Tampa Bay Lightning (27-10-5, second in the Atlantic) vs. San Jose Sharks (21-18-2, fourth in the Pacific)
San Jose, California; Saturday, 10:30 p.m. EST
LINE: Sharks +169, Lightning -202; over/under is 6
BOTTOM LINE: Timo Meier and San Jose take on Tampa Bay. Meier is eighth in the league with 46 points, scoring 21 goals and recording 25 assists.
The Sharks are 11-8-2 at home. San Jose leads the Western Conference with 4.8 assists per game, led by Meier averaging 0.7.
The Lightning have gone 13-6-2 away from home. Tampa Bay ranks fifth in the Eastern Conference averaging 3.3 goals per game, led by Steven Stamkos with 19.
The teams square off Saturday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Meier leads the Sharks with a plus-15 in 36 games this season. Tomas Hertl has six goals and eight assists over the last 10 games for San Jose.
Victor Hedman leads the Lightning with 34 total assists and has 43 points. Ondrej Palat has five goals and three assists over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
LAST 10 GAMES: Sharks: 5-4-1, averaging 2.8 goals, 4.7 assists, 3.6 penalties and 10.1 penalty minutes while giving up three goals per game with an .899 save percentage.
Lightning: 6-3-1, averaging 3.6 goals, 6.5 assists, 4.5 penalties and 10.5 penalty minutes while allowing 2.6 goals per game with an .898 save percentage.
INJURIES: Sharks: None listed.
Lightning: Erik Cernak: day to day (undisclosed), Zach Bogosian: out (lower body), Ondrej Palat: day to day (lower body).
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