San Jose Sharks (16-47-8, eighth in the Pacific Division) vs. Minnesota Wild (34-28-9, sixth in the Central Division)
Saint Paul, Minnesota; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The San Jose Sharks aim to break an eight-game slide with a victory over the Minnesota Wild.
Minnesota has gone 18-12-5 at home and 34-28-9 overall. The Wild rank fourth in league play with 320 total penalties (averaging 4.5 per game).
San Jose has a 16-47-8 record overall and a 6-26-4 record in road games. The Sharks have allowed 286 goals while scoring 157 for a -129 scoring differential.
The teams square off Thursday for the second time this season. The Wild won the last matchup 4-3. Marco Rossi scored two goals in the win.
TOP PERFORMERS: Joel Eriksson Ek has 30 goals and 30 assists for the Wild. Kirill Kaprizov has 10 goals and six assists over the past 10 games.
Mikael Granlund has scored 10 goals with 38 assists for the Sharks. William Eklund has two goals and four assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Wild: 6-1-3, averaging three goals, 4.9 assists, 4.2 penalties and 16 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game.
Sharks: 1-8-1, averaging 2.3 goals, 4.2 assists, 3.2 penalties and 7.2 penalty minutes while giving up 4.6 goals per game.
INJURIES: Wild: Jared Spurgeon: out for season (hip/back), Joel Eriksson Ek: day to day (lower-body), Sam Hentges: out (undisclosed), Jonas Brodin: day to day (lower body).
Sharks: Ty Emberson: out for season (lower body), Matt Benning: out for season (lower body), Vitek Vanecek: out for season (lower body), Logan Couture: out for season (groin), Mike Hoffman: day to day (concussion).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
