizona Coyotes.

San Jose began the homestand Thursday with a 5-3 setback against Winnipeg and suffered a 3-2 overtime loss to Los Angeles two days later despite rallying from a two-goal deficit to earn a point. Captain Joe Pavelski scored his team-leading 23rd goal and defenseman Erik Karlsson extended his assist streak to eight games by setting up a pair of tallies for the Sharks, who posted a 5-3 victory at Arizona on Dec. 8 in the first meeting of the season between the Pacific Division rivals. Arizona halted a three-game slide and salvaged the finale of its three-game homestand Saturday with a 6-4 win over Colorado. The Coyotes squandered a three-goal lead in the third period before receiving a huge effort from Brad Richardson, who scored goals 3:27 apart late in the session to give the team only its second triumph in nine contests.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Arizona Plus, NBCS California (San Jose)

ABOUT THE COYOTES (15-18-2): Richardson's two-goal performance against his former team Saturday gave him the team lead (10) and marked the fifth time in his career he has reached double digits. The 33-year-old, who halted his six-game drought, scored a personal-best 14 goals with the Avalanche in 2006-07. Clayton Keller notched an assist Saturday for his team-leading 24th point but has gone 10 contests without a goal as Arizona matched the total from its previous four games.

ABOUT THE SHARKS (19-12-6): Pavelski has been tallying at a solid pace as he enters Sunday with a three-game streak and has scored 10 goals over his last 13 contests. The 34-year-old already has surpassed his total of 22 tallies from last season and is well on his way to the fifth career 30-goal campaign. Defenseman Brent Burns, who is two games shy of 1,000 for his career, recorded an assist Saturday for his first point since he notched his 600th in the NHL on Dec. 16 versus Chicago.

OVERTIME

1. Karlsson has notched 10 assists during his streak but has gone 14 games without a goal.

2. Ten of Arizona's 12 forwards landed on the scoresheet Saturday, as did four of its six defensemen.

3. San Jose C Joe Thornton's next assist will be the 1,041st of his career, moving him past Marcel Dionne for 10th place on the all-time list.

PREDICTION: Sharks 4, Coyotes 0