San Jose hosts Western Conference-leader St. Louis
St. Louis Blues (22-8-6, first in the Central Division) vs. San Jose Sharks (16-18-2, sixth in the Pacific Division)
San Jose, California; Saturday, 10 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The San Jose Sharks host the Western Conference-leading St. Louis Blues.
The Sharks are 12-10-0 in Western Conference games. San Jose averages 12.1 penalty minutes per game, the second-most in the league. Evander Kane leads the team serving 77 total minutes.
The Blues are 15-2-3 in Western Conference play. St. Louis has allowed 16 power-play goals, stopping 84.6% of opponent opportunities.
The matchup Saturday is the first meeting this season between the two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Logan Couture leads the Sharks with 32 points, scoring 11 goals and adding 21 assists. Tomas Hertl has four goals and three assists over the last 10 games for San Jose.
Ryan O'Reilly leads the Blues with 26 total assists and has recorded 32 points. David Perron has four goals and six assists over the last 10 games for St. Louis.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blues: 7-3-0, averaging 3.1 goals, 4.9 assists, 2.8 penalties and 5.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.2 goals per game with a .928 save percentage.
Sharks: 3-6-1, averaging 2.4 goals, 3.9 assists, 4.3 penalties and 12.3 penalty minutes while giving up 3.3 goals per game with a .889 save percentage.
INJURIES: Sharks: Antti Suomela: out (upper body).
Blues: Ivan Barbashev: day to day (upper body), Tyler Bozak: day to day (illness), Zach Sanford: day to day (upper body).
