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SAN JOSE -- The San Jose Sharks are desperate for a victory, and they'll try to get one at SAP Center on Monday against a Pittsburgh Penguins team that has lost 11 straight games in San Jose.
The Penguins haven't won a game in San Jose since Oct. 22, 1997, going 0-9-2 since then.
"We were looking pretty good last time we played here and then that knuckler from the blue line, I think [Joe] Thornton ended up scoring," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said on Monday after Pittsburgh's morning skate. "I don't know. I don't have any way to explain it. I don't think anybody could if they tried.
"We'll see what happens. You got to give yourself a chance here and just make sure you weather the storm early. They usually come out pretty hard here. Giving ourselves that first goal would be nice, try to get some momentum. Other than that you just got to go out there and play your game and hope you get the right result."
The Sharks beat the Penguins 5-3 on March 6, 2014, at SAP Center. Pittsburgh took a 2-0 first-period lead and led 3-2 early in the third after Olli Maatta scored his second goal of the game. But San Jose defenseman Brent Burns tied it with a goal at 6:52 of the third, and Thornton scored the game-winner at 14:21.
"I can't draw anything from it, but you just hope you keep the streak going," said Sharks defenseman Justin Braun, who scored a goal in the 5-3 win. "We have those barns too, and you know you’re always trying to overcome it. So maybe they’re pushing a little harder. Maybe they’ve got a little more incentive.”
Crosby has plenty of incentive against the Sharks. He hasn't scored a goal in six career games against San Jose. In his last game at SAP Center he had no points and a minus-5 in 21:02 of ice time.
"I remember, obviously, coming back what the last game was like," Crosby said. "I'm hoping it's pretty tough to go minus-5, then go minus-6 the next time. So we'll see what happens. You never know. Hockey's a weird game sometimes. I'm hoping it will be much better than the last one."
Center Evgeni Malkin, who leads the Penguins with 67 points, missed that game in San Jose with an injury. This time he's healthy and will be in the lineup.
San Jose also has struggled to win this season at SAP Center, where they typically have been dominant. The Sharks have lost nine of their past 10 home games (1-7-2) and are 15-15-5 at home overall.
With 16 games left to play the Sharks are five points behind the third-place Calgary Flames in the Pacific Division and six points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the final Western Conference wild-card spot into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"They're a hungry team," Penguins coach Mike Johnston said. "I've watched their last couple games. They certainly have played well in those games."
The Sharks had consecutive wins against the Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks before losing 3-2 against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday at SAP Center.
The Sharks will try to get back on track against Marc-Andre Fleury, one of the hottest goaltenders in the NHL. Fleury is 30-14-6 with a 2.16 goals-against average and an NHL-best and Penguins single-season record nine shutouts. He's coming off a 31-save shutout in Pittsburgh's 1-0 victory Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center.
"You’ve just got to be ready to shoot the puck when you get your chances," Sharks forward Joe Pavelski said. "They’re doing a lot of good stuff as a team [defensively]. We’ve got to take our chances, get pucks back and re-attack quick."
Here are the projected lineups:
PENGUINS
David Perron - Sidney Crosby - Patric Hornqvist
Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - Blake Comeau
Beau Bennett - Brandon Sutter - Daniel Winnik
Nick Spaling - Maxim Lapierre - Steve Downie
Paul Martin - Kris Letang
Rob Scuderi - Ian Cole
Derrick Pouliot - Ben Lovejoy
Marc-Andre Fleury
Thomas Greiss
Scratched: Craig Adams
Injured: Pascal Dupuis (blood clot), Olli Maatta (upper body), Christian Ehrhoff (concussion symptoms)
SHARKS
Melker Karlsson - Joe Thornton - Joe Pavelski
Patrick Marleau - Logan Couture - Matt Nieto
Tommy Wingels - Ben Smith - Tomas Hertl
John Scott - Chris Tierney - Barclay Goodrow
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Justin Braun
Scott Hannan - Brent Burns
Mirco Mueller - Brenden Dillon
Antti Niemi
Alex Stalock
Scratched: Taylor Fedun
Injured: Raffi Torres (knee), Mike Brown (right leg), Matt Irwin (upper body)
Status report: Irwin skated for the first time since being injured Friday taking a shot during practice, but he will miss his second straight game. "Just taking it day-by-day," Irwin said. "I'll get out there again [Tuesday] and see how it feels and go from there." ... Niemi will make his third straight start. Stalock hasn't started since his 20-save shutout against Montreal on March 2. ... Adams will be a healthy scratch for the second straight game and for the fourth time in the past five games.
Who's hot: Hornqvist has three goals in his past two games. ... Malkin has seven goals and seven assists in his past eight games. ... Pavelski has one goal and five assists during a five-game point streak. ... Karlsson has a goal in each of his past two games.
