Anaheim @ San Jose preview
SAP Center at San Jose
Last Meeting ( Oct 28, 2018 ) San Jose 4, Anaheim 3
Christmas could not come soon enough for the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks, who resume their seasons Thursday in northern California. The clubs skidded into their holiday break on three-game losing streaks as Anaheim completing a 2-3-0 road trip with a 3-0 loss to Buffalo on Saturday while San Jose lost 4-3 in a shootout to Arizona on Sunday.
"The break is coming at the right time," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer told reporters after his club lost the first three contests of a four-game home stretch (0-1-2). "... We've had to dig deep the last two nights to find a way to scratch out a couple points. We're looking forward to the break and having a big second half." San Jose will be without former two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson, who will serve the second contest of a two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Los Angeles' Austin Wagner on Saturday. The Ducks and Sharks are separated by two points in the Pacific Division with Anaheim sitting in wild-card position in what figures to be a tight race down the stretch. "We've got lots of areas in which we can improve on for sure," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle told reporters. "We'll go back to work. … We can exhale a little bit from this five-game road trip. (It's) never easy playing on the road for 10 days here; it's been tiresome at times. But that's what we do and we'll move on."
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Anaheim), NBCS California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE DUCKS (19-14-5): The club owns the second-worst offense in the league at 2.42 goals per game and has only one player with a double-digit goal total (Pontus Aberg, 11). Ryan Getzlaf (team-high 29 points) continues to perform admirably despite the absence of long-time linemate Corey Perry, who is out probably until March with a knee injury. Rickard Rakell is out with an ankle injury after a slow start saw him score five goals in 30 games after totaling 67 in the last two seasons.
ABOUT THE SHARKS (19-12-7): Joe Pavelski (team-best 23 goals) surged into the break with three tallies in his last four games but has slowed down a bit with seven scores and three of his seven assists in December. Brent Burns (club-high 31 assists) is set to play his 1,000th career game Thursday as the former Norris winner recorded only one point in his last four contests. Logan Couture (team-most 36 points) and Timo Meier (18 goals, 34 points) staggered into the break with a combined one point in their last three games.
OVERTIME
1. Anaheim's power play is 1-for-23 over the last nine games while its penalty killers are only 17-for-24 in the past seven contests.
2. San Jose F Joe Thornton sits 10th all-time in the NHL with 1,041 assists, trailing Gordie Howe by eight for ninth place.
3. The clubs split the first two of four meetings this season with each winning on the road after San Jose won the previous six meetings, including a four-game sweep in the first round of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs.
PREDICTION: Ducks 3, Sharks 2