Sharks look to reverse trends against Hurricanes (Dec 10, 2016)
Lately, the San Jose Sharks have been finding ways to lose, according to their coach, and the next opponent on the schedule might not provide much of a breather.
The Sharks will try to avoid tying a season-high third straight loss while looking for a rare home win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night when the teams close out their season series.
It has been a series of ups and downs for the Sharks (15-11-1) in the last six weeks. After dropping three straight from Nov. 1 to Nov. 5, they won three in a row on the road, outscoring their opponents 10-3.
San Jose also lost three straight from Nov. 15 to Nov. 19, a skid that started with a 1-0 road loss to Carolina.
What followed was the Sharks' best stretch of the season -- wins in six of seven games in which they had a 19-9 scoring edge.
But in order to avoid continuing their latest slide, the Sharks will have to solve the Hurricanes. San Jose is 2-6-1 in its last nine meetings with Carolina at the SAP Center going back to October 2010.
San Jose is back home after a 3-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night. Rookie Kevin Labanc scored in the loss and Brent Burns added his team-best 12th goal, which also leads all defensemen.
"Game could have gone either way. I gave our guys credit for battling back (from two goals down)," DeBoer said after Friday's game. " ... We're just finding a way to lose right now instead of win, which we've been winning games like that."
Burns has goals in each of his last three games, and six goals with four assists in his last nine. He also has a goal and two assists in three home games against Carolina while with San Jose.
With Friday's loss, Sharks goaltender Martin Jones has split his last six games. If DeBoer gives his starter a rest ahead of a four-game, six-day road trip that begins Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, then rookie Aaron Dell, who stopped a season-high 32 shots in last month's loss to Carolina, will be between the pipes.
In three starts, Dell has stopped 79 of 84 shots while posting a 2-1-0 record.
The Hurricanes (11-10-6) are wrapping up their annual swing through California after falling 6-5 in a shootout to Anaheim on Wednesday followed by a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.
"We had a tough one there in Anaheim the other night. We kind of let that one slip away," Carolina's Brock McGinn said. "To come out here in L.A., and get a big win for us, that's big."
Big wins on the road, especially after regulation, have been hard to come by for the Hurricanes. Carolina is 4-7-6 away from home with three losses coming in overtime and another three in shootouts.
Cam Ward stopped 22 shots in the win over the Sharks last month for the first of his two shutouts in 2016-17. Despite a respectable 2.49 GAA, Ward is just 3-5-5 on the road.
Should Ward start Saturday, he will try to extend his recent mastery over the Sharks. He has won five straight starts when facing them, posting a 2.20 GAA and .922 save percentage.
Playing in northern California, Ward also is 2-0-0 in three career games, including two starts, surrendering a total of six goals.
Carolina's Jeff Skinner remains tied with Victor Rask for the team lead with nine goals. However, Skinner failed to score in seven straight on the road and has been held without a point of six of eight career games against San Jose.
Rask has one goal in his last 10 games overall.
