Montreal @ San Jose preview
SAP Center at San Jose
Last Meeting ( Dec 2, 2018 ) San Jose 3, Montreal 1
The Montreal Canadiens are clinging to the second wild card in the Eastern Conference as they resume a three-game road trip with a visit to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night. The Canadiens have a legacy unmatched by any NHL team but they have a dismal history against the Sharks, last winning in San Jose on Nov. 23, 1999.
Montreal beat Los Angeles 3-1 in the opener of the three-game trek behind 26 saves from Carey Price, who tied Hall of Famer Jacques Plante for the most wins (314) in franchise history. "It's a pretty cool accomplishment," said Price, who could set the record against the Sharks. "I'm very proud of how long it's been throughout my career, all the things that led up to this point." San Jose, trying to stay within striking distance of first place in the Pacific Division, has won the first two contests of its four-game homestand to improve to 11-3-1 in its last 15. "We're trying to close the gap on Calgary and we're at home and we've been good at home all year," coach Peter DeBoer said after Sunday's 5-2 win over Chicago. "Our challenge is to win the games that we're supposed to win at home."
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, RDS, TSN2, NBCS California (San Jose)
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (36-24-7): Jordan Weal, on his third team this season after he was acquired from Arizona last month, finally made his debut for Montreal and scored the game-winner against the Kings. Weal also had four shots on goal and won two-thirds of his faceoffs while centering a line of Jonathan Drouin and Joel Armia. "It's been a while since he played a hockey game, but he came in and I thought he played a really good game," teammate Brendan Gallagher said. "He was strong all over the ice. He's definitely a good player."
ABOUT THE SHARKS (39-19-8): Defenseman Erik Karlsson, who sat out the past two games after tweaking a groin injury, did not practice again and will be held out for the remainder of the homestand. “Making progress, but he’s not going to play this week, and we’ll look at next week based on the progress he has through the end of the week,” DeBoer said. Defenseman Brent Burns and captain Joe Pavelski, who are both dealing with the flu, also did not practice Wednesday but Evander Kane could return to the lineup after a two-game absence.
OVERTIME
1. Sharks C Joe Thornton will move past Alex Delvecchio for 14th on the all-time list when he appears in his 1,551st game Thursday.
2. Price fell to 2-9-1 against San Jose with a 3-1 loss to the Sharks on Dec. 2.
3. Sharks F Tomas Hertl is one goal shy of becoming the sixth different player in team history to score 30 by age 25.
PREVIEW: Sharks 4, Canadiens 2