Programming note: Sharks-Blues coverage starts tonight at 5pm on NBCSN.
Where they stand
Sharks: 31-21-5, 67 points, 3rd Pacific Division
Blues: 35-17-9, 79 points, 3rd Central Division
Playoff picture
The Sharks trail the Kings by five points in the Pacific Division, and the Ducks by three points. San Jose has one game in hand on both clubs, who are idle on Monday.
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The latest
Sharks: Playing in the second of a back-to-back, the Sharks lost decisively to Carolina in Raleigh on Friday, 5-2. They did not have a power play in the game for just the second time this season. Still, San Jose is 2-1-0 on a five-game road trip, which concludes on Wednesday at Colorado.
Blues: St. Louis won its fifth straight on Saturday at Arizona, 6-4, behind four first period scores. It came at a cost, though, as the club lost second-leading scorer Alex Steen for at least one month with an upper body injury. Since losing to the Sharks on Feb. 4, the Blues are 6-0-1.
Keep an eye on…
San Jose Sharks
Sharks: Brent Burns. The Sharks defenseman broke a 16-game goal-scoring drought with a score against the Hurricanes, and still leads all NHL defensemen with 19 goals. The Wookiee continues to top the Sharks in ice time (26:30 per game), skating more than 27 minutes in each of his last six games, and his 249 shots on goal is second only to Alex Ovechkin.
Blues: Jaden Schwartz. The Blues were immediately bolstered by the return of the left wing, who has four goals and one assist in his last five games after missing the previous 49 with an ankle injury. Since the start of 2014-15, St. Louis is 60-21-6 with Schwartz in the lineup compared to 26-20-10 without him.
Probable lines
Sharks
Tomas Hertl – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Matt Nieto – Patrick Marleau – Joel Ward
Joonas Donskoi – Logan Couture – Melker Karlsson
Dainius Zubrus – Chris Tierney – Mike Brown
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Dylan DeMelo – Matt Tennyson
Martin Jones (confirmed starter)
Alex Stalock
Blues
Jaden Schwartz – Jori Lehtera – Vladimir Tarasenko
Patrik Berglund – David Backes – Troy Brouwer
Robby Fabbri – Paul Stastny – Scottie Upshall
Magnus Paajarvi – Kyle Brodziak – Ryan Reaves
Jay Bouwmeester – Kevin Shattenkirk
Carl Gunnarsson – Colton Parayko
Joel Edmundson – Robert Bortuzzo
Brian Elliott (confirmed starter)
Jake Allen
Vitals
Sharks
Goals per game: 2.89 (4th)
Goals-against per game: 2.67 (17th)
Power play: 22.2 percent (5th)
Penalty kill: 80.5 percent (16th)
Blues
Goals per game: 2.46 (23rd)
Goals-against per game: 2.30 (4th)
Power play: 20.6 percent (9th)
Penalty kill: 87.1 percent (1st)
Injuries/Scratches
Sharks: Brenden Dillon (upper body) and Tommy Wingels (upper body) are out.
Blues: Steve Ott (hamstring), Alex Pietrangelo (right knee) and Alex Steen (upper body) are out.
Season series
The Sharks won at Scottrade Center less than three weeks ago on Feb. 4, 3-1. St. Louis visits San Jose on March 22.
San Jose is 6-3-1 against the Blues in the last 10 regular season meetings.