Predators vs. Sharks: 3 things you need to know
The Nashville Predators finish a three-game road trip with a visit to the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.
Here are three things you need to know:
Winning streaks collide
The Sharks have won their last five home games, bringing their record at SAP Center to 7-4-2, but they haven't hosted the Predators this season. Nashville swept San Jose last year in their three-game season series, scoring three goals in each meeting.
The Sharks and Predators were on very different trajectories last season. San Jose made the playoffs with 111 points while Nashville finished with 88, but the Predators still had the Sharks' number. Now Nashville has the upper hand in the standings, with 40 points to San Jose's 36.
Both teams have fared well against their respective divisions. Nashville is 7-1-1 against Pacific Division opponents, while the Sharks are 4-1-1 against Central Division foes.
Sharks climbing, Predators slipping
Despite winning seven of their last 10 games, the Predators are losing control of the Central Division. The hard-charging Chicago Blackhawks have seized the division lead with an eight-game winning streak and the St. Louis Blues are even with Nashville in points.
Everyone is once again safe in San Jose, which has six wins in its last seven games after falling to 10-10-4 in November. The Sharks are looking more like the dominant regular-season team they have been in seasons past and their recent run has lifted them into a wild card playoff spot.
Defeating Nashville would help solidify San Jose's turnaround.
Vlasic's possible return
Marc-Edouard Vlasic was scratched on Thursday due to an upper-body injury suffered on Tuesday. The Sharks defenseman returned to practice on Friday, hinting at a possible Saturday return.
Vlasic is San Jose's top penalty-killing defenseman, averaging a team-high 2:31 of short-handed time on ice. He is a crucial piece on the Sharks blue line - far more reliable than Matt Tennyson, who replaced Vlasic on Thursday for his sixth career NHL appearance.
Losing Vlasic appeared to motivate the Sharks on Thursday and they shouldn't need his penalty-killing against Nashville's weak power play. Vlasic has only missed four games since the start of the 2010-11 season, but San Jose shouldn't rush him back into the lineup for a game in December if he isn't ready.