The Chicago Blackhawks continue their long road trip with a visit to the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. San Jose has points in five of its last six games, while January has been Chicago's most difficult month.
Here's what you need to know about Saturday's showdown:
Pavelski Power
The Sharks enter Saturday with a red-hot Joe Pavelski riding a four-game scoring streak. Pavelski has three goals and two assists on his streak, bringing his season totals to 25 goals and 43 points.
Pavelski was also the only San Jose player to score against Chicago in a 5-2 defeat on Nov. 9. The 30-year-old has 24 points in 27 career meetings with the Blackhawks, who would do well to slow his line down and force the Sharks to use their scoring depth.
Pavelski has a power-play goal in each of the last two games, but he'll be hard-pressed to continue that trend against one of the league's best penalty-killing units.
Blackhawks' January blues
Chicago's victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday improved the team to 6-6-0 since the start of 2015, making January their worst month of the season.
A win over the Sharks would allow the Blackhawks to finish the month with a winning record, but their struggles have hurt them in the race for the Central Division title. They sit third, behind the St. Louis Blues and the Nashville Predators.
Chicago hasn't won more than two in a row since an eight-game winning streak that straddled November and December. Entering February with a pair of wins under their belt would help the Blackhawks wash away the bad taste of January.
Home and away
Chicago is 2-1-0 three games into a seven-game road trip, building on its solid road record, but that won't make Saturday's game any easier against the streaky Sharks.
The Blackhawks are tied for the league lead with 15 away victories, but none of those victories belong to goaltender Antti Raanta, who's likely to start Saturday after Corey Crawford played Friday. Raanta has a 3.39 goals-against average and .873 save percentage in three road starts.
The Sharks are in the midst of a seven-game homestand, sporting a 3-1-1 record thus far. San Jose dropped its previous three home games, but preceded that with eight straight victories at SAP Center. The Sharks have 10 goals in their last two home games, suggesting they are on an upswing in their up-and-down home season.