Programming note: Blue Jackets-Sharks coverage starts tonight at 7pm with Sharks Pregame Live on CSN California.
Where they stand
Sharks: 6-5-0, 12 points, 3rd Pacific Division
Blue Jackets: 2-10-0, 4 points, 8th Metropolitan Division
The latest
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Sharks: The Sharks split their weekend road trip, beating the Avalanche in Denver on Sunday, 4-3. Brent Burns had two goals, while Joe Pavelski’s empty-netter increased his goal streak to four games. Tonight marks the first of a four-game homestand.
Blue Jackets: On Saturday, the Blue Jackets dropped a decision at home to Winnipeg, 3-2. It was their second straight defeat, and 10th in 12 games – all in regulation. Columbus is 2-3-0 under John Tortorella, who took over as head coach on Oct. 21.
Keep an eye on…
Sharks: Patrick Marleau. The veteran forward was arguably the Sharks’ best player on Sunday, setting up a pair of key goals to snap out of a cold streak since Logan Couture’s injury. The 36-year-old is now just four points shy of 1000 for his career.
San Jose Sharks
Blue Jackets: Boone Jenner. The 22-year-old forward leads the Blue Jackets with 6 goals, tied for 11th in the NHL. A former second round pick in 2011, the six-foot-two, 215-pounder is also tied for second on the Blue Jackets with 28 hits.
Probable lines
Sharks
Joonas Donskoi – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Patrick Marleau – Tomas Hertl – Joel Ward
Matt Nieto – Chris Tierney – Tommy Wingels
Barclay Goodrow – Bryan Lerg – Mike Brown
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Brenden Dillon – Matt Tennyson
Martin Jones (confirmed starter)
Alex Stalock
Blue Jackets
Brandon Saad – Brandon Dubinsky – Nick Foligno
Scott Hartnell – Ryan Johansen – Cam Atkinson
Matt Calvert – William Karlsson – Boone Jenner
Alexander Wennberg – Gregory Campbell – Jared Boll
Jack Johnson – David Savard
Ryan Murray – Cody Goloubef
Kevin Connauton – Dalton Prout
Sergei Bobrovsky (confirmed starter)
Curtis McElhinney
Vitals
Sharks
Goals per game: 2.73 (12th)
Goals-against per game: 2.55 (13th)
Power play: 15.6 percent (20th)
Penalty kill: 76.9 percent (21st)
Blue Jackets
Goals per game: 2.08 (28th)
Goals-against per game: 3.83 (29th)
Power play: 17.0 percent (19th)
Penalty kill: 71.0 percent (30th)
Injuries/Scratches
Sharks: Ben Smith (head) and Logan Couture (fractured right fibula) are out.
Blue Jackets: None.
Season series
The Sharks make their only visit of the season to Columbus on Nov. 22, in what will be the final game of a six-game road trip.
Odds and ends
*Defenseman Karl Stollery was recalled from the Barracuda on Monday, while Dylan DeMelo was reassigned.
*Columbus is 2-5-0 on the road, and 0-5-0 at home.
*Joel Ward has scored in back-to-back games, and leads the Sharks in goals (7) and points (11).