Vancouver @ San Jose preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 11, 2019 ) San Jose 7, Vancouver 2

The San Jose Sharks saw their six-game winning streak come to an end against the defending Stanley Cup champions and look to start a new run when they host the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. The Sharks averaged five goals during their streak before suffering a 5-1 setback against Washington on Thursday, losing at home for the first time since just before Christmas.

“They were hungrier and a little bit better than us,” San Jose coach Peter DeBoer told reporters Thursday. “We had some pretty good nights in the last month, and tonight wasn’t our best and we couldn’t outscore our problems. ... They are a good team, and if you aren’t right on, you are going to have a hard time. … The details of our game weren’t great.” The Sharks have won both meetings by a combined 11-2 this season and five straight overall against the Canucks, who posted their second victory in seven games Thursday with a 4-3 shootout triumph at Los Angeles. Vancouver entered Friday in a virtual tie with Minnesota for the final wild-card spot and coach Travis Green is pleased with the experience his team is gaining after missing the playoffs the last three seasons. “You can still play in those games at this time of year, but if there’s not something on the line then you don’t feel pressure and it’s not the same thing,” Green told reporters. “For our young guys to go through this, it means a lot. We hope we make it. We hope we’re there at the end. But we’re learning as we go.”

TV: 10 p.m. ET, CBC, CITY, Sportsnet, Sportsnet One, Sportsnet360, NBCS California (San Jose)

ABOUT THE CANUCKS (26-26-7): Defenseman Chris Tanev (ankle) returned to Vancouver for more evaluation and forward Jake Virtanen (upper body) missed Thursday’s game, making it five regular skaters on the shelf. “I’ve talked about it before; there’s no excuses,” Green told the media. “Other guys step up, other guys get opportunity. … Certain parts of the year you have to go through it and hopefully your team raises their game.” Rookie center Elias Pettersson recorded seven of his team-leading 53 points in the last six games and right wing Brock Boeser (99 career points) scored his 20th goal Thursday before converting the shootout winner.

ABOUT THE SHARKS (34-17-7): All-Star defenseman Erik Karlsson (40 assists) is likely to miss his 10th straight game with a groin injury, but is beginning to show progress and could return to the lineup soon. Fellow blue liner Brent Burns has recorded 11 of his team-best 63 points in the last eight games, but finished with a minus-4 rating against Washington, and forward Kevin Labanc posted his fifth goal in three games. Tomas Hertl was kept off the scoresheet Thursday after recording four goals and seven points in the previous three contests while fellow forward Evander Kane has scored five times in four games.

OVERTIME

1. Canucks LW Loui Eriksson is slated to play his 900th NHL game Saturday and boasts 572 points - 21 in 2018-19.

2. San Jose D Marc-Edouard Vlasic is two points shy of 300 in his career, but has gone without one the last four games.

3. Vancouver is also without Fs Sven Baertschi (concussion) and Brandon Sutter (groin) along with D Alexander Edler (concussion).

PREDICTION: Sharks 4, Canucks 3