San Jose puts home win streak on the line against Florida
Florida Panthers (30-27-12, fifth in the Atlantic Division) vs. San Jose Sharks (43-19-8, first in the Pacific Division)
San Jose, California; Thursday, 10:30 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: San Jose hosts Florida aiming to extend its four-game home winning streak.
The Sharks are 23-5-5 at home. San Jose ranks second in the NHL averaging 6.3 assists per game, led by Brent Burns with 0.9.
The Panthers are 12-15-6 on the road. Florida has converted on 27.1 percent of power-play opportunities, scoring 64 power-play goals. In their last meeting on Jan. 21, Florida won 6-2.
TOP PERFORMERS: Joe Pavelski leads the Sharks with 37 goals, adding 25 assists and totaling 62 points. Tomas Hertl has recorded five goals and collected 10 points over the last 10 games for San Jose.
LAST 10 GAMES: Panthers: 4-2-4, averaging four goals, 7.2 assists, 2.7 penalties and 5.7 penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game with a .908 save percentage.
Sharks: 8-2-0, averaging 3.5 goals, 5.7 assists, 3.4 penalties and 11.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game with a .911 save percentage.
Sharks Injuries: Erik Karlsson: out (lower body), Radim Simek: day to day (lower body), Evander Kane: out (lower body).
Panthers Injuries: James Reimer: day to day (lower body), Denis Malgin: day to day (undisclosed).
