NHL Gameday: Sharks begin final week down top two centers

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Programming note: Sharks-Canucks coverage starts tonight at 7pm with Sharks Pregame Live on NBC Sports California, and streaming with the NBC Sports App. (CHANNEL LISTINGS)

WHERE THEY STAND

Sharks: 44-28-7, 95 points, 3rd Pacific Division
Canucks: 30-39-9, 69 points, 6th Pacific Division

PREGAME NEWS AND NOTES

***Minus their top two centers, the Sharks will go for the season sweep against Vancouver tonight after beating them at Rogers Arena on Sunday, 3-1. San Jose has won each of the first four games with the Canucks in regulation by a combined 14-4 score.

Neither Joe Thornton (left knee) nor Logan Couture (face) will be in the lineup.

“I think we’re built for this type of adversity,” Pete DeBoer said. “We have depth, we have guys that can play multiple positions. It’s an exciting challenge.”

Tuesday’s morning skate was optional, so there were no indications on the Sharks’ lines or power play units. Take the lines listed below with a grain of salt.

“We’re still sorting that out. We’ve got lots of options,” DeBoer said.

***In the Pacific Division, the Sharks are two points behind Edmonton for second place, which would give them home ice advantage in the first round. The Oilers, who have a game in hand on San Jose, visit the Kings tonight.

The Sharks are 2-8-0 in their last 10 games, while Vancouver has dropped four straight. Tonight marks the first of a three-game homestand for San Jose to conclude the regular season. Edmonton and Calgary visit on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.

***Martin Jones will start his sixth straight game as the coaching staff tries to get him in a rhythm for the playoffs. In his last six starts, Jones is 2-4-0 with a 3.90 goals-against average and .865 save percentage, although he made 29 saves in beating Vancouver on Sunday. He’ll face Richard Bachman, who will be playing in just his fourth game of the season (2-1-0, 1.69 GAA, .946 SP).

KEEP AN EYE ON...

Sharks: Tomas Hertl. Without Thornton and Couture for the forseeable future, Hertl will be an important player for the Sharks and will look to build off of his game in Vancouver on Sunday when he snapped a 16-game goal drought with two scores in the first period. The 23-year-old could take Thornton’s spot on the top power play unit, too, so perhaps he can even give that unproductive group a boost.

Canucks: Nikolay Goldobin. After he was scratched against the Sharks on Sunday, and coach Willie Desjardins was critical of his work ethic, Goldobin will apparently return to the Vancouver lineup tonight at SAP Center on a line with the Sedin twins. After scoring in his first game with the Canucks on March 4, Goldobin is scoreless in his last nine games.

PROBABLE LINES

Sharks
Melker Karlsson – Joe Pavelski – Joel Ward
Jannik Hansen – Tomas Hertl – Mikkel Boedker
Joonas Donskoi – Patrick Marleau – Timo Meier
Kevin Labanc – Chris Tierney – Marcus Sorensen

Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon – David Schlemko

Martin Jones (starter)
Aaron Dell

Canucks
Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Nikolay Goldobin
Sven Baertschi – Bo Horvat – Brock Boeser
Reid Boucher – Brandon Sutter – Michael Chaput
Griffen Molino – Drew Shore – Jason Megna

Alex Edler – Troy Stacher
Luca Sbisa – Chris Tanev
Ben Hutton – Nikita Tryamkin

Richard Bachman (starter)
Ryan Miller

INJURIES

Sharks: Logan Couture (face) and Joe Thornton (left knee) are out.

Canucks: Loui Eriksson (leg), Brendan Gaunce (upper body), Joe Cramarossa (foot),) and Jack Skille (ankle) are day-to-day. Derek Dorsett (back surgery), Erik Gudbranson (wrist) Anton Rodin (knee), Jacob Markstrom (lower body) and Marcus Granlund (wrist) are out. 

QUOTEABLE

“Just talking about a lot of d-zone. … Just [one goal against on Sunday], that’s how we play. Last year we [went] so far because we [had], like, the best d-zone in the NHL.” – Tomas Hertl

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