SAN JOSE -- The San Jose Sharks are desperate for a victory, and they'll try to get one at SAP Center on Monday against a Pittsburgh Penguins team that has lost 11 straight games in San Jose.
The Penguins haven't won a game in San Jose since Oct. 22, 1997, going 0-9-2 since then.
"We were looking pretty good last time we played here and then that knuckler from the blue line, I think [Joe] Thornton ended up scoring," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said on Monday after Pittsburgh's morning skate. "I don't know. I don't have any way to explain it. I don't think anybody could if they tried.
"We'll see what happens. You got to give yourself a chance here and just make sure you weather the storm early. They usually come out pretty hard here. Giving ourselves that first goal would be nice, try to get some momentum. Other than that you just got to go out there and play your game and hope you get the right result."
The Sharks beat the Penguins 5-3 on March 6, 2014, at SAP Center. Pittsburgh took a 2-0 first-period lead and led 3-2 early in the third after Olli Maatta scored his second goal of the game. But San Jose defenseman Brent Burns tied it with a goal at 6:52 of the third, and Thornton scored the game-winner at 14:21.
"I can't draw anything from it, but you just hope you keep the streak going," said Sharks defenseman Justin Braun, who scored a goal in the 5-3 win. "We have those barns too, and you know you’re always trying to overcome it. So maybe they’re pushing a little harder. Maybe they’ve got a little more incentive.”
Crosby has plenty of incentive against the Sharks. He hasn't scored a goal in six career games against San Jose. In his last game at SAP Center he had no points and a minus-5 in 21:02 of ice time.
"I remember, obviously, coming back what the last game was like," Crosby said. "I'm hoping it's pretty tough to go minus-5, then go minus-6 the next time. So we'll see what happens. You never know. Hockey's a weird game sometimes. I'm hoping it will be much better than the last one."
Center Evgeni Malkin, who leads the Penguins with 67 points, missed that game in San Jose with an injury. This time he's healthy and will be in the lineup.
San Jose also has struggled to win this season at SAP Center, where they typically have been dominant. The Sharks have lost nine of their past 10 home games (1-7-2) and are 15-15-5 at home overall.
With 16 games left to play the Sharks are five points behind the third-place Calgary Flames in the Pacific Division and six points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the final Western Conference wild-card spot into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"They're a hungry team," Penguins coach Mike Johnston said. "I've watched their last couple games. They certainly have played well in those games."
The Sharks had consecutive wins against the Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks before losing 3-2 against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday at SAP Center.
The Sharks will try to get back on track against Marc-Andre Fleury, one of the hottest goaltenders in the NHL. Fleury is 30-14-6 with a 2.16 goals-against average and an NHL-best and Penguins single-season record nine shutouts. He's coming off a 31-save shutout in Pittsburgh's 1-0 victory Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center.
"You’ve just got to be ready to shoot the puck when you get your chances," Sharks forward Joe Pavelski said. "They’re doing a lot of good stuff as a team [defensively]. We’ve got to take our chances, get pucks back and re-attack quick."
Here are the projected lineups:
PENGUINS
David Perron - Sidney Crosby - Patric Hornqvist
Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - Blake Comeau
Beau Bennett - Brandon Sutter - Daniel Winnik
Nick Spaling - Maxim Lapierre - Steve Downie
Paul Martin - Kris Letang
Rob Scuderi - Ian Cole
Derrick Pouliot - Ben Lovejoy
Marc-Andre Fleury
Thomas Greiss
Scratched: Craig Adams
Injured: Pascal Dupuis (blood clot), Olli Maatta (upper body), Christian Ehrhoff (concussion symptoms)
SHARKS
Melker Karlsson - Joe Thornton - Joe Pavelski
Patrick Marleau - Logan Couture - Matt Nieto
Tommy Wingels - Ben Smith - Tomas Hertl
John Scott - Chris Tierney - Barclay Goodrow
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Justin Braun
Scott Hannan - Brent Burns
Mirco Mueller - Brenden Dillon
Antti Niemi
Alex Stalock
Scratched: Taylor Fedun
Injured: Raffi Torres (knee), Mike Brown (right leg), Matt Irwin (upper body)
Status report: Irwin skated for the first time since being injured Friday taking a shot during practice, but he will miss his second straight game. "Just taking it day-by-day," Irwin said. "I'll get out there again [Tuesday] and see how it feels and go from there." ... Niemi will make his third straight start. Stalock hasn't started since his 20-save shutout against Montreal on March 2. ... Adams will be a healthy scratch for the second straight game and for the fourth time in the past five games.
Who's hot: Hornqvist has three goals in his past two games. ... Malkin has seven goals and seven assists in his past eight games. ... Pavelski has one goal and five assists during a five-game point streak. ... Karlsson has a goal in each of his past two games.
